Time to equip Ryu

A standard meal set was nothing fancy.

To be precise, the girls thought that such a bowl of potato soup plus some slices of meat and crusty white bread was subpar. Delicious for the kind of place they were in, but subpar nonetheless.

As for Ryu, it was the most delicious thing he ever ate... with a premise. Namely, that this was the first decent thing he ate after starving for two days.
If the hunger factor wasn't counted in, he'd call upon the chef who got him his cooking license, or if he had any at all.

Still, albeit the food was what it was, it was still enough to accompany a nice chat among the party members as they got to know each other and bond together, the ground enjoying their lunch and then walking out the inn once they were done.
It was time to find Ryu some decent equipment.

There was no real residential district in town. The higher up had their own walled district, the army slept in their dorms, the store owners had their own quarters within their shops whereas adventurers and whores rented inns. There was little need for a place for civilians to reside, as there were little to no civilian at all. This fortress simply wasn't conceived with that in mind.

That said, stores managing armours, weapons and all kind of items were separated by places like inns, brothels and such entertainment-focused buildings so it took some time for the group to reach their destination.

The mood of the place visibly shifted from a somewhat red-lighted feel to a more industrial one, street vendors laying their ground on either carpets or benches whereas the more respectable ones got their own stores... and the party's destination was exactly one of such stores.

This place was called "Dwarven Anvil" and, as one could expect, a bearded dwarf was managing the store.
This time Fira was the one to take the lead. This cool knight wouldn't speak much usually, but this time sure seemed like an exception to the rule as the girl excitedly discussed with the humanoid half as tall as her what would work best for Ryu in his role as a tank. All while not surpassing their current budget, obviously.

In the end, they settled for some padded leather armour, reinforced with metal plates here and there. Adding a round metallic shield and a mace, Ryu's equipment was complete.
Talking about cash, they spent 40 golden coins for the armour, 25 for the shield and 15 for the maces. 80 golden coins later, their wallet felt much lighter than ever before.

Lia was practically tearing up as she weighted her purse while walking out the store, and her pitiful expression making Ryu feel like he really had to live up to their investment or he really wouldn't show his face around them any more.