Although Firrstad was one of the country’s largest hubs, rivaling even the capital itself, today was the busiest the city had ever been. Though they were able to prepare in advance for the influx of Travelers thanks to the gods’ decree, none of the denizens had predicted the sheer volume that would be arriving.
The weaponsmiths in particular bore the brunt of the incoming traffic; fortunately, with the initial flood of Travelers trickling down to a calm flow, the clerks finally had a chance to breathe.
“Gods, I thought I was going to die—!” the cashier—a young woman—let out a loud groan as they flopped onto the store counter.
Their manager, a much older, stern looking man, leaned back in their seat.
“Normally, I’d tell you to suck it up,” he sighed, dabbing their forehead with a towel. “But this time… I get it.”
The manager had wrung out the apprentice smiths a few days prior, forcing them to churn out weapons in preparation for the foretold ‘New Dawn’—or ‘release day’, as the Travelers seemed to call it.
Unlike the smiths, the store clerks didn't have to do anything beforehand. However, as far as the manager was concerned, the apprentices had gotten off easy; on release day itself, he and the sole other clerk on duty had to contend with the nightmarish, neverending waves of Travelers on their own.
I have to hire another clerk before tomorrow comes… The manager thought to himself, his steely determination tempered in the hell they had just endured.
A bell rang as the store’s door opened, causing the employees to snap into their customer service (battle) stances.
“... Oh, it's just you three again,” the clerk relaxed, recognizing the aberrations that came in.
The first time Belphegor, Murmur, and Calamity had entered, everyone in the store collectively freaked out. After the trio came a few more times to try different weapons, the clerk… still felt chills, but managed to stop screaming every time they approached with a weapon in hand that they wanted to buy.
“Oh? Art thou not pleased by the return of thy patron?”
Calamity half-smiled, her disdainful glare softened by an amused smirk. Her voice commanded the space, much as the nobility did before commoners.
“N-no, that's not…” The clerk felt a cold sweat. Calamity wasn't actually a noble, was she? “A-anyways, are you here to try another weapon again?”
“Nay, this maul serves me well. We seek armaments for this one,” Calamity gestured to the fourth figure behind her: a half-wolf beastkin.
“... Hello.” Fenris waved.
Oh, he’s normal. The clerk smiled and waved back, soothed by his presence.
“Sorry if Am—... Cala—... Ami is troubling you... She's a good girl at heart.”
“Wha—?! Stop, I’m in-character!” Calamity spun around and covered his mouth in a panic.
“Ahh, she really is a darling, y’know? Ami was talking on and on about how much she adored you, Wolfie~”
“Murmur?! Murmur, stahp it?!?”
Whatever aura of nobility Ami had was now gone, her face the same shade of red as her scales. While the way she pounded on Murmur’s armored body was cute, the heavy thuds her hits made were anything but; Murmur seemed fine despite this, since she was still laughing jovially about Ami’s reaction.
I see, the clerk thought to herself, seemingly having an epiphany. If I ignore the way she looks, talks, and acts normally, Calamity is a cute girl!
No one was able to comment on the wisdom that this particular revelation provided, but the manager squinted very hard at the salesgirl’s enlightened expression.
“Agh—forget it!” Ami cried, squirming from all the warm smiles directed at her. “Hurry up and pick something so we can leave, Fen!”
“Uh…” Fenris glanced at the weapon racks. There were well over a dozen different weapons, drastically varying in their shapes. He recognized the swords, axes… and nothing else.
The salesgirl watched as Fenris practically spun in place, looking back and forth between the different weapons like a confused puppy. This went on for a few moments, until he finally turned to Ami, his ears drooping.
“Ami…” he whined, overwhelmed by his options. “Please help…?”
… Eh? What's this?
Fenris seemed so mature just a few moments ago, with his stoic expression and gentle demeanor; suddenly seeing this unreliable side of him made the clerk’s heart skip a beat.
“Calamity did mention that he had this sort of cute side, but…”
“... This is more destructive than I’d imagined.” Murmur finished Belphegor’s sentence.
It really is! The salesgirl vehemently agreed, writhing internally as she resisted the inexplicable urge to pat Fenris’s head. How can he be this cute when his friends are so scary?!
Eventually, Ami and Fenris approached the front counter, having chosen a set of cartoonishly heavy-looking gauntlets.
“Oh, you’re going with fists?” Belphegor asked. “Those are pretty hard to use in VR. Are you sure you don't want something with a little more reach?”
“Mm, it's fine…” Fenris said, reminiscing on something. His eyes seemed to dull slightly as he stared at the gauntlets.
“I’m used to crushing things this way, after all…”
… Nevermind, he’s also kinda scary.
Spoiler
wimbledon
A little bit of terminology:
When Ami said she was "in-character (IC)", she means that she's roleplaying; this is in contrast to being "out of character (OOC)", where she would either be breaking character or just... not be roleplaying.
[collapse]
Although Firrstad was one of the country’s largest hubs, rivaling even the capital itself, today was the busiest the city had ever been. Though they were able to prepare in advance for the influx of Travelers thanks to the gods’ decree, none of the denizens had predicted the sheer volume that would be arriving.
The weaponsmiths in particular bore the brunt of the incoming traffic; fortunately, with the initial flood of Travelers trickling down to a calm flow, the clerks finally had a chance to breathe.
“Gods, I thought I was going to die—!” the cashier—a young woman—let out a loud groan as they flopped onto the store counter.
Their manager, a much older, stern looking man, leaned back in their seat.
“Normally, I’d tell you to suck it up,” he sighed, dabbing their forehead with a towel. “But this time… I get it.”
The manager had wrung out the apprentice smiths a few days prior, forcing them to churn out weapons in preparation for the foretold ‘New Dawn’—or ‘release day’, as the Travelers seemed to call it.
Unlike the smiths, the store clerks didn't have to do anything beforehand. However, as far as the manager was concerned, the apprentices had gotten off easy; on release day itself, he and the sole other clerk on duty had to contend with the nightmarish, neverending waves of Travelers on their own.
I have to hire another clerk before tomorrow comes… The manager thought to himself, his steely determination tempered in the hell they had just endured.
A bell rang as the store’s door opened, causing the employees to snap into their customer service (battle) stances.
“... Oh, it's just you three again,” the clerk relaxed, recognizing the aberrations that came in.
The first time Belphegor, Murmur, and Calamity had entered, everyone in the store collectively freaked out. After the trio came a few more times to try different weapons, the clerk… still felt chills, but managed to stop screaming every time they approached with a weapon in hand that they wanted to buy.
“Oh? Art thou not pleased by the return of thy patron?”
Calamity half-smiled, her disdainful glare softened by an amused smirk. Her voice commanded the space, much as the nobility did before commoners.
“N-no, that's not…” The clerk felt a cold sweat. Calamity wasn't actually a noble, was she? “A-anyways, are you here to try another weapon again?”
“Nay, this maul serves me well. We seek armaments for this one,” Calamity gestured to the fourth figure behind her: a half-wolf beastkin.
“... Hello.” Fenris waved.
Oh, he’s normal. The clerk smiled and waved back, soothed by his presence.
“Sorry if Am—... Cala—... Ami is troubling you... She's a good girl at heart.”
“Wha—?! Stop, I’m in-character!” Calamity spun around and covered his mouth in a panic.
“Ahh, she really is a darling, y’know? Ami was talking on and on about how much she adored you, Wolfie~”
“Murmur?! Murmur, stahp it?!?”
Whatever aura of nobility Ami had was now gone, her face the same shade of red as her scales. While the way she pounded on Murmur’s armored body was cute, the heavy thuds her hits made were anything but; Murmur seemed fine despite this, since she was still laughing jovially about Ami’s reaction.
I see, the clerk thought to herself, seemingly having an epiphany. If I ignore the way she looks, talks, and acts normally, Calamity is a cute girl!
No one was able to comment on the wisdom that this particular revelation provided, but the manager squinted very hard at the salesgirl’s enlightened expression.
“Agh—forget it!” Ami cried, squirming from all the warm smiles directed at her. “Hurry up and pick something so we can leave, Fen!”
“Uh…” Fenris glanced at the weapon racks. There were well over a dozen different weapons, drastically varying in their shapes. He recognized the swords, axes… and nothing else.
The salesgirl watched as Fenris practically spun in place, looking back and forth between the different weapons like a confused puppy. This went on for a few moments, until he finally turned to Ami, his ears drooping.
“Ami…” he whined, overwhelmed by his options. “Please help…?”
… Eh? What's this?
Fenris seemed so mature just a few moments ago, with his stoic expression and gentle demeanor; suddenly seeing this unreliable side of him made the clerk’s heart skip a beat.
“Calamity did mention that he had this sort of cute side, but…”
“... This is more destructive than I’d imagined.” Murmur finished Belphegor’s sentence.
It really is! The salesgirl vehemently agreed, writhing internally as she resisted the inexplicable urge to pat Fenris’s head. How can he be this cute when his friends are so scary?!
Eventually, Ami and Fenris approached the front counter, having chosen a set of cartoonishly heavy-looking gauntlets.
“Oh, you’re going with fists?” Belphegor asked. “Those are pretty hard to use in VR. Are you sure you don't want something with a little more reach?”
“Mm, it's fine…” Fenris said, reminiscing on something. His eyes seemed to dull slightly as he stared at the gauntlets.
“I’m used to crushing things this way, after all…”
… Nevermind, he’s also kinda scary.
Spoiler
wimbledon
A little bit of terminology:
When Ami said she was "in-character (IC)", she means that she's roleplaying; this is in contrast to being "out of character (OOC)", where she would either be breaking character or just... not be roleplaying.
[collapse]