Some time had passed since I was freed from my shackles.
During then, I apologized about the broken floor, which Quinn generously brushed aside, claiming it was an "easy fix".
Without much struggle, he then took my shackles to the forge, saying that my dagger would be ready to pick up by tomorrow evening.
Feeling quite curious, I wanted to test out the Egoity Path for myself since it was so rare.
Quinn also seemed fascinated by my decision, saying that dual-wielding was quite difficult to learn for most people.
Soon, everyone–including me–had changed into suitable attire.
The casual clothes that Quinn finally wore still failed to hide the vigorous terror of his rugged body.
The outfit that May wore consisted of an armored dress that extended down to her thighs. Grade-three Luthernium covered most of her torso down to the hem of her skirt, and she wore Luthernium gauntlets that gloved her hands.
Her greaves were made of the same material, with an underlayer of violet beast leather that covered most of her body.
She didn't seem to possess any other weapon apart from the closed Luthernium shield that she buckled around her vambrace.
It appears that Quinn had already prepared this set for her in anticipation.
"I was afraid a day like this would come, so I prepared all this for you in advance. How does it feel?"
"It feels great, father!" May responded excitedly, as she moved her body around to test the flexibility of her armor.
Mid-grade was not only good for protection, but also easy to move in.
Most beginners would usually save their money until they could afford this kind of armor as it seemed to be the most sustainable.
"Thank you so much, father! When did you have time to even make this?"
"While I was working on that hand of yours, I thought about making you a set of armor too–just in case you decided to go against my wishes."
"Hehe, maybe I should go against your wishes more often then?"
"Kids these days…" Quinn groaned while shaking his head. "Seeing you like this reminds me of when I first started out."
Quinn, who seemed to be reminiscing for a moment, then pointed his gaze toward me.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Wolf. That dark leather seems to fit you perfectly."
"Thank you."
I was grateful that the armor was such a good fit, and it felt much more comfortable than I imagined–especially now that my shackles had been removed.
"So, Wolf, what do you think of my daughter?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, afraid of how he was going to answer that.
"I want to know your opinion of her. How do you think she looks in her new outfit?"
"Father, please stop it, you're making him feel uncomfortable." May tried to help me out, but from the look in her eyes, I could tell that she was also anticipating an opinion from me.
I didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially not her father.
"You look really beautiful, May," I observed honestly. "I think the Path of Chivalry suits you well."
"EH!? B-B-B-BEAUTIFUL!?"
"Hahahahaha! I think I'm really starting to like you, Wolf," Quinn laughed. "You and I will probably get along well in the fu–"
The man suddenly paused, looking at me sternly as if he had seen something within my eyes.
May–noticing this–turned to him with a look of concern.
"Father? Is everything alright?"
"I think you guys should be heading out now," he said, the bass in his voice sounding much more noticeable. "You said you formed a party, right?"
"Ah, yes," I replied, now conscious of the time. "Amber and Snapper are probably waiting for us back at the station."
"Snapper? As in the Voltaire?" Quinn suddenly became curious after realizing who I was associated with.
"Do you know him?"
"I've heard quite a few things about him, actually. Although he grew up in the North, he's made quite a name for himself here in the Garmen region. After all, he single handedly took down each member of the Seraphox bandits, who raided villages in the Folcan region."
"Really?"
I was quite intrigued by this since Snapper had never mentioned that he actually 'took down' some of the people that raided his home village.
"I heard he even made their leader surrender, disbanding the crew, and freeing the Folcan region from its most notorious raiders. You have quite the hero on your team."
"Hero, huh?"
The way I see it, Snapper's actions were likely driven by revenge rather than actual heroism.
"If someone like him is in your party then I guess I won't have to worry, after all."
"... I guess so."
"Anyway, you guys should take care now, and make sure you stay safe."
"You too, father." May and I waved our goodbyes before beginning to exit the Armory.
"Oh, and May," Quinn suddenly called to her a final time.
"Yes?" she replied while turning to him.
"Remember what we talked about... It's not worth it, okay?"
"I know, father… goodbye now."
…
Before adding May to our party, she and I finally regrouped with Amber and Snapper at the station.
During the party forming process, she revealed her Birthcard ability to everyone else in the group–everyone apart from Larg, who seemed to be running late for some particular reason.
In his absence, we first discussed some minor things like Snapper's new pet stink beetle, Lucky, who Amber didn't seem to get along with very much, as well as our new equipment.
"Amber, that red armor really suits you," I said, while admiring the grade-three Rockefenium she wore.
"Thank you, Wolf," she said with an amicable smile that flipped upside down the moment she turned to Snapper. "At least someone appreciates how gorgeous I look."
He remained silent, feeding Lucky a few lemon seeds.
In spite of his ignorance, Amber turned toward Maybelle, who sat beside me.
"Speaking of gorgeous looks… Maybelle, I didn't realize it before, but you're absolutely stunning."
"Th-thank you, Amber," May shyly replied.
"I mean, how does that chest of yours even manage to fit inside that armor? Your father must be very good at what he does."
"Umm... thank you?" She seemed quite uncomfortable as Amber stared so intently at her breastplate.
I then watched as Snapper–who had been staring at me strangely the entire time–opened his mouth to speak.
"What happened to your shackles, Wolf?"
I was surprised that he mentioned them since I practically forgot I had them on in the first place.
"Oh, about that… May's father used one of his card abilities to remove them."
"May?" I watched Amber's head jolt back in confusion. "When did you guys get so close?"
I crossed eyes with May for a moment, which caused her to blush profusely.
"Umm—"
"She bought me cake," I explained in her stead.
Amber gave me a suspicious glare before rolling her eyes at me like she was fed up or something.
"So your father's a blacksmith and a Collector?" Snapper asked May.
"Mhm," she nodded. "But he retired a while ago."
"I see. But, why would a retired Collector suddenly use one of his cards to help someone he's just met?"
Snapper continued to glare at me like he was waiting for an answer, but just as I was about to give him one, May began to speak for me.
"My father made a deal with him," she said.
"What kind of deal?"
"If Wolf was willing to purchase the Kenium dagger, along with the armor set at its original price, my father would forge him a custom weapon using the shackles... free of charge."
"WHAT!?" Snapper nearly jumped out of his seat. "Just for buying some leather armor and a mid-grade dagger, he gets a custom-made weapon for free??"
On our way to the station, I asked Maybelle to keep information about my new card in confidence, as I didn't want anyone else to know about the Claw Card just yet... for personal reasons.
"That's amazing." Amber added. "Don't you think you should be apologizing to her, Snapper?"
"Apologize? What for?"
"Well, when we first met her, you yelled in her face, then verbally assaulted her, then practically threatened her, and accused her and her father of being scammers."
"... I'll admit, some parts were a little excessive..."
"And?" Amber raised an eyebrow, urging Snapper to continue.
He then turned to Maybelle who sat quietly beside me.
"I'm sorry for everything I said about you and your father. Just looking at your armor and shield, I can tell he's just as skilled as you made him out to be."
"Thank you, Snapper. I-I accept your apology. Though, I don't really blame you for the way you acted. I was just a random stranger, after all."
"Right, but you're one of us now. I'll make sure to treat you with more respect moving forward."
"Y-yeah, same here," she replied.
Maybelle shook his hand, seeming delighted to have reconciled with Snapper.