"...And I'm definitely coming back to settle this again... ...Eh?"

White inadvertently bumped into someone who had pushed open the door in a furious manner. Because it was so sudden, the White felt the momentum against him and was unable to hold his balance from a head ram straight into his chest. 

The back of his head struck the concrete ground, causing him to jolt in pain.

"Ughh---!"

There was the faint pressing of softness against his chest, and he could hear a light moan from the person on top of him.

As he tried to get up, White felt a brush of hair tickle his cheeks. A lilac scent drifted into his nose once his senses were realigned again.

His vision got clearer, and soon he found himself staring at a girl. 

A big-chested girl. She was really well-endowed in the right places, her 'pillows' were probably the reason why she was more cushioned from the fall.

"Ow ow ow ow..."

The girl grimaced as she rubbed her forehead painfully, making a nasal sound. As she was regaining her sense of balance, White was allowed to get a clearer view of her.

White... no, argent silvery hair that cascaded down lengthily, and narrow saffron eyes! She wore a half-armor that implied that she was some kind of knight and judging from the intricate details marked around her pauldrons, she probably hailed from a fairly distinguished family too. Due to how well her appearance fit them, the girl gave people the impression of a prideful, ivory-painted lion which had came out of a painting.

Back on Earth, one would consider those features to be that of a western beauty that is probably unobtainable for most men. He couldn't believe that he was in such close proximity of someone so gorgeous. Was this the start of a chance, romantic encounter?

...He wouldn't bet on it, besides White still had to work up the courage to dispel his social anxiety first before he laid his hands on a woman. That did not stop White from feeling a one-sided attraction towards the girl, however.

Even now, her body was exuding a girlish fragrance, stimulating his senses. Truth be told, not including Shinri, it had been a very long time since White had any physical contact with another girl, thus it was unavoidable that a blush was beginning to form on his face. From the brush of her skin against his clothes, White even felt a small 'reaction' from it. After all, he was also in his adolescence. He had a healthy young snake protruding in between his pants, but he had hidden it well.

The silver-haired girl soon realized that someone was checking her out with a rather perverse look, and her eyes suddenly glinted with caution. Acknowledging his presence, she spoke while staring daggers at the young man she had never seen before in this city.

"...Who are you?" 

(...!!)

It seems that he was right about how distinguished the girl was, as her words contained a certain pressure of authority in them. Just from that question, White found the lines of apology in his mind crash down into a mess. As a result, his voice became incoherent. He could almost swear that the girl was about to draw her sword at any moment now.

"...I...I'm...I'm..."

"Yes, you are? Go on...?"

But he wasn't given any room to breathe, as her demanding tone cornered the young man even further. If he had any attempts to piece together his confidence, they were completely gone now.

Silver-hair was clearly displeased with his answer.

It was then...

"Please wait, Beatrice-sama!"

An exasperated voice beckoned the Silver-hair to turn back, apparently her name was Beatrice.

Fortunately, another girl that seemed to be a few years younger than Beatrice came out a beat later to break the tense atmosphere. She had a light olive hair that was tied together with twin-tails, and an expression that seemed to be panicking as she left the store. Although not on the level of Beatrice here, this girl was still considerably attractive by Earth's standards. She would be someone who wouldn't be strange being seen enjoying a normal romance in high school.

In fact, White had realized that the standard of beauty he had seen since yesterday was significantly higher than what he was used to.

Although there were still undesirable ones that appeared one out of every ten people, he still appreciated the fact that humanity had simply gotten more 'refined'. He briefly wondered if this was only the case for Halvan, but decided that it would be a long time into the future before he had an opportunity to visit another city just as big.

The girl was carrying a few rolls of scrolls, and that seemed to occupy her hands completely. She gave off the feeling of a squire, or an attendant, most likely for Beatrice given the respectful tone she was giving her.

"Ah, Beatrice-sama, this is..."

When Beatrice heard the girl behind her, she realized that her position right now wasn't the greatest. Her face revealed a slight blush, if only for an instant.

"..." She had clearly taken her frustrations on someone unrelated.

Seemingly aware that it was also her own fault that she had not looked at where she was running into, the girl shook her head with a tired look and sighed,

"...Haaah, I'm sorry... I'm just annoyed."

"D-Don't worry about it... Happens to th-the best of us..."

"Here, can you stand?"

"A-Ah... T-Thank you..."

White picked up the hand offered to him in surprise and got up. All semblance of her previous agitated nature was now completely submerged into a stoic expression.

"I'll be going now. And you... it's best you not go in there."

(What...? Why? The store looks like it was quite decent though?)

"The storekeeper... is a scammer."

Leaving behind those words with a hateful expression, Beatrice left with the olive-haired girl. He was still unsure what the two's relationship were, but he didn't think he would meet them in the future anyway. Although White had decided to live as an adventurer, it didn't mean that he wanted to stand out. Being acquainted with nobles could only spell indefinite trouble in the future when he was still so weak.

But what did Beatrice mean by that?

(A scammer...)

Now that he looked at the store more subjectively, the store wasn't as ritzy as it looked. It was also bordering on the edge of being antique, certainly not some place where he would get the latest equipment from. The young man was beginning to contemplate about his choice now. But because White had walked a fair distance just to get here already, he figured that it was probably fine if he was just there to window-shop like before. At least he could take a look at what it offered. Maybe the outdated stuff would sell for cheaper, White chided himself.

With that, he pushed open the door again.

He had come here because he had seen adventurers coming out of this store before with potions, and he was going to get them along with his essentials.

"Welcomeee..."

White was greeted by a lethargic voice that belonged to a young girl that looked about 12 years of age. Her eyes looked baggy as if she had gone through several nights without sleeping, and her unkempt chartreuse hair showed signs of not having bathed as well.

It seems like the chime by the door had informed the store owner of his arrival. ...Store owner? That wasn't quite right. She was too young for that. The girl was pretty as he had expected the females in this world to be, but she was definitely jailbait. Yet, he found himself unable to look away from her unripe body.

(W-Wait... what am I even thinking...?!)

"...Ar-are... you okay? You look... uhm..."

Trying to mask his flustered thoughts, White broke into another stutter as usual.

The girl looked up briefly at the young man before losing interest again. She was flicking her nails with a bored expression.

"Yeah, you're not paid to care."

White felt a little shocked at her coldness. Wasn't the storekeeper supposed to greet their customers nicely? 

The little girl seemed to pick up on his unrest and shrugged her shoulders, sitting back up again.

"So, what do you want."

"I'm uhh... looking for potions, and some weapons. Do you have a recommendation or a----"

White stopped his words halfway.

Because the girl had fallen asleep.

"Uhm..."

"...Aah? Oh, you were still talking? You don't give up, do you? ...Mm, let me recall it... The things... you should be looking for should be... there somewhere? Don't know, don't care. Find it yourself."

She pointed towards a shelf on the right.

"Now shoo shoo."

"Y-You were listening?"

The little girl rolled her eyes leisurely. "...It doesn't take two plus two to know what a pipsqueak like you is looking for."

(P-Pipsqueak...)

That was when White had realized that the little girl had glanced at his neck before. That was where a small bronze trinket was hung. The Guild Card had a way to shrink itself into that form, and it was mandatory to wear it like that in order to enter dungeons and adventurer-specific locations. The card form was used for identification within the guild and access to the functions inside.

She had already noticed that the young man was a newbie when he entered.

"...Thank you."

"No pwobrem'." The girl lazily gave him a thumbs up while leaning against the counter, preparing to fall asleep again.

"When you're done picking, come up to the front and wake me up kayyy... Haaa-aah~"

The girl really did not look like she cared much about her customer, so there was nothing he could do about it. With that said, she yawned with a cat-like purr, laying down her head on the counter and no longer moved.

White felt a little conflicted inside because the little girl was not like the other merchants he had seen so far. Although he wasn't asking for her to be so cynical like them, she still lacked the properly attitude of a merchant.

Considering her age, White briefly thought that it was unreasonable for him to expect so much from a child.

At the very least, he was fortunate that he wouldn't get berated for window-shopping.

He walked over to a row of shelves where the little girl had gestured. They were kind of sooty as if the store's interior had not been maintained properly for quite some time. It felt like he was treasure-hunting in a thrift shop, and White had to spend a considerable amount of time before he could get his hands on something that was actually useful.

So imagine his surprise when he came across a few decent items immediately. From basic potions to even the Sactilite Ashes that Shinri had used before; They were all packed together in one rucksack, and it seemed to indicate that this was some kind of starter kit for newer adventurers. 

Those were just some of the few notable supplies provided inside. It also contained food and water for probably a week, a bedroll, grooming supplies, a small tent and some rope. The rucksack was the size as he was, and an attempt to pick it up caused his knees to groan.

While he could take the items out and buy them separately, most of the things inside were actually too useful to not bring with him. Besides, it was probably put together this way intentionally so that it was cheaper when bought together as a set. Although it was heavy, White decided to bring the entire rucksack to the counter later. He was still not sure if he could bring everything along with him though.

He continued to look around beyond the shelf he was perusing initially. Skill scrolls, monster material... There were some other items he could recognize. Monster cores of various sizes, with one as big as his fist. There were also a pouch of Ignition Stones which he had used to save his life. He had since used up all of them, but they had a sentimental value to him.

They weren't cheap, but he was here to check on the prices anyway. He would determine whether she was a scammer or not on his own. Since he had briefly looked at the market prices of a few of them before, White had a rough gauge of the value he would get from his purchases.

After picking a few selectively, White returned to the little girl. He didn't think of stealing them even if she wasn't very attentive of the store anyway. White still had his morals as an Earthling.

"Uh-Uhm..."

White's uncertain voice woke the little girl up. Her eyes opened slowly, and soon it rested on him, and then the things that he had placed on the counter.

"Ah... fuehh... you're done picking?"

Not bothering to clean up the drool accumulating at the side of her lips, the young girl glanced over at all of the things and quickly told him the prices:

"The adventurer set is 4 silver coins, and the stones are 5 silvers each."

"Wh-what, f-five silver coins? Each?!"

When she heard White exclaim so loudly, her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at the young man as if he was an idiot. 

"What do you expect, these things are hard to come by. Because it is regulated well, the stones aren't circulated too much either. Look, those are the last few I have in stock. Take it or leave it."

"..."

Come to think of it, he did recall Shinri saying something about monster cores not enough to cover the costs for his Ignition Stones. The adventurer he had taken those from must have been rather well-off to afford them. Also, the lack of its circulation was probably to prevent a stockpile of them. He could easily imagine someone who wasn't even an Ascendant committing arson with it. As expected, a world of magic had their own bans and limitations on things that could be sold.

"In that case... I think I'll just have this one."

"Sure." The little girl didn't seem to mind, and retrieved the pouch of Ignition Stones.

As for the starter set, he thought the value was okay for what it provided. He didn't think it was cheap, but he didn't feel like he was scammed either. White paid 4 silver coins for the rucksack and decided that it should be enough now. In the end, White hadn't noticed that he had forgotten to buy a new weapon.

....

Although the store-keeper was a little strange, he didn't see it in him to call her a scammer.

"Also... you may want to check the tailor next store. Enchanted clothing can help you carry that." The little girl gave White a smirk as she watched him struggle to lift the rucksack.

"I-I see..." White stumbled out of her store with the rucksack weighing him down. 

"Come againnn..."

As he heard that draggy voice from behind him, White smiled wryly and continued working his way over to the store which looked to be the tailor she had mentioned. 

White couldn't read, but it seems that it also wasn't that uncommon in this world so no one found it odd. Since it wasn't uncommon, it also meant that most common stores had a sign that universally represented them. 

Stumbling in, White dropped the rucksack at the entrance. The shop was small and tidy, and it was clear that there was very little for sale here. It looked like one of those shops that took custom orders. The man behind the counter was a middle-aged, freckled with a pair of specs. When he looked up from his book, he widened his eyes.

"Y-You...!"

He exclaimed with a loud voice, almost to the point of being unsound.

"Those clothes... where did you get them!"