C'est quoi, ça? Quoi?
Les ventes soudaines ont pris Mamoru hors garde; avec un coup d'oeil rapide à sa gauche et à sa droite, il a vérifié que le « jeune maître » étant mentionné était, en fait, lui. Cela lui a rendu la situation un peu maladroite, mais avant qu'il ne puisse dire quoi que ce soit de lui-même, le marchand qui l'avait attrapé plus tôt continua, ne lui laissant aucune chance de répondre par lui-même sans être impoli.
Et il semblait qu'ils dessinaient une foule. Quel bon moment c'était.
Prenant un moment pour recueillir ses pensées, Mamoru se retourna et secoua calmement la tête, un léger sourire sur son visage alors qu'il commença à contrer ses propres paroles.
« Dans la plupart des circonstances, je serais heureux de parcourir vos articles, mais le côté logique de moi est de dire que porter quelque chose de plus tout en essayant de traiter une demande risque de me briser sous pression. Je ne peux pas simplement cacher un cadeau à la maison, pour ceux à qui il serait destiné le trouver, et l'impact serait perdu. C'est regrettable, mais je dois refuser votre offre. Peut-être qu'un autre des clients ici voudrait naviguer à ma place...?"
Bien sûr, le fait était que l'argent qu'il avait devait être utilisé sur l'essentiel, de toute façon. L'insistance de sa mère à lui apprendre toutes ces choses sur la ville a fini par être utile, après tout. Peut-être que son discours inciterait les autres à regarder ces biens à la place. Deux oiseaux avec une pierre, n'est-ce pas?
Avec cela (souvent) hors du chemin, Mamoru s'inclina la tête et retourna son attention à la planche des requêtes. Alors que les choses habituelles comme la collecte d'herbes et la récupération des rondins étaient là (comme prévu), le jeune sabreur ne pouvait s'empêcher de penser qu'aucun des autres emplois n'était faisable sans risque considérable à cause des ours qu'il avait pleurés il y a quelques instants.
"...Eh bien. Je ne crois plus avoir le choix. Est-ce que tout le monde a juste décidé de prendre le travail facile en ville aujourd'hui ou quelque chose comme ça?" Il a pensé à lui-même alors qu'il a retiré l'avis du conseil. « Vous penseriez qu'un plus grand nombre de gens accorderaient la priorité à la sécurité de la ville par rapport à la leur, mais qu'est-ce que je sais? »
Name: Kagimura Mamoru
Age: 20
Appearance: With short-cut and slightly messy black hair, what stands out about Mamoru is his rather... Unique eye color; after all, purple pupils aren't exactly what you'd call normal by any means. He stands at about 5'10" tall (~178cm) and is about average in terms of build: not too stocky and not too lean, though with enough muscle to wield his sword without breaking stance. He often wears rather plain brown tunic and pants, the latter of which is bound at his waist by a sash. Said sash also holds his sword in its sheath firmly at his side, so as to be easily accessible should the need arise.
Abilities: Mamoru is a semi-proficient swordsman, though he prefers to only fight with a sword rather than both a sword and a shield as his grandfather did or a spear like his father used. Having had no formal training, his style is unorthodox and improvised at times, having only watched more experienced swordfighters from a distance as they fought on their own. Mamoru is also capable of cloaking his blade with qi, either heating it up or cooling it down as he needs. Because he understands the importance of not making the weapon itself change temperature drastically (thanks to more than enough lectures from the local blacksmiths), this is the more preferred method as compared to heating the blade itself. Furthermore, said qi also reinforced the weapon, allowing it to be used for blocking, parrying, and deflecting incoming attacks.
Affinity: Fire/Water
Personality: Having lost his father at a young age, Mamoru has a deeply-ingrained ideal that he must try and carry on what his father could not. While creativity is not his strong suit, if pressured, he can be made to come up with something that... To be honest, may or may not always work out. While he understands the dangers of combat and the impact that fighting has on people, there is still a part of him that seeks that glory and heroism that is so often spoken of. At the same time, though, due to the aforementioned incident, Mamoru also has a drive to protect those close to him. That being said, though, he's not an idiot and knows when to let others protect him instead. A green swordsman with half a penchant for using qi can only do so much, after all...
History: Mamoru is the son of an old soldier who retired from the line of duty following the battle between the city-state of Xingfu and a powerful necromancer known only as Taoming. As one would expect from any conflict with the undead, the clash lasted for what felt like an eternity, even if the battle was over after a single night. By sheer luck, a group of Xingfu's top warriors were sent around to assassinate the necromancer before he could do any harm.
Mamoru's father was not one of these men. Rather, he was one of the unlucky ones to be left to defend the city-state: and the first line of defense, no less. As fate would decree it, the man died during that one-night siege, leaving Mamoru and his mother behind. Mamoru's grandfather had long since retired to the town of Kizun, where the two moved to soon after so as not to be constantly reminded of the sacrifice made then.
Mamoru has since grown up comparatively well off in the town, with his grandfather's guidance in using qi and watching the guardsmen from afar as he helped work odd jobs around the town. Most of his spare time is spent training and, occasionally, tagging along with passing adventurers to hunt boars or other game for the town to feast on.
Equipment: Other than the aforementioned clothes, Mamoru's weapon is also almost always at his side while he's out and about... Unless the situation calls for it not to be, of course. The weapon can be categorized in the broadest sense as a katana (albeit with a higher durability and rust resistance compared to those in ancient Japan), but he doesn't always treat it like one.
Other: The blacksmiths in Kizun hate him, if it wasn't already clear enough. Likes to eat seafood, but that's far too uncommon in the town to be eaten with any sort of frequency.