"Rise and shine!" Izumi crows, throwing the window curtain open.

I wince. I feel like I'd only just fallen asleep, and I'm already awake again. She looks at me with sympathy.

"I had a lot of trouble getting used to early mornings here at first, too," she admits. "But soon you start wondering how you ever slept in."

She opens her closet and tosses two sets of clothing onto the bed. "Here. Borrow something of mine until we get you your own clothes. That work uniform is going to stand out when we want to blend in."

"Good idea."

It doesn't fit perfectly, but it'll do.

Izumi grins from ear-to-ear. "You know what it's time for, Hiyorin?"

"What?"

"Swords."

"What?"

"I've always wanted one, but I couldn't justify it as a waitress. But to an adventurer, it's essential equipment! Let me take you to the blacksmith's and we'll see what we can buy."

It's just like going on a shopping trip with your friends, I tell myself. Only instead of getting cute clothes, we're getting old-fashioned weapons.

"What about breakfast?"

Her stomach growls on cue. "I'm sorry! I was too excited to notice I was hungry. Let's get something downstairs."

I can't bring myself to enjoy the mush served up at the tavern, but I can at least appreciate that it's free with Izumi's status as a waitress. Full, and a little more awake, we head a few streets over from the tavern to a building with thick smoke coming out of its chimney.

"Welcome!" a girl's voice greets us as we walk through the door. She wipes sweat off her brow and continues hammering hot steel. Between blows, she still finds the time to ask us, "What can I help you with?"

Racks and shelves house a variety of weapons and other combat equipment, from swords and shields to axes and polearms.

We've walked into a weapons shop and smithy. My newfound mental display identifies each weapon as my gaze lingers on them, printing their names clearly as a convenient visual aid.

Izumi rushes over to the nearest shelf and picks up a small sword. Her eyes shine with excitement.

"You've got a good eye, missy," a booming voice praises her. A man in a dirty smock smiles from the back corner of the store.

"Maaya, you can help her out."

"Sure thing," the working girl agrees, putting her equipment down.

I get a good look at her face when she comes up close – a face that I’d seen on newspapers and television segments for the past six months. "Maaya Hanaoka?"

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you." I hold my hands up to show that I'm unarmed. "I'm from Japan. We both are. We know you've been missing, and we've been looking for you."

"Why?"

"Because Izumi and I are going to defeat the Demon Lord and find a way to get us all back home. He's stolen too many girls already, and he'll only abduct more."

"No thanks." Maaya turns to Izumi. "Shortsword?"

"You like it?" Izumi asks, oblivious to our conversation, enchanted by the weapon.

"What do you mean 'no thanks'?" I interrupt.

"I mean, no thanks. I'm happy here." She continues focusing on Izumi. "That's a good size for you. Anything larger would probably be hard to wield."

"Excuse me," the older man says, clearing his throat to draw attention to himself. "If you're troubling my apprentice, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I raise a brow at him. "Who?"

"He means me, you idiot." Maaya crosses her arms. "When that awful excuse for a Demon Lord let me go, I came to this town and found work here. I like it. It's a lot better than waitressing at some teahouse, where my parents take my checks and—"

She stops abruptly, on the verge of saying too much.

Izumi looks at her sympathetically, but without pity. "I like my job at the tavern here, too. This city is a good place."

"It is. And that's why I'm not leaving."

"So you won't help us?" Izumi asks, holding the shortsword with both hands like a lifeline.

"Now when did I ever say that?" Maaya pokes her forehead, and Izumi looks dazed for a moment. "I said I'm not leaving, not that

I don't support you opposing that overgrown manchild. He could stand to be taken down a few pegs."

I want to hear more of her story, but I don't want to risk getting kicked out of the store. She doesn't seem like the type to open up, anyway.

"Thank you!" Izumi says, beaming. She swings the sword around a bit dangerously. "We won't disappoint you!"

"Don't make promises until you know what you're getting yourselves into," Maaya sighs. "Hiyori, was it? You're going to need something, too."

I look from her to the racks of weapons, to her boss and back to the weapons. I'm in way over my head.

"What class do you main in MMOs?" Maaya asks, hands on her hips. "That's a good starting point."

"I've never played one," I admit.

Is there some kind of rule that everyone who gets transported to another world has to be a huge geek? Because if that's the case, everyone's going to be really disappointed in me. My free time was all spent with true crime podcasts and exercise.

I pick a small, round shield up and hold it out. "Is something like this a good start?"

+2 DEF, my display supplies helpfully.

Maaya and Izumi both wince. I guess not.

“Is def a bad thing?”

“Def is defense,” Izumi explains. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“The best defense," Maaya says, trying to take the shield from me, "Is a good offense. Trust me. You don't want to be a shielder."

I sense there's a reference I'm not catching, or maybe some kind of insider knowledge about the workings of this world, but I pull the shield back defensively nonetheless. I trust my instincts, and if my instincts point me towards plus two defense, then damn it, I’ll have my plus two defense. Whatever that actually means.

"Well, I'm not going to learn archery, so a bow is out. What about an axe to go with the shield?" I try to power on through my confusion, pointing to one of the nearest weapon racks.

"You'll look like a barbarian leader!" Izumi cheers. "I vote yes!"

Maaya sighs again. "That look, plus your attitude... I could see it working. Okay, let's do it."

She picks a Barbarian’s Axe +1 off the rack and hands it to me. I swing it around and nearly lose my balance. It’s heavy!

Bind item Y/N?

I shake my head, but the words floating in front of me don’t disappear. Fine. How about this? I focus on the Y and nod.

Suddenly, a surge of warmth blossoms outward from the weapon and down my arm. It’s lighter, easier to wield. The jeweled hilt sparkles aggressively.

“What are you doing?” Maaya asks.

“It asked if I wanted to... bind?”

“You said no, right?”

“No?”

“You bind it, you buy it,” Maaya sighs.

“Binding an item makes it yours,” Izumi says patiently. “Nobody else can use it.”

“For the day or something?”

“Forever.”

“Oh, um... how much?” I ask.

“How much do you have?”