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Merc began attentively inspecting the swords in the store after gaining permission from the boss.

“You look quite confident but allow me to give you a piece of advice. A real sword’s weight is way different than that of a wooden stick. You’ll be in for a treat if you pick one up merely because it’s the same length as your stick. Furthermore, don’t be deceived into believing that just because you can pick it up, you’ll be able to swing it.”

From behind Merc, the boss said with a smug expression. Merc, on the other hand, just spun around to face him and pushed her wooden stick in his face.

“What?”
“Try picking it up.”
“This wooden stick? It looks like it’s seen its fair share of action. It seems like you’ve been taking great care of… What?!”

The boss’s hands drifted down from the weight as soon as he took the wooden stick from Merc, and his eyes widened in amazement. The inside of Merc’s wooden stick was filled with lead, so it was way heavier than what it seemed.

“T-This is…”
“It’s my longtime companion. Be careful not to drop it, okay?”

Merc said with a childlike smile, comparable to a toddler witnessing his prank succeed, after recovering her wooden stick. The boss also smiled bitterly as he looked at her.

“If you’ve been swinging that heavy wooden stick all this time then you probably won’t have any problems with a real sword. Accept my sincere apologies. I’m not going to bother you anymore. Choose whichever one you like.”
“I will.”

After seeing the boss move away Merc continued her search.

She would first examine the swords’ length and breadth before picking them up and getting a feel for the handle. After getting a good sense of the weight of the sword she would then swing it to see how it felt.

Naturally, she couldn’t swing the swords properly due to the cramped space and didn’t have the time to look for a truly exceptional weapon. Merc, on the other hand, hadn’t come here with the intention of purchasing this shop’s most remarkable weapon in the first place.

The sword she would acquire here would mostly serve her until she was able to obtain the weapons she truly desired. Merc naturally desired a fine sword, but she had no intention of obsessing about it.

The sword this time only had to be easy to use, sturdy, and mostly cheap.

Merc was still a new adventurer, and all she had was the money she’d gotten as a prize for taking down the Ghezo Velche. She’d need a large sum of money in order to purchase an excellent sword. She would, however, run out of money if she purchased such a weapon.

Because she wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to make enough money as an adventurer, she had to keep her spending to a minimum and just buy an inexpensive weapon this time.

Haha. That hero would probably scold me if he were here…

The Hero was the sort of man who was picky about his weapons and would seek out and purchase the greatest weapon available in any Weapon Shop, regardless of cost. If he were to see the way Merc was choosing her weapon right now, he’d probably not hold back on scolding her.

Afterwards, he’d also most likely assist her in finding a more suitable weapon. It probably would have been better if he was present.

Haha… Here I go again with my wild ideas…

Merc kept looking till she came across something she liked.

“This is good.”

The sword was the same length as her wooden stick and its price wasn’t that steep as well. Its weight and the feel of the handle were quite decent as well.

It was simple to take it out and put it back in, and Merc didn’t feel any discomfort when swinging it, so she was likely to become used to it quickly.

Naturally, it couldn’t compare to the dungeon swords she’d used in the past but given she hadn’t touched a real blade in a long time, it was still impressive.

Merc could feel her blood start to boil, and her pulse rise just by holding it. She couldn’t deny that her real nature was still a swordsman, despite her present inspiration to become a Healer.

Whether that was a good or bad thing didn’t matter to her…

“Boss, I’ll take this one.”

Merc carried the blade to the counter where, instead of the youngster, the boss sat, his face bored as he read a book.

“Oh, so you picked one, let me see… You picked quite a safe one, didn’t you? Still, picking such a sword is not easy.”
“Fufu. You might be right. Here’s the money.”

Merc said and gave a single blue silver coin, as indicated on the sword’s label.

“Seems about right.”

She placed the sword on her hip, on the other side of her wooden stick, after paying for it. Afterwards she decided to ask the boss about something that had been bothering her.

“By the way, boss, there’s something that I’d like to ask. What’s the deal with that flag outside of the shop¹?”

Merc asked with a curious expression.

“Flag?”
“That’s right. The one that has ‘The Great Sage Buys Here’ written on it. Despite the fact that it says so, I can’t seem to find anything that a magician would want here. I couldn’t see neither wands nor magician hats. Is that sign just a lie?”
“Lie, huh… Those are some harsh comments, young missy. It’s true that we don’t have anything that a magician would want, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Great Sage has bought from us many times.”
“Really?”
“That’s right. He comes here once or twice a month to buy swords.”
“He buys swords? No wait, you mean to say that the Great Sage comes here that often?”

Bending over the counter, Merc inquired. The boss was taken aback by this and stepped back a bit.

“N-Not only does he come here, but he’s also settled on the outskirts of the city. It’s been around three months now.”
“Huh? Why did he do such a thing?”
“Beats me. He’s apparently researching the Dungeon of Probation. He’s either inside of it or at home, it appears.”
“Are you really talking about the Great Sage? About Astard?”
“Pretty sure it was him, he showed me his Adventurer License after all. This shop gives a 10% discount to adventurers. He’s been using it each time, so I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

The boss stated confidently, despite Merc’s skepticism. Merc still couldn’t quite figure it out. She couldn’t figure out what Astard’s relationship with the Dungeon of Probation was.

“Boss, are the other heroes with him? Do the Hero and the Saintess also come here often?”
“Hm? The Hero should be in the Kingdom of Lambada. And no one knows where the Saintess is right now.”
“In other words, they’re all over the place… But why?”
“Like I said, beats me. All I know is that they disbanded their party a while back. It was, as far as I recall, shortly after the disaster. How can you not know about that?”

They disbanded the party? That’s ridiculous… That can’t be!

Merc hadn’t heard anything about them since she was reincarnated as an elf and spent her time in the elf village. Despite this, she had sincerely hoped that the three of them remained active and as a team.

However, even if that wasn’t the case, Merc had no intention of blaming them. She would have no complaints if the three of them had decided that their strength had reached its limit and retired. After all, it had been 15 years since her death, and the responsibility of the predecessors was to pave the way for the following generation.

Still… If they had separated for any other reason, Merc would not accept it. There was no way she could. Even more so if the cause for their breakup was scandalous, such as her death.

“I must ask them, it seems…”
“Ah? H-Hey, what’s wrong? W-Why are you angry all of a sudden?”

As he stared at Merc, who had her fist clenched and her jade-colored eyes sparkling brilliantly, the boss remarked in a terrified tone.

It was unsurprising that he felt terrified. The air around Merc was not that of a typical 14-year-old girl nor was there an intimidating vibe about it. Rather, it gave off the impression of an enraged beast prepared to erupt at any moment.

Even the young boy, who was far away from Merc, sensed it and cowered behind the shelves.

“I’m sorry, I did something I shouldn’t have.” Merc remarked, her blond hair fluttering behind her as she turned around.
“I-It’s fine.”

The boss said absentmindedly. The boss had steeled himself for death, despite the fact that Merc’s bloodlust had not been directed at him.

“J-Just what in the world was tha… What?”

The shopkeeper, glad that Merc had departed, was taken aback when he saw the girl turn around and return to the shop.

Merc approached the counter again, this time moving her hand. The boss was certain he was dead this time.

“I’m sorry, but could I get my five silver coins back?”

Merc asked as she showed her Adventurer License.

1. Robinxen: Do you have a flag?!