Following the meeting, the knight requested help from both the adventurers’ guild and the sheriff to help in preparing William for their long, arduous journey.

Said journey only took forty-five minutes in their truck.

Regardless, William decided to accept the help gratefully.

“That should be it.” William swiped his sweat off his forehead. Feodora rested the last supply box on top of the other, standing up in the metal box. Lily, meanwhile, did final inspections of the weapon. She didn’t actually know what she was inspecting, William just told her to look out for anything strange.

“... Everything looks alright, I think.”

“Alright.”

William did a quick look around the box interior, before heading out and closing the rear door. He then circled the truck before climbing onto the driver’s seat. He reached down to the middle seat and opened the door connecting the cab and the box.

"You two want to sit back there?" he asked.

"You closed the door on us," Lily replied.

"You can go through here, remember?”

That's precisely why I closed the rear door.

Since he lacked the ability to do magic, having extra crew members to protect them during the railgun's downtime or against close-quarters attacks seemed like a good idea. For that, he needed to know how many girls- he meant people he could fit.

Of course, he had nothing against Captain Daven nor Commander Ama, but their large armor would make moving around hard. This was still a standard truck, after all.

Yes, definitely because of armor. Not because of his biases whatsoever.

… With that in mind…

He had no intention of differing his choice of crew based on their gender. He fought demons. If he needed a thick, burly man to do the job, he didn't mind. But he needed a larger truck.

Just them three already made the truck pretty cramped. He couldn't imagine Davin or Ama joining them.

Lily crawled through the small door, stumbling into the cabin. William watched in amusement as she tried to get herself upright.

“I have a feeling you did this on purpose,” she glared at William. William simply shrugged, hiding his snicker. Once she was back in her position, Feodora went past the door. She changed her position on the seat, bringing her legs front before hopping off. She reached for the lever and slowly slid back into the seat as the backrest pulled itself up.

“So, where are we going first?” William asked.

“The adventurers’ guild. Couldn’t go shopping without cash.”

“Alright.”

William maneuvered the truck, heading for the adventurers’ guild. The building wasn’t located far and they would normally take only a few minutes to reach it, but their fame had started to spread. A lot more people stopped and looked at them as they passed.

“So this is how it feels when you’re popular,” Lily muttered under her breath.

“They’re thinking about the carriage, not about us.”

“I know, I know. Still, as the party operating it, some of it will eventually splash onto us.”

“Doesn’t mean they really care about the people inside, though.”

“I don’t think so. A horse and a sword don’t mean much without a good knight.”

“But that’s because the knight is equally as powerful as the sword.”

A sword and a horse mean nothing without a good knight because if said knight was replaced, the sword and the horse would mean nothing. Those two couldn’t be used by just anyone. His railgun, meanwhile, could be used by anyone. People didn’t need training to use it.

“Still, I think we deserve some recognition.”

“Maybe I don’t want any.”

“We have arrived,” Feodora cut into the conversation. The three got off, heading inside. After they entered, William remembered something.

"Oh, we want to claim the rewards for this as well" William took out the quest paper and showed it to Arkancel, who had returned ahead of the group. She nodded and headed to the back of the receptionist.

One of her fellow receptionists slid close to her, whispering some words. Arkancel waved her hands, smiling wryly. She pulled a drawer from under the table, taking out a light green slip.

“These are worth two chocolate breads?” William examined the Karape slips.

“I’m surprised you accepted that quest in the first place,” Arkancel said.

William glanced at Feodora.

“I am the one that accepted it,” Feodora said, taking responsibility. Arkancel let out a soft smile.

“You’re really kind, Feodora.”

“I… do not think so,” Feodora blushed.

“Oh yes, you are!” Lily hugged Feodora from behind. Feodora let out a tiny nya at the sudden gesture.

She’s adorable!

He apologized to her internally for having such thoughts. He handed over the twenty thousand Karape to Feodora.

“Hmm? But-”

“Take it. It’s your work.”

“But I will not be able to do it without you.”

“I didn’t do anything though?”

“We literally did nothing. Take it,” Lily said, still holding her.

“It will take a much longer time to reach the town if I was not with you. And I would need to pay for the carriage trip there as well. I truly believe that had you not been here, I would not have accepted that quest.” Feodora set her hand on her heart.

A light whistle came from Lily, causing William to go red.

“If you say so.” He averted his gaze, inserting the bill into his bag.

“Oh, by the way, the reward from the sheriff has arrived. It’s two hundred thousand Karape.”

“Should we split this one as well?” Feodora asked.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“You did most of the work there, though.”

“But this time, you really did push me to do it. I think it is appropriate if you take some.”

“... I’ll take fifty thousand, then.”

“Is that not too little?”

“Oh just take it, Feo. You deserved it. I’ll split this with William.” Lily took one of the red bills and shoved the other one to Feodora. Feodora looked up at William, and William nodded in approval.

Lily took her bag, shoved the red bill into a smaller bag, and gave William two green bills and one purple bill.

“Thank you. Finally, some money.”

“Are you sure?” Feodora asked again.

“Don’t worry about it. Anything else?”

The party looked at Arkancel.

Arkancel went to the other receptionist and whispered some more words. A short while later, she returned.

“There is nothing else. Good luck on your trip.” Arkancel replied, bowing her head.

“Thank you for all your help. We’ll come back with the dub- I mean victory,” William said with confidence, almost accidentally spitting out a word that didn’t exist here.

The party of three then headed to the guild’s tavern to grab some lunch. After filling their stomachs, they returned to the truck.

“I know a good weapons shop. Want to visit?” Lily asked after she closed the door. “You need a new sword right, Feo?”

“I indeed needed one. Unfortunately, my old one is no longer of use.”

“Then let’s go.”

Lily guided them through the city, heading toward the shop. Once they arrived, a crowd gathered to look at the foreign vehicle that had just stopped in their streets. Feodora swiftly applied a magic shield. Under the stares of curious passersby, they made their way into the building that housed the shop. Lily stepped toward the door and pushed it open.

“Hey, Grandpa, it’s your favorite customer!”

The shopkeeper who seemed to be sleeping fell off, hitting the ground.

“What do you mean, favorite customer!? You little brat! Can you show a bit of restraint!?” the shopkeeper yelled, rising from the floor.

“Come on, don’t be silly. I brought customers.” Lily stepped to the side, revealing William and Feodora who stood behind her. They were taken aback at this exchange, taking a few seconds to react.

“Ah, umm… my name is William, and she’s Feodora.”

“My…” The shopkeeper tipped his hat and stood up.

“I hope our little Lily here isn’t giving you any trouble.”

“It’s alright.” William waved his hands.

“She may share the Atores bloodline, but she surely didn’t act like one.” The shopkeeper glared at Lily who stood to the side. She replied with her tongue.

“Just doing my job.”

“My job my ass! You better stay there doing nothing!”

“Grandpa’s grumpy again…” She let out a sigh.

“You!”

William and Feodora stood in front of the counter, silent from this little family bickering.

“Sorry about that. My name is Lukia Atores. The shopkeeper… and Lily’s grandfather…”

“What’s that tone on the last part for?” Lily complained.

“Anyway, what are you lads here for? I assume weapons?”

“Yes.”

With that said, William wasn’t sure which weapon he would go for yet. He had zero experience wielding any weapon, both in his past life and his current one. Whatever quality weapon they gave him wouldn’t be used to its full potential, thus he looked toward Feodora.

“What do you want?”

“How about you, William? Anything caught your interest?”

“... That one looks like a chocolate bar,” William pointed toward a greatsword held above the counter. It was a normal-looking greatsword, discounting the fact that its blade had been painted brown with black lines dividing it into four sections.

“Oh… that one.” The shopkeeper turned around.

“It’s one of her little antics. It may look good, but that’s cardboard.”

“Cardboard? Impressive.” While he could tell that it wasn't real chocolate, he couldn’t tell that it was a cardboard decoration. Now that he looked closer, he did notice that none of the sword, not even the silver parts, sparkled.

“I swear, how long are you going to keep that thing up there? Put it down!” Lily complained, but her grandfather ignored her.

“I think you should go first,” William whispered to Feodora.

“Hmm…” Feodora took out her destroyed sword.

“Oh my, what happened to that blade?”

“It had completed its mission, unfortunately perishing in the process.” Feodora moved closer, showing the sword to Lukia.

“This probably will not give you a good image but… I want something that feels like this blade when it is still new.” Feodora handed the sword to Lukia.

“Hmm… Umm… hmm…” Lukia started swinging the damaged sword. He closed his eyes, Feodora observing from the other side of the counter, while Lily stared at him in disbelief.

“Guess that’s gramps for you.”

“Oh shut up.”

“You always do that whenever a customer comes. Like, can’t you examine it normally?”

“A mere receptionist wouldn’t understand.”

“Heh…? I’m also an adventurer, you know? I’m quite disappointed you forgot, Gramps.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Lukia opened his eyes.

“I understand.” He returned the sword to Feodora, before going to the rear of the store. He brought out a weapon still covered by cloth. He set the cloth aside, revealing a sharp, beautiful blade. At the center of the black hilt was a single brown diamond.

“This is a rock-infused magic sword. It’s powerful, and it can handle acid well. Oh, it also helps you in wielding magic.” He handed over the weapon. Feodora took it in her hands and gripped its hilt. William stepped back and she began swinging it around.

“So, what do you think? That’s top craftsmanship if I say so myself.” Lukia gave her a thumbs up.

“Come on, Gramps. Let the customer decide.” Lily leaned on the counter. “Besides, she could already wield magic.”

“Oh shut up will ya!?”

“This… this is wonderful.” Feodora did a few more swings before swapping it with her old sword.

“See? I told ya.” Lukia let out a wide grin.

“But how did you know we fought something acidic? Feodora didn’t tell you that, did she?”

“Well, for one the texture of the blade felt different, there’s a weird fragility to the blade, along with some other stuff. It will take a while before I can finish telling you about it.”

“I… I’ll count it as a trade secret, then.” William scratched the back of his head. It had been a while after he last fired his railgun, after all. He was itching to have another go, and he doubted a detailed explanation about the sword would help him ease that itch.

“Haha. You lads can come by anytime you wish. I’ll teach you everything. My granddaughter didn't care the slightest interest in the business.”

“I do what I want, where I want.” Lily huffed and folded her hands.

“So, you, kid. What do you want?” Lukia pointed toward William. William took a second glance at all the weapons there. He thought about it, before finally deciding against taking a weapon.

“No thanks.”

“Why?”

“Yeah, why?”

He didn’t have any experience whatsoever. Back on Earth, all he did was mash buttons, and his characters would move in a predetermined way. Now, it would be his body that was moving. Weapons are dangerous, and the slightest mistake may harm either himself or his companions.

“I think you should take something, William. Just in case.” Lily approached, playing with a knife, spinning it on her index finger. “A dagger, maybe? Stabbing someone is still better than punching them.”

“Maybe I’ll punch you for playing with my stuff.” Lukia grabbed the knife Lily was playing with. Lily looked at him with an annoyed face and moved away.

What Lily said made sense, though. A dagger. It was a short weapon that wasn’t as dangerous as larger weapons, and it would still be better than no weapon at all. At the very least, he could pose himself as some kind of threat, buying time for the other two.

“I’ll take this, then.” William pointed toward a dagger below the glass counter. It was a straight, silver, short knife with a simple dark green leather handle

“This is just a normal dagger, though? Are you sure you want this?” Lukia showed the dagger to William. William took it from his hands before practicing some moves. They weren’t actual fighting moves, just random swings here and there.

“Yeah, I’m not a fighter, so I don’t use weapons that much. This will do.”

“If you say so.” Lukia began writing down the total.

“All invoices go to the guild,” Lily said.

“The guild is paying for this?”

“Of course not. That’s a joke.” Lily shrugged.

“You’re not with the guild anymore, are you?”

“Left a while back,” Lily answered. “So, Feo?”

Before Feodora could reaffirm her pick, though, Lukia let out a chuckle.

“Hehe… guild… There’s this one time, it’s a while ago, when-”

“What are you telling them?”

“When she mixed up the two adventurers’ rewards-”

“Grandpa!”

“It turned into this huge mess! She’s stuck in overtime for an entire week! She came crying to me, telling me how hard it was!”

“Grandpa! Please don’t tell them any more!”

Lukia smirked. William and Feodora could only stare at the two.

“Count this as a revenge for all those shitty things you did.”

“Please no!”

Lily tried to cover her grandfather’s mouth, but he managed to dodge and hold her in place. He began telling them countless stories from Lily’s past.

“NO!!!”

That day, some ‘interesting’ things regarding Lily’s childhood were spread to the two visitors from another world.