Ch. 118 Let's Travel with Lily! (Part 2)

“Yay~ I’m full, I’m full!” Merlin lay on the chair, completely lacking decorum, happily enjoying the afternoon sun.

After Mia generously stepped up and offered to pay, Merlin ate the delicious lunch with even more justification. Of course, Artoria and Kay also joined in enjoying the meal.

“However…” Merlin narrowed his eyes under the direct sunlight and looked at the other side of the table. If one were to ask who was the least polite…

“Slurp, slurp—” Artoria’s cheeks puffed out, as cute as a hamster. She closed her eyes and swallowed the food filling her mouth with effort, then, like a disciple raising the Holy Grail, held her empty bowl high.

“Another bowl!”

“Coming right up, customer!” The innkeeper brought over the large ceramic pot of stew directly. “Do you need bread?”

“Yes!” Artoria replied without ceremony.

“You were the one who was most embarrassed at the beginning, weren’t you?” Merlin teased with a grin.

“Although it is indeed a bit embarrassing to have Miss Mia treat us…” While waiting for the innkeeper to serve more food, Artoria sat up straight: “But if I don’t eat my fill, wouldn’t that be failing to live up to Miss Mia’s kindness?”

“That makes sense!” Mia, who was already eating dessert fruit, gave a thumbs up: “Artoria must eat until she’s full; only then will she have the strength to train!”

Artoria took the bowl handed over by the innkeeper. The battle continued!

Kay looked at Artoria with a subtle but doting gaze. ‘That’s the fourth bowl, right?’ It was even more than what Wilden, the little giant, had eaten.

Although he had long known that his sister was a big eater, moments of such vigorous appetite as today were rare. Probably only during holidays?

Hmm, that’s right, after all, given Dad’s frugal habits, it was only during holidays that they would eat stew with such rich seasoning and white bread like today.

Their usual food wasn’t much better than that of ordinary villagers. As a knightly family that needed to train in martial arts, they just had a bit more meat.

Kay remembered when Artoria was still his squire, the two of them would often do this, using his pocket money to buy something tasty at the village tavern. Of course, it was Kay’s pocket money, because until shortly before she pulled out the sword in the stone, Artoria had not come of age.

Pocket money was naturally scarce; after all, being trained as a king, there were very few holidays for rest.

“Merlin.” Kay suddenly called out.

“Mmm…” Merlin lay on the table, almost falling asleep under the warm sunlight.

“It’s not good for your health to lie like that after eating… ah, no,” Kay waved his hand in front of him, as if he could wave the topic back onto the right track. As the only reliable adult, Kay was sprinting at full speed toward becoming a nagging mother hen.

“Artoria must have told you, right? About Miss Mia and her group wanting to travel with us.”

“A little more liveliness is certainly better.” Merlin replied lazily with his eyes closed.

“So, should I take that as you agreeing?”

“Mmm—” This guy, he fell asleep. Kay sighed.

He shrugged helplessly at Mia. “He’s just like this, as childish as a kid.” Kay muttered, curling his lip, then paused: “You’re a mage too, right? Don’t let this bastard influence you.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry~” Mia waved her hand.

On the other side, Artoria finally put down her bowl.

“Would you like more?” The innkeeper, providing one-on-one service, asked with immense concern. Artoria wiped the corners of her mouth with bread and then popped it into her mouth. “Thank you for the hospitality, I am full.”

She didn’t look like she had eaten so much food at all. Her stomach hadn’t grown at all. As expected of the Red Dragon of Britain, her capacity was astonishing!

“As long as you’re satisfied!” The innkeeper beamed as he took away the clean bowl. One-third of the large pot of stew had been wiped out by the girl in front of him.

He didn’t think about earning less money at all; being able to witness such a massive appetite, the tavern owner felt it was his great fortune. He even developed a desire to feed her. ‘What should I have the kitchen make for dinner?’ As he carried the tableware into the room, he glanced at the hams hanging in the pantry.

After lunch, the afternoon was not spent idling. Kay wanted to take Artoria to find a blacksmith to forge a suit of armor. As a squire, Artoria naturally knew the importance of armor, so she didn’t say any superfluous words like ‘No need to bother.’

It is worth mentioning that after Mia learned where the two of them were going, she followed along with Wilden. She also wanted to ask the blacksmith to make a suit of armor; even if she positioned herself as a spellcaster, she couldn’t go without protective gear.

In the previous battle with Morgott, Mia, having no defense, had suffered a bit. If she could add some protection for herself, she could at least hold on a little longer when facing powerful enemies. Although, if it were an enemy like Morgott, the effect of armor probably wouldn’t be much better than cloth clothes.

But having it is one thing, and when to use it is another; it’s impossible for all enemies to have the strength of Morgott. As for Wilden… Mia only knew he was a former Godrick’s Soldier.

Although he had plate gauntlets and greaves, he only wore chainmail under his surcoat. After all, Wilden was the main frontline tank, so upgrading his armor was quite necessary.

Four people, ah, no, five. Melina and Mia were inseparable. After asking a certain lucky villager, that villager stutteringly pointed out the location of the blacksmith shop.

“Relax, we aren’t bad people.” Kay helplessly pacified the villager who was terrified in front of the imposing Wilden. Turning a corner, everyone saw the high furnace in the blacksmith’s courtyard.

The blacksmith was sitting at his workstation, hammering a silver bracelet. After stating their purpose to the blacksmith, the old blacksmith with short, stiff white stubble measured Artoria’s size like a tailor.

“If it’s armor for her, does it need to be made larger to leave room for growth?” Artoria indicated that it was not necessary. Things like a knight’s plate armor must be the best fit to be the best.

Please ignore why there would be plate armor in 6th-century Britain when it wouldn’t appear until the 12th century; if you ask, it’s Type-Moon. In her future training while traveling the world, encountering battles was a certainty, so the armor Artoria needed was armor that could perform at its full potential right now.

If one thinks too far ahead, it would instead make the armor’s current effectiveness poor, which would be a loss that outweighs the gain.

“I understand. Are there any requirements for the style?” Artoria thought for a moment: “The pauldrons can be omitted, and the breastplate should be designed in the way most suitable for movement; it doesn’t matter if the defensive area is smaller.”