Magic Armor Customization

Inside the Adventurers' Guild of the Ranoa Kingdom.

Roxy's eyes widened as she looked at the entire large bag of Asura Gold Coins.

"Eh! Is this for us?!"

"Of course it is! What are you doubting, Roxy? If it weren't for Cain and Roxy this time, we never could have conquered such a terrifying dungeon."

Zoldat smiled, patted Cain on the shoulder, and spoke to Roxy, who was holding the huge bag of Asura Gold Coins.

Even now, whenever Zoldat recalled the dungeon guardian's terrifying size and its absurd ability to completely resist physical attacks, he couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.

They had really been careless this time...

He never expected that even Cain, the Sword God, couldn't harm that monster with his slashes. If Cain hadn't also known such terrifying Water Magic, they might truly have had to retreat.

Zoldat felt that Cain was already at the level of a King-class, or perhaps even Emperor-class, mage. At any rate, he had never seen a mage capable of casting such powerful large-scale magic.

"But I never expected you to have been holding back, Cain. You're seriously impressive."

Zoldat looked at Cain, who stood beside Roxy with his arms folded, and smiled faintly.

Cain's lips curled up slightly as he watched Roxy happily clutching the sack beside him.

"No, no. Without Teacher Roxy, I could never have learned such powerful magic."

"Eh! M-me? But I don't feel like I helped Cain all that much..."

Roxy held the bag of Asura Gold Coins, her gaze darting away somewhat.

"Please don't be so modest, Teacher Roxy."

"Alright, alright. I won't be a third wheel. You two can go spend money in the city. There are still plenty of things I need to handle for the adventuring party, and there won't be any adventure requests for a while."

Seeing the two of them start modestly denying their own contributions again, Zoldat waved a hand and smiled faintly.

By now, he understood them somewhat. These two tsunderes... Well, he hoped things would work out between them.

"Oh, right, Cain. Mages like magic hats and staffs, don't they? Didn't you get two excellent magic crystals? When you have time, go check out that magic item shop from last time. Well then, see you."

As Zoldat waved and quickly left the tavern, Cain nodded slightly and moved his hand away from the hilt of his sword.

"Seriously, good thing he ran fast."

"Don't mind him, Teacher Roxy. That's just how he is..."

Cain froze slightly because a small hand had gently taken his.

"Teacher Roxy?"

"A-actually, I also wanted to go take a look... O-of course, it's also to appraise that magic crystal you just obtained, Cain, and..."

Suddenly thinking of something, Roxy's expression stiffened. She looked at Cain with some seriousness.

"Oh, right. Cain, aren't you also planning to have Magic Armor made? We can take a look at that shop too. We might find something useful."

Cain nodded slightly at her words. Indeed, the Magic Armor was still only at the blueprint stage. Well, no one could refuse a cool suit of armor.

Ranoa Kingdom, Neris Magic Item Branch.

"Hmm, are you sure you want to have this armor made? This kind of magic item will cost an astronomical amount of money."

"Um... What's the minimum cost?"

The rabbit-eared woman carefully studied the Magic Armor specifications in her hands and frowned slightly. It needed to be powered by both Battle Aura and mana, lightweight, able to withstand Advanced-class magic, capable of providing gravitational balance, wearable at any time for easy carrying, and significantly enhance its wearer's condition.

She sighed, then looked at Roxy and Cain with a helpless smile.

"Even our finest magic item craftsmen cannot meet all of your requirements. But we will do our utmost, and you will need to make an advance payment of at least five hundred Asura Gold Coins."

Roxy and Cain pursed their lips as they looked at the serious rabbit-eared woman in the shop.

"How about we appraise the magic item first, Teacher Roxy? I'm not in a hurry for the Magic Armor."

Although it was a shame, Cain did not want to pour Roxy's money into it as well. The gold coins and gems Zoldat had divided between him and Teacher Roxy did indeed amount to roughly five hundred Asura Gold Coins, but that was their shared property.

Roxy looked at Cain's slightly uneasy expression, and a smile unconsciously rose to her lips. She could never forget how excited and happy Cain had looked that night when she drew the Magic Armor design.

"Please help us make that armor."

Without much hesitation, Roxy firmly placed the full bag of Asura Gold Coins and gems before the rabbit-eared shop clerk, whose eyes lit up.

"Hey, Teacher Roxy, this is too..."

Cain wanted to stop Roxy from sacrificing her own interests to help him, but Roxy, still holding his hand, stopped him with a smile.

"Please listen, Cain. Your swordsmanship is the core of our adventuring party. If your safety is threatened, I will be troubled. And I'm a mage—when a crisis truly comes, only you can protect me the fastest, right?"

Looking into Roxy's earnest eyes, Cain pursed his lips. He truly had no way to refute her for the moment. What Teacher Roxy said was realistic, and it really could happen. If even he was threatened, could Zoldat and the others truly protect Teacher Roxy properly?

But he really couldn't imagine such a situation...

Still, it was five hundred Asura Gold Coins. No matter how he thought about it, that was far too much...

"But this costs too much. I-I don't know how to repay Teacher Roxy for this kindness..."

Cain pursed his lips and spoke frankly.

"Eh, clearly I'm the one benefiting from you. Consider this my investment for now. When we meet again in the future, I'll ask the you from then to pay me back."

Roxy smiled happily with her hands behind her back. Seeing Cain's helpless expression as he pursed his lips, she felt a little smug inside.

This was the first time her foolish apprentice had shown such an adorable, guilty-looking expression.

There was no way Roxy could spend so many Asura Gold Coins. She had received one hundred Asura Gold Coins from the previous split alone, an amount an ordinary person could barely spend in half a lifetime.

Cain sincerely cared for her and truly regarded her as someone important. Roxy could feel it, and she wanted to repay Cain, to answer everything her foolish apprentice had done for her.

Besides, all this wealth had been obtained after meeting Cain. To be honest, she hadn't contributed much herself. Now that she could help Cain grow stronger, Roxy would not begrudge spending any Asura Gold Coins beyond what she needed for daily life.

Though she still wanted to save up more money, of course.

"Alright! Thank you for your trust. We will devote ourselves to creating the magic item you desire. The estimated time is over three months. Since the armor you requested is extremely difficult to make, delivery may be delayed. Please wait patiently."

Roxy and Cain signed the transaction contract and pressed down their fingerprints together.

As if remembering something, Cain took the Red Dragon's magic core from his clothes and placed it on the table with a clack.

"Can this be installed in the armor?"

Cain had originally planned to turn this magic core into a staff and give it to Teacher Roxy. However, the Red Dragon's magic core enhanced fire attributes, while Roxy primarily used Water Magic and liked exploring dungeons. Using Fire Magic in a dungeon was dangerous, so she decisively refused.

"A Red Dragon's magic core!?"

The rabbit-eared clerk's pupils contracted. This kind of magic core was extremely rare, contained an immense amount of mana, could automatically supply mana to magic items, and could also serve as the core of a magic staff. It was priceless.

Naturally, this also proved that the two people before her were definitely no ordinary adventurers.

"Yes! There will be no extra charge for this. Thank you once again for your trust."