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Volume 13 Chapter 3 Part 2

As for weapons, it might be time to think about strengthening Rutina. If she could constantly reduce the number of times I use magic by at least one, it would make things easier in many ways… or is that asking for too much?

Whatever. There doesn’t seem to be anything else worth looking at in the store other than the Orichalcum Sword, which is useless to me since it doesn’t have any empty Skill Slots on it. I guess it’s a miss this time. Oh well, I guess I’ll just keep coming back here from time to time to see if there’s anything worthy of my attention.

「Also, we have some new items that have just arrived. 」

Sebastian brought out one of these so-called new items and presented them to me. It’s a pair of blue boots. They’re a dark blue, more like navy blue or ultramarine. It looks like they’re called [Enamel High-heel Boots]. They also have one empty Skill Slot in them. It’s only one, but it’s better than nothing.

「Oh? 」

Is this something worth buying? I don’t know what kind of equipment these Enamel High-heel Boots are supposed to be. All I know is that it’s an item sold at the Imperial Liberation Society’s lodge.

Well, just because it’s an item sold at the Imperial Liberation Society’s lodge without any skills, it must be quite something. It should be on the same level as the Orichalcum Sword, so I might as well buy it after all.

「It’s an excellent piece of armor that enhances the magic of the wearer, and is quite rare, but two pairs were delivered at the same time. 」

It’s probably not unusual that two pairs arrived at the same time. If it really is equipment that enhances magic, then it must be excellent, just like Sebastian says.

Sebastian took out another pair of the blue boots.

Enamel High Heel Boots, Foot Equipment
Skill: Empty, Empty, Empty, Empty

「Wow. Amazing! I want to buy them! 」

I blurted it out without even asking about the price. No way! This is definitely worth buying! There are five Empty Skill Slots! This is excellent! I’d say it’s the best I’ve ever seen!

If I get this, I will feel just like Ceasar when he wrote the famous words: Veni, Vidi, Vici in his letter to the Roman Senate after the Battle of Zela, where he achieved a swift victory against Pharnaces II of Pontus!

I came, I saw, I bought. That’s just how good of a piece of equipment these boots are. No doubt about it.

「Are you sure you want these, Lord Michio? 」

Oh no. To Sebastian, the first pair of these Enamel High-heel Boots and the second pair of Enamel High-heel boots should look the exact same, so he probably wonders why my eyes started shining with excitement only after seeing the second pair. I can’t say it’s because there are five Empty Skill Slots in it. Well, the first pair has one as well… but you get the point, right?

「Hmm. No. I thought about buying a set of two, but I can’t afford two. Of course. Hmm… what should I do? 」

What am I saying? What about a set of two? It’s not like I need one for each leg. It makes no sense. I feel like I was about to do something entirely unnecessary because I wanted to act as fast as possible, but thankfully I was stopped just in time.

「Is that so? 」

Did I manage to get away with it somehow? Or maybe he was just shocked? If he doesn’t press me any further, I guess I’ll be in the clear.

「However, I suppose I should at least get one of them, since I’ve come all this way. After all, It’s a good opportunity. 」

In the confusion of not being pressed further, I picked up a pair of Enamel High-heel Boots. The one with five Empty Skill Slots in it, of course. As casually as possible. It doesn’t really matter which one I’d take, but I’ll just pick it up like I didn’t care, and only picked up the one which was closest to me.

「Please examine them as much as you like before making a decision. 」

「Yes, I’ll do that. Hmm… they’re indeed quite good. By the way, I’d like to pay with the points that I obtained from a Sacrificial Misanga. Is that possible? 」

I pretended to examine the Enamel High-heel Boots, and then I changed the topic as soon as I could. I spoke quickly, just like an otaku talking about something that interests him. I’m an equipment otaku after all, so it can’t be helped.

「Yes. Of course that’s possible, but is that okay? We have two pairs, so please choose carefully. 」

Apparently, I should have put more thought into it to make my act better. That’s certainly true. After all, For those who enter the Labyrinth, equipment is the thing that they entrust their lives to, so they need to be as careful and considerate about choosing it as they possibly can.

It is not something that can be neglected. When Roxanne chooses her equipment, she always checks it seriously, meticulously, and in detail. Is it rather suspicious to choose it so easily, like I seemingly did just now?

「Yes. Thank you for the advice. 」

「Of course, Lord Michio. 」

But what should I even look at to make it as convincing as possible?

Normally, there might be things that are broken, scratched, or unbalanced, but this is one-of-a-kind equipment made with skills and magic. There may be some small scratches here and there, but it’s not something that directly affects the performance of the equipment in this world.

Or will it affect the performance? No, it won’t. Balance, then? What about balance? How should I look at it? In the first place, there’s almost no difference in appearance between the two pairs of shoes.

「…I’ll be taking this one. 」

「Understood. 」

I couldn’t tell the difference by looking, so I pretended to compare them randomly and chose according to the Identify Skill. This should be fine. If I follow what the Identify Skill is telling me, I won’t make any mistakes. But since I always choose things according to my Skill, my own appraisal eye is not trained all that well, which means that I have to pretend.

It should be fine. I used the Sacrificial Misanga to get my points, and took out some gold coins to get the Enamel High-heel Boots. As soon as I got them, I went home. Good things come after many troubles, as the saying goes, so I should probably go home as quickly as possible.

「Welcome back. 」

When I got home, Roxanne and the others welcomed me. Roxanne’s warm welcome is more heartfelt than Sebastian’s polite welcome.

「Yeah, I’m back. 」

「Yes. Now, we can go to the Labyrinth right away! 」

Roxanne’s warm welcome…. was a lie.

「That’s… that’s right. 」

「Yes! 」

She’s smiling broadly. What she says is certainly heartfelt. She’s letting out her true feelings that she wants to fight in the Labyrinth as soon as possible.

「Before that, I got some new equipment from the lodge of the Imperial Liberation Society . It seems to strengthen magic, so I’m going to have Rutina wear it. 」

「That’s good. It will strengthen the Party. 」

I don’t think we need to strengthen the Party at the moment, Roxanne. We are already making good progress… or could it be that she is determined to go to even higher floors from now on? I tremble at the thought.

「Is it equipment that strengthens magic? 」

「And it is for me? 」

Sherry seems interested in it, but for now I’ll have Rutina wear it. This should be fine. I equipped Rutina with the Enamel High-Heel Boots.

「I see. 」

The high heels make her look taller and more slender. Her legs are really long, but with these boots, Rutina’s already good figure has been made even better. That’s amazing. I see, so that’s why women wore high heels back in Japan. The line from her heel to her calf is beautiful. They’re rounded yet slender, creating a smooth, beautiful curve.

「She looks a little taller. 」

「Does it affect your movement in any way? 」

「It’s fine. Until I get used to it, it might be difficult to sprint from one end of the Labyrinth to the other, but as long as it’s a realistic distance, it won’t be a problem. 」

Even if she got used to it, I think it’d be difficult to sprint from one end to the other in high heels, since while wearing them, everything supposedly feels like running a marathon.