“Nice, it looks like Sage made sure to get the guns I requested.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach looked at the guns laid out on the table and nodded in satisfaction. There were three guns: one was a rectangular gun about a meter long, and the other two were revolvers that looked like they came straight out of a western movie.

“Oi, oi, I’ve been running around everywhere, shedding tears, to find the best quality stuff and—” (Krita)

“Yeah, yeah, enough of that. Just explain them to me.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach cut Krita off. 

Krita, looking slightly dissatisfied, began explaining while pointing at the rectangular gun.

“This is the Berserker Driver, or BD for short. The bullets are made of magic iron to enhance its penetration power, which makes them lighter and longer than normal bullets. Since the bullets are custom-made, they’re expensive, but their attack power is guaranteed. It’s priced at 3 billion Ele.” (Krita)

[BD Berserker Driver: Attack Power 52]

Though the attack power makes Lanpeach want to cry, considering it costs 3 billion Ele, Krita seemed confident. He had a smug look on his face, oblivious to the numbers.

(Even so, it’s more than twice the attack power of the DG5. The custom bullets are also easy to use, so I guess I can live with it.) (Lanpeach)

Krita picked up the revolvers without noticing Lanpeach’s slightly disappointed expression. 

Each of the two revolvers was embedded with either a red ruby or a white pearl, enveloped in flames and cold air, respectively.

“The Flame Magnum and the Ice Magnum. These magic guns can use fire and ice attribute bullets. Each one cost 2 billion Ele. But they’re worth every bit of the price.” (Krita)

[Ice Magnum: Attack Power 38 Ice Element]

[Flame Magnum: Attack Power 38 Fire Element]

These elemental guns were quite useful in the game. Many monsters had a weakness to fire or ice element.

“The bullets come as a service, so the total is 7 billion Ele. I’ll deduct it from the money you’ve left with Sage, alright?” (Krita)

“Yeah, I don’t have an account, so tell him to deduct it from the money I left with him.” (Lanpeach)

The money Lanpeach earned during the winter was a little over 8 billion Ele. Of that, 7 billion Ele had been deposited with Sage, leaving Lanpeach practically penniless. 

In the game, he was the type who would spend to the limit without saving, selling off items when he was short. Lanpeach did the same in reality.

“7 billion! You really are rich, old man. No wonder you could pay for the Ultra Suite Room so easily.” (Touka)

“Little lady, this guy’s loaded, so you should get close to him. But don’t you need spirit armor? Even if I’ve fallen on hard times, I still have some connections, so I could get you one on credit.” (Krita)

Though Krita’s suggestion came from 100% goodwill, it was also directed towards his own benefit. The word ‘give up’ doesn’t exist in Krita’s dictionary.

“Buying on credit from you would be worse than making a deal with the devil. Besides, I don’t need spirit armor anyways.” (Lanpeach) 

Lanpeach quickly rejected the offer, to which Krita wasn’t disappointed.

(Well, if he’s using a super high-performance inner suit made in the Underground District, I guess he wouldn’t need it.) (Krita)

Krita had seen Lanpeach easily defeat the Builbeat, a monster known for its calamity-level strength. After witnessing such incredible combat power, Krita couldn’t believe it was done without armor and was left with a misunderstanding.

“What?! You spent 7 billion Ele just on guns? You could have bought much better swords or spears!” (Touka)

Lanpeach was hit by Touka’s incredulous gaze, but he could understand where she was coming from. 

It’s true that in games, guns often have lower attack power for some reason, and swords or the like are usually stronger. In Powder of Elements too, ranged weapons are weaker. You’d need to shoot five bullets to match a single sword strike.

“Right? This guy’s weird.” (Krita)

“With guns, I can shoot in rapid succession and attack freely from a distance. It’s overwhelmingly advantageous. I don’t get why everyone else doesn’t see it that way.” (Lanpeach)

“Eeh, but guns don’t work on me.” (Touka)

Touka fluttered the hem of her spirit armor, Flying Arrow, that looked like a kimono, but she was an exception.

“I’m not going to choose not to use guns just because of a few exceptions. Besides, Touka, shouldn’t you be heading to school soon?” (Lanpeach)

It is obvious that that would be the case if you are wearing Flying Arrow, is what Lanpeach thought as he looked back at her with half-closed eyes. Besides, wasn’t it about time she’d be late for school?

“I had to escort a lost kitten back to its owner, so—ouch, ouch, ouch…” (Touka)

It was a bad place to mention her excuse for skipping school.

Before she knew it, Muramasa was standing behind her with a friendly smile, tugging on her ear. 

Farewell, Touka. See you again in the evening.

“Well, I get that you’re a weirdo obsessed with guns. I’ll keep adding to your gun repertoire.” (Krita)

“And I’ll count on you to buy these materials.” (Lanpeach)

“Sure thing. Wait, these materials are so cheap. Why don’t you head to a stronger Spirit Ward? It’d be a piece of cake for you.” (Krita)

“Don’t you know the basics? An explorer should gradually build up their skills and strengthen their footing. It’s definitely not because I don’t have a high enough star rank to enter the upper Spirit Wards.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach handed over what he had earned yesterday, and Krita looked a little disappointed after checking it. He had expected that Lanpeach would bring in more expensive spirit stones and materials with his skills.

Krita glanced at Lanpeach’s face as Krita checked the prices of the materials, who remained as nonchalant as ever, seemingly unconcerned with Krita’s disappointment. Krita no longer intended to swindle him, but he was puzzled by Lanpeach’s lack of attachment to money.

(…Is this guy really Lanpeach? According to the information I gathered, his personality and combat abilities changed drastically at some point. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from the Underground District had replaced him. But I’m not stupid enough to say that out loud.) (Krita)

“The total is 550,000 Ele. Do you want it in cash? You should have already reached Star 1 and gotten an account now, right?” (Krita)

Lanpeach looked away, pretending not to have heard. Admitting that he failed even after using bribes would be too embarrassing. Even a minor villain has a tiny puddle of pride.

However, Krita noticed and sighed theatrically, placing the cash on the table with an annoyed expression.

“What, you haven’t reached Star 1 yet? You really are hopeless. Here, take the cash.” (Krita)

“Thanks. I’ll give half of it to Touka.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach stuffed the bills into his backpack. 

Krita suddenly looked up as if he remembered something while gathering the materials.

“I know this doesn’t concern you since you don’t have spirit armor, but there’s been a lot of ‘Awakening’ scams in the northern region, so be careful.” (Krita)

“‘Awakening’ scams? You mean the ones where they power up the Artificial Spirits embedded in mass-produced spirit armor?” (Lanpeach)

“Yeah. I heard about it from an explorer friend that got caught in one of those before I came here.” (Krita)

“Oh… I see…” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach realized it was a mistake to put the money in his backpack, his hands stopped cold at the tearing sounds coming from inside it, and turned to Krita with a serious expression.

“So, Krita, you actually have friends?” (Lanpeach)

“Of course I do! They’re the ones who give me free information, unaware that I’ve fallen on hard times.” (Krita)

“I see… You don’t have any friends.” (Lanpeach)

Setting aside Krita’s pitiful social situation, Lanpeach grinned mischievously. 

He looked every bit the minor villain, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. This might be the quest that only appeared on his third playthrough.

“It seems like the quest I wanted has finally appeared. Now then, in that case…” (Lanpeach)

Just then, he noticed Touka, looking dejected with a fresh bump on her head, dragging herself out of the elevator like a puppy that had just been drenched in water, and he snapped his fingers.

“Touka, sorry to ask, but can you come exploring with me after school?” (Lanpeach)

“Sure! I’ll be back soon, so wait for me! I might even catch a cold and come back by midday!” (Touka)

“Don’t do that. Oh, and something interesting might happen, so make sure to equip your Flying Arrow spirit armor, okay?” (Lanpeach)

“Got it! See you later!” (Touka)

The rejuvenated puppy wagged her tail energetically and sped off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

[Soldier is planning something bad! Weren’t we supposed to stay low-profile and let things cool off in this district?] (Libra)

[You don’t get it, Libra… A gamer won’t hesitate to charge into an army if it means completing a quest…even if it’s a suicide mission.] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach murmured with a wicked smile ‘This is what we call the gamer’s quest logic’ as Touka ran off.

[Doesn’t that just mean they’ll do anything reckless for the sake of profit?] (Libra)

[You are banned from dumbing things down.] (Lanpeach)

◇◇

—Later that afternoon.

“Hey, did ‘after school’ start meaning ‘just after lunch’ recently?” (Lanpeach)

“I told them I had heart palpitations and went home early. My heart really was racing all morning, so it wasn’t a lie.” (Touka)

“If you get caught, your old man will probably feed you some knuckles again.” (Lanpeach)

“No worries. This time I’ll be ready and put up a spirit barrier.” (Touka)

“Yeah, I will keep a mental note to not get involved in your family matters.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach shook his head as he walked through the town with Touka, who had just returned from school. He was taken aback by how casually she talked about skipping school without a hint of guilt, all while he subtly scanned the area around them.

“Step right up~! High-quality synthetic food for sale~!”

“How about the latest smartphone? Get it for 30% off at our store!” 

“Today’s a special sale day! Come on in, take a look!”

The mid-tier district was as lively as ever, with shopkeepers enthusiastically calling out to customers and the people walking by looking well-off. 

They probably believe that there are no thieves around. The shelves were lined with various goods, reflecting the area’s good security. The prices at the restaurants would likely make someone from the slums faint. Children ran around playing in the park without any fear of being kidnapped.

Lanpeach couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholic as he walked, reminded of the safe Japan from his previous world.

“Hey, hey, why are we here? Planning some cattle mutilation?” (Touka)

“If I abduct someone, it’d just be called kidnapping. Ah, there it is.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach spotted a group of men loitering in an alleyway and casually headed in their direction.

“If your Artificial Spirit ‘awakens’, it can take on a physical form and even enhance your armor! Right now, we’ve got a top-notch mage who can awaken it for you. What do you think?”

It was the same group of guys Krita had warned him about.

“Alright, Touka. Let’s approach them casually.” (Lanpeach)

“Roger that!” (Touka)

Touka’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as Lanpeach smirked.

(This was a quest that only triggered on my 3rd playthrough. Looks like it’s mine again.) (Lanpeach)

He continued to approach the men with that thought in mind.

Previous Chapter l Next Chapter