It was early morning the following day and Keisuke was exploring the market square of Fortuna. Himself, Mahiro, and Fumiko had decided that they would split up and do their own things before meeting up at the Mud Gate at noon.

Keisuke was doing just that as he wandered the busy streets. He was looking for items he could purchase that would be useful to him, but as it turned out, things were very expensive. There was almost nothing of great value he could purchase with two silver coins.

But, honestly, what did I expect? It only makes sense that the things I can get are limited. Things were obvious for Keisuke now, though: I have to make more money.

For now, Keisuke decided he would try and narrow down the necessities first, from cheapest and then go from there.

Let’s see, he thought inwardly as he strolled about. I think the most affordable thing right now is clothes. Specifically, I need underwear.

Keisuke had only one pair of underwear and he’d been wearing it since he arrived in Altear. He made sure to wash them everyday, of course, but that was obviously not ideal. And they were beginning to tear.

So underwear was Keisuke's first order of business. He managed to find them easily enough. A single pair only cost four coppers, so he decided to buy two of them. Deciding it would be nice to have a long-sleeved shirt, he bought one for twenty-three coppers. He also only had one pair of pants, but they were in good condition. The set of armour his trade had given him came with pants, so he only ever wore his own casually.

Everything came to a total of twenty-seven coppers. Keisuke still had one silver and seventy-three coppers left. For now, that was a good start. He had to remember not to get too carried away because he still needed money for food. Who knew when they’d make money from a quest again. So, it would be good to have some saved.

Keisuke was once again wandering the Street of Stalls, glancing about at the many items on display and trying to think about what he needed.

Right now, I’m not sure there’s much I can buy. I mean, there’s a lot I would like, but I should probably be frugal with my spending…

As he was walking, Keisuke turned off the street where the market square began and followed a winding path up a long hill where blacksmiths were hammering away at forges, men were haggling over sword prices, and grizzled men selling old blades and razors on wagons.

At the sight of the razor, Keisuke instinctively touched his jaw. Oh, right, shaving… Though, Keisuke was somehow pretty sure he wasn’t really the hairy type. And if his hair did grow very long, he could probably find a barber in the city who would cut it for him.

Still, he figured it would be good to have a razor on hand in case he started growing a beard.

“Four coppers,” the man behind the table said.

Keisuke paid the man, and carried on walking. He passed an open store where a man was using a grindstone. The exterior of the store was what caught his attention. There were two stone knights standing sentry at the entrance, armoured in fanciful suits of polished red steel.

We’ve barely done much, so my sword and armour is still in good condition, Keisuke thought. But maybe it would be good to know the price of those things in case I do need a replacement?

Deciding that was a good idea, Keisuke stepped inside the store. The man grinding away at an old iron sword had a thick head of red hair and coarse hair on his thick arms. His nose was large, and almost took up the size of his face. He seemed not to notice Keisuke as he stepped inside.

The store was pretty stuffy, but impressive. There was a wide array of finely-crafted arms and armour on display. In the centre of the store, above the forge, was the head of a large bear. Keisuke wondered if the man had killed it himself.

“Can I help yer?” the man suddenly asked. “Or have ye just come into my shop to stare?” His voice was deep and gruff. And he spoke with an accent Keisuke wasn’t sure he’d heard here in Altear.

“Oh, sorry… I was wondering how much a new sword cost? And armour.”

“What type of sword and armour?”

“What…type?” Keisuke was at a loss. He didn’t really know. “Eh… Um, well…”

The man looked up from his work. “Light, medium, heavy? Leather, iron, dragonbone? What ye want, boy?”

“Uh…” The current armour he had was made from leather. Keisuke figured he didn’t want anything too heavy and restricting. He liked being able to move. Koto-sensei had praised his quickness on multiple occasions, so that was something he wanted to keep using to his advantage. “Something light but firm? Not too heavy, but not too light, either.”

“Then ye might want studded leather or chainmail. If you’ve the coin, I have some sets made from drake scales. Or ye here for a custom order?”

“A custom order…?” Keisuke parroted. “What’s that?”

The man looked up from the grindstone once again. This time, he seemed to really take a look at Keisuke, inspecting him from head to toe. “Are ye new here, boy?”

“Eh, yes…”

The man sighed and hopped off his chair. Keisuke could barely contain his surprise when the man landed on the floor. He was short. And not just short as in below average height, he was very short. “Oh…” The word left unbidden from his mouth.

“All right, this is yer first time seeing a dwarf, I get it, just don’t gawk at me for too long.”

“A dwarf…?” Somehow, the word didn’t seem too unfamiliar to Keisuke. When he heard it, he was like oh, yeah, a dwarf. That man was definitely a dwarf. It made sense.

But what exactly is a dwarf…?

“Look, boy, I’m a dwarf. A race of short people, that’s it."

A race of short people seemed to summarise it perfectly, but Keisuke wondered if that was really all to it.

"I see…"

"I'm guessing you're one of those scouts. I don't have time to explain everything to you, so I'll keep it simple," the man reappeared and placed an iron breastplate on the table. “You can buy things from me pre-made, or you can bring me raw materials and I’ll craft whatever you want.”

Keisuke was beginning to understand. “What’s the difference? Between buying from you or crafting it?”

“For one, the price. Buying pre-made will cost you more. If you want me to craft you something you can either bring me the materials or buy ones I have on deck. It will be cheaper, but the process is longer.”

So, crafting was worth looking into. If Keisuke wanted something specific, then he could get it. That sounded very promising.

“What type of materials would you need?”

“Metals, hides, and the likes. If you are a scout, you’ll find those materials as you explore Altear.”

“I see… Thank you.”

“So you aren’t buying anything?”

Keisuke looked around. “Um…how much is your longsword?”

“Iron or silver?”

“Sil…ver?”

“One-hundred silver coins.”

Keisuke nearly choked on his saliva. “Eh…Um…well, I can’t afford anything yet. I just came to take a look…”

The man’s eyebrows knitted into a frown. Keisuke got scared.

“Get out and back when you have coin to spend.”

“Right…” Keisuke turned around and left the shop looking dejected.

“Asking me all these damn questions when he isn’t going to buy anything. Pah!” He heard the man curse behind him as he left.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Keisuke decided that the Dwarf-Man was quite the intimidating individual. He did not want to interact with him any more than he needed to, but his services could come in handy.

He now knew where he could purchase arms and armour in case his own got damaged. That information was definitely invaluable. The crafting service was also very interesting. Keisuke would have to acquaint himself with the different metals so he could know which ones were the best to invest in, and then keep an eye out whenever they went out on quests.

Keisuke felt like he accomplished a fair bit today and yesterday. He learned some valuable information, purchased necessities, and through walking around the market square he felt like he was getting a better understanding of the city’s layout. Not to mention yesterday they’d completed their first quest and earned money. Things felt like they were slowly but surely beginning to shape for them.

Though, Keisuke knew that they had a long way to go. Things were by no means good, but they weren’t as bad as when they first arrived. They definitely knew a lot more since then. Keisuke understood things better now. How they worked, what he needed to do, and how to go forward. That was good enough for now.

Keisuke knew he wasn’t the type of person who could charge into dire situations and grab them by the reins. Slow but steady progression was good enough for him. At least, he could take solace in the fact that he wasn’t completely standing still.

Keisuke was making his way to the gate when he saw Fumiko standing in front of one of the tables. She must’ve been doing her own exploring and shopping.

He decided to approach her. “Fumiko?”

She appeared startled at the sound of her name. Maybe she wasn’t expecting to hear it here. “E-eh?!” She jumped. When she turned to look, her eyes appeared to ease a bit when she realised who it was. “O-oh… It’s just you, Keisuke-kun…”

Keisuke smiled. Fumiko reminded him of a pigeon. She was very shy and reserved, and it felt like you could never get too close to her or she would fly away.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled. “I was relieved that it was just you…”

He noticed Fumiko holding something in her arms. “Were you also shopping?”

“Mhm. I bought a few things…”

“Is that so?” Keisuke took a closer look at what she had.

When Fumiko noticed him staring, her face suddenly turned red and she squeezed her arms more to hide what she was holding. Keisuke had already seen what they were, though. Feeling abashed, he quickly looked away.

They were women's undergarments.

Well, it would only make sense that she would also need underwear…

Keisuke decided to quickly move on. “Eh, I was going to meet up with Mahiro now. Are you done? We can go together, if you want.”

“Ah,” Fumiko looked back at the table of wares. Deciding she didn’t need anything else, she nodded. “We can go.”

The two of them walked together to the meeting location. Fumiko was quite a slow walker. She seemed to be very conscious of her surroundings. She kept her head down as she walked, and her arms wrapped around herself as a way of protecting herself. Keisuke found himself slowing down his pace to match hers.

“Are you okay, Fumiko?”

“H-huh?” Fumiko blinked, surprised by the question.

“I just mean after yesterday. I know how hard it was for you to kill that wolf. You didn’t really talk about it, and I don’t know how you feel. So, I thought I should just ask.”

Fumiko cast her eyes downward. Keisuke noticed this. He must’ve hit a real soft spot, because it looked like she didn’t want to answer. Her expression suddenly turned sad.

“Sorry…” Keisuke decided it was probably for the best to apologise and move on. He didn’t want to make Fumiko uncomfortable after all.

But what came next surprised him. “It wasn’t easy…” Fumiko whispered. Her eyes were still downcast, but she was speaking to Keisuke. “But… I know that we had no choice. We needed the money. I-I understand that.”

She looked like she was really struggling to get the words out. “K-killing won’t get any easier for me, but I want to try my best. I don’t want to hold you two back anymore. Especially because you’re already helping me so much…”

Keisuke was looking at Fumiko. Her eyes were downcast and she looked like she was struggling to say what she wanted to say, but she still managed to get it out there. He was very impressed by that.

“Wow, you’re really strong, Fumiko.”

Hearing that, Fumiko raised her eyes to look at Keisuke. “I-I am?”

“You are. I know how hard this is for you, but you’ve decided to stick with it and do it. I wish I had you and Mahiro’s strength…”

Keisuke had said something he’d been feeling for a while now. He felt very inadequate. Or at the very least, very average. Keisuke knew and understood his limits. He knew he wasn’t as tough as Ryoma or as confident as Mahiro. Even now, he was taken aback by Fumiko’s resolve. He’d already decided that she wasn’t the strongest of people. After all, Fumiko was very timid. So, Keisuke was prepared to look after her.

But Fumiko didn’t want to be viewed that way at all. She saw herself as a burden and she wanted to pull her own weight, despite how she felt about it. She was strong in her own way. It was starting to feel like everyone had their own strength except for him.

“I…!” Fumiko started to yell but realised how loud she got and toned down. Keisuke stopped walking because he was surprised by this. “I think you’re strong, Keisuke-kun…”

“Ha… I appreciate you saying that, but it’s okay. I know how I am. Even now, I’m relying on Mahiro to lead me. I don’t know where I would’ve been without him.”

“The same can be said for me…,” Fumiko whispered. “I-if it wasn’t for you, Keisuke-kun, I… You saved me, remember?”

Fumiko was looking right in Keisuke’s eyes when she said that. For a moment he was confused, but he immediately remembered. She was talking about that incident with those boys in the alley. But Keisuke didn’t feel like he did anything special. He was even going to walk away at first. That was hardly strength.

But by the way she was looking at him, it was clear that it meant a lot to her. Fumiko struggled to make eye contact whenever she spoke to people. It was a part of her timid nature, and Keisuke had grown accustomed to it in the time they’d been together. However, for what felt like the first time since they met, Fumiko was looking right at Keisuke. It was as if she wanted him to know how she felt.

“You saved me, Keisuke-kun…” she said to him. “To me, you’re the strongest.”

“Th-thank you…”

Fumiko quickly looked back down, perhaps coming back to her senses. Keisuke was also abashed. He didn’t expect any of that. And from Fumiko, of all people. It was surprising. Things got awkward very quickly as the two of them stood in the middle of the street.

Keisuke scratched the back of his head. “Uh, should we get going?”

Fumiko nodded sheepishly.

That had really meant a lot to Keisuke, even if he still had doubts about himself. He didn’t really know whether Fumiko was just being kind or she’d truly meant what she said, but he still appreciated it.

“Ah!” Fumiko suddenly let out a soft cry of delight.

Keisuke stopped and looked back. Fumiko had rushed to one of the tables selling goods. “What is it?” he asked and followed behind her.

The table was filled with various accessories for women: jewellery such as bracelets, earrings, and hair ribbons. There was little wonder as to why it caught Fumiko’s eye.

She was staring at the many items on display with big eyes.

“Hey, miss. Like what you see?” the owner of the store asked.

Fumiko nodded. “E-everything is so pretty…”

The man smiled. “Thank you. Feel free to look around and let me know if you like anything. Maybe your boyfriend will buy it for you.”

“Her boyf—” Keisuke quickly interjected, abashed. “No, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m just her…friend…” For some reason, Keisuke felt awkward calling Fumiko that. After all, they hadn’t really confirmed that they were friends. What if Fumiko just viewed him as a party member and nothing more? That would be terribly awkward, then.

“That’s right. We’re just friends.” Fumiko must’ve picked up on Keisuke’s uncertainty and decided to put him at ease.

So, she does think of as her friend… That made Keisuke very relieved, and a bit happy.

“Oh, apologies! You two looked so close, I totally misread the situation!”

This guy… I bet he’s just saying that on purpose.

Keisuke decided to ignore the man. “Uh, do you see anything you like?” he asked Fumiko

Fumiko thought about it. “I don’t know. Everything is so pretty.”

“Well, if you’re thinking of buying something we should at least know the price of some of these things.” Keisuke turned to the store owner.

“Lucky for you, my wares aren’t expensive at all! Some of my necklaces and bracelets can cost you as little as five silver. I might even give the young lady a discount because she’s cute.”

Well, it wasn’t like they could afford five silver, anyway It was pretty cheap in theory but still way out of their budget.

Fumiko picked out a yellow ribbon on the table. She seemed to be looking at it the most.

“Do you like that one?” Keisuke asked.

“Mhm. It’s pretty.”

“Oh, that? That will cost you about thirty copper,” said the man.

Thirty copper, huh…

“Hey, Fumiko?” Keisuke began.

“Mhm?”

“Would you like me to buy it for you?”

“E-Eh? No, you don’t have to, Keisuke-kun…”

“You can consider it a one-day anniversary of our friendship.”

Fumiko looked down. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“…Then okay.”

Keisuke paid the man thirty copper and got the ribbon for Fumiko.

“...I-is it on? Did you put it on all right?”

“Yeah. It looks great.”

Fumiko had short, brown hair. They decided to use a clip to attach the ribbon above her head. It suited her quite well.

“Thank you, Keisuke-kun! I’ll always wear it from now on.” The smile Fumiko gave him was big and bright.

Keisuke had spent a large sum of his money, but it was worth it to see that smile.

“Since we’re friends now, you can drop the -kun,” he said.

“O-okay, then.” Fumiko paused for a moment. “...Keisuke.”