Neith was walking through the streets of the kingdom, heading to buy clothes like the ones worn by the citizens. As he walked, he could already feel some eyes on him from the passersby—his school uniform looked far too strange. Neith's mind was full of thoughts.
"I wonder if the palace will announce the sudden disappearance of one of the heroes… They'll probably hide it for now. Not that it matters to me anyway…"
Neith entered one of the shops and began picking out some clothes.
'I'll leave this kingdom immediately… In less than a year, this place will suffer the Endless Winter… The kingdom will drown in snow, and waves of ice-type monsters and demons will appear… Yes… In the previous timeline, this was the first attack the Demon King launched on us heroes. What was the name of that high-ranked ice demon?.. I don't remember… York was the one who killed him in the end and ended the Endless Winter curse.'
After Neith finished selecting several pieces of clothing—quite luxurious, actually—he paid the shopkeeper two gold coins. Neith left the shop looking closer to a noble than a commoner: black clothes with simple, elegant golden patterns. It was the kind of clothing common folk rarely wore.
He continued on his way and noticed palace guards scattered around. They were clearly searching for Neith, though his disappearance hadn't been officially announced yet. He avoided their sight until he reached his second destination.
"This is annoying… but they've given me another reason to leave as soon as possible…"
Neith muttered to himself as he entered a weapon shop. He began looking through the merchandise: swords, axes, spears, daggers, shields. There were also items for mages—spellbooks, magic potions, and various components. Neith picked up a magic potion used to enhance lightning-element usage.
'I used both sword and magic in the previous timeline. I mastered daggers too…'
Neith kept thinking about his current options. He could now make use of all his previous experience, and he also had the chance to invest in other abilities—perhaps ones that were more useful.
His thoughts were interrupted by the shopkeeper's voice—a man in his mid-forties.
"Sir, is there something specific you're looking for?"
"…."
Neith turned calmly, thinking for a moment while playing with the potion bottle. Then he spoke in a dull tone, his voice low:
"Hmph… I feel sleepy."
"H-Huh? Pardon, sir?"
"It's nothing… I want healing potions, and enhancement potions for lightning, fire, and wind. And show me the swords and shields you have."
"Ah! Yes! Yes, right away…"
As the man began preparing Neith's items, he pointed to the area where the swords, spears, and shields were arranged.
'Hmm… nothing special, as expected. All simple swords. But the most important thing right now is defense. I don't want to get killed by some random orc or goblin.'
Neith's thoughts were cut off by noise behind him. When he turned around, he saw the shopkeeper glaring angrily at a young man with long black hair and sharp eyes. The boy's sharp gaze was fixed on the shopkeeper, who was yelling at him.
"How many times have I told you not to enter the shop or touch the smithing tools?! Isn't working in the stables enough for you?!"
Neith sighed and returned to searching for a decent weapon. Then another shout came from the shopkeeper.
"Get out of here, Soma!"
Neith turned quickly and looked at the boy again—this time carefully.
"So… Soma…?"