Chapter 48

Chapter 48

His affection score had only increased by one percent, so small I could have easily missed it. I was taken by surprise. How old is Eckles again? He looked so young and innocent. I thought back to any details I could remember about the game. Since I hadn’t memorized all the characters’ information, I couldn’t recall how old he was.

In normal mode, it had taken one year following the heroine’s return to complete one of the male protagonist's stories. Directly after the player reached his ending, Eckles had his coming-of-age ceremony during the game’s epilogue before marrying Ivonne. In the game, eighteen was the age of maturity. That meant Eckles was...

So he must be seventeen. In the real world, I was twenty years old, which meant I was basically trying to attract a boy much younger than I was. Why do I get the feeling that I’m the one being seduced, though? The blush had faded from his cheeks, but I was still examining his face closely when the carriage came to a stop.

“My lady, we’ve arrived at the merchant guild.” It was time to reward my cheeky slave.

* * *

“Welcome! Welcome!” The owner of the weapons trade, who’d dashed out to greet us as soon as he saw the Eckhart insignia on the carriage, bowed as deeply as he could.

“Is it true that this is where the best magical swords in the empire are sold?” I asked.

“That’s right, my lady! We also sell all kinds of rare weapons. You name it, and we’re likely to have it.”

“Eckles, let’s go,” I called to him where he was standing silently next to the carriage, blinking. He hesitated to follow as if convinced he wasn’t allowed to go inside. “Hurry up,” I urged, and he came to stand behind me with no further ado.

“Do you have any wooden swords enhanced with magic?” I’d decided to address the most pressing need first. The merchant looked puzzled by the request.

“Wooden swords, my lady? We have some, but enchanted ones...”

“You don’t have any?” I asked, frowning. The butler had recommended this weapons trade because it was famous, but it seemed I had wasted my time searching them out.

“I-if you desire, they can be custom made!” the man rushed to reassure, no doubt noticing my displeased expression. “It’s very rare that someone would go to such lengths for a mere training sword. Most people only use real swords once they reach a certain skill level...”

I cleared my throat awkwardly, embarrassed. I’d made it too obvious that I knew nothing about swords.

“We don’t have any enchanted wooden swords at the moment, but we do have weapons made of very old wood that will never break,” he continued.

“Let’s go inside then,” I said.

We entered a room filled only with training swords. I barely listened to the merchant’s constant chatter, instead looking around curiously. If I was honest, they all looked the same to me other than some minor differences in color.

“Do you like any of them?” I asked Eckles, leaving the choice to him. He shook his head, however.

“I’m... not sure.”

“You don’t like them?”

“It’s not that... It’s just that they look no different from the ones we have at the training grounds. I can just use those, Mistress.”

“That can’t be true!” shouted the merchant urgently. “All the swords here are so sturdy, they compare to a real sword! We have swords made from the royal foxglove trees grown in the forest of the fairies which are so sharp that they’ll cut clean through even hay–”

No matter how good they were, it was of no use if Eckles didn’t like any of them. “It can’t be helped, then,” I said with a sigh. The merchant—who’d been producing various wooden swords—paused, seeming to think I liked none of them.

“M-may I suggest you peruse some of the real swords instead, then?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

“I want everything from there to here,” I said, indicating the entire length of the room with my pointer finger. “Send it all to the Eckhart manor.”

I supposed it would be nice to have a stockpile of extra swords, just in case any of them broke. Next on my shopping list was training attire. Perhaps because he was so tall and handsome, Eckles looked exceedingly attractive in his new outfit.

“They look all right,” I said with feigned nonchalance, circling him.

The excited merchant simpered and flattered. “Of course! You won’t find anything better in the entirety of the capital!”

“Do you like them?” I asked, belatedly realizing I hadn’t really asked Eckles for his opinion at all.

He stared at me, then asked in a voice devoid of emotion, “Do you like them, mistress?”

“Huh?”

“Are they merely ‘all right’ in my mistress’s eyes?”

I had a feeling that he’d refuse the clothes if I told him that was the case. “I picked only things that suited my taste. Of course, I like them. But I’m asking your opinion, Eckles.” I laughed softly, adding, “It’s not like I’ll be wearing them.”

“If you like them, then so do I.”

“Really? In that case...” I started, pleased by his cute response. I turned toward the merchant and said, “Then send all of these as well, three of each type.”

The merchant’s jaw dropped. “Y-yes! Of course! Right away, my lady!”

“Now, then. Shall we go and buy a real sword?” I asked, clapping my hand lightly before turning away. The merchant hurried after me.

“Mistress, I already have enough,” Eckles said, quickly moving to stand in front of me.

“What is the matter? A sword is a knight’s most important piece of equipment!” exclaimed the merchant, fired up with greed. I’d been about to say something similar.

Nodding, I turned back to Eckles. “But you’ll need a sword. Do you feel like I’m buying too much?”

“No, that’s not it...” Eckles usually didn’t hesitate to answer me. “I don’t think I’ll have much use for a real sword even if I have one. I don’t want to waste your gift.”

“What do you mean? You’ll use a real sword in sparring once your basic training is over, won’t you?”

“That’s right! The lady is absolutely correct,” the merchant insisted, nodding with too much enthusiasm.

Eckles remained unmoved. He spoke as though he was stating an obvious truth. “A slave... cannot become a real knight. That is why all I need is the wooden sword to use during training.”

I was speechless for a moment. He had known it was impossible for him to become a proper knight—it was I alone who’d been laboring under the misconception it would happen one day. Come to think of it, Eckles only became a knight after Penelope’s death. I’d been so preoccupied with improving his situation that I hadn’t taken the time to examine the events of the game. I realized it might be essential that Eckles never become a real knight if I was to survive.

The arms dealer, seeing me so deep in thought, seemed to think I was reconsidering buying a real sword. “D-don’t be silly! You’ll need a sword if you’re to protect your mistress.”

“I do not need a weapon to do that.”

The merchant fell into a frightened silence. Eckles was right, and there was little I could say to the contrary. Considering his extraordinary abilities, he was practically a walking weapon.

“Hmm... All right. If that’s how you feel,” I conceded, nodding. There was no use putting pressure on someone who’d already given up. “I want to look around a bit more, though. Can you wait outside for me?”

Eckles turned and left immediately. I clucked my tongue, watching him leave without saying a word to me. Who is the master here, me or him? I’d noticed this about him before, that Eckles did not follow the rules of etiquette unless expressly told to do so. He was very disrespectful for a slave.

“Uh... Do you need anything else, my lady? Please name it, whatever it is, and I’ll take you there immediately,” the merchant said cautiously, eyeing me.

“I came all this way so I might as well take a look at the magical swords.”

“Ah, yes. This way, please!” said the merchant, expression brightening at my words. It was to be expected, as magical swords were the main items offered by this particular weapons trader. The space allocated for their display was certainly much bigger and wider than the other rooms, and there was an incredible quantity of magical weapons. I looked them over slowly. There were a variety of different kinds, ranging from small daggers to great swords as tall as I. However, the decoration on the blades, sheathes, and handles were all too fancy and over-the-top.

“They’re too ornate. Do you have anything simpler?”

“If that’s the case... Please give me one moment, my lady.” The merchant looked strangely serious as he searched through one of the display cases. “How do you find this, my lady?” he asked, returning with what looked to be a tiny dusty case of some kind—definitely too small to hold a sword.

“What is this?”

“It is an ancient sorcerer’s sword.” He produced a bundle of keys and used one of them to open the lock.

I felt slightly offended that he was presenting me with this musty item, but the mention of an “ancient sorcerer” piqued my curiosity. The merchant opened the case, the rusty hinges creaking noisily.

“What the…?” I muttered. There, inside the box, was a roughly finished metal necklace with a sword-shaped ornament the size of my index finger. “Are you joking?”

I wanted a sword, not an accessory. The tiny sword wasn’t adorned with even a single gem, either, making it very ugly. I scowled at him.

The merchant recoiled and waved his hands urgently in denial. “N-no, not at all! I would never!”

“What’s this, then?”

“If you hold it by the handle and then imbue it with mana, it will turn into a real sword!”