Not everyone was needed to come with me for equipment shopping.
In the first place, it would be far too eye-catching to bring a group of seventeen girls along for an outing. Anyone who saw us would immediately assume I was some noble brat flaunting his wealth while strolling through town. I still remembered the jealous and shocked looks I had gotten when I was bringing the girls back from the auction.
I was certain rumors were already circulating—about a lecherous young man who had purchased a large harem of slave girls at the Big Auction.
Well… regardless of how true those rumors were, I would rather keep them buried for now.
So I had already decided to divide the girls into groups.
My regular party members—Roxanne, Sherry, Lillia, Anastasia, and Miria—obviously didn't need any new equipment. Not to mention, I had even handed some of the newly acquired auction gear to Roxanne and Miria, so they were all already well equipped.
Vesta didn't need to come either. As I had given her the Orichalcum Sword and the Large Steel Shield, mainly because she was the only one who could properly wield such heavy equipment. As a Dragon Knight, she could dual-wield them without issue—anyone else would have been limited to just one.
After asking her preferences, I had also equipped her with a Steel Plate Armor set—with gauntlets, helmet, and boots—from the extra pairs I had. She was definitely not lacking anything now.
The other girls, however, were a different story.
They all needed new equipment—and not just that, they needed proper clothes as well. I didn't forget that I had already promised them to buy outfits from the Imperial Capital Shop.
Since it was already nearing afternoon, I decided to act quickly and split everyone into three groups to save time.
One group would shop at the Weapon Store, another at the Armor Store—both located in Quratar—while the last group would head to the Imperial Capital's clothing shop. Once a group finished their purchases, I would rotate them to the next shop so everyone could get what they needed in the shortest time possible.
Thinking it through, I will make Roxanne and Miria in charge of the Weapon Shop group. They would be able to help anyone who had doubts about their weapon choices.
Similarly, Sherry and Lillia would be put in charge of the Armor Shop, while Anastasia would oversee the Clothing Shop.
Of course, I would still need to bring all the girls to each location and personally finalize every purchase in the end. Which meant that, no matter how I arranged things, I would be traveling back and forth between these three places multiple times.
Today was shaping up to be a full-blown Warp Marathon for me.
"Master, can't we all just go to one shop together and then move on to the next one?" Shera asked, tilting her head as she tried to process my plan.
"Hm, maybe the shops are too small for all of us to go in at once?" Shea added from the side.
"You two are so stupid," Remu said with a huff. "Obviously, Master doesn't want to become the center of attention by bringing all of us to one place."
"N-no, that can't be right," Shera shot back, pouting. "What's the big deal about being the center of attention? I don't mind it at all."
She crossed her arms, which only served to emphasize the elf's generous boobs, making both Remu and Sherry give her a stink eye in response.
"I like being the center of attention too, Master!" Shea said cheerfully, her rabbit ears flopping adorably.
"Master, even if you only bring five or six beautiful girls with you, you'll still become the center of attention," Yasaka said, hiding her mouth as she laughed softly. "You should probably just accept your fate."
"That… might be true," I admitted with a wry smile. No matter what I did, I was bound to become the target of envy for every man around.
"I, for one, don't like being stared at," Sherry said calmly, closing her eyes. "So I think Master's plan is good. It will also save us time."
"Setsuna will follow whatever Master decides," Setsuna said simply as she stood up.
"Even though I'm making this plan to save time, that doesn't mean I want you girls to rush," I said, gesturing for Setsuna to sit back down. She was starting to turn into another yes-man like Roxanne. "You can take as much time as you need. We can always postpone the labyrinth run until tomorrow, so it's not a big deal." I gave a carefree shrug.
"Yes, you should all be very meticulous when choosing," Roxanne added with a gentle smile.
I stared at Roxanne, speechless. If everyone started choosing things as meticulously as she did, even an entire day wouldn't be enough.
Roxanne either didn't notice my look or chose to ignore it as she continued, "Remember, Master is buying this costly equipment and clothing so you can serve him better. So don't be careless—recheck everything before making your choices."
I wanted to explain that serving me wasn't the main point here, but an image of the girls wearing… rather sensual armor slipped into my mind.
…Well, I definitely wouldn't mind that.
Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. Real armor was bulky, restrictive, and painfully plain—especially the steel sets.
Hmm… maybe I could give the girls tight leather armor… they could wear them for my private viewing. That would surely be… quite fun.
It seemed that spending too much time around Roxanne and Wendy today had made me extra horny. I quickly shook my head and pulled myself back on track.
"Alright," I said, clapping my hands once. "We're heading out now."
Feeling a bit proud that none of the girls had objected to my plan about going to the labyrinth run afterwards, I opened a warp gate and brought the first group to the Weapons Merchant.
I chose to enter through the Adventurers' Guild in Quratar, since it usually wasn't very crowded—and today was no exception. A small group was lining up at the counter, while another loitered near the notice board where job postings were displayed.
Still, the moment I arrived with five gorgeous girls in tow, the entire hall fell silent.
Ignoring the stares, I quickly led the girls into the weapon shop. The Weapon Merchant there was already familiar with me, so after exchanging a few words, I left everything in Roxanne's capable hands.
For the next group, I had already picked out a secluded alley for the warp. From there, I brought the girls directly to the Armor Merchant and dropped them off.
As for the Imperial Capital, I chose to enter through the Explorer's Guild instead of the Adventurers' Guild. Unfortunately, it was still fairly crowded. Even so, I managed to maneuver the group out quickly and brought them straight to the clothing shop.
The merchant—and the young girl helping her—both looked visibly shocked when I walked in with a new batch of girls.
Still, they were professionals. They quickly hid their surprise and, with overly sweet and respectful smiles, began showing the girls their wares.
There were still three girls left back at home, so I returned to pick them up and brought them to the Weapon Store. By the time I arrived, most of the girls had already decided on the weapons they wanted. However they were aware of the empty slots, so they waited for me before finalizing anything.
I quickly used Appraisal and, through party chat, pointed out the weapons that still had empty slots. I had already cleaned out all the three-slot weapons from this shop over the past few days, so none were left, but there were still several with one or two empty slots, which I marked for them.
As I made a few more rounds between the shops, I discovered—just as I had feared—that the clothing shop was taking by far the longest.
In the end, I quietly told Anastasia to help the girls with their choices.
And by "help," I meant convincing them to buy both outfits whenever they were torn between two.
The tactic worked splendidly.
Although regrettably, the shop didn't have many camisole options left in stock, but the merchant promised they would do their best to restock within a week or two. The girls didn't seem to mind—everyone had already picked out at least three pairs, and several of them were too shy to even accept the risque night dresses when I handed them over.
That reminded me that I still needed to retrieve Sherry's maid outfit from Alan… and also visit that special place where the more risqué maid uniforms for Ram and Rem had been made.
As for the weapons side, Kunou, Yasaka, and Erina all chose steel spears.
Apparently, they had already discussed it with Anastasia. She advised them that since they weren't particularly proficient with any weapon yet, a spear would be the safest choice—it would at least allow them to poke demons from a distance without too much difficulty.
She was speaking from experience, however limited it might have been.
So, I bought the spears for them without hesitation.
Setsuna, Remu, and Viviana chose steel swords paired with shields. Setsuna was obviously imitating Roxanne, while Remu and Viviana already had some training in swordsmanship—something I was well aware of—so their choices weren't surprising.
The real surprises were the Oni sisters.
"Do you really want to use this?" I asked, checking the weapon Ram handed me.
The weapon was named Steel Mace.
[Steel Mace: Two handed Hammer
Skills: Empty, Empty]
Much like the steel spear, the handle was made of sturdy wood, but the head was a heavy, studded mass of metal. I had seen this weapon earlier in the week when Sherry was choosing her "hammer," but compared to the steel club she had selected, this one looked far more menacing.
"Yes, Master. Most Oni use some form of blunt weapon," Ram said eagerly, her eyes fixed firmly on the mace.
Well… in myths, Oni were famous for wielding kanabō, which were very similar to this, so it made sense.
Still, seeing such a cute girl wield something this intimidating felt oddly… wrong.
"Although, if Master prefers, I don't mind using a simple wooden club," Rem added meekly.
"Uh, no, it's fine," I said, handing the mace back to Ram. "Like I said, as long as you're comfortable with the weapon, choose it freely."
"Thank you, Master," Ram replied, accepting it with a small but satisfied grin.
"Then, Master… I-I like this one," Rem said softly, pointing toward another rack.
I was expecting her to choose a wooden or steel club.
Instead, she pointed at a weapon similar in length to the steel mace—but rather than a solid metal head, it had a thick metal chain, and at the end of it hung a spiked metal ball.
[Flail: Two handed Hammer
Skills: Empty]
"Do you really want this weapon… Rem?" I asked with a wry smile.
Why?
Why are these cute girls choosing such terrifying-looking weapons?
That is a flail. Isn't this basically a chained Morning Star? Why not use something simple—like a sword?
Why do they want to use weapons that looked like they belonged in a torture chamber?!
"Yes, Master. I'm not very skilled with weapons, so I don't want to get too close to the demons. I think this one suits me," Rem said softly, her gaze lowered.
"…Alright. If that's what you think," I replied, still a little unsure, as I handed her the flail.
"Thank you so much, Master!" she said, hugging the weapon tightly before looking up at me with a bright smile.
Suddenly a chill ran down my spine.
For just a moment, that smile reminded me of a brutal scene from Re:Zero—Rem mercilessly crushing someone with a spiked metal ball.
I felt uneasy watching the two cute Oni sisters holding such dangerously lethal weapons, as if I had just made a terrible mistake by giving in to their requests. But seeing how genuinely happy they looked, I couldn't bring myself to refuse them anyway.
Besides, I wouldn't be letting them carry their weapons outside the labyrinth anyway.
…So there should be nothing to worry about. Hopefully.
"Master! I chose this one!" Shea hopped over excitedly.
She was holding a long weapon with a thick metal head, propping it against her shoulder with both hands.
[Steel Long Hammer: Two handed Hammer
Skills: Empty, Empty]
"Isn't that a bit too heavy for you?" I asked, eyeing it doubtfully.
"Hehe, Master, I picked it because it's heavy," Shea said with a smug grin. "Imagine this—I hop toward a demon and bring this down on its head… BAM! Its head turns to mush because of how heavy it is! Brilliant idea, right?"
"…Won't you get exhausted carrying something that massive around?" I asked, staring at her in disbelief. I was seriously beginning to question whether this rabbit girl had a few screws loose.
"Master, you're underestimating me!" Shea puffed out her chest. "A Rabbitkin never gets tired—especially me! Even my village chief always complained, 'Shea, stop running! Don't you ever get tired?'" she said, mimicking a grumpy voice.
"Master, I've warned her about the same issue many times," Roxanne added with a wry smile. "But she insists she won't get tired."
"Sigh… whatever. She'll have to take responsibility for her own words," I said, already feeling tired as I looked at these cute girls wielding such menacing weapons.
And the only reason I was letting Shea buy this heavy hammer was because, in her original story, she was using an even bigger hammer than this.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Master!" Shea said, hopping in place a few times. "With this powerful hammer of mine, I'll conquer a labyrinth or two in no time!"
She even kissed the metal head of the hammer.
"Nee-sama, nee-sama… I think this rabbit is quite dumb," Rem muttered.
"Rem, Rem… I think this rabbit is very dumb," Ram muttered back.
Shea was completely lost in her own dreamland, meanwhile Roxanne and I both pretended not to hear the Oni sisters—though I was fairly certain she was also thinking the exact same thing.
Aside from these three, there were two more unusual weapon choices.
The first was Jasmine, who chose a Steel Scimitar and shield. According to her, desert warriors traditionally used scimitars. Since scimitars were even cheaper than swords, I didn't mind at all.
The other was the elf girl, Shera. As a forest ranger, she naturally chose a bow. Thankfully, the weapon merchant had a few in stock, though even he admitted they weren't very popular—especially in Quratar. Along with a decent wooden bow, I also bought her a quiver stocked with ten steel arrows, ten copper arrows, and twenty wooden arrows.
She was visibly grateful, so I considered it money well spent.
The last one remaining was Nyx. Her case was… a bit special. For now, I simply gave her a steel spear to use.
With all the shopping finally done, we returned home.
And at last…
It was finally time to head back to the Labyrinth.
***
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