The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter - Chapter 86 - The Champion’s Shield

Chapter 86: The Champion’s Shield

The hot springs training camp of wanton lust ended without any more problems, and I was now back at home.

「I’m home!」

No answer. They were probably in the store. I’ll go there after some rest, I thought as I opened the door to my room and found Alice sleeping in my bed, embracing my pillow. Furthermore, she was trying to kiss it.

「…Alice?」

「Ha… Onii-sama?!」

「She quickly got off the bed and addressed my like nothing happened.」

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「Welcome back. I’m glad you made it home safely.」

「…Yeah. By the way, what were you doing in my bed?」

「Hmm… actually I was thinking about you last night, wondering if you were all right and I couldn’t sleep. Before I knew it, I was here savoring your scent.」

「Well that escalated quickly.」

「It was a fragrant scent!」

I don’t really know what to do if you say that with a bashful expression. She’s cute though so whatever. Alice didn’t look like she had anything to do so we locked the house and made our way to the store.

「By the way, Layla-san came yesterday.」

「What did she want?」

「She mentioned something about combat practice. Too bad she came at the wrong time.」

So she came to the house during her free time. She kept her word but I wasn’t there. I felt bad about it.

「She said she’ll be back in a few days.」

「All right. I’ll have to practice with her next time.」

「Oh, look at that. Toramaru’s doing his best today too.」

Toramaru was stationed in front of the store, calling out to customers. There were a lot of people today gathered around him too. It looked like he was particularly popular with the kids.

「Sit! Sit, now!」

「Oh, dear. I am not a dog.」

「I won’t buy anything, then.」

「…Fine.」

Toramaru sat like a faithful dog. He even wagged his tail affectionately.

「Next, turn around three times then bark.」

「You want me to cast away my pride?」

「I’m not buying anything, then.」

「Turn around three times~, woof!」

I felt like crying after seeing Toramaru’s devotion. Maybe it was actually Toramaru that’s contributed the most to our sales. I gotta help him.

「All right, guys. Let’s stop the silly games, okay? Toramaru is a proud lion.」

「Eeeh~ but he has a flower on his head.」

「That flower is precious and has something to do with his mood. If you don’t stop being mean to him, I might not let you in the store anymore.」

「Wait.」

Toramaru wanted to tell me something and whispered in my ears.

「Those kids’ parents are big-spenders and are most likely our top buyers. Upsetting them might not be wise…」

「Really?」

「We won’t buy anything anymore…」

The kids were getting impatient, pouting their mouths. I have to please them, then.

「I’m sorry. Um, what was it again?」

「Do lion warrior! Then we’ll buy something.」

「I don’t know what that is…」

「Get on me.」

I wasn’t sure what to do so I just straddled over on Toramaru’s back. The kids said to do something interesting so I drew my sword in desperation.

「I’m the Stalgia family’s lion warriors, Noir!」

「Roar! Rooooooaaar!」

「Ahahaha! So funny!」

For the next thirty minutes or so, Toramaru and I played the part of a warrior and his familiar that fought imaginary enemies. Or rather, we were forced to.

As for the Rare Shop, business was doing great. Customers came every day and we had a good reputation in the neighborhood. As I had guessed, the golden slime jelly was a hit and a talk of the town. I was glad I hit the mark on my prediction. There weren’t a lot left in stock so I should go and get some more.

And perhaps due to a ripple effect, my mother’s bizarre hand-made dolls sold like hotcakes. Incidentally, its name was Ugly Doll. It was popular with the girls for being “ugly-cute”. Like how people find bulldogs cute I guess?

After helping out in the store until dusk, I headed to the armor shop I went to before. They asked me to help with Appraisal.

「Good evening. It’s Noir.」

「Oh you’re the guy from last time. I’ve been waiting for you.」

「I came here to Appraise some goods. Is this a good time?」

「Yes, of course.」

I might as well take this opportunity to negotiate.

「In exchange, can I ask for your help in buying a shield?」

「If it’s within my power, sure. I’ll give you discounts on stuff I sell here too.」

We had ourselves a deal. The shopkeeper went to the back and returned after a while with a number of defensive weapons, lining them up on the counter table. A long shield, an iron gauntlet, a helmet with rusts in some parts, and leather shoes. These are the stuff he wants me to Appraise.

「I got something here that was owned by a ruined noble, one I recently bought from an ogre village, et cetera. My instincts tell me they’re gems, but they can be off sometimes.」

I’m going to dictate and he’ll take notes. We’re all set.

「Which one should I check first?」

「Let’s start with the helmet. It’s quite rusty but it was apparently owned by an S-rank adventurer of a major guild.」

「Oh, that’s incredible. 」

「He always had it on so I’m sure there’s something special about it.」

I checked to see if the was right… Oh, this is good. It was imbued with the skills【Durable】and【Fire Resistance A】. I told the shopkeeper and he clapped his hands in joy.

「An A rank skill! That was unexpected. It can withstand most fire attacks, or perhaps even a dragon’s breath. Next is this gauntlet.」

「Hmm… this is just an ordinary gauntlet.」

「No way! I bought that from a famous merchant for seven million ria…」

So he got duped. There were people who’d sometimes use their fame to commit evil deeds. He was probably unlucky.

「Well “boo-hoo” I guess. Gotta pull myself together. Next.」he said.

「The shoes, then.」

They were black leather boots. I gave the soles a cursory check. It was wonderfully-made and carefully maintained. The leather had a luster to it; it was beautiful. And now to the crucial part: it had【Swift Foot】imbued on it. In this case, the effect is active only if you were wearing it. Though if one just had it with him, he’d still be fast barefoot.
Then again, everyone wears shoes so I’m sure he could sell it for a hefty price.

「It has the skill【Swift Foot】.」

「All right! Just as I expected. There was a bandit who tried to rob me during one of my trips. We sent him packing and I got this from him. He was quite fast on his feet.」

The shopkeeper was only level 4 with no combat skills so my guess was a bodyguard he hired took down the bandit. His business seemed to be thriving which means he had lots of money to hire one.

「Now for the last one: this shield.」

「I see you’re nervous.」

「Yeah. This is my greatest treasure. It belonged to a ruined noble from a different kingdom. I lent him some money and I got this to settle his debt. 」

Ruined noble, huh? You make it sound like it’s not your problem…

It was a dull-colored iron shield that could be used with only one hand, but it was long so it would be difficult to maneuver with it. It was more suitable for fighting while carefully protecting yourself.

I Appraised it and hit the jackpot.

It’s called a Champion’s Shield and it had the skills【Durable】【Fire Resistance A】【Water Resistance A】and【Wind Resistance A】.

「This one’s incredible! It has four skill imbued.」

「Wow!」

「No, not four actually. Five.」

「Even better!」

Not all skills were buffs. It looked like a curse type of skill. I examined it with my【Edit】skill.

【Life Force Absorption Curse】
Continually takes the life force of a living person.

Yikes, this one’s bad news. If a human held it, they’d probably be dead in no time. The shopkeeper, blissfully unaware of this, was trying to rub his cheek on the shield and I quickly stopped him.

「Stop! Don’t touch it!」

「Why not?」

「The fifth skill is a curse. You’ll get your life force sucked just by touching it.」

「What in the world?」

He immediately stepped away from the shield, regarding it with eyes like they were looking at something terrifying.

「Now that you mention it, the previous owner said he’d start feeling unwell after touching it for a long period of time. He only had it as a decoration, though, so that’s probably why it didn’t escalate into anything serious.」

「It’s a nasty thing that continually takes the life force of a living person. It’s an excellent shield otherwise. No doubt about that.」

「So it shaves off your life force to increase its defensive power.」

The shopkeeper wore an expression that said he had no idea what to do with it now. He probably didn’t even want to touch it again either. Putting it away was difficult now too.

「You’re selling it?」

「Absolutely not. I have my pride as an armor dealer. I don’t want to sell something like this to customers」

「Dispose it, then?」

「I’d like to, but I don’t know where.」

Someone else might get hurt if it was disposed of carelessly. What a good guy. I checked with my【Edit】how much LP was required to nullify the curse. 5,000 LP, huh?

I had plenty from the hot spring trip so it should be all right. I needed a superior shield anyway so this might be the best one for me.

「Can you sell this to me?」

「You’ll use it even with the curse?」

「No, but I know someone who can dispel curses. I don’t mind if it’s a bit pricey.」

「In that case, how does 10,000 ria sound?」

「That’s very cheap. Are you sure about that?」

「I’m selling a defective merchandise. Plus you’ll probably need money to get the curse dispelled.」

「Thank you. I’ll take it, then.」

I paid him and secretly deleted the curse skill.

「You can use this to carry it.」

The thoughtful shopkeeper brought out a thin wooden board. Using a stick, he pushed the shield on top of it. Now I could take the shield with me without touching it.

「Thank you.」

It was actually all right to touch it now, but I couldn’t tell him that. Not after everything I said. So I just had to fake it.

「You can throw the board away if you’re done with it.」

「Thank you for the help. I’ll come again soon.」

「Thank you, too. I learned that the helmet and shoes were worthwhile goods, and you saved me from having my life span shortened. Please come again.」

We were both satisfied. It was a wonderful shopping trip. I held the shield with my hand when I got out of the shop. It’s just a sturdy shield now—my life span won’t shorten. It was used as a decoration previously so it was still pretty durable and the handle was still firm and secured.

「With this, I might be able to clear the 10th floor.」

I hope we get along, Champion’s Shield!