Lina and I soon spotted a forge. It looked a bit worn down, but we decided to go in anyway—no harm in asking whether they could take a custom request.
"There's one over there. Let's check it out," I said.
"Mm."
I pushed open the door. The lighting inside was terrible; it was hard to see anything clearly.
"Ouch."
As I walked in, my foot hit something hard, and I let out a small yelp. A clattering sound followed.
I looked toward the noise. A small crate filled with swords had toppled over right in front of me. So that was what I kicked.
Lina and I quickly lifted the crate and the swords back into place. I noticed the crate had a tiny base but stood tall—no wonder it fell over from the slightest touch.
"Who's there!?"
A rough voice echoed through the shop. It must have been the noise that alerted him. I turned toward the source—a young man.
But that voice… It didn't match his appearance at all. Just to be safe, I asked:
"Are you the owner of this shop?"
"Yeah, that's me."
So the rough voice really belonged to him. I never would've guessed. Even Lina looked stunned. He pointed a finger at me.
"Hey, was that noise just now your doing?"
"Sorry. I kicked it when I walked in."
"I see. Are you here to buy a sword?"
Luckily he wasn't angry. I was genuinely scared he'd tell me to buy every sword in the crate—that would've left me with only one option: run.
"No, I came to ask if you can forge something on commission."
As I spoke, I walked closer to him and pulled out a piece of paper from my storage hole.
"What kind of item?"
"This."
I placed the paper on the counter. He picked it up and looked it over.
When we were at the entrance earlier, I could vaguely tell he looked young, but now that I was closer—even younger than I expected. Maybe just in his early twenties.
"W–What is this!?"
The owner suddenly shouted. Being right in front of him, the volume pierced my ears.
"It's called a bicycle. A kind of transportation tool."
I answered calmly, though he looked completely baffled.
"You're telling me this thing is a mode of transportation!?"
Judging by his reaction, bicycles definitely didn't exist in this world yet.
"I'll show you the one I made."
Explaining won't be enough—better to show him.
I placed the bicycle on the ground. He stared at it with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Maybe it didn't match the drawing?
"Store owner? Are you okay?" I asked.
He pointed at the bike, visibly shaken.
"H–Hey! Where did you pull that thing from!?"
Ah, so this is what shocked him. I answered honestly.
"From storage magic."
"Storage magic? That exists? I've never heard of it!"
He's never heard of it? Could it be he doesn't even know about non-elemental magic? Better ask and confirm the level of magical knowledge in this society.
"Store owner, do you know about non-elemental magic? Storage magic belongs to that category."
"Nope. Aren't magic only six element? How is there suddenly another one? Never heard of such a thing."
He shook his head.
Hmm… maybe I could teach him storage magic as payment. It's incredibly useful and highly practical.
But first, I needed to confirm something more important—whether he could even forge the bicycle I wanted.
"I see. So can you make the bicycle on this paper? I don't have money right now—can I pay with Storage Magic instead?"
"My element is fire. Can I even use it?"
The owner seemed to understand what I meant. He just didn't realize that non-elemental magic was something everyone could use.
"Yes, you can. Non-elemental magic is usable by everyone."
"Alright then. Let me take a closer look at your bicycle."
He stepped out from behind the counter, holding the paper, and compared every detail with the real bicycle. After examining it for a while, he finally spoke to me.
"Hey, kid. What's your name?"
"Karen."
"I wasn't asking for the little girl's name. I meant yours."
…But that was my name. Why did he think I was introducing Lina?
I had no choice but to give a proper introduction.
"My name is Karen. And this is Lina."
I pointed to myself, then to her.
"…Oh. My bad. My name's Gajeel."
He paused for a second before answering.
Is my name really that feminine…?
"Karen, I don't understand how this tire is supposed to be made. This rubber—does it come from the sap of a rubber tree?"
Gajeel pointed at the tire on the blueprint. From what he said, it sounded like rubber trees might exist here.
"Yes. Do you have rubber trees around here?"
"In the forest to the south."
The southern forest… wasn't that where we came from?
"But I heard a strong monster appeared in the woods recently. No one dares to get close."
What!?
A strong monster there? Lina and I literally slept in that forest last night.
…No point worrying about it now. I'll just collect the rubber myself later.
"What about everything besides the tires? Can you make the rest?"
"I can, but…"
Gajeel scratched his head, looking troubled. He cut himself off halfway, so I urged him to continue:
"But what?"
"I'm out of iron in the shop."
So that was the issue. Luckily, I had plenty.
I took several iron ingots out from my storage hole and placed them on the counter.
"Is this enough?"
"More than enough."
Gajeel picked up an ingot and examined the surface closely, as if judging its quality. Then he gave me a strange look.
"Karen, who in the world are you?"
"A normal villager."
He clearly didn't believe me—his expression said as much.
But I wasn't lying. After staring at me silently for a moment, Gajeel sighed.
"…Fine. I shouldn't pry into a customer's past."
My goal here was achieved. Time to sell the monsters we hunted.
"Store owner, where is the Adventurers' Guild?"
"On the eastern side of town. Walk nearby and just look up—you can't miss it."
Gajeel pointed toward a certain direction, and I looked over to confirm the general location.
"Thanks, we'll come back in a few days."
Just as I was about to store the bicycle away, Gajeel stopped me.
"Wait, can you leave this bicycle here for me to use as reference?"
"Sure. You can even take it apart if you need to."
Having a sample would probably make it easier and faster for him to recreate it. Taking it apart to study the structure would help him understand it better. As long as he can build a new one, the old one can stay as a keepsake—unless he fails to reproduce it.
"Oh, see you in a few days."
With that, Gajeel went back to studying the bicycle's construction. Lina and I turned away and walked out of the forge, heading east in search of the Adventurers' Guild.