Setting down her forging hammer and stepping away from the workbench, Tsubaki glanced up to find Leon leaning against the doorframe. One eyebrow rose on reflex. But the figure that appeared behind him seized her attention entirely.
It wasn't the girl's striking beauty, though that was certainly hard to miss. What caught Tsubaki's eye was the aura she carried: crystalline, composed, with an edge of quiet authority.
And then there was the truly earth-shattering detail... Leon Hart had a companion.
In all the time Tsubaki had known him, Leon was a lone wolf through and through. Forget a permanent party member. She'd never once seen him with so much as a temp partner or a hired Supporter.
The sudden change lit a fire under her curiosity.
"And who's this?" She arched an eyebrow. "Care to introduce me?"
The faintest trace of smugness tugged at the corner of Leon's mouth. He gestured beside him. "Jeanne d'Arc. The newest member of our Familia."
Knew it.
Tsubaki wore the look of someone whose suspicions had just been confirmed, and with it came an instant understanding of why Leon was here.
"I see." She nodded. "You're here to commission custom weapons and armor for Miss d'Arc, then? Don't worry... for an old friend, I'll knock a bit off the price. Not much, mind you."
A bit?
Leon kept his doubts to himself and put on a smile instead.
"Appreciate it. Here's a concept sketch I put together for her loadout. You're the expert, obviously, so if anything doesn't work from a practical standpoint, I'm all ears."
Tsubaki pulled off her work gloves and took the notebook he offered, flipping through the pages.
Her eyes widened as she went. "You drew these? Didn't know you had it in you." She clicked her tongue appreciatively. "Not bad at all. Good eye for design, too. Better than half the lunkheads in my Familia who can't think past the anvil."
Leon smiled and said nothing.
Skill: Scholar's Heart. Elevated refinement. Effort rewarded in proportion. Enhanced learning, comprehension, analysis, aesthetic sensibility, imagination. Greater finesse in magic and techniques, improving both form and function. Improved performance and appearance of equipped arms and armor...
With Scholar's Heart backing him up, combined with every illustration of Jeanne he carried in his memory, the concept art in Tsubaki's hands was the result.
Whether it would hold up in actual combat was another matter entirely, and not his problem. Translating a concept sketch into a proper engineering blueprint was the job of a master smith. Tsubaki would refine his vision into something real.
"Well, obviously," he said. "Don't underestimate my taste."
Tsubaki clicked her tongue again and handed the sketches to Jeanne, who had been watching quietly from the side. "Miss d'Arc, take a look yourself. If it works for you, we'll get started."
Jeanne took the parchment. Her gaze fell on the hand-drawn designs, and she was immediately captivated.
A strange sense of rightness welled up inside her, as if this armor had always been meant to be hers.
"This is perfect," she said with a nod.
"Then let's get to work." Tsubaki produced a measuring tape and began taking careful measurements of Jeanne's frame, recording each dimension.
"All right, come back in a couple days," Tsubaki instructed as she jotted down notes. "Once the mold's ready, you'll need to try it on so I can make adjustments. If everything checks out, we finalize and go to production."
"Of course. Thank you, Miss Collbrande," Jeanne replied politely.
"No need for thanks. Business is business." Tsubaki waved a hand, then turned a sly grin on Leon. "When someone's practically throwing Valis at me, who am I to turn them away? Right, Leon?"
"..."
That grin. He knew that grin. The look of a merchant who smelled blood in the water. Every alarm bell in Leon's head started ringing.
"Don't you dare gouge me. We can't afford second or third-tier arms. Weapons plus armor, the total has to stay under 200,000 Valis."
Tsubaki Collbrande: "?"
200,000?
The sheer audacity of his delivery left Tsubaki speechless. She'd seen shameless before. She had never seen this shameless. Did he think a top-tier smith in Orario had no pride?
"Excuse me? 200,000 Valis?!" Her voice shot up an octave. "Are you trying to con me? My labor alone costs more than that!"
"But you made my armor, didn't you?" Leon fired back instantly, the picture of innocence. "That only ran me 49,900 Valis!"
The nerve! That set had been scrap-metal practice work, cobbled together from leftover materials, and he'd snagged it on a clearance fluke! How could he possibly compare that to a proper custom commission?!
Tsubaki was so angry she almost laughed.
"Weapons plus armor, nothing under 500,000. Take it or leave it!" Her tone brooked no argument.
500,000?!
Leon's expression shifted hard. This was a Tier Four loadout for a Level 1 Adventurer. That price blew clean past every line in his budget.
"My dear Tsubaki..." He pivoted instantly to his most ingratiating tone. "We go way back. Surely, for the sake of our long and beautiful friendship..."
"Your friendship is worth exactly nothing!" Tsubaki cut him off without mercy.
"..."
Jeanne stood to the side, hands fidgeting, watching helplessly as the two went at each other hammer and tongs. Spit flew. Voices rose. It looked like fists might follow at any moment.
In the end, after a full thirty minutes of "friendly negotiation" and "deep, heartfelt communication"...
...it was Leon, the one who needed something, who swallowed his pride and bowed his head. The final damage: 499,900 Valis, extracted from him like a pulled tooth.
Breakdown:
Weapons: 299,900 Valis (custom Banner Lance + one-handed ritual sword)
Armor: 200,000 Valis (plate armor set: forehead guard, gorget, gauntlets, greaves, waist plate)
Plus three complimentary training weapons of their choice.
Generous, one might say.
In Tsubaki's words: maintaining combat-grade durability while also achieving the aesthetic quality of Leon's concept art sent the craftsmanship difficulty through the roof. More steps, more complexity, more cost. Simple math.
"Pay up." Tsubaki held out her open palm in front of Leon's face.
He reached for his coin purse with agonizing slowness. Counted out the Valis with agonizing slowness. Held the pouch above her waiting hand...
...and didn't let go.
"Look at that face." Tsubaki smirked. "All that pain over a little coin. You know that's no way for an Adventurer to act."
She reached for the pouch and tugged.
It didn't budge.
"?"
Tsubaki's eye twitched. Leon stared at the money with the hollow, devastated look of a man watching his own flesh being carved away. She snorted, tightened her grip, and ripped the pouch free.
"Please. A measly 500,000, and you're putting on a whole performance? Cheapskate." She counted the coins at speed, contempt dripping from every word.
"..."
A measly 500,000?
Leon screamed internally. Of course she could say that. The top smith in Orario, rich enough to never feel it. Easy for her to talk.
"Do you have any idea what Valis means to me? This is my blood and sweat..."
He was just winding up for a proper lament when Tsubaki cut him off with a wave. "Yeah, yeah. The fact that you're getting me to work for this little? Count your blessings and quit whining."
The lament died in his throat. All Leon could manage was a sheepish grin. "Well... put your heart into it, yeah? Please, Tsubaki."
"Do you even know who you're talking to? As if I need you to tell me." She rolled her eye and jabbed a thumb toward a wooden barrel by the entrance. "Training weapons are in there. Pick what you want and get out. I've got work to do."
"..."
Why does that sound so familiar?
Tsubaki had already thrown herself back into her work. No point lingering.
A light tug at his sleeve. Jeanne caught his eye, giving him a quiet look.
He nodded.
Never one to leave free goods on the table, Leon grabbed an ironwood griffin sword while Jeanne selected a long spear. Then, thinking ahead to how their combat style would evolve, he added an ironwood staff for polearm training.
Freebies secured, the two made for the exit.
"Jeanne's armor is in your hands, then. I'll be back in a few days. Oh, and my armor..."
"Didn't forget. Come pick it up when you're here." Tsubaki didn't look up.
"Done!"
Before they left, Jeanne turned and gave Tsubaki a formal bow. The grace and poise of the gesture made Tsubaki wonder, not for the first time: what kind of absurd luck did Leon Hart stumble into, landing a partner like this?
...
With business concluded and time to spare, Leon conferred with Jeanne and they decided to press on to the Free Market in the Sixth District without delay.
The Sixth District: the beating commercial heart of Orario.
Trading floors, massive warehouses, and merchant halls packed the area, forming the city's primary gateway for external commerce. Foreign trade guilds, traveling merchants, and noble procurement agents were a common sight. But that same openness made it a melting pot. Every stripe of society rubbed shoulders here, and the atmosphere ran chaotic. The military police kept this district under close watch.
Walking through the bustling, lively streets, Jeanne took in the atmosphere, so different from the orderly General Store.
"It's so alive!" she said. "Compared to the General Store's precision, this place has real... character. You can feel people actually living here."
The Free Market's streets were clean and well-kept, the layout dense but organized. Neat rows of buildings lined both sides, stalls and shops arranged in tidy formation. Vendors and clerks called out to passing customers, their voices rising and falling in an endless, overlapping chorus.
Since they were already here, Leon figured they might as well explore. Maybe find some interesting street food worth trying.
"Hm?" Strolling through the market's food lane at Jeanne's pace, something ahead caught his eye. A crowd was forming. He looked over, curious.
"Hey! You! Stop right there!"
In the distance, a panicked figure scrambled through the dense press of bodies, trying to sprint. He'd clearly overestimated his own Agility.
In a market this packed, speed wasn't something you could just turn on.
Sure enough, the man made it all of three steps before a nimble, red-haired girl launched herself into a clean flying side kick that planted him face-first into the ground. She pinned him before he could twitch.
"What happened?" Jeanne looked up from the oranges she'd been examining, following Leon's gaze.
Leon wasn't sure whether to laugh or shake his head. What was he looking at, exactly?
"Well... apparently Orario has shoplifters too. Learn something new every day," he muttered.
Jeanne didn't catch the quip. Her attention had locked onto the red-haired girl, fierce and commanding, and she murmured in quiet surprise:
"That's... Astraea Familia?"
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Note: 50 Powerstones for extra chapter guys!