That day's business was going as smoothly as usual.

　Weapons and armor, medicines, magic tools and tricks.
　Various customers come to the store to buy various products, but not all of them are here to purchase the items on display.

　There are also many customers who come to the store to request special orders for products that are not available in the store, and sometimes they receive orders from unexpected customers.

　--Sometimes it's the customer you're not expecting.

Excuse me. "Excuse me, sir, but this is Luke White Wolf's shop, isn't it?

　It's mid-afternoon when the employees have finished their break.

　In a shop crowded with young adventurers and townspeople, a scary-looking man dressed in travel clothes walked in.

　The man, whose air is blatantly different, walks in a straight line toward the checkout counter with a wide stride, without regard to the confused expressions on the faces of the other customers.

　He's a man who looks to be over fifty by the looks of it.

　The high quality and well used travel clothes and the rugged sword hanging from his waist.
　I'm not sure if he's a hardcore person just by looking at him as he walks, but he's way too old to be an active adventurer.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

　I calmed the confused Erica at the counter next to me while urging the man to come in front of me.

'I'm Luke, the manager. What can I do for you today?
'Sir Luke, it's a pleasure to meet you. "Sir Luke, it's a pleasure to meet you. In fact, I have a very special favor to ask of you.
''The Knights of the Ash Eagle ...... are the knights facing the Northern Tree Sea Coalition along with the Beaufort family of the Frontier Count, right?

　I have a gut feeling that this is not a request I can ask comfortably, so I regain my spirit inwardly.

　This Westland Kingdom controls most of the continent, but it hasn't literally conquered everything.

　Although the fighting has stopped at the moment, there are still countries in the north and south that maintain their independence, and the Frontier Count and his full-time knights are on high alert.

　The knight in charge of the south is the Akabane Knights, to which Chandler belongs, and the knight in charge of the north is the Knights of the Ash Hawk ...... and the Count of the Frontier in the north is Theodore Beaufort's clan.

''It might be difficult to talk to you in the presence of ...... other guests. Would you like to come this way?
'Mmmm ......?　All right, I'll take your word for it.

　Requests involving the military should be difficult to do in front of the public.

　I'll lead Oswald of the Ash Hawk Knights to the back of the shop and listen to him again there.

''I've heard about the situation in the north from Sir Theodore. I heard that the elves dwelling in the local dungeons have also joined the coalition, so a state of military equilibrium is still in place.
'A son of Beaufort, I see. As a matter of fact, I found out about your sideline through a friend of yours.
I'm an arms dealer by trade.

　When I corrected him on an important point, Oswald frankly apologized for being so rude.

'So, what do you mean by a request? We do receive requests to manufacture weapons, but the size of the shop is so large that it's difficult to mass-produce them in a short period of time.

　The Northern Tree Alliance is no stranger to distant lands, even for us.

　The northern countries have joined forces after the Westland Kingdom's massive offensive, and the elves who live in the dungeon of the Chalk Fairyland are also members of that coalition.

　Moreover, the member of the Coalition representing the elves was sent by the Chalk Fairyland to represent them as a member of the High Elves, who have a lifelong connection with Alphasul, the creator of the Ark of the Elements that we are investigating - Eir Sesroomnir.

　Eir is the person who prevented us from obtaining information about the ancient magical civilization from the Right Eye of Wisdom and obviously tried to hide some truth.

　Moreover, Hild, who is also a member of the White Wolf Knights, is an elf who defected from the Northern Tree Sea Federation, but her reason for defecting was that the high elves of the Chalk Fairyland prevented her from studying the ancient magical civilization.

　In other words, the high elves of the Chalk Fairyland, including Eir, have a policy that is in direct conflict with the mission of the White Wolf Knights (me), and they cannot be unrelated to it.

''If it's armor made of mithril, we can consult with the amount of mining allowed by the royal palace: ......
No, it's not a weapon I'm asking for.

　Oswald told me that my imagination had been radically changed.

'I would like you to take a look at this document. It's a set of requirements compiled by our Order's representative.
Excuse me from .......

　I quickly read through the sealed envelope taken out of my pocket.

"Equipment requirements performance, body heat preservation equipment in the cold northern region: ...... Must be able to withstand continuous use for at least a quarter of a day, and if possible a half day ...... Must be small and light enough not to interfere with scouting missions and combat operations. ...... Oh!　In short, it's a winter jacket!

　I couldn't help but shout out as soon as I understood.

　I had lost my mind.
　The basic premise is that the north is cold(¦) anyway(¦).

　I've rarely visited the north, so I don't really feel it, but adventurers who have been to the north for requests or dungeon attacks have always lamented the depth of the snowfall and low temperatures.

　Green Hollow also tends to be chilly once you get away from the heat of the hot springs, but even in the most northern town of the lands I've visited so far, it was far less chilly than that chill.

　The area in charge of the Ash Hawk Knights was even further north than that, and the cold should inevitably be severe.

''Mm. Although the military situation is calm, but still we can't miss a daily patrol, just in case. But for the people on the ground, a patrol during the wintertime is a very painful task.
Isn't something being done about it?
I do. But I don't have a lot of ways to stay warm on the move.

　According to Oswald, heating and other spell scrolls are good for resting in huts and other places, but they are not suitable for warming your limbs while walking.

　He says that although he uses other equipment that keeps him warm, he is still constantly asking for another push of warmth.

'There are those who have skills that can be used for thermal protection, but by no means all of them, but we can't leave it to the skill holders alone. I was pondering what to do about it when I heard about you, who have excellent mages and artisans.

　I wonder what their reaction would be if they heard it.

　Alexia would be honestly pleased, but Noir felt that she would be embarrassed and run away.

'If possible, we would like you to create a new tool that can meet our desired performance rather than an existing product. Could you please do me a favor?
'...... Okay, let's do it. I'll talk to the people in charge of it.
'Thank God!　I'm going to stay in town for a while. I'd love to know what the policy is once it's decided!

　Oswald shook my hand forcefully and left the store.

　It wasn't the kind of request I'd imagined, but I suppose I could say I was rather pleased that it was far from bloody.

　I'd been thinking about that for some reason.