A five-minute walk further down the street from where Rina had just bought the brooch for Clara, she finally arrived at the blacksmith's shop where her weapons had been ordered. Without hesitation, she opened the door, entered the shop, and went straight to the counter.

When the female clerk who was reading a book at the counter noticed Rina, even recognised her, she spoke up. “Oh welcome, young maid. You are from the Dragonherz family, aren't you? Are you here to take what you've ordered?”

Rina couldn't help but be a little surprised by the question. After all, it was three weeks ago when she had come here with Clara and a guard. “Y-yes. You remember me?”

“Ahaha, of course, I remember you. It's not very often that I get to see such a beautiful girl with such distinctive hair and eyes like you~”

Hearing those words, even though they were only flattery, it was inevitable that Rina blushed to match her hair colour. She was not used to such treatment, after all.

“Look at her getting red~ How cute~. Ah, wait for a moment please, I'll get your ordered items quickly.” Then the woman put down her book and left the room through a door behind the counter.

Not wanting to get bored waiting for the clerk to return with the weapons, Rina looked around the small shop, checking out the items on display. From conventional weapons like standard swords, spears, halberds, and daggers to weapons she had never seen before, this shop seemed to make and sell everything. For example, there was a staff almost two metres long with two blades attached to each end. Even with her memories from her previous life, Rina couldn't remember that such a weapon existed. It was hard for her to imagine how this weapon could be useful in combat, as the risk of self-harm or friendly fire was quite high.

But ignoring the strange ones, as Rina looked further, there was one weapon that stood out from the rest. It was like a long, flexible cable, that had been coiled into a circle so that it could be hung up for display. At one end of the cable was thirty centimetres long stick attached to it, probably serving as a handle. The colour of the entire thing was black.

'I-is this a whip!? I didn't know that it was a weapon in this world.' For some reason, upon identifying the weapon, the face of her mistress came to her mind. Rina didn't know why, but she had the overwhelming feeling that a whip would fit Clara perfectly, even though the blonde didn't fight with weapons, but with magic. What was even stranger was that Rina could feel her face heating up as she imagined her mistress wielding that black whip.

Luckily, before the red-haired girl could overheat from her weird (?) imagination, she was interrupted by the voice of the clerk who came back. “Okay little maid, I have your-... what's the matter? Oh~ are you still red from earlier? Heehee, how precious~”

“Eh? Ah, no!... Um, do you have the ordered weapons?” Despite her confusion as to what the clerk was talking about, Rina still managed to push the conversation forward. After all, she wanted to get this errand done as quickly as possible so that she could return to her beloved mistress.

“Ah, sorry little miss, here they are.” The clerk placed two sheathed weapons on the counter.

One of these was a small dagger that Rina could easily attach to her leg under the skirt of her maid uniform. In this way, if her mistress was in grave danger, she could quickly draw the dagger and kill enemies with her hidden blade skills.

The second weapon was a one-metre-long, double-edged sword. Since Rina's sword-fighting style was focused on speed and defeating enemies with quick, successive thrusts and slashes, the blade of her new sword was especially light and thin. It could even be said to resemble a rapier.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

At first, before her sword training began, Rina had thought for herself that maybe fighting with a bludgeon-like weapon would be good for her, as such types of weapons complemented her gravity magic very well. But when she had mentioned that she wanted to train with that kind of weapon, Clara had vehemently refused it for some reason. “A big club absolutely doesn't fit you at all!” she had said.

Looking back, Rina could indeed see her mistress's point, as she had a small body frame. Even she had to laugh when she imagined a small girl swinging a large club around that was twice the size of its wielder. As a result, at Clara's insistence, Rina was forced to learn to fight with the rapier-like sword. “Such an elegant weapon suits you much better,” or something along the lines Rina was told by her mistress. And of course, Rina was not one to disregard her crush's wishes.

Back to the present, the red-haired girl grabbed her two new, sheathed weapons with both arms. “Thank you, Ma'am. Well then, I will take them with me. Goodbye!”

After receiving a nod of confirmation from the clerk, Rina made her way to the exit. After all, since Clara had already paid for the weapons in advance when they had ordered them a few weeks prior, Rina didn't have to do anything further. So she was free to go.

But just as she was about to leave the store, a male voice stopped her from behind.

“Wait, please, little Missy!”

Turning around, Rina could see a man walking through the door behind the counter. He was a middle-aged man, who stood almost two metres tall. From his clothing, or lack thereof, Rina concluded that he was probably the blacksmith who made the weapons that were sold in this shop. After all, apart from a pair of baggy shorts that only reached his knees, he wore nothing but a leather apron to protect his upper body from the sparks of fire during his forging. As his upper body beneath the apron was naked, Rina could clearly perceive his jacked body. Additionally, his biceps were so muscular that their perimeter was probably larger than the perimeter of Rina's head.

Looking at this man, Rina couldn't help but suspect that he had to be more than just an ordinary blacksmith. Even though Rina liked girls herself, she found it hard to resist the urge to touch those abs, so all she could do was awkwardly avert her eyes.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Rina's thoughts were interrupted by the clerk's loud voice. “Dear! You can't just show yourself like that in front of a young girl! Show some tact!”

“S-sorry, but there is something I need to check first,” the man apologised to the clerk and walked over to Rina. “Excuse me for asking, but who are these weapons for?”

“T-they are for me.” As the man approached Rina, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by his huge presence. And it was not only the sheer difference in their heights. Now that she was closer to the man, Rina could clearly feel his oppressive aura. It made her wonder even more if he had been an important knight before becoming a blacksmith.

But unaware of the little girl's inner distress, the man continued, “I don't mean to be rude, but these weapons don't suit you. Give them back.”

“Eh? W-why?”

Before Rina could comprehend the sudden turn of events, the clerk intervened, “Dear! What are you saying? The customers have already paid!”

“I will send the money paid upfront back to the employers of this girl. It's the Dragonherz family, isn't it? No problem, I know them well.”

“That's not the problem! You can't just take back our customers' orders! What's up with you?”

“Honey... I can't possibly let a feeble-looking girl like her wielding my prized weapons. Even though the sword is light, I really doubt that this girl could even handle it properly. And now that I look closer, isn't she even much younger than our daughter?”

“Haaah... there's no talking to this guy...” Starting to get annoyed with the man, the clerk turned away from him and crouched down to be at eye level with Rina. “I'm sorry for my husband's behaviour. Please forgive him. I hope that his harsh words didn't hurt you.”

Rina shook her head, swaying her blazing red hair from side to side. “No, I can see where he comes from. I certainly don't look like a can fight.”

“Look like? You mean you can fight?”

“Yes, my employers have been teaching me how to.” Rina highlighted the dagger in her arms. “I've learned how to quickly kill possible assailants to protect Lady Clara in emergencies... Ah, Lady Clara is the blonde, beautiful girl, who was here with me a few weeks ago.” Then she looked at the sword. “The sword is for duels, official fights, or when I fight against demons during the impending invasion.”

Rina had explained her purpose, hoping that the smith would finally calm down and let her leave. Unfortunately, her words had only achieved the opposite, as he seemed even more agitated than before.

“Tsk, those damned nobles, hiding behind children for their own safety. I have thought better of the Dragonherz family, though. But in the end, they're all the same...” The man muttered, clicking his tongue.

But when Rina heard those words, she couldn't possibly keep her mouth shut. After all, Eric, Lauren, and first and foremost Clara, had done a lot for her, so she couldn't allow them to be insulted, especially since she was the reason for them being looked down upon. Therefore, Rina mustered her courage and glared back at the man, even though he had an intimidating aura around him.

“Take back what you've said, Mister, or you're going to regret it!”