Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 17

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

As Blaze and Scarlette continued to walk around the public market, the two remained silent as they looked at the different stores around them. There are stores that sell clothes and dresses for different occasions. However, both Blaze and Scarlette are no longer interested in buying any clothes, since they still have enough supplies back in their carriage, and they are both trying to budget the money that Zoleta gave to them earlier. Another typical product being sold on the market are pieces of jewelry made of pearls and gemstones, but Scarlette is not a fan of those pieces of jewelry since she has set her priorities on what to buy already.

Is there no weapons store here? Blaze thought to himself as he looked around the area. Blaze kept looking around until he noticed that Scarlette suddenly stopped walking beside him, so he turned around to face her and was about to call her attention when he noticed that she was looking at a particular store which was located a few steps away to the right from where they are currently standing, a*****e that was placed behind the rows of dress and clothing stores, and only a narrow pathway is available to access the store that Scarlette saw.

"What is it?" Blaze asked Scarlette as he approached her while holding the handle of his katana.

"Hmm...uhm, Sir Blaze, can we...uhm...is it alright if I check that store for a few minutes...please?" Scarlette replied to Blaze while looking straight at him with pleading eyes. Blaze saw how Scarlette's eyes sparkled with her curious facial expression is plastered on her face, and as he stared at her, he could not utter a single word to reply to the woman, so he decided just to nod his head, which then, clearly made the woman happy.

After receiving the permission of Blaze, Scarlette strode her way towards the store, and even though the pathway was narrow, she was still able to walk her way in, followed by Blaze. Still, Scarlette did not notice him at all, since she was so excited about approaching the store.

"I wonder what kind of store that is," Scarlette muttered, but Blaze was still able to hear her.

"I don't know," Blaze bluntly answered Scarlette's question.

"Wha~!? Sir Blaze? What are you doing here?" Scarlette questioned in surprise as she quickly turned around upon hearing his voice, but instead of answering the woman, Blaze simply raised his right eyebrow at her, which made Scarlette shut her mouth and just nod her head at him.

He doesn't have to follow me here. Scarlette thought to herself as she continued walking towards the shop. And after a few more steps, Scarlette was already standing in front of the store's main entrance door.

Scarlette stared at the door and noticed something unique in its designs. The door is made of wood, and it has some wood carvings on it that implicate some vines, and at the middle-top of the door, Scarlette saw a sun-shaped wooden carved on the door.

Hmm? This symbol looks familiar, but I could not remember where I saw it before. Scarlette thought to herself as she stared curiously at the sun-shaped figure at the top rail of the door.

"What?" Blaze suddenly blurted out as he saw the woman's facial expression. Then, Scarlette turned around and looked at Blaze.

"Huh? Oh, uhm, nothing. It's nothing, I was just looking at the design of this wooden door," Scarlette answered and smiled a little at Blaze before she took a step closer to the door and knocked three times before Scarlette reached for the doorknob, slowly twisted it, and pushed the door gently until she completely opened it.

"Wow," Scarlette muttered as she saw the inside of the store.

"It's a bookstore," Scarlette uttered with a smile on her lips as she looked at the bookshelves near the door. Scarlette stepped inside the bookstore and looked around the place for any sales attendant inside, but she could not see anyone nearby. With a sigh escaping from her mouth, she decided to walk towards the first bookshelf near the checkout counter, with Blaze silently walking behind her.

Once again, Scarlette checked around her to see if there was anyone nearby aside from Blaze, but she still did not see anyone.

Well, I guess I will simply look around for some interesting books and just leave some payment at the cashout counter. Scarlette thought to herself as she began checking the titles of the books displayed on the first bookshelf. As Scarlette focused herself on the books, Blaze simply stood in front of the cashout counter and crossed his arms over his chest while waiting for Scarlette to finish buying the things that she wanted to buy.

As Scarlette continues to search for any book that will catch her attention, she does not realize that she has reached the far end of the bookstore already, where a certain bookshelf is displaying a number of old and ragged books. After a while, Scarlette noticed the old books and tried to walk past the bookshelf where they were displayed, but then, something caught her eyes, so she quickly halted herself and walked back in front of the bookshelf. At the lower part of the shelf, there was an old, brown, middle-sized book that lay flat on the shelf without any books beside it.

Hmm? I wonder what kind of book this is. Scarlette thought to herself and bent down a little to pick up the book. With the appearance of the book, Scarlette gently picked it up and blew off some pecks of dust from the book itself. Then, she checked the book's cover from the front to its back with a curious expression. After that, she looked at the title of the book, which is found on the front cover.

Grimoire De Celeste

Grimoire De Celeste? I don't understand what these words mean, but it does sound ancient. Scarlette thought to herself and was about to open the book when she suddenly felt a presence behind her back, so she quickly turned around and saw a woman smiling at her.

"May I help you?" the woman suddenly asked Scarlette as she kept smiling with her eyes closed.

"H-Huh? A-Ah, n-no, I'm fine. Thank you," Scarlette answered and placed the book back on the shelf.

"T-Then, uhm, thank you," Scarlette stuttered and hurriedly walked back, without turning around, to where she last saw Blaze.

Waah! That scared me. Why did she just appear behind me without saying anything!? And her smile! It was so creepy. Scarlette thought to herself while clutching her fist firmly and striding her way to Blaze. After a few more huge steps, she finally saw Blaze leaning against the cashout counter, so she hurriedly approached him.

"S-Sir Blaze, w-we should go now. I did not find anything that interests me," Scarlette excused as she grabbed the hem of Blaze's left sleeve and tugged on it gently.

What is wrong with her? Blaze thought to himself as he stared at Scarlette with furrowed eyebrows, but Blaze decided just to keep quiet and simply nodded his head at her. Then, he started to walk towards the door, with Scarlette walking by his side. However, before any of the two of them could open the door, someone suddenly called out to them, so they both stopped walking and turned around.

"Wait! Lady, please wait!" a female's voice echoed inside the silent bookstore, and when Scarlette and Blaze both turned around, they saw a woman with a smiling face and closed eyes approaching them. As soon as Scarlette realizes who the woman is, she quickly holds on to Blaze's hand and slightly hides behind his arm, and these weird actions are seen by Blaze, which makes him more curious and confused.

"Lady," the woman called out to Scarlette again with the same facial expressions plastered on her face.

"Y-Yes?" Scarlette replied without making eye contact with the woman, and the woman simply smiled in her direction.

"This book. Please, take it," the weird woman spoke and stretched out her right hand while holding an old brown book.

"Eh? B-But, I am not planning to buy anything," Scarlette responded to the woman, but the latter simply smiled at her before saying anything.

"It's alright. I'm giving it to you for free," the woman said to Scarlette, which made Scarlette confused.

"You're giving it to me? For free? Why?" Scarlette asked, but the woman did not answer her question and simply smiled at her.

"Just take it already so we can leave," Blaze said to Scarlette.

"H-Hmm," Scarlette replied with a single nod of her head. Then, she slowly took a step towards the weird woman, then Scarlette reached out her hand for the brown book as swiftly as she could and quickly went back to where she was hiding earlier.

"T-Thank you," Scarlette uttered in a low tone of voice, and the woman simply smiled at her.

Why does she keep smiling like that!? I'm sorry, but it is so creepy. Scarlette thought to herself.

"T-Then, we'll go now. Thank you," Scarlette added. Then, she and Blaze began walking out of the bookstore. As the door of the bookstore shut, the weird woman opened her eyes and revealed a pair of golden eyes.

"I hope you will make good use of that book, halfling of the forest," the weird woman uttered as she looked at the closed door with a gentle smile on her lips.

That way, you will be able to claim your destiny...Your Majesty. The woman thought to herself and placed her right hand over her left chest before bowing at the door and turning her back on it as she walked back to the cashout counter and began counting her money.

After visiting a weird bookstore, Scarlette decided to herself that she no longer had anything to buy on the public market, so she turned to face Blaze and asked him a question.

"Sir Blaze, do you have anything in mind that you want to buy from this marketplace?" Scarlette asked, and Blaze took a glance at her first before focusing back on the road in front of them.

"I'm looking for a weapon shop," Blaze answered, which made Scarlette nod.

"Alright. I will help you look around," Scarlette volunteered and started checking each signage in front of different shops around them.

"Hmm...I can't find any stores like that here," Scarlette uttered as she kept looking around.

"Oh! I saw one! Over there!" Scarlette suddenly blurted out and pointed at the third store to their left, so Blaze quickly followed her gaze, and when he had confirmed that Scarlette was telling the truth, he simply nodded his head and walked towards the weapon store.

"Ah, wait for me," Scarlette spoke as she quickly followed Blaze, who began walking ahead of her. As the two approached the shop, they both checked the signage of the store first before Blazereached for the doorknob and opened the door.

I hope this shop does not have another weird sales personnel. Scarlette thought to herself as she remembered the previous store that she and Blaze had just entered, which suddenly sent shivers down her spine.

Ahh! No! Stop thinking about that lady, Scarlette! You will simply scare yourself if you keep thinking about that. Scarlette thought to herself as she shook her head, and Blaze noticed her action, which made him more wary of the woman.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Blaze asked Scarlette, which snapped the woman out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, uhm, nothing," Scarlette answered with a sheepish smile plastered on her lips. Blaze did not believe her answer and simply raised an eyebrow at her, but the woman just kept smiling at him as if she was trying to ease his temper.

"Tsk!" Blaze hissed as he looked away from Scarlette and opened the door. And as soon as Blaze and Scarlette stepped inside the shop, they both heard a familiar loud voice of a woman.

"As I said, can't you give us a discount!?"

"Hmm? Zoleta?" Scarlette called out as she realized whom the familiar voice came from. Then, the woman standing with her hands on both sides of her waist quickly turned around, and when Scarlette saw the woman's face, Scarlette smiled genuinely at her.

"Scarlette!" Zoleta happily greeted Scarlette and ran her way towards the woman standing beside Blaze and hugged her.

"I didn't know you were planning to buy some weapons too," Scarlette said to Zoleta as they both pulled away from the hug.

"Of course, I have to make sure that I have all the weapons that I will be needing as we continue with our mission," Zoleta answered with a proud smile on her lips.

"Wait...are you planning to buy a weapon as well? Wait, do you know how to fight those b*st*rds?" Zoleta asked Scarlette, which surprised the latter as well.

"Huh? No, of course not. I don't have any plans on buying any weapons since I also do not know how to use any of those things," Scarlette answered as she pointed at the different weapons displayed around the walls and shelves in the store.

"Huh? Then, why are you two here?" Zoleta asked.

"Are you really that st*pid? Of course, it will be Sir Blaze who's planning to buy a new weapon," suddenly, a man's voice butted in the women's conversation, and when Scarlette looked in the direction where the voice came from, she saw Henson smiling at her.

"Oh, hi Henson," Scarlette greeted her, and Henson simply nodded his head at her with a smile on his lips. Then, Scarlette noticed the weapon that Henson was holding in his hand.

"Hmm? Are those...daggers?" Scarlette asked, and Henson nodded his head at her as an answer.

"Yes, and this is a complete set of five pure silver daggers," Henson answered.

"Don't get me wrong, but why daggers? I mean, you're using guns, right?" Scarlette asked the man, and Henson shyly scratched his nape as he looked away from Scarlette.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's the only person in our village who uses guns as his secondary weapon," Zoleta answered on behalf of Henson.

"Hey! I was going to tell her that," Henson roared at Zoleta, who simply grinned at him.

"Tsk! Well, what she said was true, but you can't blame me. Using a dagger is much easier than using a gun," Henson responded.

"Yeah, right. Go ahead if you want to cut your own fingers," Zoleta replied to Henson, and the latter just glared at him, and when he was about to argue back with Zoleta, Blaze suddenly butted in and asked a question.

"Where did you find those daggers?" Blaze asked while looking straight at the daggers in Henson's hands.

"Huh? Oh, it's displayed over there, Sir Blaze," Henson answered while pointing at the right corner of the store. Then Blaze simply walked towards the area that Henson had just talked about without saying anything.

"See that? Even Sir Blaze is interested in these daggers," Henson said proudly to Zoleta, who simply rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. Then, Henson excitedly followed Blaze to the shelf where the daggers he had just bought were displayed.

"Come on," Scarlette invited Zoleta to follow them, and the ladies quietly walked towards the two men, who were both busy checking the quality and design of the daggers displayed on the shelf.

"This one looks neat, but I am not sure if it's sharp enough to pierce through a demon's armor," Henson whispered as he stared at an aluminum dagger in his hand. While Blaze, on the other hand, is checking out a black dagger with a silver point at the end of the blade and two blue sapphires on it, one at the middle of the blade and one at the cross guard of the hilt.