Mr. Krua then left the inn.
　By the time she left, her expression had softened a lot, so she should be fine.
　........Good. We can work together again in the future.

　Krua-san, I was feeling pretty responsible.
　You don't have to worry about it so much. I just wish you would relax a little more.

　I look at the paper on the desk in my room.
　The days of the merchant's visit to the city that Krua-san had told me about before were written in a row.

　I heard that the market will be held this afternoon.
　The square will be busy preparing for the market this afternoon.
　I woke up early today because Mr. Krua said he was going to help.

　The reason I went to check on the market is to acquire new skills.
　Hopefully they have some good equipment for sale.

　I'm heading to the city in the afternoon.
　In the morning, I had a few things I wanted to verify about the equipment and skills.

　First of all, when I'm an adventurer, I'm equipped with a large amount of weapons.
　That's because the effects of skills are only activated when you're wearing them.

　I knew that, but then, how far does it go to be treated as equipment?
　In fact, the skills of the equipment that left my hands during the battle would have been activated as well.

　So, what makes it off the equipment and what makes it a piece of equipment?
　I wanted to find out about those.

　In particular, the problem is the one that comes off.
　We wouldn't want it to come off the equipment unexpectedly in the middle of battle.

　First things first.
　Right now, the item box that's being used as a storeroom is...

We can't do that, can we?

　Well, I understood this. Even now, I have the knife and other things with the skill on it tucked away, but it doesn't have any effect on my body.

　For now, I take out the skilled knife and start examining it.
　I grabbed it and after about ten seconds passed, my body felt lighter.

　........I guess that means I've equipped it now.
　The next step is to verify the skills.

　The easiest thing to examine is the automatic return.
　This is probably one of the curses, but it's one of the curses that returns to the equipmenter when the equipment reaches its limit.

　Once it is worn, it cannot be removed again.
　Well essentially, it's not very useful, but when applied to combat, it can be used like a boomerang.

　I keep that equipment at a distance and count the seconds.
　........After ten seconds have passed, the skill seems to have been activated and returned to my hand.
　Is it ten seconds to cease to be treated as equipment?

　Try it with other equipment.
　Equip the one with a large amount of muscle strengthening and then place it away from you.
　........Huh?

　After a while, there is no change in my body.
　........maybe it's because it's so close?

　Does it have to be worn separately as long as it's placed at a distance where you can reach it?
　It was then.
　There was a knock on the door of the room.

'Who is it?'
It's me, Mare.

　It's Mea-san.
　When I opened the door with my mind, I found Mea-san dressed in cute clothes.
　........Huh?　I wonder what that is.

　It looks like our uniform, but it seems to be more glamorous than before.

'What's going on?'
Hey, I heard they're going to be adopting a new uniform for the occasion. They're going to take this opportunity to change it.
Well, it looks great on you.
Does it look good on me?　I haven't worn frilly clothes like this very often, you know...
'You have a nice ex, Mea, so you'll look good in anything you wear.

　Mea's face turned red at that moment, as if it had exploded in a blur.
　Her face was depressed, but her tail was wagging happily.

　........that's right. It was just as well.

''Mea-san. Is it time for a break?
Oh, yeah I'm taking a lunch break.
Then can I ask you to come along for a moment?
'What?　No, no ... well, I can't afford to go anywhere near that--
Would you mind grabbing one of the knives I have lined up there?
'What?　.... yeah.

　After tilting her head, Mair grabbed one of the knives that were lined up on the bed.

'Is this the right one?'
Yes.

　Then ten seconds passed and my body got a little heavier.
　........It means I've moved away from the equipment.
　If it's up to a certain distance, does that mean the skill will activate if the owner doesn't move to another one?

　If the demon is a messed up idiot, then just rolling the equipment with the skill on it out there is going to raise my ability by a lot.
　........However, such a situation would be hard to come by.

''Thank you, Mea-san.
'Oh, oh my God what have you been doing?'
I was looking into the requirements for activating the skills on the equipment.
I see...?

　Mair nodded and tilted her head.
　I then explained briefly.
　Thanks to Mea-san's help, we've done a little more research on the skill.

　Now it's just a matter of how far away we need to activate it.

'Lelius. Do you have a moment?
What is it?
I'm thinking of taking on the nearby labyrinth next time. But I think it would be difficult to be alone, as expected........would you like to come with me?
Are you sure it's me?
'No, I suppose if you're as powerful as Lelius, you're perfect...'

　...Is that right?
　Even now, the only demons I would defeat are goblins.
　However, I also wanted to try to fight as many strong demons as possible while Mea-san was here.

　It might cause you trouble, Mea-san.
　But I'd like to have a bit of an adventure, too.

''I understand. I'm good.''
Oh, really?　Then why don't you come with me on my next vacation!
'Okay. If I recall, we were off together three days later, right?
Oh!
So let's go to that day.
Yeah, nice to meet you.

　Mea-san bowed her head to me, so I returned it in the same way.
　Mea-san raised her face and then scratched her cheek.
　Her expression seemed somewhat difficult to say.

''What's wrong?
Well no, you see. I just wanted to ask you something.
What is this?
'Was it Mr. Krua, the one you brought in yesterday?　You're a merchant of everything, and you work together, right?
Yes, sir.

　Come to think of it, I hadn't explained the details of the situation since I met Mea-san yesterday.
　I should have told Mea-san since she has done a lot for me, so I should have told her.

''You don't have anything more than a working relationship with her...?
"...more than a business relationship?　What is it?
You mean, like, like a lover?
What...

　How dare you ask me that!
　In my brain, I can picture Krua-san in her underwear. And to top it all off, it's a little naughty!
　Oh, no!　Piss off!

None. Krua-san and I are merchants and craftsmen.

　Mr. Krua is a person who is chasing his dream of being a merchant.
　He would never do anything to stand in the way of that person.

'Is that so?　Well, you see, it's just that... Ristina heard me!　I thought it was a shady relationship!
Mr. Ristina... oh.

　He's a newcomer who is quick to make fun of people.
　He was quiet for the first week or so, but now he's gotten used to it, or maybe he's teasing people.
　........He's not a bad kid, and he's good at his job, so it's okay.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry to hear that!　So long!
Yes. Good luck with your work this afternoon.
...ah...

　Mea smiles at me and then leaves the room.
　I then perform the final skill verification.

　The range that would be recognized as equipment was roughly up to about three meters.
　It was shorter than I expected.
　However, it didn't seem to matter how far away they were from me for ten seconds after I grabbed it.

　If automatic feedback was activated during that time, it would be treated as an equipment again.