Nelliel looked at the bird now sitting on her shoulder.
’He really is full of tricks, isn’t he?’
Since Nelliel wasn’t a cadet, she could go in and out of the academy city without getting permission first. Still, it wasn’t that easy. But if this bird could really do what her brother was telling her, then it would help her quite a lot.
Her lips slowly curled up into a smile as she turned to her brother, who was sitting on a chair.
"Thank you, brother. You’ve made things a lot easier for me with this."
He gave her a nod in return.
With that, Nelliel turned around to leave, but just as she placed her hand on the door handle, he called out to her once again.
"There is one more thing."
’There is more?’
She turned around with a silent question in her eyes.
After seemingly mulling over his words for a few moments, her brother asked in his usual dull tone.
"About that baby serpent monster that you told me about last time, how big is it?"
***
In the empty streets of the academy city, a girl sat on a bench by the roadside, staring at a dagger in her hand.
Fina sighed.
’Looks like I’d need to buy a new one.’
The dagger was a magitool, and it had cost her quite a lot when she had bought it. But after using it for a year, it was no longer in a condition to be used.
Being a second year, most of her time was spent completing missions. And most of those missions had to do with fighting, so she couldn’t go long without a good weapon.
’Let’s see.’
She rummaged through the pouch attached to her waist. All she could find inside were a few gold and silver coins and a lot of copper coins. After doing a brief mental math, the money seemed to be around fifteen thousand lux.
Her expression fell.
’Doesn’t look like I will be able to afford a fragment relic. Guess I’ll have to settle for a magitool once again.’
She stood up from the bench and began walking toward the market area of the academy city.
Magitools were like a cheap alternative to grade-one fragment relics. But if compared side by side, a grade-one fragment relic would provide much more value. Not only were they more versatile in what they could do, but they were also much more durable.
More than anything, magitools were destined to lose their value after prolonged use. But fragment relics would become stronger the more time passed. If she were lucky enough, the grade one fragment relic might even evolve into a grade two fragment relic.
’But what’s the point when I can’t afford them in the first place? Let’s just hope I get a good deal for a decent magitool weapon.’
She entered deeper into the marketing area, trying to find a shop that sold magitool weapons. But just as she was looking around, her eyes caught something strange.
There was a small shop near the corner. From the outside, the shop looked rather modest, but the board above its entrance had something strange written on it.
{Eveline’s Custom Magitool Shop}
Fina’s feet paused.
’Custom magitool? What are those?’
That was the first time she had heard such a term.
’Maybe I should check it out...’
With that thought, she approached the shop and opened the door.
The interior was not what she had expected. It was a small room with a single glass window on the left. All that existed in the room were two armchairs facing each other and a round glass table in the middle.
A young, petite woman with long golden hair and pale blue eyes was sitting in the armchair facing the door, smiling faintly. Her clothes were somewhat strange. A simple black suit with a white shirt underneath and black pants.
The most noticeable detail about the woman was the earring she wore in one ear. The earring was a miniature hourglass with glowing red liquid contained in it instead of sand.
Fina furrowed her brow.
’Who dresses like that?’
Just then, the young woman stood up and offered a light bow while still smiling faintly.
"Welcome to Eveline’s Custom Magitool Shop. I am the owner, Eveline." She gestured to the vacant armchair. "Please have a seat."
The woman’s polite and welcoming attitude felt like a stark contrast to the usual grumpy shopkeepers she had to deal with. They both sat down facing each other.
The petite woman leaned in slightly.
"Now then, please describe your needs."
Fina glanced around for a bit before speaking.
"This is a shop, right? I don’t see anything here... Is there a basement, perhaps? Oh, and would you mind explaining what you mean by custom magitools? I don’t believe I’ve heard that term before."
As she finished, Fina glanced at the woman’s reaction.
’Does she find it strange that I didn’t know about the term yet still entered the shop?’
The woman was still smiling softly, and Fina couldn’t find a shift in her expression as the shopkeeper answered.
"I see. Forgive me for not explaining things to you beforehand. I had assumed that you visited this shop because you were recommended by a previous customer, since that had been the case for most of my customers."
She leaned back in her seat.
"As for this shop... it is different from most magitool shops. Rather than selling a variety of magitools for customers to choose from, this shop creates magitools based on the customer’s needs. You need to place an order in which you describe the kind of magitool you need, and that magitool will be delivered to your address in a few days."
Fina blinked.
’...Really? That sounds too good to be true. I have a feeling that the magitool I order is going to be quite expensive.’
"Um..." Fina spoke hesitantly. "My budget is not that high, so..."
The shopkeeper smiled reassuringly.
"You have nothing to worry about. The magitool you order will cost the same as its market cost. You just need to pay an extra hundred lux for the crafting and delivery charges."
Fina’s eyes widened.
’Wow, this really is too good to be true.’
She took out her dagger and showed it to the woman.
"I have been using this for quite some time now. This dagger spews out a burst of flames from its blade whenever I channel my mana into it. I would stab my target with it and then activate its effect, which would burn their body from the inside. But it is no longer usable at this point. I want something similar. Can you... suggest something?"
The shopkeeper ran her fingers over the dagger’s blade with a contemplative look.
"Hmm... so you wish for a dagger that can cause internal damage when stabbed? How about keeping this dagger’s function and adding another function so that when you channel your mana into it, the dagger’s blade releases both a burst of flames and a small vortex of wind? This will not only burn your target from inside, but the wind will also tear their internal organs apart. Moreover, wind and fire have great synergy. What do you think?"
Fina tilted her head.
"Adding the effects of two different elements? That can be done?"
She had never encountered a magitool that had effects of more than one element. But the woman nodded confidently.
"Of course it can be done. Now, are there any more ideas that you wish to add to your order?"
Fina’s lips unconsciously curled up into a smile as her eyes shone.
’Oh lord, I’ve really found an incredible shop, haven’t I?’
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