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Although their main quest required them to visit a certain 'Mr. Longhorn' in Vermillion City, Emilia knew that to really meet him would need her to build a certain level of 'reputation', or the guards at the castle wouldn't even let her in.
Without even a valid 'citizenship' in her hand, chances were, even if she didn't get arrested immediately, she would at least get her face rubbed thoroughly into the ground.
A level ten player's strength was simply not worth mentioning in front of the guards at the castle, after all.
Fortunately, since she knew about it in advance, Emilia was easily able to avoid getting her face slapped in front of her girlfriend.
"Let's go check out the market and shops first."
The capital city was neatly divided into military, noble, residential, and commercial zones, and Emilia was easily able to find her way over to the area using the freshly unlocked map.
Fragrant food stalls and shiny displays lined the streets, and both the rich and the poor could be spotted wandering around.
'That reminds me… didn't the first batch of players who entered the capital in the previous timeline try to get away with stealing some precious artifacts on display here?'
Cynthia giggled. "You could always give it a try."
Emilia couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'And get my butt kicked into jail? No thanks.'
Not to mention the lowered reputation with the 'Fire Kingdom', getting arrested also meant losing all her hard-earned gold!
Just thinking of it was enough to make her heart ache.
Crystal tugged her wrist with a smile. "That shop looks interesting… wanna go take a look?"
Emilia followed her line of sight, and realized that the blonde girl was pointing at precisely the shop she was thinking about.
[Childe's Play]
It was a strange name for a shop that sold weapons, armor, and other 'adventurer' items that were in rather high demand with the players, especially during the first few months.
Emilia couldn't help but sigh. 'Ahh… what a coincidence.'
"Since you want to check it out, let's go."
The shiny rings and bracelets lining the external displays were just the tip of the iceberg, and as soon as they walked in, Crystal couldn't help but marvel at the rows upon rows of weapons and armor, all polished to perfection, and dozens of 'guides' greeting the customers with a professional smile.
"Welcome to 'Childe's Play', madams, may I ask what you're looking for today?"
The young man who greeted them was extremely polite, and didn't even look twice at either of them, despite Emilia's extremely short skirt.
Crystal couldn't help but be a little impressed. "Do you have any recommendations for beginner adventurers?"
The salesman hummed. "We do have quite a few items that will help you greatly in your adventures, but it really depends on your budget. Would you mind sharing with me how much you'd be comfortable spending today?"
Crystal thought that with their combined wealth of almost twenty gold coins, even if they couldn't be considered rich, they could easily afford to splurge a little on themselves.
But since she wasn't exactly sure how much they would need for later, or how fast they could 'earn' in the 'mainland', she couldn't help but hesitate.
Seeing her dilemma, Emilia stepped forward with a smile. "We're just looking around today, but if something really catches our eye, I think it would be fine to spend a few dozen pieces of gold."
Her tone was very casual, and had she not known better, Crystal would definitely have believed that they must have hundreds, if not thousands of gold coins lining their pockets.
The polite smile on the salesman's face didn't fluctuate at all, however, and he only nodded. "In that case, let's head to our accessory section."
Obviously, what the two of them really needed was 'armor', but Emilia knew that it would be too expensive for them right now. The 'cheapest' breastplate sold in 'Childe's Play' would still cost at least a thousand or so pieces of gold.
The salesman enthusiastically showed them various belts, bracelets, rings, tiaras, and anklets, with all of them providing some boost to one's offensive or defensive ability, and a few having other auxiliary functions.
Unfortunately, even though the ones that they were being shown were clearly all 'cheaper' items, most of them were still far out of their range.
"In our earring section, this piece is the most popular with noble girls recently. It comes with the movement skill 'Flutter', which lets the user leap and float once every day, doesn't cost any mana, and it's even on sale right now, at an unbelievable price of just fifty gold coins!"
The clear glass beads on the gold chain were both simple yet attractive, and Emilia couldn't help but think that they would fit her girlfriend perfectly.
Crystal was also a bit tempted, given that they were much cheaper than anything else so far, but soon controlled herself after realizing that it was still out of their budget.
The salesman seemed to sense their hesitation, however, and smiled. "By the way, I almost forgot to let the esteemed customers know… elves get a seventy-five percent discount on every unique earring they buy!"
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Fiddling with the [Butterfly Earrings] dangling from her ears, Crystal couldn't help but feel a little strange. "We didn't get scammed, did we?"
The item description of their newly purchased accessory clearly mentioned that it was only a 'Grey' quality item, which was the lowest grade possible. But at the same time, the ability that the salesman mentioned was indeed there.
Emilia giggled. "Based on the fact that they cost us only twelve gold coins and also come with a unique ability, I don't think so. Besides, they look quite good on you."
What she didn't mention was that as a lower-quality item with an imbued skill, the [Butterfly Earrings] were sure to break apart within just a few uses if not 'repaired' or 'upgraded' in time, since she could just handle it later.
Obviously, while the description of items was sure to be accurate, it didn't necessarily have to be complete. Certain 'common sense' around such things that players only learn through experience was bound to cause the 'flag bearers' a lot of grief.
With Emilia around, though, Crystal and the 'Crimson Witches' might still be able to avoid many such pitfalls.
The blonde girl rubbed her nose in embarrassment. "T-Thanks."
She felt it was a bit strange that the salesman didn't object at all when the 'elf' who was supposed to get the discount was clearly buying the item for someone else, which made her a little suspicious. After all, back in Oriana, some shops didn't even allow adults to buy from the kids menu, even if they had children with them.
But since Emilia said so and she didn't feel that the man was really 'deceiving' them through her ability, she could put her doubts aside.
The crimson-haired elf grinned. "With [Flutter], you can easily jump away from uncomfortable situations once every fight, you know? If it can save you even once, it's well worth the price."
Crystal's mood also cleared up after thinking it through, and she smiled. "I got it. Wanna go to that ice cream shop next, then?"
Emilia would usually consider it a waste of time, but looking at her girlfriend's smile, she unhesitatingly agreed, her eyes full of doting. "Let's go."
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"Welcome to Inari's Inn! A room for two, or two? That will be twenty copper coins per day for the regular, two silver for special, and twenty silver for the VIP!"
The chubby lady at the counter spread three pairs of keys in front of them with a smile, teasingly pushing the golden keychain forward. "The VIP room comes with its own luxurious bath, complimentary meals, and on-demand 'entertainment', if you know what I mean."
Her eyes 'covertly' flitted towards the 'employee' photos posted on the board behind her, lined with dozens of handsome men.
Crystal was a bit afraid that Emilia would 'waste' money again, so she hurriedly grabbed the copper key. "O-One normal room, please. That would be all."
The receptionist sadly picked up the copper coins on the table along with the remaining keys, then sighed. "Their massage service is to die for, you know? And that room is really small for two girls."
Before either of them could speak, though, she grinned. "Oh well, you can always upgrade later after listening to some 'reviews' by our other customers. Don't worry, I won't judge!"
Crystal couldn't help but roll her eyes as she dragged Emilia up the stairs. "Whoever is responsible for her character surely has a few screws loose."
Of course, knowing that the 'personalities' of most 'non-players' were based on the actual 'non-players' in the real world, she could only blame some random lady for being too perverted.
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Since the day was almost over by the time they checked into the inn, Emilia once again logged out and exited her full-dive pod before everyone else, and happily brewed a few cups of coffee while waiting.
When her listless teammates finally came out after hours of 'abuse' and got a whiff of its fragrance, they almost burst into tears.
"AHH! I felt like I was gonna collapse and die even if that stinking pig couldn't hit me!" Nico cried. "I'm just a poor healer! Was there any need to chase me around?!"
Danielle couldn't help but roll her eyes. "That's why I told you not to hit it with your staff, did I not?"
Nico pretended to be deaf as she rushed forward to grab the cup Emilia had just filled with hot coffee, much to the exasperation of the rest of the team.
The crimson-haired girl smiled. "So… what happened?"
Sylvia had just stepped forward to take her cup and was about to explain, only to be swatted away by a certain villainess.
"Only some minor trouble. Anyway, we took care of the [Boar King] and have all hit level ten."
The tall girl's eyelids twitched when she noticed that her coffee was almost spilled, but considering the fact that Danielle had saved her once before when she was almost killed by the [Boar King], she refrained from humiliating her in front of Emilia.
Although she still thought that Danielle was incredibly rude, arrogant, and foul-mouthed, her impression of the girl had already subtly changed from being irredeemably bad to just unbearably annoying.
Listening to their 'report', Emilia couldn't help but jump in delight. "That's amazing, ahhh!"
Had they not been so dazzled by her bright smile, maybe they would have noticed that what made Emilia really happy was not their success in the game, but their 'progress' as a team.
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