“W-well, let’s get back on track,” I said.
After discarding the apple cores, I decided to visit all the main shops and make some significant purchases after checking things out.
The first place we went to was an accessory shop next to the item shop.
Once inside, I finally realized I’d completely forgotten to try equipping rings on Ringo.
I gave it a shot, but it seemed Ringo, too, had trouble equipping more than three rings.
It wasn’t impossible to force them on, but
“…It just feels weird,”
she said.
Equipment seemed to be related to character ability data, like lightning strikes, rather than event flags.
Even with a bug, some of that system was likely still in place.
The screw-up at the item shop was still fresh in my mind.
The accessory shop had a wide variety and large stock of items, and they weren’t exactly cheap. Buying everything would be excessive as a waste of money.
I picked out a few useful-looking items and bought only what would allow me and Ringo to reach our maximum equipment slots.
As for the actual choices, I definitely couldn’t pass up the attribute-boosting rings that had been so helpful in defeating the Butcher.
The level I rings from Ramur’s shop didn’t offer much benefit with normal use, but specialized attribute attack rings, at the shop’s highest tier III, could be incredibly effective.
Specialized I offered a 15% boost and a 70% debuff, while Specialized III offered a 45% boost and a 50% debuff. The multipliers were dramatically different.
If a character had ten attribute-specialized rings equipped, the dark attribute modifier for a light attribute attack specialization I ring would be -6 times.
While that was a significant multiplier, even with a straightforward attribute attack specialization III, the attribute modifier could reach 5.5 times.
Furthermore, if the number of equipped rings was seven or less, a specialized III ring was generally stronger. This made them incredibly effective against enemies with known elemental weaknesses.
Of course, by the late game, monsters with complete immunity to all elements would become absurdly common, so whether they’d remain effective until the end was questionable, but as the saying goes, it’s better to be prepared.
Meanwhile, after consulting with Ringo, we decided to equip her with accessories centered around strength specialization. These accessories would drastically increase her Strength stat while significantly decreasing her Magic Power, all to boost the power of her lightning strikes.
Generally, specialized gear that greatly lowered the stats of opposing elements boasted about three times the stat increase compared to enhanced gear, which had no drawbacks.
That kind of unbalanced design was typical of “Nekoneko” quality, but if exploited correctly, it could be very beneficial.
Combined with her already high base stats, she would be able to unleash even more powerful attacks.
After that, I casually picked up some general ability-boosting items and a Stamina-increasing ring that seemed like a good find, and we hurried to the next shop.
The next place we arrived at was the weapon shop.
Buying all the weapons was out of the question, both due to cost and sheer hassle, so much like with Ramur, I decided to buy the highest-grade item for each weapon type and then grab any weapons with attributes or special effects.
However, unfortunately, there weren’t many powerful weapons for sale in the Capital City’s shops at the moment.
In a typical weapon shop, you might expect to find a hidden “strongest magic sword Gran-something-or-other” in a corner, waiting for a player to accidentally pull it out and trigger an event, but in “Nekoneko,” convenient plot devices like that were nonexistent.
The most likely event would be something trouble-some like a weapon that curses you if you touch it, or a legendary weapon scam, but even those didn’t happen this time.
The attribute weapons we obtained were only wind and light, and their attack power was lower than that of the Koganezakura.
For now, it seemed I could only rely on the Meat Cleaver’s attack power.
After the weapon shop, we headed to the armor shop.
Our primary objective was to update our own equipment.
This would finally allow us to improve our situation from being close to the bottom with just our starting gear or no gear at all.
First, I checked all the armor with special effects and elemental defenses that seemed like they’d be useful later, buying two of each.
Then, I began my thorough search for the main event: our own armor.
There weren’t any particularly high-defense items among the finds, so it was quickly decided that we would buy the highest-grade Orihalcon gear sold in the Capital City shop.
However, “Orihalcon gear” meant different things, with variations in weight and stat bonuses.
I considered giving Ringo a robe-type item for mages, but her Strength stat was clearly higher than mine, and lightning strikes were physical attacks, making magic bonuses useless.
In the end, we both bought light warrior sets and immediately equipped them.
“Yeah, this feels good.”
Although the quality of our equipment had increased, the equipped weight had barely changed, so it didn’t impede our movement. On the other hand, our defense should have increased dramatically.
The Orihalcon gear was equivalent to level 90 equipment. Combined with the levels we had gained defeating the Golden, we should now have the defensive capabilities of mid-tier adventurers.
And of course, even though we changed our armor, I had still prepared that piece of paper to put under our armor.
I had briefly considered placing it on Ringo instead of myself, but decided against it as the paper would get crumpled.
That reason, of course, was naturally because Ringo’s hands were too clumsy and would immediately crumple the paper, and there was no other reason.
…Yeah.
Unlike Ena, I knew from the very beginning that Ringo didn’t lack “that sort of thing,” but when I was freshly reminded of it, I did get a little flustered.
It’s just between us, but for a while after that, I couldn’t look Ringo in the face.
Trying to shake off that slightly romantic mood, we moved on to the magic shop.
As soon as we arrived, I bought the “Staff of Healing,” prominently displayed in the center of the shop, for 1 million E.
A million for a single staff was a surprisingly high price, but that was because the price was set with the expectation that it wouldn’t be bought here.
In reality, the Staff of Healing only appeared in the shop when a player visited for the first time. On subsequent days, once you went to the shop, the staff would be gone.
After the staff disappeared, if you visited the shop again, the owner would unsolicitedly tell you, “A wealthy noble customer bought that staff,” and suggest, “If you want the staff, why not negotiate with them directly?” Then, you’d go to the noble’s house, where they’d give you an unreasonably difficult quest… and so on. But frankly, I didn’t care about any of that.
I simply stated that I would pay 1 million E for it and purchased it quickly before any unnecessary events could occur.
After that, it was just normal shopping. However, unlike the accessory shop, there wasn’t much to consider when shopping at the magic shop.
Gems imbued with magic were the jurisdiction of the item shop. The magic shop only sold spell scrolls and staff-type weapons.
I bought all the spell scrolls that Ramur didn’t have, and found a staff with an earth attribute among the finds, so I bought just that one.
With that, our shopping at the magic shop concluded.
“Alright. That covers everything.”
I thought shopping would be fun if I could buy anything, but being able to buy anything could also be quite bothersome.
Well, this was something that absolutely had to be done, and now we wouldn’t need to go shopping for a while.
“We spent quite a bit, huh…”
Checking my Crystals, my remaining balance had decreased to 33 million E.
It was a considerable expense, but considering we wouldn’t need to visit shops for a while, it was within an acceptable range.
(No, it’s not over yet.)
Today’s shopping wasn’t finished.
In fact, the main event of today was yet to come.
What we were going to buy next.
It was the biggest purchase of my life, and it would showcase my newly acquired wealth the most.
“Alright, Ringo. Let’s go buy a house!”
— The purchase of our “home.”
As in many games, in this game as well, you could acquire a house and make it your base.
While I wasn’t generally interested in houses just for collecting items or as a substitute for inns, depending on the grade of the house, it could come with various facilities useful for adventuring.
In fact, there was a reason I wasn’t too concerned about the Warrior’s Guild or Magician’s Guild.
By purchasing a high-ranking house, it was possible to perform weapon and magic customization that would normally only be available by joining those guilds.
In the game, I was satisfied with a 3 million E house that had the minimum necessary functions like weapon and magic customization, reasoning that I wouldn’t be spending much time at home anyway, and a spacious house wasn’t necessary for a solo dweller.
However, the situation was different this time.
When I turned around without a word,
“…Is there… food?”
My companion tilted her head, puzzled by my sudden stare.
(It really is better to buy a more spacious house, isn’t it?)
Not unrelated to the incident at the armor shop, living in a cramped house with Ringo posed a significant risk.
Perhaps it would be worth spending 5 million E for a house one rank higher, or even… I was starting to feel like I should just spend 20 million E and buy the highest-grade house.
When I asked Ringo for her opinion,
“…Hmm, anywhere is fine.”
came her remarkably strong reply.
Well, in Ringo’s case, I suspected she’d probably just sit in a corner and stare blankly no matter what kind of house we had, rendering things like size and facilities completely meaningless.
Then the decision fell to me.
I didn’t have that many strong preferences for a house myself, but…
“Alright, this is it! Let’s go with the most expensive one!”
With my somewhat desperate shout of determination, our new home was decided.
There were no issues with the purchase or handover of the house.
I paid the 20 million E in one lump sum, was registered as the owner, and received the key.
Since Ringo and I were registered as residents, we didn’t technically need a key to enter, but it seemed to be for residents to use amongst themselves.
While I didn’t feel the need for it at the moment, it was something we might need to discuss later.
But for now, this was our house.
This house, bought for the exorbitant sum of 20 million E, was a magnificent mansion built in the heart of the Capital City, near the royal castle, a prime location.
While the price was absurdly high, many players had purchased this house in the game, and information about it had circulated online.
The reviews were excellent, and even on the internet, where critical opinions were common, it was praised as “an incredible location.”
And seeing the house in person, I could understand why.
I couldn’t tell the exact land area, but it was an unnecessarily large, three-story building.
Inside, it was said to contain over 20 bedrooms, a ridiculously spacious dining hall, a pool, a bathing area, and various production facilities.
Such luxury naturally brought concerns about theft, but this house had perfect, or even superior, security, with traps to repel intruders, a “thief catcher,” and mechanisms to prevent items from being removed.
With the game having become reality, the ability to live securely felt even more important than in the game.
However, what truly surprised me was what I found when I entered the building.
First, to power the facilities, Magic Power, or in other words, Element, was infused into the Crystal at the entrance.
This activated the lighting and various other equipment.
“Well then, let’s open it together for the first time.”
Then, Ringo and I synchronized our breathing and touched the front door simultaneously.
The double doors, recognizing us as the rightful owners, slowly swung open.
“Wh-what…!”
The sight that greeted me beyond the doors made my jaw drop.
The moment the doors opened, artificial fountains and waterworks sprang into view.
“I-it’s amazing…”
Such words involuntarily escaped my lips.
What was amazing was that, despite the size of the fountains, the pool was not large enough, leaving the surrounding floor drenched. I entered the house and hurriedly stopped the fountains.
— The “Nekoneko” quality from the very first step inside had me brimming with excitement!
