Harem of the final villain in an ERO MMO!!! I just need to survive

Chapter 47 47: The Mana Stone [Pt1]

?Mana bracelet - that was the thing Keith had to find first and foremost. All it would require is a little adventure and he would be able to get his hands on such a precious item.

So, as soon as the sun had risen high up in the sky, Keith started his journey to find the mana bracelet. It just so happened that both Clair and Amelia ended up accompanying him on this trip.

"You know, what I heard you say was that you were going on an adventure to find an important item for yourself, I did not think you mean to think you meant shopping by that. What kind of adventure is this?"

Clair complained as she followed after Keith. She had woken up at the crack of dawn after having spent the whole night arranging reports for him. She very much did not want to be here.

She looked at Amelia, the other overly excited idiot who was busy looking at things with an awed face. She was so distracted by looking at all the tinkers that she did not even hear Clair complain.

"Clair, you don't understand the art that is shopping with ultimate money. There is nothing we cannot buy but finding what to buy is the real challenge. We must pour all our resources into finding the next mana bracelet money can buy."

Keith stressed the importance of shopping but Clair lost him halfway through his explanation. Keith also should have pressed her to explain more. Shopping was an acquired taste that not everyone can appreciate.

"Ke-I mean, grandmaster, I will be shopping for my clothes. I will meet you back at the entrance when I am done."

Amelia called out to him, her eyes fixed on a high-end dress shop. She looked hesitant about whether she should go to such an expensive shop, but Keith waved her off.

"Yeah sure, go in and shop as much as you want to. Don't worry about money because I have plenty of it."

Amelia finally entered the shop with a happy expression. Clair followed behind Amelia, thinking that Ameli would be easier to deal with than Keith and his maniac shopping spree.

Once they were gone, Keith knew he needed to start his plan. And the first thing he needed to do was disguise himself. He could not afford to be found out in the town.

'Thankfully, there are too many young people who like to cosplay as 'The grandmaster' and get their hair dyed as a result. It will not be too difficult to roam around until I get a disguise.'

So the first thing Keith needed to do was to head into a clothing and make-up store. And luckily, there was one for men right in front of him.

"Welcome, sir- Wow, this is the most realistic cosplay of a grandmaster I have seen in my life. You even got the vibe of your aura right? So, where did you get your cosplay done? I might ring that place up as well."

The person at the counter looked shocked to see Keith but he soon recovered. It seemed like this shop saw its fair share of people pretending to be the grandmaster.

Keith could have corrected the cashier but he decided to play along for now.

"Yes, this is good work, right? Unfortunately, the person who did my hair and skin for me ended up dying early and now I feel like I need a change for the time being."

Keith grinned in his mind as he watched the uncomfortable expression on the cashier. Invoking sympathy never failed to shut rude people up. Even now, the man before Keith looked at him with a sad but understanding expression.

And as soon as Keith saw it, he knew that he was not going to be questioned by this cashier.

Since Keith had the cashier's sympathy, he was rushed first in line and quickly made to undergo temporary make-over magic. His hair was now brown and his eyes were a dull grey as well.

"I-Is this alright? Don't you look 'too ordinary now? Surely you want to go for something flashier."

The hairdresser complained as he observed Keith. Keith still looked objectively handsome and his natural grace still showed even with such dull colors on his face. There truly was no hiding a beautiful face, no matter what you.

This man could have been considered his masterpiece if only it was not for all these dull shades he went for.

Meanwhile, Keith observed himself in the mirror. His hair and his eyes looked quite ordinary now. He liked his new and ordinary look.

"Nah, this is perfect. I think I will find it easier to look at myself for the time being."

Keith paid upfront, totally ignoring the horrified and angry looks he was getting from the people who had seen his original looks.

Once he was out of the shop, the gazes looking at Keith lessened by 1/4the the amount. People seemed not to be interested in his ordinary brown hair and dull grey eyes.

So overall, Keith felt like he had made a beneficial decision to go with this look.

'Now then, where was the item shop that sold the starting items in this town? Gosh, it was so much easier in the game I played.'

Keith wished he had the map feature of his system so that he could locate places. But alas, this was the real world and he had to find the shop on his own.

All he knew was that the shop was named - Merlin's magic and it had a branch in all the main cities of the game. Surely, such a big chain shop would be easy to spot.

Keith roamed around the city but he was unable to find anything. His limited knowledge of this world's characters did not help him in his current situation.

'Ugh, this is hopeless. I should just find the central plaza and try to remember where the shop is from there.'

Keith gave up after two hours of walking around. The central plaza was an important event space in the original game, so Keith avoided it.

He panted as he sat down on the central fountain's retaining wall and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his gaze fell on a familiar logo. It was a small old wizard stirring a huge cauldron. That logo screamed familiarity and Keith instantly became aware of where he had seen it before.

'Shit, that is the logo for Merlin's magic shop. How did I not remember that it was in this plaza?'

Keith forced his tired feet to stand up and entered the dark and gloomy shop. Various tinkers lined the wall of the shop giving it an eery presence. It would not be too much to say that this place was a haunted house.

And the show owner, Merlin, was someone who liked to scare people with his crazy ideas. Keith knew what was coming so he braced himself.

'Don't freeze up and don't scream. It's not a ghost, but Merlin himself.'

Keith reminded himself as a bony hand handed on his shoulder. Someone's hot breath hit his ear and he finally flinched.

"Welcome to Merlin's magic shop. Whatever you are looking for, you will find it here. But only if you pay the right price for your wish. So dear buyer, what would you like to buy today?"

Keith straightened himself once he heard Merlin speak. He had seen the old man too much in the game and now he could finally calm down.

The old man tsked, not expecting the young man to see through his tricks. Most people were too scared of him when they came here and paid whatever price he asked for.

"So, what do you want to buy from me?"

Merlin asked with a straight face. He was not feeling too generous to this man who had not gotten scared of him. Did this child think he was better than Merlin himself?

"I want a mana bracelet or a mana ring. The purer artifact you have, the better it will be for me."

Merlin's eyes snapped open in shock at the request. This man was asking for something this trivial by coming to his shop when he could have asked for anything?

'T-This child must be testing me. I can feel the aura of money on him so this child does not lack money at least. But why would someone like him be looking for a mama bracelet when he can just hire someone to use their skills?'

Merlin was cautious since he trusted his instincts. He knew he had to bring out the best mana item he had.

'I was saving it for the child of prophecy but  I guess I will lend it out to this gentleman for now. I am sure this is a test for me from the heavens so I cannot fail myself.'

Marlin decided and brought out a small box from the back of his shop.