In the end, the shopkeep-turned-adventurer Meera is really insistent.

To the point where I'm honestly beginning to question if I've fallen into a fantasy dream romance simulation game or something.

This is insane.

This is nonsense.

How do I extricate myself from this?

...Apparently the one overpowered thing I don't get in this world is choice.

I hate railroading in games.

The demon king better be truly challenging, to make up for this chaos.

At least when the strange woman gets what she wants, she still sells us things.

Which....

Is fine.

Making the shop free would just be insulting.

We already got a discount for letting her join, anyway.

Of course she equips herself for free, but that isn't me, so I don't really care.

It also makes sense.

That she equip herself with what she thinks is the most expensive gear in the shop, I mean.

That's basic logic, if you're trying not to die.

At least something about her makes sense.

Unfortunately, that is currently the only thing that makes any sort of logical sense about her.

Meera selects two matching daggers from her display and attaches them to her belt. She then proceeds to pull down from the wall a set of red scale mail and starts pulling it onto her body.

While.

Talking at me.

It's an incredibly uncomfortable situation for me.

"So I already know these three, of course." She looks at them with a big grin, and then back at me. "What I don't know about you, is anything! Like what's your name, where'd you come from, do you have any friends, any family, anything?"

"Ryo." I respond, because there's no way to avoid at least some of those questions in the short term without seeming like a massive dick.

I'm really not.

Going out of my way to be a dick is inefficient, anyway, unless there's some personal reason for it.

Meera is...

Bizarre.

But I have nothing personally against her yet. Aside from the fact that she just attached herself to my party.

....A party that feels like people are treating like it's Elara's party.

"Ryo? Well, I guess I can accept that." Meera continues, turning and standing with her arms out. "Isn't it great?"

"...What?"

"The armor!"

Elara rolls her eyes. "He can't just see stats like you can, Meera."

...Stats are a thing in this world after all, huh. An actual system people recognize, anyway.

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"Of course they are, Master!" That ever chipper System Helper rings in my head, almost startling me with her sudden voice after her relatively long silence. "But don't worry, I'll always be able to tell you the stats of anyone, if you want~!"

Thank you, I don't want.

Meera's cheeks puff out a moment and then she shakes her head. "But how does it look? Pretty good, right?"

It looks...like she's wearing armor made for her grandfather.

Mismatched - likely the most powerful items in her shop all slapped together without concern for set bonuses or aesthetics, which I can appreciate - and oversized.

I get the feeling she'll fall over in it.

"You will alert our enemies a mile away." Arin gently chastises. "Light armor would be better."

Meera stomps her foot, glaring at him. "It's for protection! It doesn't matter how much it stinks or how loud it is when it's protecting your life!"

...She's not wrong.

But it does look ugly, and it is bulky, and it will slow her down.

"See! See!" She points at me. "Ryo understands what I'm saying!"

How does she even see what I'm thinking?

"Meera has divination magic!" System Helper chirps. "But that was just your expression she was reading, Master, not your thoughts."

Divination magic, huh.

I can respect that.

Probably useless in battle, but that's better for me.

I'm not looking for help or back up, I was planning to do this solo anyway.

I'm just...not the leader of the party.

Apparently.

It's really throwing me off.

"Stop judging me and answer me, Ryo." Meera demands, crossing her arms. "Am I cool?"

"No." I reply flatly.

She flinches and then goes rigid. "You are supposed to lie and tell me I'm very cool!"

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Didn't got enough of a discount for that."

Her eyes light up and she points at me. "Ah! AH! He can be playful, see!! He's just shy is all! Don't be scared, Ryo, I won't bite."

That makes me more worried than I was before.

Not about my safety, but.

This is getting out of hand.

Elara glances between Meera and I and finally sighs. "Well. You seem to be getting along, so..."

What.

Where are the objections.

I'm being harassed!

"Can we get to shopping now?" Kael deadpans.

...Good, yes.

Someone sensible.

Meera looks back to him, and then at me, and then to Elara, and sighs. "Fine, fine. Boring shop things first, then adventure."

She then...promptly scurries off calling for Miss Meowkins??

No one says anything until she's out of earshot, at least.

"...Is she always like that?" I ask.

"She's...unique. A little hapless." Elara shrugs. "But she has a good heart. She's one of my closest friends."

"Meowkins OW!" Meera shouts in the other room. "I am not food! No!"

"The cat?" I point in the general direction.

Kael waves a hand and begins to explain.

"She rescued the cat. Ahem. Or...was the rescue. There's a lot of disagreement over which one, really. But they're inseparable, and she'd probably die before leaving it behind, so she takes it with her wherever she goes."

So.

I'm also putting up with a cat in the party.

As long as it's not a talking mascot, I guess it's fine.

...It's not, right?

"Animals don't talk, Master!"

The voice speaks as if I'm the one being absurd.

That is very unhelpful.

Elara clears her throat. "Let's just focus on shopping. Okay?"

...Focus. Yes.

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

I mean.

I have an idea. But the equipment system is wildly different in almost every game, and this isn't strictly speaking a game at all. There's no guarantee there's any balance or sense to any of it.

My absurd and unfair list of ridiculous abilities speaks to that.

Elara gives a curt nod and then begins to talk.

"Well. Luckily I was raised by a blacksmith, so I can help you out with getting the best armor you can get for your build and fighting style."

"And price." Kael adds from across the room.

I eye the equipment and weapons scattered around the store. "No point in a shield. I picked one up in the dungeon and didn't even do anything with it before it broke."

I don't think just pushing the lich off the side of the platform counts as doing anything.

It definitely didn't count as shielding anything.

I'm not counting it.

Elara purses her lips. "Well. Considering your fighting style and...hardiness. Maybe some light armor?"

I'm not sure armor is necessary at all with that Absolute Defence, but...

If it weighs me down then at least my dexterity feats will be a challenge.

That's a thought.

I give a short nod. "Sure."

"Alright. Arin is getting our practical things," Elara walks toward some of the armors on stands. "And you....want to use swords, right?"

Did I say that out loud, or is she just recognizing it's what I've used so far?

The absolute logic bomb that was Meera has scattered my memories enough that I'm not sure.

"Uh. Yeah." I make my way toward a rack of swords, glancing between the assorted ones.

Of course, since I can apparently just flawlessly wield any weapon I pick up instantly, I don't need to worry about the quality or weight of the swords. Just the raw stats. And none of them look like anything but your standard shop fare.

At least it seems that the powerful stuff is in dungeons or something.

....But then again, shopkeepers would probably provide more of a challenge than bosses at this point, so.

Eh.

It's not worth thinking about.

"Here we go, here we go!" Meera appears in the doorway.

That cat is once more on her head.

And.

It's wearing an...armor helmet.

Not a real one, but...what seems to be a handcrafted leather helmet for a cat.

Just the helmet, nothing else.

I have no words.

"Miss Meowkins has elected to only wear her helmet in a sign of trust!!"

I think I know why her cat seems determined to abuse her.