"You're a first-tier explorer, right? Say it—what kind of equipment do you want made?"
The sailor-uniform girl spoke with a smug look on her face. "I don't usually bother making low-end rare gear, but since you're my first customer today, I'll reluctantly take this order."
"If it's that troublesome, I'll just go find another shop."
Kurosaki Rei replied calmly and took a step forward.
"Hey—wait, wait! It's not troublesome, not troublesome at all!"
The sailor-uniform girl hurried to stop him. "Don't worry, I'll definitely meet your needs."
"I need an outer garment," Kurosaki Rei said, no longer teasing the amusing shop owner.
He felt that at this point, it would be hard to find another supporter who both had solid craftsmanship and the time—and willingness—to custom-forge equipment for him.
Big shops took big orders. Small shops usually didn't have the skill. This sailor-uniform girl might be quirky, but her craftsmanship was genuinely top-tier.
"Outerwear, huh? That's easy. What are your specific requirements?"
Once she entered work mode, she became quite professional, even pulling out a small notebook to jot things down.
"Oh, right—one thing first," Kurosaki Rei added. "I want to custom-make a purple-quality piece. How do you calculate the price?"
"Purple gear!?"
The sailor-uniform girl was startled. She sized Kurosaki Rei up and down. "Hmm… looks like you do have the strength for it…"
Kurosaki Rei immediately felt uncomfortable, like he'd been seen through. He guessed she had used some kind of scouting skill.
Since it wasn't an attack, the Space allowed it—but generally, people avoided doing this in the Space. Casually peeking at someone's stats was rude and often led to grudges.
In custom equipment shops, though, it was common practice. Like giving your measurements when buying clothes—if the blacksmith didn't know the customer's attributes, they might end up crafting something unusable.
"Mm. So, roughly how much for a purple outer garment?" Kurosaki Rei asked directly.
"For a purple-quality outer garment, the forging difficulty isn't high," the sailor-uniform girl said. "If we aim for full rating, factoring in materials… I'd charge you…"
She hesitated, clearly weighing the price, afraid of scaring off her very first customer.
"…20,000 Terminus Coins."
"But I only have 16,000 Terminus Coins left."
Kurosaki Rei said this with a straight face. In truth, he still had a bit over 19,000, but there was no way he was going to spend everything down to zero.
"Sixteen thousand…"
The sailor-uniform girl looked conflicted.
By her family's creed, forging equipment meant striving for perfection. She only made full-rating gear. That meant material costs alone wouldn't be low—frankly speaking, at Kurosaki Rei's quoted price, she wouldn't just fail to profit, she'd probably lose money.
But she'd opened this shop to prove herself. If she went an entire month without a single order, her so-called "independence journey" would be over before it even began.
"If it doesn't work, then—"
Kurosaki Rei knew that 16,000 for a high-end custom purple item was unrealistic. He was about to suggest adding a Small Inheritance Crystal, but before he could finish—
"Deal!"
The sailor-uniform girl answered crisply, stepping in front of him and blocking the shop entrance.
"But I have one additional requirement."
"Let's hear it," Kurosaki Rei said, intrigued.
The girl glanced toward the shelves outside, then furtively looked left and right as if afraid of being overheard. She lowered her voice.
"Can you buy… a bed from me?"
"…Huh?"
Kurosaki Rei's head filled with question marks.
He'd expected some outrageous demand. Instead, she wanted him to buy a bed!?
Hey—how obsessed are you with selling beds!? What's the point!? With skills like yours, shouldn't you be forging equipment properly!?
"Just the cheapest one," she whispered. "The 5,000 Terminus Coin one."
"Trust my craftsmanship. Guaranteed comfort."
"But I only have sixteen thousand…"
Kurosaki Rei looked utterly helpless.
That was 5,000 Terminus Coins—enough to buy a pretty solid rare-grade item. Was he insane? Why would he buy a bed?
"Stop pretending," the sailor-uniform girl rolled her eyes. "There's no way you wouldn't leave yourself some spare cash. You've got extra, right?"
"Add one Small Inheritance Crystal, buy your bed, and custom-make my gear. If that works, we'll discuss details. If not, I'm leaving."
Kurosaki Rei laid down his terms.
If sold, a Small Inheritance Crystal would probably go for three to five thousand coins—people just rarely sold them.
If she agreed, he considered it a good deal. A custom purple item for around twenty thousand was already cheap. The bed would basically be a bonus.
"Inheritance Crystal?"
The sailor-uniform girl's eyes lit up. "Deal! It's settled. State your requirements!"
Next, Kurosaki Rei explained what he wanted in detail.
By the end, the girl's expression had turned… strange.
"Can I take that back? What you're asking for isn't purple gear at all."
She looked on the verge of breaking down. In her eyes, Kurosaki Rei was the worst kind of client imaginable.
High flexibility and strong defense.
Self-repair.
An active defense skill to withstand heavy attacks.
Enhanced survivability.
And—damn it—all of that while still looking cool.
What you're asking for is purple gear!? That's mythic, damn it!
"Oh, if it's not possible, that's fine," Kurosaki Rei said calmly. "Just aim in that direction. I'm only describing an ideal. If you can satisfy even one aspect, that's good enough."
He genuinely didn't understand forging difficulty all that well—he was just describing his ideal outer garment.
In recent battles, he'd realized how inconvenient normal clothing was. It tore apart at the slightest provocation.
He had zero interest in showing off his physique in front of others.
If he could get a sturdy outer garment, at least he wouldn't end up looking so miserable whenever he fought a strong opponent.
Plus, better outerwear meant better defense. Paired with his passive Armament Haki, he could tank many attacks head-on instead of dodging.
"Who says I can't make it!?"
His words were like stepping on a cat's tail—the sailor-uniform girl instantly bristled.
"I'll make it! Just you wait—come pick it up next week!"
"Oh. Then… good luck."
Kurosaki Rei instinctively felt it would be unwise to keep provoking her in this state.
"I'm starting work now. Shop's closed for today. On your way out, don't forget to take the bed."
As she spoke, she completed the transaction, transferring the bed that had been displayed outside to Kurosaki Rei.
Holding what looked like a toy-sized bed in his hands, Kurosaki Rei walked out of the "Private Customization" shop in a daze.
Her craftsmanship was truly something—thanks to Space tech, all the furniture could scale in size.
Watching the sailor-uniform girl shut the shop door with burning determination, Kurosaki Rei couldn't help but worry.
Once a contract was signed, there was no backing out. All he could do now was hope she was reliable enough to deliver equipment he'd be satisfied with.
With his money basically spent, Kurosaki Rei had no intention of continuing to browse the commercial street. He planned to check the bed's details and toss it into storage.
But once he did…
He was stunned.
[Dreamless]
Origin: Terminus Space
Quality: Rare
Type: Furniture
Toughness: 28
Durability: 70 / 70
Requirements: None
Details:
A bed crafted from Dream-Scent Wood by Supporter █████ No. █████.
Features adaptive firmness adjustment. Sleeping on it relaxes both body and mind, greatly improving sleep quality.
Furniture Effect 1 – Dreamless:
While resting on Dreamless, the pioneer's Soul Source recovery speed increases by 300%.
Furniture Effect 2 – Nurture:
While resting on Dreamless, the pioneer's Life Source recovery speed increases by 300%.
Rating: 100+
Evaluation:
Sometimes, having a good bed really is important.
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