“Mmm… this is a bind…”
Elze had a difficult face on. On the dining hall table in front of her sat her favorite pair of dully-silver gauntlets. The fist sections were cracked.
Yesterday’s monster did it. A monster with a body of stone — gargoyle. Strictly, a member of a bandit gang was a dark-element user, and what he summoned was that.
We struggled, surrounded by stone-demon-shaped gargoyles. They were so hard sword-blows didn’t bite. Magic effects were diminished, arrows didn’t pierce. The only one who landed proper damage was Elze, the strike-fighter.
Linze got into it eventually with [Explosion] and [Bubble Bomb] explosive-class spells, and in the opening I used [Paralyze] on the caster. Crisis averted. We turned the captured bandits and mage over to the kingdom guard.
The guild request was complete — but Elze’s beloved gauntlets, like that.
“Have to replace them, huh…”
“Want me to? I could fix them with [Modeling], but I probably can’t restore the metal fatigue, so they’d just break again.”
“These were the best fit I’d ever had…”
Elze said it ruefully. Yeah — losing something you’ve grown attached to hurts.
“What’re you gonna do? Go to Bear-Hachi for new ones?”
“Already went. The same type’s not coming in for five days.”
That’s a while. Calling them all “gauntlets” — but unlike the gauntlets that come with full plate, the heavy-armor type built specifically for striking has low demand.
People like Elze who fight with fists and body-techniques — combat brawlers, they’re called here — are a minority in this country. By contrast, in the demihuman kingdom Mismid, supposedly there are quite a few. Beastfolk have superior physical capacity, so it kind of fits.
“Touya, take me to the capital. I can’t wait five days!”
Impatient. Don’t really mind. Compared to Linze, Elze acts on the thought immediately. Linze taps the stone bridge before crossing; Elze sprints across before the bridge gives way. That kind of contrast.
“At the capital, Berkut, I guess… Wait — they had something called the Gauntlets of Strength, enchanted gauntlets, didn’t they.”
Berkut is the shop where I’d bought my coat — the one with the absurd all-element attack-magic-reduction enchantment.
“Gauntlets of Strength?”
“I think… an enchantment that increases physical strength, or something.”
“What’s that, sounds great!”
Eyes shining, Elze stood up, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out to the back garden.
“Right, let’s go! Now! Off we are!”
“Fast!? You got money!?”
“Withdrew from the guild already, I’m fine!”
She really does act on impulse! Being dragged along, I thought, this kid should chill out a little.
“Welcome — to Berkut.”
The shopgirl who’d helped me last time was at the door again. Unlike before, she didn’t ask for ID. Wonder if she remembers me. If so, impressive.
Elze beside me, judged as my companion, also wasn’t asked for ID. The girl in question was looking around the unexpectedly high-end shop. You should probably close your mouth…
“What can we do for you today?”
“Uhh — that Gauntlets of Strength I saw last time, are those still here?”
“My apologies. That item has already sold…”
Aw, a shame. Elze beside me also went aww. Well — enchanted armor, unless it’s a special-circumstances item like my coat, isn’t going to gather dust.
“Looking for hand-armor?”
“Yes. Combat-strike gauntlets specifically.”
Since you punch with them, they could fall under “weapon,” but category-wise they’re armor. Of course an armor shop has them.
“Strike-type gauntlets, I see. We have several pieces with magical effects.”
“There are enchanted ones? Could you show me?”
“Certainly. Right this way.”
The shopgirl led us to the back corner of the shop. The same area my coat had been in.
She picked up two gauntlets displayed there and laid them on the counter.
One was a metallic-green pair, beautifully streamlined.
The other was gold and red, with sharp angular design.
“These bear a wind-element enchantment that deflects incoming arrows. Sadly, the effect doesn’t extend to deflecting ranged magic — but they have high magical defense as a complement.”
The shopgirl picked up the metallic-green pair to explain. Deflects physical ranged attacks, then. Extending to magic ones is too much, but if magic defense is high, even a hit will mean reduced damage.
“And these have an enchantment that, by accumulating mana, increases the destructive power of a single strike. The mana takes a moment to charge. A hardening enchantment is also active in tandem, so the gauntlets themselves won’t break.”
She picked up the gold-and-red ones for explanation. Opposite of the green ones — attack-focused. Like a charge attack in a game.
Defense or offense. Tough call. I’d take defense and grind down enemies safely — so green for me — but Elze would probably go for the attack-focused gold-and-red.
“I’ll take both.”
“Eh!?”
I’d been weighing the two — startled, I turned to Elze beside me.
“You’re buying both?”
“Both look good. Equip one each, left and right, separately.”
“And the leftover set?”
“Spare, of course. Could break again like this time.”
True — for striking-use, that’ll happen. I started to ask if the spare set would have left/right reversed for her dominant side, but she said no problem.
Apparently fighting with one side only is rare. Switch-hitter style, basically.
“Certainly. If anything feels off when you put them on, please say so. We’ll adjust.”
“Mn, fine.”
Elze put both pairs on in turn, testing the feel.
“Then — green ones, fourteen gold; gold-and-red, seventeen gold.”
Total thirty-one gold. Three million one hundred thousand yen. Pricey as ever… No — for enchanted gear, this is cheap, maybe…? My money sense slips every time.
”…Touya.”
“Yes?”
”…Lend me a gold piece. I’m short.”
“Could you check first…”
I handed her one gold from my wallet.
I paid the shopgirl three platinum and one gold to settle up. They bagged the two sets of gauntlets, and since they were bulky I carried them. The man as the bag-carrier — same in any world…
“Thank you. Please come again.”
We left Berkut with the shopgirl seeing us off.
“Capital, after all. Good stuff. Pricey to match, though.”
Elze beside me was in fine spirits. She got what she came for — a little spring in the step is fair.
But four gauntlets is heavy… Slip into a back alley and [Gate] back to the inn.
“Elze, that alley over there—”
I started to address Elze — and there was no one there.
“Huh?”
I looked around — Elze was standing in front of a shop a way back. Gazing intently through the window. What at?
I doubled back and checked from over her shoulder. Aha — this.
A black coat with white frills. A big ribbon-tie at the chest. And a black, three-tiered frilly mini-skirt with lace.
Resembles what’s called gothic lolita, though it’s slightly different.
Elze just kept staring at the dress through the window.
”…You want it?”
“Heh? Whuh!? T-Touya!?”
She skittered back from me, and shouted with a fully red face. What with that reaction.
“Th-this — w-well! Yes — Linze! For Linze! I thought it’d suit Linze! That kid likes this kind of thing, doesn’t she? Unlike me!”
Elze rattled it out. Heh — sister-loving big sister, she is.
“But if it’d suit Linze, it’d suit Elze too, surely.”
“Wh—…!”
Elze went bright red and her mouth flapped. What’s with the reaction? Acting suspicious.
“What’re you talking about, me and Linze aren’t comparable…”
“Aren’t you? Both cute, twins — wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”
“Cu… cuh…!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”
Thump! — Elze’s fist drove into my flank. Ugh — that’s pretty painful!
“No… so… I’m just saying Elze would suit this dress too…”
I held my flank and explained, enduring. Whoa — I’ve broken into a sweat over here.
“Something like that wouldn’t suit me…”
“That’s not true.”
“Don’t be polite. I know myself best.”
“No, but—”
Why is she denying it so hard? Doesn’t she believe what I say? She’d absolutely look good in it. I’m getting kind of irritated.
“I’m not the type to suit stuff like that…”
“Argh! Just put it on and you’ll see! Try it on!”
“Eh!? H-hold on —! Touya!?”
I grabbed the obstinate denier’s hand and dragged her into the shop. Got the shopgirl to bring the displayed dress, and shoved Elze into a fitting room with it.
“H-hey! What’re you doing!?”
“Just go, go, change.”
I closed the curtain and moved to the corner of the shop, killing time eyeing the belts and accessories. After a while, the curtain opened tentatively.
“Ohhh.”
There stood an Elze unlike usual.
The gothic-lolita-style dress suited the long-silver-haired Elze excellently. See? Just as I said. A girl this suited to it doesn’t come along often.
“See — doesn’t suit me, right? I told you…”
“Excuse me!? What are you saying!?”
She stood with her head down, no confidence — and I let out an exasperated voice. How does she reach that conclusion? Still won’t admit it, this kid!
“It suits you incredibly! Right, miss!”
“Yes, it suits her wonderfully. Very lovely, ma’am.”
The shopgirl and I in unison praised her. There’s a mirror in the fitting room — did this kid not look at herself?
“R-really…”
Cheeks flushing, she pinched up the skirt and turned slowly in place. Yeah — definitely suits her. Cute.
Right. I called the shopgirl over.
“Excuse me — could I get this dress?”
“Eh?”
I paid the shopgirl over Elze’s startled face. Three silver. Pretty steep…
“H-hey, Touya!? I wasn’t going to buy it!?”
“Wrong. I’m buying it. It’s a gift for Elze.”
Can I really go home without buying a dress that suits her this well? Want everyone to see, too. I got a paper bag and gave it to Elze. For the clothes she’d come in with.
We stepped out, and Elze, who’d ducked her head shyly, looked up to thank me.
“Thanks…”
“Right, let’s get back fast and show everyone!”
“Eh!? T-that part might be embarrassing…”
I broke into a run, dressed-up Elze in tow.
When I showed her to everyone, they all praised the new look. See — I said so. My eye wasn’t off.
But — when they realized I’d been the one to buy it, somehow everyone wore a complicated face. And somehow I ended up agreeing to buy a dress for each of them in turn next time.
…How did this happen?