Kenji stord through the bustling streets of the town’s market, his frustration evident in every sharp step he took. The broken sword dangled from his hand, the shattered blade glinting faintly in the sunlight. His dark mood seed to ripple outward, causing vendors and passersby to glance at him with a mixture of curiosity and unease.
"Master, I *told* you not to buy it. That store looked incredibly shady, but do you ever listen to ? No, you don’t!" Haruka said in her human form, matching his pace. Her fox-like ears twitched in irritation, arching downwards in a way that mirrored her annoyed tone.
Kenji groaned but said nothing, his attention fixed ahead.
"Haruka’s right," Shreya chid in, appearing from Kenji’s mindscape with a flourish of fiery feathers. "Kenji, why do you never listen to the wisdom of won? We have instincts for these kinds of things. And now you’ve gone and splurged most of your money on a piece of scrap tal junk!"
Behind them, the children followed closely, their faces alight with amusent despite Kenji’s sour mood.
"Daddy’s new sword was so cool until it went *plink* and broke!" Leia exclaid, laughing loudly at the mory of the dramatic mishap.
"I know, right?" Pheia chid in, giggling uncontrollably. "One swing and *plink*, then boom—shatter!"
"I bet I could make a better one with two sticks and glue," Leo declared confidently, crossing his arms like an expert craftsman.
Kenji grit his teeth, his grip tightening around the sword’s hilt as he tried to ignore the cacophony of playful mockery behind him. Their laughter only made his mood darker, and he sighed deeply. *This isn’t how I imagined my weapon shopping going.*
---
### **[Two Hours Earlier]**
The morning sun filtered through the windows of the inn, bathing the room in a warm glow. Kenji stretched as he got out of bed, shaking off the last remnants of sleep. After completing his usual morning routine, he turned to wake the children.
"Rise and shine," Kenji called out, his voice firm yet warm. "Go get your baths, and et in the kitchen for breakfast."
The re ntion of food was enough to send the children scurrying out of bed and toward the bathroom, each vying to be the first to wash up. Within monts, the house was alive with the sound of hurried footsteps and cheerful chatter.
After breakfast, Kenji decided to head out for the day—and, as always, the children insisted on tagging along.
Standing outside the inn, Kenji paused and glanced at the bustling streets. A thought crossed his mind: *We’ve been living in this inn for far too long. I should probably look into getting us a proper ho.* He made a ntal note to add that to his list of future expenses.
Before leaving, he turned to a quiet corner to summon Haruka. "Summoning: Cloud Moon Fox, Haruka!" he chanted, and a radiant magic circle appeared before him. Out stepped Haruka in her bestial form, her six-foot-tall fra and shimring pink fur exuding elegance and power.
"Good morn—" Kenji began, but before he could finish, Haruka darted past him in a streak of light and scooped up the children in her massive paws.
Transforming into her human form, Haruka enveloped them in a tight embrace, her joy spilling out in rapid-fire questions. "Hmm! I missed you all so much. Did you sleep well? Did master scold you? Did anyone disturb you? Are you eating enough?" She barraged them with questions, causing the children to blink in dazed confusion, unable to keep up with her rapid chatter.
Kenji watched the display with a mixture of disbelief and slight envy. *Is it because they’re so cute? Should I try becoming cute too?* he thought, glancing at his reflection in a nearby shop window and touching his face skeptically.
After thoroughly cuddling the children, Haruka finally turned to Kenji. "Good morning, Master. Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier," she said with an apologetic smile that made Kenji’s eye twitch.
*I was literally the one who summoned you!*
Kenji sighed and waved off her apology. "Whatever. I wanted to ask if you’d like to co with us to shop for a weapon. I think I need one."
Hearing this, Haruka nodded seriously, her playful deanor fading. "It’s true. You do need a weapon, Master. Using your bare fists all the ti increases the damage you take in battle. A proper weapon could make a significant difference."
She wasn’t wrong. The bear claws he had gained during his contract sacrifice had been useful but temporary—lasting only 24 hours before disappearing. A permanent weapon was essential.
"Alright then," Kenji said, determination lighting his eyes. "Let’s head out."
---
The marketplace was alive with vibrant energy as the group arrived. Despite having visited before, Kenji and the children were still captivated by the explosion of colors, slls, and sounds. Stalls lined the streets, selling everything from exotic foods to sparkling trinkets.
The children were particularly fascinated by a stall selling magical pastries. The vendor demonstrated one pastry’s ability to emit tiny sparks of light as it was eaten, causing the children to clap in awe. Haruka smiled fondly as they tugged her toward the stall, begging for samples. Kenji relented with a sigh, purchasing a few pastries for them before steering everyone back toward their mission.
"Focus, kids," Kenji said, though his stern tone was undermined by the faint amusent on his face.
Kenji stopped a passerby to ask for directions to a blacksmith’s shop. After receiving guidance, the group headed to their destination.
Upon entering the shop, Kenji’s expectations shifted. Instead of a human blacksmith, the counter was manned by a **Calgroth**—a rare mountain-dwelling creature with jagged, rock-like skin and glowing veins of molten orange. Despite their reputation for craftsmanship, this particular Calgroth looked distinctly unimpressed.
Kenji approached, stifling a laugh as he noticed the creature’s diminutive height—it barely reached his chest and was standing on a stack of books to see over the counter. The mix of grumpiness and cuteness was almost too much.
*If I ever find a creature like this, I’m taming it,* Kenji thought, suppressing a chuckle.
" Hello there, my na is Mak-"
" What type?" Before he could finish his sentence, the Calgroth imdiately stopped him as it asked another question.
" Excuse ? What type of what." Ke just asked in confusion.
" What type of weapon do you want? A sword, spear, bow? Na it, and I’ll go get it for you," the Calgroth said, heading straight for the main point of topic.
" Oh, well, I guess a sword?" Kenji said, uncertain about his choice, he had thought that he would be able to try out so weapons to know of what to choose, but that supposedly wasn’t the way things are.
" A sword it is," The Little Calgroth said, as he got down and jumped into the ground, only for Kenji to realize that he had been sitting on a stack of books behind the counter this whole ti, causing him to want to laugh the more.
" Daddy, why is that man so short?" Leia asked with an inquisitive gaze that made Kenji want to smack himself.
Imdiately, the Calgroth turned to the little girl and stared at her deeply with a cold and nancing eyes before turning away and continue to walk towards where he had kept his swords.
Seeing that the creature didn’t react, Kenji heaved out a sigh of relief, as an echo of laughter entered I to his ears.
" Hahahah! Kenji, your own daughter had almost made you sh*t on your pants today," Shreya exclaid, as she flew out of Kenji’s mindscape.
" Leia, we don’t ask such questions, it’s very rude," Kenji said scolding her whole wagging his fingers.
Seeing Kenji annoyed by her question, Leia hung her head low," I’m sorry Daddy, I didn’t know," she said, adding her cute and adorable eyes to the words, and imdiately, Kenji’s heart softened.
" Alright, but don’t do that again. And the sa goes for you two, understand?" Kenji said, referring to the other two siblings.
" Yes daddy,"
" Yes Dad,"
" Good," Kenji said, as he turned his head and awaited his weapon.
After a little while of waiting, the Calgroth returned with a magnificent looking sword.
The hilt of the sword was surrounded by two wavy golden dragons. The eyes of the dragons were red, showing that there was a gem in their eyes.
The blade, the blade of the sword was just as magnificent as the hilt, as it looked as sharp as ten swords joined together.
It was almost...magical.
" Six hundred gold coins!" The Calgroth said, announcing the price of the weapon.
Without thinking twice, Kenji paid for the sword in an instant, and Imdiately left the shop.
" Kenji! How could you do that?! Paying six hundred coins for a sword? Really, and you couldn’t even haggle the price?" Shreya said, her voice laced with anger.
" Yes master, Shreya is right, you shouldn’t have done that, besides, I don’t think this sword is a good idea, the Calgroth didn’t seem trustworthy enough to buy their thpe of things from him," Haruka said, chipping into the conversation.
" Guys, don’t worry, this sword is a legit! I an have you see the dragon on it? That’s symbolising strength, aning the sword is really strong.
" But st-"
" Enough yapping, let show you that I have a good eye for things like this," Kenji said, as he took them out to the forest and decided to strike down a tree.
" Daddy’s sword looks so cool, I want one!" Leia said, srized by the beauty of the sword.
" Sure it does, but i’m sure a whip would be much more better,"
" A whip? No, using bare hand is, I an you can do whatever with your hands, while for weapons you’d have to learn how to strike them," Leo said, giving his own review on the weapon.
" She! Daddy’s about to cut down that tree!" The three said simultaneously, as they readied themselves to see Kenji striking down a tree.
" Hyah!" Kenji exclaid, as he swung the sword hard against the surface of the tree.
*Plink*
*Shat*
Imdiately, Kenji looked down at the broken pieces of the sword and the place he had just stuck the tree.
Instead of the tree being cut off, it was the sword that was broken down!
the children imdiately burst out into a fit of laughter, as Haruka and Shreya looked on in contempt, as they tried to hold in their laughter.
* I am never going to trust a Calgroth ever again!!*
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