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Chapter 3: Buying the Catgirl Some Handy Weapons

It rained during the night, a faint earthy smell hung in the air, and the lane leading to Melod was covered with dirty mud water.

Nora walked ahead barefoot, quietly surveying her surroundings the whole time.

Since they left the house, she had seemed silent and obedient, yet her mind held nothing but thoughts of escape.

Reiner could not help saying, “I’d advise you to stop thinking about running; once we’re out of the city the woods are crawling with monsters and sometimes bandits, and being eaten by a monster would be the easy way out… if bandits catch you, you’ll wish you were dead.”

Nora glanced back at Reiner, lowered her head, and muttered a feeble protest, “I’m not trying to run…”

(How does he know what I’m thinking?)

Reiner heard Nora’s silent grumbling.

She kept darting her eyes about like a thief, and anyone who was not blind could tell she wanted to bolt.

But even if she did run, Reiner only needed to snap his fingers to make her come back; the pact mark was still branded on her, after all.

After nearly an hour of walking, Reiner reached Melod City.

He led Nora toward a corner of the city and finally stopped before a dilapidated, ancient-looking tower that gave off a gloomy air.

This was the Melod Adventurers’ Guild.

He walked in as usual, finding the place bustling, packed with adventurers and clients of every status and class.

There were shameless thugs, sly merchants, honest farmers, bounty hunters, mages, knights, nobles, bandits, prostitutes…

Practically anyone one could imagine could be found here.

(So many people…)

Nora stayed close behind Reiner; she did not like crowded places.

A few punks spotted Nora and whistled at her.

Nora bared her teeth at them without the slightest courtesy.

Reiner turned his head and said, “Ignore them; just treat them like fools, it’s no good to make enemies.”

“But if anyone lays a hand on you, feel free to teach him a lesson.”

In this world the folk were fierce, and scum and beasts were plentiful.

When Reiner first transmigrated he was a naive, foolish college student and knew nothing of the world’s cruelty, so he had been swindled several times, though at least he kept his life.

Nora ignored the hoodlums and kept her head down while following Reiner.

Just then Reiner caught sight of a girl sitting in a corner, and their eyes met.

He did not think much of it; his skin tone differed from most here, so drawing looks on the street was normal.

He squeezed through the crowd with Nora and accepted a slime-clearing commission from the receptionist.

Forty slimes, a reward of 1 silver coin, and the job site lay right outside the small village where he lived, not far at all.

After leaving the Adventurers’ Guild, Nora let out a long breath.

(Finally out.)

Reiner looked her up and down, his gaze ultimately fixing on her filthy feet.

Nora still lacked a pair of shoes.

Watching her tramp through muddy puddles barefoot was driving Reiner’s OCD crazy, so he took her to a shoe shop in the city center to pick out footwear.

The cobbler reluctantly measured Nora’s feet and then recommended a few common pairs.

But most of the styles were ugly.

After much browsing, Reiner finally spotted a pair of short boots that suited his taste, yet the fine workmanship and decorative gem chips made it obvious they would not be cheap.

Reiner asked the price and, sure enough, the boots cost 15 silver coins…

He was flat broke right now, so even if he wanted them he would have to wait.

The urgent matter was to get Nora a set of gear.

With that in mind, he bought Nora a cheap pair of straw sandals, spending 20 copper coins in total.

Nora looked down at the sandals and whispered, “Thank you.”

Reiner then took her to a nearby weapons shop.

All she lacked now was a weapon that suited her.

The old blacksmith who ran the shop came over reeking of alcohol when he saw customers enter.

But when Reiner said he wanted weapons for a demi-human slave, the smith’s face turned dark; he pointed at a pile of scrap iron in the corner and said blankly, “Weapons for demi-humans are over there.”

Reiner gave the pile a glance.

Those assorted weapons were all rusty, and he would not take trash.

Ignoring the smith, Reiner told Nora, “Pick a weapon that feels good in your hand.”

Nora nodded and walked straight to a shelf full of daggers.

In less than five seconds she chose a short-sword-shaped cross dagger and asked, “Will this do?”

“Are you sure?” Reiner asked in return.

In his eyes a dagger was just about the lousiest weapon.

Its reach was short and its damage poor.

It worked against humans, but against skeletons or slimes it was practically useless.

Reiner used a morning star; whether against people or monsters, one solid hit usually settled the fight, and the weapon required no real training… just swing hard and let brute force work miracles.

However, judging from Nora’s stat sheet, her agility was excellent while her strength and endurance were mediocre, so a light weapon like a dagger did suit her rather well.

Nora nodded emphatically.

At that moment the smith came over and snapped, “Don’t let a demi-human touch my…”

Reiner cut him off and asked, “How much for this dagger?”

The smith frowned slightly. “6 silver coins.”

Reiner took the silver coins from his pocket, slapped them on the table, and said, “It’s mine now.”

Then he turned to Nora and asked, “Anything else you need?”

Nora looked around, and her gaze finally settled on a set of sharp throwing knives.

She only looked at them a few times and said nothing.

(Those would be useful.)

Reiner caught her meaning, pointed at the knives, and asked the smith, “And these?”

“Six blades, 3 silver coins.”

Reiner handed over the rest of his money, then left with the goods.

The 10 silver coins he had earned from yesterday’s quest were now almost gone; all he had left on him were a pitiful 4 copper coins.

Just enough to buy 2 loaves of black bread later for today’s lunch.

Reiner turned his head to look at Nora beside him.

Seeing how reserved she was, he thought for a moment and said, “Just tell me what you like; as long as it’s within our means, we can buy it, understood?”

Nora nodded again and murmured, “Understood.”

(He seems pretty nice to me… he feeds me, gave me clean clothes, and now bought me shoes and weapons… maybe he really is a kind man.)

Hearing Nora’s inner voice, Reiner’s lips curved upward.

After all, he was a die-hard kemonomimi fan, not like these people.

Besides, Nora’s stats were so good that she would surely become his cash cow.

Showing a bit of favor to such a top-tier slave certainly would not hurt.

The next step was to make her earn money willingly…

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