I shouldn't. My attitude tends to become too arrogant.
Rather, the village chief is being too humble.
I'm just an ordinary high school student, after all.
Well, being a high school student doesn't mean much here.
Just an ordinary person, a passerby villager, and I'm only Level 2.
"I have gathered the equipment of the thieves, please check it."
With the help of Durandal, I slaughtered the thieves one by one, so there must be some caution.
It would be terrible if I turned around and used violence against the villagers.
Yet, I can't just do nothing for the savior who saved the village. If I treat them too coldly, there might even be retaliation.
From the village chief's perspective, I must seem like a troublesome existence.
Perhaps the strategy is to wait for me to leave.
"Understood."
Though I said that, I don't really understand.
What does "check" mean?
Is it okay for me to take the equipment?
Since it's the equipment of the thieves I defeated, it seems reasonable for it to be mine.
If I keep powerful items, the villagers might steal them and cause trouble.
"Here it is."
"Is it okay for me to take the equipment?"
I asked while following the village chief.
"Yes, the equipment of the thieves you defeated naturally belongs to you, Michio-sama."
"I see."
It seems that in this world, the one who defeats the thieves gets to keep their equipment.
In a society where the police and judiciary are well-developed, like in modern times, this wouldn't be the norm.
"This time, our villagers have defeated two thieves. Therefore, we would like to distribute the equipment of those two thieves to the villagers who defeated them."
Only two villagers defeated thieves.
I remember, the villagers and the thieves were just skirmishing.
I, using Durandal, almost finished them off with one strike.
"Understood. It's fine."
I don't understand the customs of this world, so I'll accept the proposal.
Probably, since I helped them win the battle, I could have claimed everything for myself.
But that wouldn't be a good idea.
In reality, I'm just a Level 2 villager. Without Durandal, I would be in danger if all the villagers attacked me seriously.
"Thank you. On behalf of the villagers, I express my gratitude."
That's not the attitude to take with a Level 2 like me.
"Don't worry about it."
Probably, the appraisal is a bonus skill, so the village chief and the villagers can't use it.
From the villagers' perspective, my level must seem to be over 30.
After all, I defeated the thieves who were almost evenly matched with the villagers.
The highest-level villager, Level 25, was defeated by the thief leader, so there's no one in the village who can match me.
That's why they are being so humble.
The village chief led me to a corner of the village outskirts where the thieves' equipment was placed.
A man was standing there.
Bicker, Male, 31 years old
Merchant Level 6
Equipment: Wooden Armor, Leather Boots
He might be the merchant I saw this morning.
"This is Bicker, the only merchant in the village."
"I am Bicker. I am deeply grateful for saving the village and us."
"I'm Michio. Don't make it too grand."
I'm happy to be thanked, but it gets annoying if everyone does it.
"Understood. Here are the thieves' equipment."
I checked the equipment that was placed there.
Leather Armor, Body Equipment
Leather Boots, Foot Equipment
Copper Sword, Two-Handed Sword
They all seem to be ordinary equipment.
"××××××××××"
"Oh, I see. The villagers who defeated the thieves will be happy too."
"It's fine."
It seems the village chief told the merchant that I wouldn't take the equipment of the two thieves.
It would have been better if he had used the Bhirim language.
"Does Michio-sama have enough space?"
The merchant asked.
"Space?"
Shit.
Already, I don't know the term. What does "having enough space" mean?
"Is my Bhirim language not clear? I mean the space to store equipment and items."
"…Probably not, I think."
I don't understand. Is there not enough space to put them here?
"Is Michio-sama not an adventurer?"
"Well, something like that."
Is there a special definition for adventurers?
My cover is already blown.
"If you are an adventurer, you should have a spatial magic skill to create a space to store items and equipment. Is there any space left in the space where you stored the sword you had earlier?"
The village chief came to my rescue.
Is that so? It sounds convenient.
Like an inventory, item bag, or item box.
Durandal disappeared when I reset my character.
From the village chief's perspective, it probably looks like I put it in some space.
Either way, it doesn't seem like I can use it now.
The village chief and the merchant's eyes seem cold.
My muttering must look pretty weird to them.
I must look like a complete middle schooler.
Calm down, my left hand.
"…What do you think?"
"Unfortunately, it seems the space is full."
I can't use it, but if I say I can't, the question of where I put Durandal will come up.
Where did Durandal go, anyway?
"I will go to the town of Byle tomorrow morning to restock my goods. If you wish, I can load the equipment onto my cart and take it to the town. In Byle's market, there are weapon and armor shops. You can sell them there."
The merchant offered.
I was a bit hopeful that he would buy the equipment, but it seems not.
If he does, I'll just get a middleman's margin.
"That's very kind of you. I'll let you do that."
I could also keep the equipment for myself instead of selling it.
One set of leather armor and leather boots.
I might need a spare, so I'll take two copper swords.
Iron Sword, Two-Handed Sword
There's the iron sword the leader had. What should I do with it?
It's probably a higher-level equipment than the copper sword.
But if I have good equipment, it might get stolen or targeted.
It doesn't seem to be a rare item, so I'll sell it.
"Here are the intelligence cards of the thieves."
The merchant took out card-sized cards.
"Intelligence cards?"
What are those?
I echoed the question.
"Some of the thieves should have bounties on their heads. If you turn these cards over to the knights in Byle, you can receive the bounty."
"I see."
I understand the concept.
In a world where thieves run rampant, bounties are useful.
The cards seem to be proof that the thieves were defeated.
This seems to be common knowledge in this world.
I don't want to seem too strange.
I took the cards without staring at them and pretended to check the equipment.
Copper Sword, Two-Handed Sword
Copper Sword, Two-Handed Sword
As I looked through the equipment, I found something unusual.
Copper Sword, Two-Handed Sword
Skill: Empty
The skill was something that Durandal had.
"Is there something wrong?"
The merchant noticed and asked me.
It's not that there's a skill called "empty," but rather that there's an empty skill slot.
Actually, I've never made anything happen by muttering.
Appraisal and character settings are just thoughts.
"I've heard that when a blacksmith forges a monster card, a skill can be attached. Does this sword have any skill attached?"
"No, it doesn't."
"I see."
It seems that specific jobs are needed to attach skills.
What are monster cards?
"But this sword is not bad. I'll take it as a reward."
"Can you tell if there's a skill attached?"
The village chief asked.
"More or less. It's an adventurer's intuition."
Appraisal is a bonus skill, so not many people have it.
I won't tell them I have it.
"The former adventurer villager I mentioned earlier has a sword he used. Could you take a look at it? If it's a good item, it would help the survivors."
"If I can tell, sure."
"Thank you. I'll go get it."
The village chief left.
I continued to check the equipment.
There doesn't seem to be anything else with skills or skill slots.