Before leaving the mansion, I decided to stop by and say goodbye to Beatrice. I walked a bit until I found a door that led to the forbidden library.
"Betty! I'm leaving now!"
"Hmph, I suppose I'm not interested."
She wouldn't look at me, so she hid her face behind the book she was reading. Lately, her reactions have been more endearing than annoying.
"Don't be like that. We've grown close these past few days, so don't you think you could give me a goodbye hug?"
"I helped you with your goal because you're too persistent, that doesn't mean I wanted to spend time with you."
I sighed, exasperated by the spirit loli's usual tsundere response. I still wasn't going to give up.
"I want to thank you properly for that. When I finish my business in the capital, I'll come visit you much more often."
"I suppose that's a reward according to you?!"
I looked at her with a sad smile. I would have liked to stroke her head, but I didn't feel like being sent flying so early in the morning.
"Go for a walk, will you? Lack of sunlight can be bad for your skin."
"I'm a spirit, you silly human."
"Well, it seems to me that you're just a stubborn girl."
I replied, opening the door to leave.
"See you soon, Betty."
As I was about to close it, I managed to hear Betty's voice speaking in a low voice.
"It would be easier for me if you didn't come back..."
They weren't words of rejection, but of fear; she didn't want to get attached to me. Knowing this, I closed the door without saying anything else.
"I always come back."
I'm referring to RBD by the way, but I never miss an opportunity to make a reference.
***
"Well, I wasn't expecting a farewell party, but this is a bit disappointing..."
At the entrance of the mansion, only Ram was standing there, looking at me with a sour face because of my offensive comment.
"You shouldn't be so picky. There will be fewer people at your funeral."
That would make a total of zero people. Ram's answer made me flinch.
"Wow, I really influenced you with my dark humor."
"Joking aside, make sure you keep Rem safe. Make sure she doesn't get into trouble."
Ram's tone made it clear that she was concerned for her sister's safety and trusted me to protect her. I nodded vigorously.
"I'll take good care of her."
"You better. Don't expose her again like that."
Oh, so she knew. Clairvoyance must have helped her figure out what happened. Either that, or Rem told her about that night.
Knowing that the journey to the capital would take about six hours, I was in no hurry or enthusiasm for it, but I preferred to wait sitting rather than standing, so I got into the carriage at once.
With a flick of the reins, the earth dragon set off. Emilia and Roswaal took their places in the carriage's cabin; I sat in the front with Rem.
My relationship with her has improved a bit. I mean, I wasn't even close to having what Subaru had with her. This Rem hadn't fallen in love with me or anything, but she seemed to trust me (all thanks to fighting a cultist together and the emotional support I gave her that night).
"Do you think the cult will launch another attack soon?"
Rem asked a rather pertinent question as we hurried forward. I thanked Tappei for the 'wind repulsion' blessing he gave the earth dragons, which extended to the vehicle they were pulling.
"Probably."
"Where and when do you think they would do it?"
"I'm not sure. Ah, but you don't have to worry about that. As long as Emilia is under Roswaal's protection, they can't touch her."
Despite my words, Rem remained thoughtful.
"What about you? You said you have unfinished business in the capital, so you won't be with Master Roswaal all the time. If the cult sends another assassin to kill you—"
"Rem, relax. They won't do anything in the royal capital; it would be too risky. Besides, I can handle anything that comes from them, as long as it is not an Archbishop."
Saying I could beat any cultist below an Archbishop was a bit of an exaggeration (if we do not take into account the RBD factor), but I needed to stop Rem from being paranoid.
The journey continued for several more hours until we finally arrived at the city.
I broke away from the group so I could move around freely and headed to Market Street, or whatever the damn street where the fruit vendor's stand is located is called.
It didn't take me long to find it.
"Hey, old man! Do you remember me?"
"No."
***
After a somewhat awkward conversation with Kadomon (I finally learned his name), I got a bag full of apples. I still had plenty of time to spare, so I took the liberty of heading to a weapons store to get properly equipped.
Since I had no idea where to look, I asked a shopkeeper for directions. I didn't expect such a cryptic answer as the one he gave me.
"There's only one weapons shop on this street, and its owner is undoubtedly the best specialist you'll find in all of Lugunica. However, I don't think you'll be able to get anything from him."
"Why? Does he have exorbitant prices or only accept certain types of customers?"
"Nothing like that. He doesn't care about money or status."
"What is it then?"
The merchant couldn't give me the details at that time because a customer arrived and demanded his attention.
"The store is that way, on this side of the street; you'll easily recognize it when you see it."
I was forced to walk around for a while, carefully examining the shops until I spotted what appeared to be the weapons store. There was a shield with two crossed swords hanging on the wall, serving as a logo. Of course, neither the shield nor the swords were real: it was a carved wooden object.
The entrance was open to anyone, so I walked right in. The inside of the store was a small room filled with empty shelves and hooks with nothing hanging on them.
I had the impression I had entered the wrong place, but as much as I wished that, I knew this was the store I had been told about.
"This looks so depressing. Reminds me of my life."
Behind a counter stood a shabby-looking man who blended perfectly with the aura of the shop: he was undoubtedly the owner.
He pointed a dismissive finger at me and pointed to the entrance I had walked through seconds before.
"Get out of here, I don't want visitors."
"Is this your way of running a business? I'm not surprised to be the only one here."
"I'm not going to repeat myself, go now."
"Do you know how much effort it took me to get here? I'm not leaving until you serve me."
For a moment, I expected him to react violently and forcefully throw me out, but he only gave a weary sigh.
"It's always the same, there's always an idiot who thinks he has an innovative idea."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"No matter how original you think you are, I know every weapon in this world, and you can't surprise me. Besides, creativity isn't synonymous with effectiveness! Who in their right mind asks for a flexible sword that bends?! That's a poorly made whip! Or the shield with a peephole! Anyone with a pinch of intelligence would pass their weapon through and you'd end up pierced, you idiot!"
"Hey, wait a minute. I just came to buy one of your guns."
The man immediately fell silent, looked at me for a few seconds without saying anything, and then laughed with an obvious tone of mockery.
"You're a foreigner, aren't you?" Was all he asked when he calmed down.
"I am."
"I guessed as much when you said that."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying not to lose my patience.
"So, you're not selling guns anymore or what?"
"I never did. I only work on request: I create for the pleasure of making something new. In fact, I don't even charge for my services."
He slumped into a chair and placed his legs on the counter, making himself comfortable.
"Oh... But you don't accept any requests anymore, right?"
"You guessed it."
"I figured it out when you went crazy and started yelling about it."
As if I'd just given him the solution to his biggest problem, the guy smiled and applauded me. I hate it when people use sarcasm against me.
"So you should understand that you're wasting your time here."
"Let me ask you something else. Is the reason you reject everyone who comes to you because none of the ideas they show you seem good enough?"
"If you know the answer, the question is unnecessary."
Dropping the bag of apples on the floor, I walked over to the counter and placed my hands on the wood somewhat roughly.
"What is your name?"
He sighed as if saying his name was something unworthy.
"Nadir Ashveil. Modesty aside, my reputation is so great that even a foreigner should know about me. You must have been living under a rock if you haven't heard my name mentioned."
Ironically, I've never heard of this Re:Zero character mentioned.
"Well, Nadir... Do you consider yourself good at what you do?"
"I have the Divine Protection of the Forge, I guess that must mean something."
Upon hearing that revelation, I knew I had the opportunity to make one of my plans come true.
"That being the case, I think I can leave this in your hands."
I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper containing a drawing with some text around it. It was very difficult to write what I wanted to say in a language I still don't fully understand.
Nadir grabbed it with a bored expression that turned into curiosity when he saw the drawing and finally into amazement when he read the specifications.
"What is this!?"
"Something that could blow your mind, in more ways than one."
***
After thoroughly studying and analyzing my design, Nadir was very enthusiastic. He asked me many questions, some about how I came up with such an idea for a weapon, and others (most of them) about things I left out of the specifications.
I was smooth-talking enough to convince Nadir that this design I made was much closer to specifying what it really was. In turn, I explained that due to my lack of knowledge about weapons, I had reached my limit halfway through developing this 'prototype' I showed him.
We agreed that he would be responsible for completing the design and making the idea work. He even said he would source the materials, something he normally let his clients do (from there, he would make a profit by selling or exchanging the leftovers, unless he wanted to use them for another creation).
It was a promising find. For someone who lives in the royal capital and has such an interesting blessing, Nadir never appeared in the anime. Since I haven't read the novels (WN/LN), I'm not sure if he was in them or not.
My next stop was the garrison, which in other words was a knight's station. However, I had no intention of seeing Reinhard today. Instead, I headed to the alley closest to the garrison building.
I leaned my back against a wall and took an apple out of the bag, starting to eat it to make the wait more bearable. Within minutes, a family group of three men appeared, escorting a fourth person.
That person was a woman wearing a red and black dress, she had unmistakable orange hair, and one of the best cleavages this world had ever seen... She was also one of the most important characters in the original story.
"There's my favorite girl..."
I crept up behind her as she argued with the three bandits. I didn't think Priscilla would dare kill them, but you can never be completely sure about anything.
The knife boy was slightly ahead of his companions, so I went for him first.
"Bitch, you better cooperate if you don't want to make this worse for-!"
Gathering momentum, I leaped up and planted my foot in his face, knocking him down easily. I flipped in the air and landed gracefully to show off a bit.
I expected more reaction, but neither Priscilla nor the two thieves still standing said anything. I had to improvise.
"I'm sorry to steal your hope, but I'm not going to let you steal my chance to steal this woman's heart. Shit, that sounded way stupider than it did in my head."