The Gentle Hero

Yuril was rapidly running out of options, he was running out of options almost as fast as he was running out of Valis. He had thought that his life savings would at least last him a month or two but it had been barely two weeks since arriving in the city and he was already down to a few thousand Valis.

The cost of entering and living inside of the city was what had really set him back, over half of all his currency in one move was not good for him in the long run but even worse for him in the short term. He reasoned that he really had no other choice, living in the city as a visitor would only cause him more problems in the future. He would eventually need to pay multiple payments that would surely be greater than the simple one time payment he paid to live in the city permanently as a citizen.

Mama Mia was, at least, for the time being sparing him having to pay rent for his room in the attic, but he did have to do the occasional work for her to make up for it. She made it crystal clear that his debt with her was only growing greater and that eventually he would need to pay her back for everything he owed.

Additionally he was still unable to find himself a Familia that would accept him, which only added to his growing pile of stress. Spending more time cooped up inside of the Hostess of Fertility was not helping him either, the more time he spent in the pub, the more he felt like the walls were closing in all around him.

Every day only tightened the noose around his throat.

He wandered around the city more in the past few days, he had seen several businesses that were looking to hire employees and he debated applying to work at some of them until he found a Familia. But applying had done him little good so far, besides he did not want to work at a bakery or blacksmith's anyway.

He only had one real dream, he only wanted to become an adventurer.

But with each passing day his goal seemed to move farther and farther away out of reach. With each step forward he took, it was like taking two steps backwards. His dream was very quickly becoming just that, a dream.

While he wandered the streets, he did try and think about what was preventing him from being accepted by any of the dozens of Familias that he had applied to join. The first few applications were all over the place, if someone looked at his writing they would probably assume that it was just some child's scribbles. But after the first few applications he started to get the hang of the forms and writing, pretty soon each form was coming out like almost an exact copy of the previous one.

But for some reason that he could not understand, he still had not been accepted. He could understand that it would take time but it was starting to get ludicrous. He could understand a few weeks for the larger Familias, surely they received dozens and dozens of applications every single day so he was not expecting a response the day after he submitted his form. But for the smaller Familias he had expected to receive a response in just a few days at the most but over a week had passed and he was not very hopeful of hearing back from any of them anymore.

He had even given up going and checking daily at Familias to see if they had accepted his application, instead he simply wandered around the city for a few hours to kill some time before returning to the Hostess. Syr would always be the first one to greet him at the door as he walked in and the first thing she would always ask him without fail was "Well? Don't keep me waiting! Did you get accepted into a Familia?" She always said it with the widest smile on her face and every time he shook his head she would promise him that he would get accepted somewhere soon before giving him a tight hug. Then he would retreat upstairs to the attic and Syr would join him either on her break or after work some nights to have some food and drinks with him before he went to bed.

"I should start making my way back I suppose… getting a little late.." Yuril said to himself under his breath as he stopped in the street and looked towards the Tower of Babel where the sun was setting in the background. He spun around and started to walk back towards the pub he was temporarily living in, kicking a stone that was laying in the street down the road with him as he walked.

As he walked down the street he saw a store in the corner of his eye with a large sign in the window with big bold letters reading 'STORE WIDE SALE, ALL SECOND-HAND GEAR MUST GO!'. Seemingly on a whim Yuril shrugged and pulled on the handle to the shop, he had nothing better to do and nowhere that he needed to be so he had some time he could still burn before returning to the pub.

As he pulled on the handle and entered the shop a Yuril suspended just above the door dinged, signalling someone was coming or going from the shop. He was greeted by a rough looking dwarf standing behind the small counter to the left side of the entrance. He had a dark black beard with sky blue eyes. He wore a simple white long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his biceps, there were various stains on the man's shirt and it was made very clear based on his appearance and the appearance of his shop that he cared very little about cleanliness.

The store had piles of weapons, armour and what looked like little more than junk stacked up in every free space available. Several shelves on the bookcases that held the store's wares on display were broken or cracked and thus the piles of items spilled out onto the floors leaving just enough room to walk around the iles.

"Hey lad! How can I help you today? Looking for something in particular? I know it sure doesn't look like it but there is a method to all this madness, I promise." the bulky dwarf behind the counter asked him, he had been sitting in a chair with it tilted backwards and his feet up resting on the counter. He could very well have been sleeping before Yuril walked into the store with how groggy the Dwarf's voices sounded.

"Uh … well I wasn't really looking for anything in particular… just browsing… I saw your sign in the window, that's why I decided to stop.." Yuril said as he looked around the shop which was a complete mess from top to bottom.

"Ahhh, I see. Little lad is a little tight on cash I bet, right?" the dwarf said with a sly smile, confident in the fact that he was correct.

Yuril hung his head slightly and mumbled out "Yeah.." under his breath.

The dwarf let out a loud belly laugh for a moment as he sat up in his chair and grabbed a mug from his check-out counter, he took a swig from the mug before slamming it back down on the counter as a small trickle of alcoholic liquids leaked from his bottom lip and through his beard. "Tell you what lad… find something you like and we can haggle on the price…" the bearded man said with a smirk as he took another chug from his mug.

"Alright!" Yuril said happily as he started to work his way through the piles of equipment to try and find something that would best suit him, he did not want to weigh himself down with any heavy armour. So he did not even bother looking at the price tags of the more heavy duty equipment, instead he picked through the piles for something more lightweight.

His thinner physique and nimble form was one of the few things that he had going for him, running was one of his biggest strengths and he did not want to hinder himself with the heavy armour commonly worn by races like the Dwarfs.

Eventually after several minutes of searching through the mountains of equipment he found a diamond in the rough, a chestpiece that would cover his entire torso and was thin enough that he could wear it under his jacket. He stripped his coat for a moment as he took the armour, raised it above his head and slipped his arms through the two identical holes and his head through the slightly larger hole at the top of the piece of equipment. He lightly knocked his fist on the piece of armour and found it to be relatively hard and would be enough to protect him from most blunt attacks. He retrieved his jacket that he had hung up on a mace that was dangling from one of the shelves and slipped his light brown jacket over the armour and did a few movements finding it surprisingly comfortable, almost as if he was wearing nothing at all under his coat.

He looked around for a weapon that he could get to go with his armour, something that could match his style and be quick and light. That eliminated a majority of the shop's equipment with just one simple decision, most of the weapons that lined the walls were ones that would require him to use both hands to just lift them to begin with and the ones that were one handed were still not his style.

The weapons that he could find that looked to be decent at first glance were either out of his price range with a ridiculous price tag or they were not in decent condition after a quick inspection. So admitting defeat for the time being, he decided to just get himself the armour and worry about a weapon at a later date. He did not have that much money left to begin with but if he was accepted by a Familia soon and he showed up without any equipment they may just slam the door in his face and he loses his one opportunity.

'Maybe that's what I have been doing wrong… I mean that Guild woman that was helping me even said that I didn't look like an adventurer… maybe if I get myself this armour and find a weapon to go along with it… people will start seeing me as an adventurer more! Yeah, yeah… that could work… I mean it surely wouldn't hurt… Yuril thought to himself as he convinced himself that purchasing the armour, while it may hurt his pockets right now, it would be the best decision for him in the long run.

As he walked up to the counter the Dwarf got up from his seat and, to Yuril's surprise, was shorter as he did the action. Yuril could see just over the counter and saw that he was standing on a box and even with the small crate below his feet, his head was just poking over the counter. The Dwarf smiled wide, showing off a golden tooth on his upper row of teeth on the left side. "Find something that you like boy?" he asked as he reached his hands up and rested them on the counter's edge as he leaned against the glass cabinet.

"Yeah I think—" Yuril had to pause for a moment in the middle of his sentence as his eyes had drifted down and spotted a dagger lying inside the glass case, the sheath laying next to it came with a strap that he could use to to attach the sheath to ones waist or thigh. "H-how much is that!" Yuril said as he leaned down and almost pressed his face up against the glass and his breath began to fog the glass.

"That dagger… let me check…" the Dwarf said as he pulled out a key that was attached to a string around his neck and used it to unlock the small cadent. He pulled out the dagger and its sheath and took a few moments to examine it closely. "For this dagger it's gonna cost you four thousand five hundred Valis, it's quite the dagger…..very high quality. Made by a rather skilled blacksmith too you see…".

T-that much… I-I don't even have that much on me… I only have the three thousand Valis in my boot… Yuril thought to himself as he bit his lower lip and hissed slightly at the price. Even if he was able to negotiate the price down to a reasonable amount that he could afford it was likely that he would be unable to buy his armour as well. So he shook his head slightly from side to side. "I… I like it but I am going to have to pass… I don't have enough for that… sorry…" Yuril said softly.

"Can't afford it… then how about a trade instead..?" the Dwarf said with a sly smirk.

"Trade? I don't have anything—"

"Those boots." the Dwarf said, quickly interrupting the young boy.

"W-what?" Yuril asked, slightly puzzled by the sudden interruption.

"Those boots you got on your feet… they look rather nice, how about we make a trade. The boots for the knife?" the Dwarf asked as he sheathed the dagger and set it down on the counter in front of Yuril with a small smirk on his face.

It… it would solve my problem of needing a weapon… I-I can always just get another pair of boots from somewhere… they would likely be cheaper than the knife… Yuril started to reach his right hand towards the knife, just as his fingertips grazed the sheath he jerked his hand back towards him. N-no! Syr gave me these boots… she has done so much for me already… what would she think of me if I pawned off the boots she gave me for some dagger… I can't do that, not after everything she has done for me… I just can't…

"I-I am sorry, but the boots aren't for sale. Someone important to me gave them to me as a gift, it would be wrong of me to part with them so easily." Yuril said as he tucked his hands back into the pockets of his jacket to keep himself from reaching out to the knife. It looked so inviting, so easy to reach out and claim as his own with just a brief handshake and small exchange of words with the Dwarf but he steeled his will and kept his hands where they belonged.

"Come onnn, I am sure that they would be understanding. You aren't going to get a deal this good in all of Orario! I am pretty much giving it away for—"

"I said they're not for sale, that is final." Yuril said in a stern voice as this time he was the one to interrupt the Dwarf who seemed a little taken aback by his sudden speech.

"Fine, keep the boots…" the Dwarf quickly snatched the dagger back off of the counter and returned it to the glass case where it had previously been stored. He locked the glass using the same keep before tucking it back into his dirty shirt. He scratched his dirty greasy beard and turned his head slightly with a curious expression on his face. "Do you want the armour or not…?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… that depends what the price tag is… also I am not familiar with armour so could you tell me a little more about it please..."

The Dwarf sighed slightly as he looked around and picked up a half eaten sandwich that was laying next on the side counter with the mug he had been drinking out of before. "Think of that armour like this sandwich… the bread represents the layered leather and the meat represents metal plates." He took a bite out of the sandwich and set it back down, a fly quickly landed on the sandwich and moved around for a moment before flying away. "That make sense, lad?" the Dwarf asked as he was still busy chewing his sandwich, several crumbs flew from his mouth and got tangled up in his black shaggy beard.

"Yeah, that makes sense to me I guess… so it's just leather armour with some metal plates sewn into the stitching… how much does it cost?" Yuril asked as he prepared himself to hear some ridiculous price that he would also be unable to afford.

"About… fifteen hundred Valis… that sounds fair to me." the Dwarf said as he picked several crumbs from his beard and chucked them into his mouth.

"Can you do one thousand Valis...? I mean, it is second hand so that seems a little extreme for used goods…" Yuril said with a slight smile of his own, he had seen his grandfather barter for several items before any time a traveling trader came through the village so he was not going to pay the original price at the very least.

"Can't do a thousand, how about fourteen five instead?" the Dwarf said with a small smile of his own.

"Highest I am willing to do would be… twelve hundred… that is the max for me I think…" Yuril said as he tried to get the Dwarf to bring the price down more than just fifty measly Valis.

"Alright, fourteen hundred Valis and it's all yours… how about that?" the Dwarf said with a slight chuckle as he extended his hand for Yuril to shake.

"Meet in the middle and do thirteen?" Yuril asked as he extended his own hand towards the Dwarf.

"Deal!" The Dwarf quickly clasped their hands together and gave him a fairly strong handshake to seal the deal. "Now pay up! I don't do tabs here like those fluffy pubs and inns do…" the Dwarf said smugly which very briefly reminded Yuril of the Dwarven owner of the Hostess of Fertility. Though she was much taller than the Dwarf in front of him now she did offer tabs for adventurers in the pub, Yuril thought that people may try and abuse the service and try to weasel their way out of paying.

But from what he had seen, there was not a person in Orario that would do something so stupid. Lunoire had told him one night about how one time a group of adventurers that had just hit level three thought they were bigshots. By the time they were finished drinking and eating their tab was massive and despite claiming to not be able to pay at the moment they swore to swing by the pub first thing the following morning on their way to the dungeon to pay off their tab. They ended up never showing and Mama Mia went looking for them, when she found them at another pub doing the same thing they had done the previous night at her business. She took the money that she was owed and banned them all for life for causing her such problems.

Yuril nodded to the Dwarf and leaned up against the counter as he raised his right foot up off the ground, he placed his two hands on his boot and pulled it off of his foot with a slight tug which earned a curious look from the Dwarf but Yuril just ignored the glance. He turned his boot upside down and out came a small pile of coins of various sizes and shades, he started to count out the appropriate agreed upon amount in his palms as he set his right boot on the counter.

The Dwarf picked up the boot and Yuril quickly shot him a glare as he did and the Dwarf simply smiled and waved a dismissive hand towards him "Easy boyo, just taking a little look that's all…" he said as he inspected the black boot and its protective metal plates. Yuril just shrugged and let the Dwarf loot at the piece of footwear, so long as he returned it to him he did not mind.

"This is a pretty nice piece of gear you got here lad… if you ever really start struggling and need some pocket money, well you know where to come to pawn it off don't yah?"

"I already told you twice now, it is not for sale. Not now, not ever." Yuril said as he continued to count out the coins sprinkled in his palm. With the little bit that he would have left after purchasing the armour he had to do a double check that he was not paying the Dwarf more than they agreed too, because Yuril had a gut feeling that the Dwarf would not bother speaking up if he did indeed pay more than what they had shook on.

"Yeah, yeah I know. You don't need to keep remind—what the hell is this?" the Dwarf had suddenly paused in the middle of his little ramble as he found something of interest on the boot that had stolen his attention.

"What's, what?" Yuril asked his own question as he had just finished counting out the correct amount and set it down on the counter, the Dwarf with one hand pulled the coins towards him and into a small metal box where he kept his earnings. With his other hand, he held up the boot and was studying the bottom of the black boot. He turned the boot so that the bottom was facing the young albino boy and pointed to a small black piece near the toe. "I don't quite know... It's like a button but I have no idea what it would be used for, never seen anything like it before…" the Dwarf said softly as he stroked his beard.

"Try pushing it..." Yuril suggested which made the Dwarfs brow twitch slightly as he set the boot down on the counter.

"I don't want to do it, could be dangerous. So you do it…" the Dwarf gestured towards the footwear for him to pick up.

Yuril reached out and picked up the boot with both hands and turned it upside down. He held the boot with his left hand as he stretched his right hand out and quickly pushed the button once.

Nothing happened.

Yuril pushed the button again a few seconds later with the same result, he turned his head to the side and squinted his eyes slightly. "Maybe it doesn't do anything ... or it's broken or something…."

"That can't be right." the Dwarf reached up past the counter and grabbed the boot out of his hands.

"H-hey!"

"You clearly aren't doing it right… needs a Dwarfs touch." the Dwarf said as he was starting to get slightly agitated, he brought the boot closer to his face and pushed the button once and when nothing happened just like he expected he quickly pressed the button a second time. As he pressed the button for a second time a small pointed, doubled edged dagger shot out several inches from the toe of the boot. The small blade cut several hairs from the Dwarfs beard as he tossed the boot forward towards Yuril in surprise.

"W-whoa!" Yuril caught the boot out of the air after a few seconds of fumbling with it, he held the boot slightly farther away from him than he normally would as he became cautious of the piece of footwear. "How did you do that…?" he asked the Dwarf that was clutching his chest with his right hand and was heaving slightly.

"I just pressed the button twice in quick succession… that's all…" the Dwarf said as he padded his chest to make sure that the boot knife had not added any extra holes to his stubby body.

"How do I retract this thing..?" Yuril asked as he examined the boot further, turning it around every which way looking for any other switch or button that it may have somewhere.

"My guess is just hit the button again…" the Dwarf suggested and following his instruction Yuril pushed the button again and the blade retracted back into the sole of the boot after just one push.

"Wow… that is pretty cool…" Yuril said as he looked at the boot for a minute before setting it down on the ground and pulling his foot back inside of the footwear. Once his boot was back onto his foot, he raised his toe off the ground slightly and tapped it on the ground twice in quick succession. The small blade just as it had done before shot out from the toe of the boot several inches, after shaking his foot around for a brief moment he tapped his toe on the ground once more and the blade retreaded inside of the boot.

"Oh, sorry..I should have asked are you okay—"

"I am fine lad, just get out… bout time I close up the shop for the day anyway…" the Dwarf said as he grabbed the metal box that held the Valis that he had earned throughout the day as he made a handful of sales.

"Alright, I should get going anyway…" Yuril turned around and walked towards the door, stopping at the entrance as he was about to leave he looked back and gave the Dwarf a small wave. "Thank you! Have a good night." He said as he stepped outside the shop and turned to the right once he stepped outside and took off in a light jog towards the Hostess.