At noon the next day, after breakfast,

Humming a song, or rather, an opening of my favorite anime, I entered a store, where a vast carved board with two swords through a metal frame hung over the door.

An equipment store...

I had intended to look for weapons within the "Hephaestus Familia" in their own right. As a Familia specializing in the production of armor and weapons, they were the best choice for all those adventurers who aspired to great heights. But with my pitiful financial state, I would not be able to buy even the sand dust that accumulated there.

If there was any at all...

However, that wasn't the main reason I specifically chose this store.

Although I initially ignored this store, a strange, unfamiliar, but undoubtedly comforting feeling arose within me when I walked past this store.

As to what it meant, I still didn't know. But now that I've returned to my curiosity, I won't be satisfied until I find the source of this...

"Welcome to our humble store, adventurer-san."

As I looked around the store's interior, which was littered with armor and weapons in a sorry state hanging on the walls, a cheerful young woman with long black hair tied in twin pigtails came out from behind the counter with a leap. Her sky blue painted eyes, which looked rather sad as if she had been crying for some time, opened at my sight.

*Thumb!

I clenched my stomach, where the core was.

A feeling of extreme sadness and, at the same time, happiness flooded me as my core released a few beats of emotion. The only thing my eyes caught for a few seconds was the girl standing there-

*Swish!

I couldn't stop my eyes from locking onto a small orb that shot out of the girl's body. I became alarmed; however, the ominous, dark orb entered my insides before I could do anything.

[Danger detected!]

[Analyzing the anomaly]

[...]

[...]

[Scanning completed]

[A intrusive energy was detected inside the user, it is recommended to neutralize it immediately]

[Neutralize] [Reject]

*

What are you waiting for?! N-neutralize it immediately, you f*cking idiot!

*

[Neutralize...]

[Error]

[Error]

[...]

[10% - 20% - 30% - 40% ... 90% - 100%]

[The intrusive energy  has been successfully neutralized!]

*

I was dizzy from the sudden messages that appeared in rapid succession in front of me, replacing one another. The robotic voice that sounded like a broken record irritated my conscience.

What the hell was that?!

"-sama, onii-sama!"

The girl's scream brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at the innocent face of the girl in front of me, and I could guess that she was unaware of what had happened.

"Are you okay, Onii-sama?"

*Thumb!

What is this? Why was I reacting like that? Although I asked that question, it was directed at myself since I had no one to ask.

However.... since the core reacted to this girl, the mystery is solved. Just like that...

I let out a long sigh to calm myself down. I wanted to run out of here; however, something was telling me to stay.

"Sorry, I kept thinking about something." My lips tightened.

"Umm..." The pretty girl's eyelashes fluttered, cocking her head to the side, "Do you need a weapon or armor, onii-sama?"

She looked me up and down, pausing for a moment at my clothing. I think my imagination saw a star shine in her eyes.

Too close... She came closer and looked into my face with an expression full of regret and pity. It looked like tears were going to spill at any moment.

Probably because she thought I was a blind man.

"Mmm, I'd like to see some weapons you have, please."

"Is that so, then let's go to where the best weapons are! This way, Onii-sama."

The girl took me by the hand and pulled me to follow her; she guided me towards the stairs that suggestively connected to the other floor of the store.

She was changing her expression too quickly...

As I opened the door, a much more pungent smell of metal emanated from it than before. Weapons were neatly arranged on the shelves on either side of the room.

The swords, bows, daggers, etc., were in better condition than those on the previous floor. Their gleaming blades gleamed coolly in the dim light filtering through the window curtains.

Although there were also armors, I did not notice them as I was not interested in the subject.

The girl let go of my hand and quickly walked to a shelf before turning her face towards me.

"Look, look, Onii-sama! This is the best sword we have in our store."

I approached her, who was pointing to a sword, or more specifically, a claymore with a silver body. The hilt was a deeper silver with some bluish patterns.

"I'm sorry..." She lowered her head apologetically. I can only assume she felt guilty for saying the above since, like everyone else, she thought I was a blind man.

"Don't worry; besides, it's not like I can't see."

"O-oh? Really?!" She lifted her face, pinning her disbelieving gaze on me.

I sketched a smile and patted the girl's head, and due to the "Mental Calm" effect of the new passive skill "Head Patting," the girl's tense body loosened up, calming down.

"May I check it?" I pointed my fingers at the sword.

"G-go ahead, all yours."

Receiving the girl's approval with flushed cheeks, I took the hilt of the claymore and raised it. Not at all; the metal body measured 150 cm, and the weight hovering around 15 kilograms did its size a favor.

"What do you think, Onii-sama?"

Possibly because I stared at the sword, she asked for my thoughts. Also, I noticed that she seemed a bit anxious.

"Mmm, I like this. So, how much does it cost?"

The girl seemed to think of something, and after hesitating for a few seconds, her hesitant expression hardened.

"It's 15,000 valis."

"Huh?" A sound of bewilderment escaped my lips.

"I'm sorry, but I can't lower the price any further." The girl said with a determined expression; her look was slightly downcast.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I just thought the number of valis named didn't do justice to this weapon."

Despite the structure this weapon possessed, the material used and the craftsmanship on it are, to the naked eye, superb for the grade of this weapon which, while clearly not the best, was quite good for someone just starting like me. Paying 15,000 valis for it is pretty low, being honest.

"Th-this is a sword my father used when he was still an adventurer. But after an accident, we were willing to sell it. However, no one wanted to buy it because of its heavy weight, as according to the adventurers, it was a big disadvantage for fighting inside the dungeon. So I had to lower the price to attract adventurers to the sword. But I still couldn't sell it as very few adventurers came to this store."

The girl smiled stiffly as she told her story.

I can understand that point; however, for someone with decent strength, that someone could lift and swing the claymore like a skull-cracking golf club.

"Okay, I'll buy it."

Saying that I could see the girl's fists clench in victory. And her previously droopy eyes sparkled with joy.

I reached into my loyal pajama pocket and summoned a purse of money from my "Inventory." The jingle of coins sounded, and I pulled it out without knowing how much was in it. After counting in front of the girl's beady eyes, I realized it had 20,000 valis inside.

"Take this."

Smiling, I pushed the bag onto the girl's chest, who unconsciously took it in her hands.

"Ah? Wait, Onii-sama! I remember saying it was 15,000."

The girl was startled with wide eyes.

"Yes, I know. But you can keep it as a gift from me."

"Why?"

The girl looked like she didn't want to believe it, though I didn't really care. Besides, I feel that this girl is quite familiar, though, to my intrigue, I don't know in what way.

So there will be no problem having her around.

"Oh, well, I found you quite cute in my eyes."

I said without lying. Although I doubted she would believe me because of my blessed eyes.

Getting back to the subject, it was a pity that, being so beautiful, she was wearing clothes that could hardly be considered such. The fabric of the dresses was worn and, in some parts, patched; they looked like garments that had gone through a lot of hardship.

Her cheeks, a little stained with dirt, reddened a little. Her big eyes moistened, and she bowed in front of me as she hugged the valis bag with all her being.

"Thank you, thank you...".

Was she that much in need of money? That was what came to mind when I saw her attitude. And considering the state of her clothes, it was most likely. Plus, she had mentioned her father's accident...

"Hey, don't worry. I still intend to buy other weapons, so cheer up."

Although I didn't know how to act now, I patted the girl on the head.

After a few seconds, and doing justice to my skill, the girl raised her face to look at me in surprise.

"Do you still want to buy other weapons?"

She wiped her stained cheeks with her arm and tried her best to look happier, to which she failed miserably as she started whining again.

Hey, seriously. This was a bit over the top. She'd never met anyone like this girl; it wasn't like she had much contact with those strange creatures anyway.

After calming her down with another good pat on the head, she calmed down.

I bought a bow and three quivers of arrows with 100 arrows each, totaling three hundred arrows. I also purchased a dagger in case I have to be more careful when fighting.

Since I have ways to learn passive skills with such a minuscule amount of time, I'll take advantage of that and practice as much as possible. It's an excellent way to form a stable foundation for the future.

Handling different weapons is beneficial and suitable for different types of terrain and various fighting styles.

That's what I have read in many books...

I paid 10,000 valis for everything mentioned to the girl who restrained herself from jumping for joy. Those sad eyes from the first time I saw her seemed to have disappeared.

Just as I was about to leave,

"Onii-sama, what's your name?"

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Adler."

"Adler-sama, hehe~ although I like to call you Onii-sama better, may I?".

Her expression lit up sweetly, and those big, adorable eyes looked at me.

That look was cheating...

"Well...".

"By the way, nice to meet you, Onii-sama! I'm Emily."

She cheerfully introduced her name.

I was about to put the weapons I bought in the inventory, but I remembered what happened a moment ago and decided to take them in my hand.

"Well, see you later, Emily." Patting the girl's head one last time, I smiled.

"O-Onii-sama, can I see you again?" She asked me meekly.

"Sure, I'll stick around. I can stop by to visit you from time to time."

She was why I came to this store; I won't be satisfied until I found out what was happening.

After accomplishing my first objectives, I said goodbye to the girl looking at me with a dejected expression, and left the store.

"Tough times, huh?"

========