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"Well, yes, those are precisely the objects I was referring to…" says the old man with a cheerful smile, looking at me as if I'd just said something funny.
"... Never judge a book by its cover, lad. That can lead you to do silly things. I speak from experience. These two things here... They're the real deal. But I'm still not sure if it's a good idea to sell them."
"What can they do?" I ask curiously, because I can't think of any way a pair of boots could be more dangerous than a pair of daggers.
"Haa... It's pretty clear what's going through your mind, so let's start with the boots. Since I've actually been able to try those on…" says the old man, picking up the two dark leather boots and dropping them to the floor to put them on.
"... To begin with, they also mold and adapt to the body of the wearer. But that's not what makes them dangerous. What makes me doubt whether this is something I should sell to the public is the function I'm about to demonstrate to you now…"
After putting on the boots, the old man's silhouette undergoes a very subtle change.
It's almost as if the contour of his body has become blurred.
"... Right. Now close your eyes for a moment. I'm going to move to somewhere in this room. Then I want you to open your eyes and try to tell me where I am."
"What?" I say, frowning.
"You'll see…" says the old man with a smile.
"... Come on! Close your eyes."
After sighing, I do as he says, and after a few seconds I open my eyes again.
Strangely, Gerald is no longer in front of me, even though I didn't hear him move.
'I see...
It seems they serve a similar purpose to the Scrolls of Silence...
Now then...
Where on earth has the old man got to?...
He doesn't even show up on my interface map.'
After several seconds of looking around in the hope of spotting him, I gradually begin to make out the outline of a human figure to my right.
"You're there, aren't you?" I say, gazing at the silhouette that's gradually becoming clearer to my eyes.
It's as if his figure blends into the surroundings, but he isn't actually invisible.
"Yes. Do you understand what I mean now? With boots like these, you could get up to quite a bit of mischief…" says Gerald, returning to his position behind the counter.
As soon as he starts moving, his body loses its chameleon-like appearance, but his silhouette still has blurred edges.
"...I got up to a few shenanigans myself to put them to the test. The boots completely muffle the sound of the wearer's footsteps and create a rather curious effect on people's eyes."
"Yes... I see. It's not something I'd want to be within reach of just any idiot..."
'It would have been interesting to see how effective they are against someone like Beatrice, since she can actually turn herself invisible...
It's a shame she's not with me today…
Well… I'll try them later'
Today Beatrice told me she wanted to investigate certain matters relating to the nobility of Castemira in the capital.
So, after forbidding her from doing anything she might think I'd see as madness, I gave her the go-ahead to do whatever she likes.
"... Hang on... What sort of mischief did you get up to with them?"
"Ohh... Nothing out of the ordinary. You know... I just used them to spy on some of the city's beauties while they were getting dressed or bathing…" says Gerald nonchalantly as he takes off his boots.
"... You know what I mean. I just wanted to see what they were hiding under their clothes so I could decide which one to seduce next when I finally get bored of Jennifer."
'I don't understand why the hell this dirty old man thinks I'd know what he means...
I'd never do anything like that.'
"I hope Melisa wasn't among those beauties you mentioned. If I find out that—" I say, my voice tense, but the old man cuts me off.
"Nah… I wouldn't do something like that to you. There are codes that must be respected amongst people like us, lad. And one of them is not to touch or spy on your friends' women," he says in a reassuring tone.
"That didn't stop you in the past from using that bloody telescope of yours," I mutter under my breath, unsure of how much I can trust his word.
"Well... At that point, I wasn't entirely convinced I'd recovered, so our relationship was quite different…" says the old man, and for the first time he has the decency to look ashamed of his actions.
"... Besides, I didn't know it bothered you. Given that you and she were out in the open... But as soon as you explained that it bothered you, I promised I wouldn't spy on Melisa again, and I'm a man of my word."
"Haa... All right. I'll trust you..." I say, thinking it would be very stupid of the old man to try and sneak into Melisa's house.
And even more so now that Arya's keeping her company.
"…Melisa's pretty angry with you, by the way."
"Yeah, I've noticed. But it's not my fault. Don't take this the wrong way, lad, but that bit… Ahem… woman thinks everyone in this town should obey her. She's quite a pain in the ass," says the old man, his voice slightly nervous.
"Haha... Don't worry. I'm not going to get angry over something like that..." I say, while thinking of the nickname I use internally for Alessia's friends.
'Perhaps he and I are a bit alike, after all.'
"… I know perfectly well she can be a bit intense at times."
"Yeah… Let's change the subject. I've already told you and shown you what the boots do, but now comes the icing on the cake…" says the old man after an awkward laugh.
"... This belt has a combination of runes that will allow the person wearing it to fly freely through the air at great speed... Probably."
"Probably?" I ask, confused.
"Yes, well... You don't think that I, at my age, would risk trying something like that, do you? And even more so when my sponsor is such a... capable person..." says the old man, tossing the belt my way.
"... This belt is also the only item of its kind I've ever created, though in this case it's partly because I didn't want to risk making more without knowing how well it would work. I made it inspired by that gigantic brazier of yours."
"Hmm… I suppose I can see your point. Haa… Come on, let's give it a go," I say as I catch the belt midair, after which I open an illusory door to my multi-purpose meadow.
...
At the end of our experiments, the old man and I confirmed that the flying belt works exactly as he imagined it would.
It's an incredible invention, even for me, despite having my own Wind Brazier, as a belt is something I can keep on at all times, unlike a brazier with a 3-meter diameter.
It's true that the belt doesn't allow me to fly as fast or as high as my Wind Brazier, but the difference isn't all that great.
While the old man and I took turns testing the belt, since, after he saw that the object was safe, he wanted to try it too, I had time to reflect on the fact that I can't identify the runes that compose any of the magical objects crafted by Gerald.
And that made me realize that I've never been able to identify the runes on the storage rings I bought for him either.
Which completely undermines my theory that I can only see the runes on crafted items through my interface and that if there's an item I can't identify in detail with my interface, it's because it's an item that comes from a labyrinth.
In any case, I didn't dwell on the matter too much, as by this point I'm already used to my interface being completely incomprehensible and chaotic in certain respects.
As well as Gerald's inventions, my visit to the old man's house and shop also allowed me to acquire some items to improve my skills.
Thanks to those items, my Space Travel skill is now at its third upgrade level, which means I can use the skill to travel to areas quite close to the major cities, despite their defenses.
It also means I can use the skill to travel without having to open illusory doors, although this ability is only useful if I'm traveling alone, as I can't take other people with me this way.
I also managed to get the items needed to upgrade Alessia and Delia's inventories to the maximum level.
Finally, among the items Gerald managed to acquire at the Ephire Kingdom auction were also materials to upgrade some of the Saint class skills, such as Detoxification and Remove Curse, but I don't really know what effect those upgrades might have.
I suppose Delia will tell me once she's tested them, but I reckon she's hardly ever used those skills.
Before leaving Gerald's house, I asked him to craft me five sets of stealth boots, flying belts, and night-vision glasses.
That way, both my girls and Beatrice and Arya will be able to fly.
At the last minute before leaving, I remembered how annoyed the three annoying beauties were last time because I didn't bring them anything I'd got thanks to Gerald.
So I asked the old man to make me three more sets, to give to Alessia's friends.
It's not that I care much what the three annoying beauties think, but I reckon it's better to stay on their good side.
After all, Alessia and Delia spend a lot of time with them.
As they say, prevention is better than cure.