Life as an Adventurer with the Banished Marquis' Daughter - Chapter 31: Shopping with the Exiled Marquis’ Daughter, Part 3

Chapter 31: Shopping with the Exiled Marquis’ Daughter, Part 3

The weapon shop Lana introduced us to was, to put it bluntly:

“It’s run-down.”

“It’s shabby.”

It was indeed shabby. 

Extremely so. 

It was hard to believe they could do business at this level of dilapidation.

If it weren’t for Lana’s recommendation, I wouldn’t have even considered entering.

In fact, I probably wouldn’t have recognized it as a weapon shop.

Seeing Erika’s questioning look, I gathered my resolve and stepped forward. 

Nervously, I opened the door, fearing it might break at my touch. To my surprise, the interior was unexpectedly clean. 

Rather than clean, it was…

“There’s nothing here.”

Erika said from behind me. 

The shop was completely empty—no weapons, no shelves, nothing. 

For a moment, I thought we had entered the wrong place, but a wooden plate on the counter read “Torrosso Weapon Shop.”

Confused by the lack of displayed goods and people, we walked to the counter.

There wasn’t even a bell to ring for service. 

Looking down at the counter, I saw a person lying there.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

A woman with messy, waist-length black hair, swinging wildly as she shook her head, apologized. 

The sight of her wearing glasses and apologizing was a bit frightening.

“I’m sorry for startling you. I was so bored that I fell asleep.”

As much as I understand being bored, sleeping in a place like that is not ideal. 

I panicked, thinking I had stumbled upon a crime scene.

“Exactly, I didn’t sense any presence at all. I thought it was a corpse.”

When Erika protested, the black-haired woman apologized, shaking her hair wildly.

“Well, setting that aside,”

Erika stopped the apologizing woman and continued,

“Do you sell weapons here?”

She glanced around the counter.

“Are you the owner, Miss Torrosso?”

“Oh, I apologize for the delay. I’m Tepe Torrosso, the owner of Torrosso Weapon Shop. Are you… customers?”

That’s an unusual way of referring to oneself. 

Judging by the accent, she might be from the southern region.

“Yes, we’re customers. We’re here to buy a sword.”

“Houuuooo!”

Tepe let out a strange cry at my response. 

I really wanted to leave right then.

“I’m so sorry, so sorry!”

She clung to my arm, seemingly noticing my expression. 

Though caught off guard by her unexpected strength, I almost lost my balance for a moment.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had customers, so I got a bit excited,”

Tepe explained, her eyes teary.

“Alright, alright, I understand,”

I replied, wishing she would let go. 

Erika looked slightly annoyed. 

As a former marquis’ daughter, she must find an impolite shopkeeper unpleasant to witness.

However, instead of letting go, Tepe started rubbing my arm, murmuring things like “Ohh” and “Hmm.” Each time, her rather large chest brushed against my arm.

Even through the rough leather apron, I couldn’t help but notice. Just as I was about to tell her to stop, Tepe looked up from my arm.

“Customer, you have unusual training. You use the knightly swordsmanship typical of nobles, combined with your own style? No, this is southern swordsmanship, isn’t it? Your muscles are very distinctive.”

Tepe suddenly guessed my swordsmanship background. 

Was she observing my muscles all this time? 

Can someone really tell just by looking at muscles?

Indeed, my swordsmanship is a blend of the knightly techniques taught at the academy and the southern swordsmanship taught by my mentor.

“Oh, and you’re mostly a pure swordsman, right? You seem to be able to use magic for body enhancement quite well, but you’re not very good at emission-type magic.”

The way she kept accurately pointing out my traits was unsettling.

It’s not normal to deduce so much from just looking at one arm’s muscles.

A feeling close to fear began to rise within me.

“That’s enough.”

It was Erika’s voice that stopped Tepe from saying more.

“It’s inappropriate to speak without the person’s consent.”

At Erika’s cold tone, Tepe let out a strange noise, released my arm, and bowed repeatedly, apologizing.

I felt that Tepe didn’t mean any harm, and seeing her apologizing so much made me feel sorry for her. Plus, her hair kept hitting my face with each bow. 

As I was about to tell her it was fine, I somehow got scolded too.

“What kind of husband lets another woman touch him like that in front of his wife?”

Feeling ashamed for not considering Erika’s feelings, especially since I was accompanying her in this farce, I deeply reflected on my actions.