appraisal magic but was unable to glean any information.

If it was somehow
cursed, I should have known that instantly.” He sighed and looked at me,
stroking his trademark beard. “Well, you’ve certainly shown me something
interesting. I guess you’ll be wanting some defensive goods?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’d like to give you what I can for 250, which probably means a suit
of armor.”
Considering I already had a shield, I had to agree with him.
The owner pointed to a variety of armor suits that he had around the
shop.
“Full plate armor tends to inhibit your movement, so it’s not well-
suited to adventuring. Regardless, chainmail is better for a beginner,
anyway.”
I reached for a suit of chainmail. It rattled and clinked in my hands. It
was a whole shirt made from chains! I guess that was it though. Was that all
he had to offer?
An icon was flashing at me, and I quickly opened it.

Chainmail: raises defensive power

Use: slice resistance
Size: small

Ah hah. No information came up when I touched the swords because I

was unable to equip them.
“How much does this cost?” Myne asked the owner.
“I’ll give you a discount. You can have it for 120.”
“What could we get for it?”
“Hm… I suppose you could get 100 or so.”
“Why’s that?”
“I was asking because if the Shield Hero outgrows it, we could
probably sell it back.”
I was starting to understand. I was still at level one, so as I leveled up,
I would be able to equip better things, meaning this chainmail wouldn’t
necessarily be useful for all that long. It looked like the shop had better
armor available, but that was about the best I could do at my current level.
“All right then, we’ll take it”
 “Thank you very much! I’ll throw in some inner-wear to show my
gratitude.”
We said our thanks, passed 120 silver pieces over to him, and received
the chainmail.
“Will you change into that here?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, right over here.”
He led me to a changing room where I changed into the undershirt and
chainmail. He then took my original clothing and packed it away into a sack
for me.
“Hey now! You’re starting to look the part, lad!”
“Thank you.”
I guess he was trying to say something nice.
“All right then, Hero. Shall we be off to battle?”
“Right on!”
I was starting to feel like a real adventurer when Myne and I left the
shop.
We made our way back to the castle and entered through the main gate.
On our way through, a knight bent his head to me, so I waved back in
response. I was feeling good.
How exciting! My adventure was finally beginning.
 Chapter Five: The Reality of the Shield

Upon exiting the castle, fields of grass extended in every direction.

There was, at least, a cobblestone road meandering over the scenery,
but once we left the town, it seemed like the world was nothing but green
and green and green.
It reminded me of Hokkaido.
It struck me as novel and fascinating. I could see both the expanse of
the sky and the horizon itself. I figured that running around in giddy
excitement would not reflect well on me, considering I was the hero and all,
and so I did my best to swallow my emotions.
“Now then, Hero. This land is filled with rather weak monsters, and
battling them should make for very good practice.”
“Good idea. I don’t have any experience with battles and all, so this
seems like a good chance.”
“Do your best.”
“Huh? You’re not fighting with me, Myne?”
“Before I participate, I’d like to get a sense of your ability.”
“Oh? All right then.”
I suppose it only made sense. She had more experience than I did, and
of course she would want to see how strong I was.
To start off, I thought I would fight a monster that Myne thought
would be easy enough for me.
We poked around in the fields for a little while before spotting
something among the grass. It looked like an orange balloon.
“There’s one now, Hero. We call these ‘Orange Balloons,’ and they are
rather easy to defeat.”
Well that’s a stupid name. There was a severe lack of creativity here.
“Gah!”
It let out an angry cry and flashed aggressive eyes at me, confirming
its enemy status.
And so a creature sort of like those balloons we put in fields to scare
away the birds rushed to attack me.
“You can do it, Hero!”