Hapti-san’s teachings to Aoi-chan and Hina-chan finished, after returning to the front of my house with the function added by Shiro-san, we reported back to the Adventurer’s Guild.

  This time, it was only a token request for practice, and there was nothing to report, so the report didn’t take too long.

  After recommending that the two of them get their gear ready one last time, Hapti-san left, saying that her job was done.

  And so, their first training session in the name of their first quest ended peacefully…… except for those two wyverns, who met quite the miserable ends.

  It seemed that it had been a great experience for Aoi-chan and Hina-chan, and even after returning to Lilia-san’s mansion, both of them were seriously discussing the issues they had come across during the day.

  Within their discussion, the topic about the equipment that Hapti-san told them to prepare came up.

  [Aoi-senpai, why don’t we go search for those equipment tomorrow?]

  [Indeed, the sooner we do this, the better, but we need to find out which stores sell weapons and armor in the first place…… If we’re going to shop anyway, I’d rather go to a store that has good quality products, so I think we should consult Luna-san about this.]

  Indeed, I don’t know where the weapon shops and other such stores we don’t usually go to are located. As adventurers, it’s very important for the two of them to find a good store for their future activities…… Unnn?]

  [……Aoi-chan, Hina-chan.]

  [Kaito-san?]

  [What’s the matter?]

  I see, so that’s why…… I now clearly understand why Hapti-san kept strangely repeating that they should be well-equipped.

  [……I know of a weapon shop…… that’s just right around the corner.]

  [ [ Eh? ] ]

  I moved from Lilia-san’s mansion to my house and headed to the basement with my two kouhais. Yes, our destination was that weapon shop that Alice had built in my basement as a prank. I never thought there would actually be a time where that room would have any use.

  [……A weapon shop in the basement. That’s kinda like a secret shop!]

  [A weapon shop in the basement of a house doesn’t make any sense though……]

  In contrast to Aoi-chan who seemed somewhat excited upon hearing about the weapon shop, Hina-chan looked like she’s really wondering why there’s a weapon shop in my basement.

  [Hina-chan, you see……]

  [Aoi-chan…… It’s just a guess, but I think this isn’t something she’ll understand even if you explain it to her.]

  [……T- That might be so, but just in case……]

  Aoi-chan is also an online gamer, and even though she didn’t read as much as me, she had still read some light novels, so she has some understanding regarding “cliches”.

  How should I say this…… She’s the kind of girl who understands romance in such things, or rather, she’s the kind of girl who gets excited about such things along with you.

  This goes for this case too. There was some kind of secret shop in the basement, and it was the store of Alice, who had the greatest skill in such things in the world. I guess she was feeling the romance in it and got excited.

  In opposition to our opinions, Hina-chan said “It may not look like it, but I’m a gamer too”, but the only games she has played are those party games that require multiple players. For Hina-chan, games aren’t something to be played alone, but something that’s enjoyed with others.

  No, of course, that’s also a way to enjoy games, and it’s great to have many friends you can play with. It’s just that, unfortunately…… Aoi-chan and I were playing a different genre of games, so there were times when she found it hard to understand what we were talking about.

  In fact, even now, Aoi-chan is talking a bit passionately about the charm and romance of secret shops, but I think Hina-chan looked like a lot of question marks would pop out of her head.

  [……Errr, but if it’s secret, how in the world would they even profit?]

  [No, that’s not what matters here……]

  As I smiled at the exchange between Aoi-chan, who was still trying her best to explain, and Hina-chan, who was completely confused, we arrived in front of the door we were looking for, and their conversation stopped.

  Once inside, we were greeted by a neatly arranged array of weapons and the same lion stuffed costume as before.

  [Welcome, everyone, to Alice-chan’s shop…… I’m glad to see that we’re finally making some sales.]

  [Putting aside the shopkeeper, the quality of her items are really amazing……]

  [Ahaha, well, next to the displayed equipment, I’ve put up labels with a brief description and its effects, so please give them a look.]

  Hearing Alice’s words, Aoi-chan and Hina-chan started looking at the weapons and armor with sparkling eyes. Caught up in their enthusiasm, I also moved my gaze and suddenly noticed something amiss.

  [……Arehh? The prices have changed quite a bit, haven’t they?]

  [Ahh~~ I’ve adjusted the price. The original price was alright, but it was too cheap, so you wouldn’t feel a sense of accomplishment by buying them, right? I’ve changed the price so that they would have to earn money and gradually upgrade their equipment.]

  [……and you’ll sell more products that way.]

  [Well, there’s also that.]

  As long as it isn’t her miscellaneous goods store, I feel that Alice is very good at doing business. Well, the price was originally too low for the quality of her products, so I guess the current price is more appropriate.

  Furthermore, looking closely, I can see that armors were generally priced lower than weapons, making it easier to buy high-performance armor.

  As I was thinking about this, looking at Aoi-chan and Hina-chan as they browsed through her products, Alice muttered.

  [……Well, my impression of them has improved to the point where “they had met the minimum of my requirements”…… So I guess I’ll meddle with them a bit more.]

  **********