Testing My Luck in the New World

With Alphonse still rebuffing our efforts to meet with him, we decided to continue stocking up just in case. It didn't take long to decide where to go next, as when I recited the list of shops I thought we still needed to visit, I latched onto one almost as soon as I named it. That being the Blacksmith.

"I need to replace my sword."

"Why? I can protect you."

Letting this chance slip by would be a mistake. We had the coin now and who knows when I'd be able to find a replacement weapon once we were on the run? Neither I nor Yua knew if someone like Alphonse would have a way to communicate with any partners he might have in other cities, so stopping by one would be risky. Likely unavoidable, since we'd have to restock on food at some point, but having someone alert him to our whereabouts was a needless risk.

That aside, I should probably be just a little grateful to my past self for selling my swords in the first place. I'd been walking around with those things on my hip this whole time, just to take advantage of the fact that nobody in this city cared how one protected themselves —and because I may or may not have thought it was cool— but having them might have been dangerous. If I'd had them when Alphonse's thugs verbally backhanded us a second time after we returned to DeGrave, I might have done something stupid. Thankfully, conjuring up a spell was a little more difficult than drawing a sword, so I had a chance to think it over before the anger could boil over and before I could make the situation any harder on us.

"I know you can," I said. "But I want to be able to return the favor. And my mana will only last so long in a fight. I need a backup. Besides, we got most of what we needed already, but we still need a few things."

Yua was knowledgeable enough to spot a good frying pan from a bad one and put that to good use in the market, but we still needed some of what you could call "kitchen essentials," such as silverware, cooking knives and other utensils. I was fine with eating things by hand, but my modern sensibilities wouldn't allow me to turn that into a daily thing. And the blacksmith was likely the best place to find what we needed while we rearmed ourselves.

"That's true," she said, looking a little unsure if she should be happy that I countered her protection with some of my own. With a small huff and a shrug, she sipped on a glass containing a greenish drink whose name had escaped me when she'd ordered it, but that to the best of my knowledge contained milk of some sort.

We'd taken a small break and gotten a drink in one of the city's many restaurants so we could try and cool down while we discussed our plans. While we waited for the passage of time to slowly trickle on and catch up to the moment where our fate on the matter next actions would be set in stone, I brought up the idea of teleporting into the DeGrave building now that I had a cloak that could hide my face, but Yua shot me down instantly. Saying it'd be too dangerous even if she went with me, because the other battle slaves he owns may be called in to subdue us and she wasn't at all sure we'd stand much of a chance against them. Meaning we were forced to sit on our hands yet again while I sipped on what I hoped was tea. So, the conversation quickly turned back to our supply run.

The city was aglow with the same blue streetlights that never seemed to interest anyone other than me. Thankfully despite our worrying, we were able to relax somewhat comfortably at a fairly secluded table on the outside veranda of a restaurant Yua had visited a time or two before she had a better grasp on how money worked. Since I went out of the way to reserve the few tables next to ours for the short time we planned on staying by handing the waiter a generous tip, we were free to do as we pleased.

Leaning against each other, Yua resting her head on my shoulder and with me enjoying the small tickle of her ear pressing against my cheek, we took to our drinks the best we could. From up on the second story, just about the only spot the place had that offered any discretion for a pair like us, we watched the city-folk walk on by as we talked.