Chapter 35: New Gear
Hajin walked down the main street of the capital with Juna at his side, while people moved around them in every direction.
The carriage had dropped them off near the guild district, and now they were just walking without any real destination in mind. He had the royal recommendation letter tucked safely in his pocket, the gate permit in another, and enough gold to buy a small house if he felt like it.
’One thousand gold,’ he thought, still trying to wrap his head around the number. ’I spent three years in the slums scraping together copper pieces, and now I have enough to live like a noble for months.’
Juna walked beside him with her hands in her pockets, her tail wrapped loosely around her leg. She hadn’t said a single word since they left the palace, and her ears kept flicking toward every sound like she was waiting for something to jump out at them.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, noticing the way her brows were pulled together even though she was just staring at the ground.
’Yeah, she’s definitely not fine,’ he thought, slowing his pace a little. ’She was quiet during breakfast too, and she barely touched her food.’
He reached out without really thinking about it, his fingers catching her cheek and giving it a light tug.
Juna flinched hard, her whole body jerking to the side while her hands came up to push him away. She stared at him with wide eyes, her ears pinned flat against her head.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice coming out sharper than she probably meant.
He let go of her cheek and rubbed his thumb against his fingers, looking at her face directly.
"You’ve been looking sad all morning," he said, keeping his tone casual. "Did something happen?"
She froze for a second, her eyes dropping to the ground while her tail stopped moving completely.
For a moment it looked like she was about to say something, her lips parting slightly before pressing back together again. Whatever she was thinking about, she swallowed it down and shook her head once.
"I’m fine," she said, turning her face away from him. "Just tired."
He watched her for a moment, noting the way her shoulders were still tense and the way her fingers kept curling into loose fists at her sides.
’That’s a lie,’ he thought, but he didn’t call her out on it. ’If she doesn’t want to talk about it, pushing her won’t help.’
"Alright," he said, shrugging once and turning back toward the street. "If you say so."
They kept walking, the silence between them feeling a little lighter now that he had at least tried. His mind drifted back to the money in his bag, and a thought struck him.
’Actually,’ he thought, looking around at the shops lining the street. ’With everything the King gave us, we could use an upgrade.’
He stopped walking and turned toward Juna.
"Hey," he said, gesturing toward a shop with weapons displayed in the window. "Since we have more money than we know what to do with, why don’t we do some gear shopping?"
She looked at the shop, then back at him, her ears perking up a little.
"Gear shopping?" she repeated, sounding a bit more interested than she had a second ago.
"Yeah," he said, already walking toward the door. "My sword is that cheap piece of crap the guild gave me, and we could both use proper combat gear. We could do better."
She followed him inside, the bell above the door chiming as they stepped into the shop.
’There’s no point wasting money on anything special right now,’ he thought, looking around the racks of equipment. ’We just need solid gear that’ll hold up in a gate. Once we level up our stats and figure out exactly what we need, we can get custom gear fitted properly.’
His eyes landed on Juna, taking in her current outfit.
’The clothes the King gave us are fine for walking around, but she needs something actually suited for combat,’ he thought, his gaze moving down to her hands. ’She fights up close with those claws of hers, so gauntlets are a must. They’ll protect her hands and probably boost her striking power too.’
He nodded to himself, feeling pretty smart about the whole plan.
Heavy footsteps came from the back room, and a dwarf walked out with a measuring tape draped around his neck.
He was about as tall as Hajin’s waist, with a thick beard braided into three sections and arms that looked like they could crush rocks.
"Afternoon," the dwarf said, wiping his hands on a rag. "What can I do for you folks?"
"We’re looking for weapons and armor," he said, gesturing toward Juna. "Starting with her, if that’s alright. She’s a close combat fighter, so she really needs gauntlets. Something reinforced but light enough that she won’t lose any speed."
The dwarf looked Juna up and down, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her build.
"Close combat, you said?" the dwarf asked, walking around her to get a better look. "What’s your fighting style? Punching, grappling, or do you use weapons?"
Juna hesitated for a second, then held up her hands, "I use claws," she said, her voice quiet but clear. "And I’m fast."
"Claws," the dwarf repeated, scratching at his beard. "Right. So you want something with reinforced knuckles but open fingertips so you can extend them freely, or you want full coverage with reinforced tips?"
"Open fingertips," she said without thinking about it. "I need to be able to use them whenever I want."
The dwarf nodded and turned to Hajin.
"Anything you want to add, lad?" he asked. "It’s her gear, but you’re the one paying. If there’s something specific you think she needs, let me know."
Hajin smiled, looking from the dwarf back to Juna.
"Make it flashy," he said. "I want her gear to give off that sexy but dangerous vibe. You know what I mean?"
The dwarf went completely silent, his hand freezing in the middle of scratching his beard. He stared at Hajin like he’d just suggested they rob the royal treasury.
Hajin didn’t flinch, his expression staying completely serious.
"Would that be okay?" he asked, turning to Juna. "I want my girl to look amazing."
Juna’s face turned bright red, her ears flattening against her head while she looked away from both of them.
’Why is he acting like this?’ she thought, her heart beating way too fast. ’First he randomly pulls my cheek, and now he’s calling me his girl and talking about making me look sexy? What is wrong with him today?’
She bit her lip, her fingers curling into the fabric of her pants, and after a long second she nodded once.
"Okay," she said softly.
The dwarf let out a long sigh, shaking his head slightly like he couldn’t believe what he was agreeing to.
"Right," he said, pulling out a notepad from his apron pocket. "Flashy gauntlets with open fingertips. Sexy but dangerous vibe. Got it."
He scribbled something down, then looked up at Hajin, "and what about you, lad?" he asked. "What are you looking for?"
"I need a sword-" he said, but the words died in his throat as a chill ran down his spine.
The air in the shop suddenly felt heavy, like something had just pressed down on the whole building. His ring flared to life around his wrist, golden light pulsing in a way it never had before.
"Help," a voice echoed in his head, faint but desperate, making him freeze in place.