The workshop was a wonder! There were so many things that were being forged inside there!
I saw a few of the apprentices forging the blades meant for swords that would later be assembled together judging by the handles that were set aside for them near their anvils.
There were those who were forging arrowheads that they were setting aside on a large tray, most likely to be brought to a fletcher later to make arrows.
There was even an apprentice that seemed to be making simple tools like nails, tongs and even what looked to be door handles.
It was certainly quite interesting for me to see all of that in action. Even though I can’t craft any of these by myself yet, it did give me some ideas for new weapons that I could create with my [Shadow Forge].
I even took the time to watch one of the apprentices forge a longsword from an iron bar, although I didn’t get to see the full process since Gunther returned while the apprentice was still hammering the metal into shape.
“Young Mistress, might wanna come over ‘ere.”
Katsuki and I followed him back to the store and there was another Rejmar there waiting for us in front of all the equipment I was intending to sell.
“Hello there, m’ names Emery, the appraiser fer this workshop,” He greeted me with a nod. “Yer’ the one who wanted to sell all dis’ yea?”
“Yep! So you’re in charge of appraising the equipment?”
“Indeed. I’m already done and I have to say that they’re all top quality and well maintained pieces. Young Mistress must be really lucky ta’ be able to get yer’ hands on these.”
I had to refrain myself from telling him that I got them off the corpses of some Mercenaries that tried to kill me.
Instead, I simply nodded at him, “Ahaha~ I guess I really am quite lucky! So how much can I get from this?”
“About that… We would be willing ta’ buy everything for four thousand Creas.”
What?
I turned to look at Gunther, “Didn’t you say they were only worth around forty or fifty Creas? Why did the amount increase by eighty times?”
Gunther scratched his beard, “Well… That’s before I knew that some of them are enchanted, Young Mistress.”
Oh right, I forgot that enchanted equipment like these are worth quite a lot on their own… Even if I felt that the enchantments weren’t that useful to begin with…
I’ve gotten so used to using them that I thought they weren’t worth that much…
“Ah… Sorry, I should have mentioned that first. My bad.”
Gunther waved his hand, “Ah, that’s a small thing, but it does bring ‘nother problem though. I ain’t got the Creas on me right now and I doubt Young Mistress would ‘ppreciate waitin’ another few hours over here.”
He’s right about that, especially since it’s going to be dinner time soon and I definitely wouldn’t want to miss out on that!
“In that case, should I come tomorrow instead?”
“If Young Mistress does not mind, I can personally deliver the money ta’ yer’ residence tomorrow ‘stead. That is if Young Mistress is open to da’ idea of course.”𝗈𝓥𝔩𝒩xt.𝑐𝗈𝑚
Hmm… I don’t think I can do that since that would involve me telling them that I was related to the Nilm Family…
I shook my head, “It’s fine, I can just leave it here with you and come back tomorrow to collect the money.”
“Mistress, please leave such trivial tasks to me instead,” Katsuki spoke up from behind.
I turned to her, “Oh, would that be alright? I don’t want to trouble you too much.”
“Something like this is expected of me, Mistress. You do not need to worry.”
Since she already said this much, I guess there’s only one proper response to that.
“I’ll leave it to you then, Katsuki.”
“Of course, Mistress.”
Gunther grinned at us, “In the meantime, would you like to take a look around the store? Maybe you might see something that you like.”
Oh why not?
I nodded and began walking around the store while being accompanied by Gunther and Katsuki. In the meantime, Emery got busy with arranging and cleaning the equipment I agreed to leave with them.
One thing caught my attention though…
“The equipment here looks really different from the ones the apprentices are making…” I pointed out.
The weapons displayed here all looked really fancy with engravings and gold trims, yet all the weapons the apprentices were crafting did not have any of that.
Gunther chuckled, “That’s because none of these are made by apprentices, Young Mistress. These’re forged by either Emery there or m’self.”
“Eh? Then what are they forging for? It can’t be just for practice right?”
The Rejmar grinned at me, “Heh, their skills ain’t good enough for any of their crafts to be sold ‘ere yet. Nay, their crafts are being sold elsewher’.”
“Like?”
Surprisingly, it was Katsuki who answered my question, “Mistress, the equipment displayed here are more for the usage of nobles themselves. But since most nobles also employ bodyguards, they would need to equip them as well. The apprentices would be the ones to make those types of equipment instead.”
Ahh… I see now. I was wondering if Katsuki really got her throwing knives from here since I remembered that her knives looked relatively simple as compared to all the fancy knives being displayed here.
I’m also going to guess that the nobles need the weapons that they are carrying to have more form over function to show off at parties. Thus, Gunther would spend more time refining the decorations which the apprentices were not experienced enough to do.
Just as I was about to inquire about the price for a sword with a golden handle, the door chimed again to signal someone’s entry into the shop.
We turned to see a young woman whom I guessed should be around eighteen years of age walk in, accompanying her were three more older looking women who were wearing armour and had swords strapped to their waists..
Emery immediately went towards her after putting away the rest of the equipment, “‘Ello there young missus, are ya’ looking for something in particular?”
Instead of the girl answering herself, it was one of her guards who answered his question instead.
“We are looking for some equipment for our Young Mistress who will be heading inside a Dungeon soon. Do you have any suitable armour for her?”
The Rejmar inclined his head slightly, “Yes we do. Practical or for show?”
The guard answered immediately, “Practical.”
“Material?”
“Leather or padded cloth.”
“Do ya’ want normal gear or enchanted gear?”
“Enchanted.”
“Any particular type of enchantment ya’ might be looking for?”
“Just defence against physical and maybe magical effects would be enough. There’s no need for anything too fancy.”
Emery then clasped his hands together, “In that case, I might just have the right one for ya’.”
He then turned back to the counter he just came from and I guessed that he must intend to show the equipment I was intending to sell to them for their consideration.
The Rejmar then pulled out one of the leather armours that belonged to a ranger that I had decapitated in the Dungeon.
“This one has some minor magic and physical defence enchantments placed on it so it’s a great choice for ya’, ‘specially if yer going to a Dungeon fer’ the first time.”
The guard prodded the leather with a finger, “Is it new?”
“Nay, second hand. Owner sold it ta’ us.”
Well… That’s not exactly a lie since I technically am the previous owner after I looted the corpses…
I never really thought about this before but… I really did take those armours off a corpse and sold it to a store… Usually in stories you would just take the money and never see those equipment again…
But now I realised that the store would of course sell what you sold to them to someone else, so someone else might be wearing some dead person’s equipment that another person looted and sold off.
I’m not sure how I should feel about that…
The guard looked back at their mistress but she was busy looking around the store and marvelling at the display of fancy weapons and armour instead.
“Young Mistress,” She called out to get her attention. “How do you feel about this one?”
The young girl turned back to look at the leather armour and made a face at it, “Why isn’t it pretty?”
“The pretty ones won’t protect you inside the Dungeon, Young Mistress. You should prioritise practicality in this case.”
“Ugh, do I have to? The others in my party will protect me anyway so why can’t I just wear my normal clothes?”
“It’s for your safety, Young Mistress. Please understand.”
“Fine, fine, whatever. I don’t know why I even need to go to this stupid Dungeon anyway…”
The guard turned back to the Rejmar, “We’ll take it.”
“Thank ya’, that’ll be twelve small silver coins please.”
One thousand and two hundred Creas I see… Not sure if that’s considered cheap here or not…
Oh well… Have fun wearing some dead guy’s armour I guess…
Truth be told, this makes me more determined to forge my own equipment now… And I’m infinitely thankful that Mother bought me brand new clothes instead of second hand ones… I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing clothes that were taken off a dead guy…
You really don’t know your privilege until it’s being pointed out to you it seems…