◇

Yep, it's a good morning.

I walk the town while enjoying the morning sunlight, feeling refreshed.

Yosagu-san was unlike me, yawned constantly looking sleepy. I invited him for breakfast but since he didn't come home his family was probably mad so we decided to part ways outside the shop.

"If I made it big in the labyrinth city, let's come again.", I shouted him that.

Even though it's early in the morning, the people who are having meals on the stalls, and the people who are selling fresh groceries are lively.

The vulgar atmosphere that usually permeates in the east district was probably the fault of the visitors.

I'm smelling something good from the stalls.

Although I'm not particularly hungry, let's buy some souvenirs for the girls. Though I can't buy sus.h.i.+ in wooden box pack like those fathers from Showa era.

I buy a big handbasket made from thin wood from a street stall. It's about as big as two rice bowl. I also bought two lidded containers for soup and put it inside the basket.

I buy warm meals and put it into the Storage through the basket. I keep buying various things to the extent that it doesn't look unnatural.

Soup made from meatless animal bone and vegetables. Thick stew with vegetables and dried meat. Various grilled meats starting from grilled goat meats. Seryu grills. Freshly baked flat breads. Steamed potatoes. There are some scratched fruits from many fruits I've bought.

I've bought for about 30 servings. It's too much for souvenirs but I'll keep some for emergency. With these much, even if we are in an environment impossible to light fire, I could still provide warm meals. In the first place, I plan to use the Storage so that we don't end up in desperate situation.

I wanted to buy alchemy materials, but it was closed at the time.

◇

When I get back to the gate inn, Arisa who saw me from the window comes running down.

After she looked at my face, she begins to stomp the ground with her foot.

"Uuu~~~~. Mou! That glossy face~~."

She bites the edge of a handkerchief, taking a pose. Every single one of her gestures are old... let's not ask her age before she was reincarnated.

"I was the one who was supposed to take your first time~~"

I don't remember making such promise.

I keep silent about it since it'd be bad if I don't.

"You're fussy, and this isn't my first time anyway."

"Nooo, even though it was one in a millennium chance to s.n.a.t.c.h away the DT of a boy...."

My condolences.

I call for Lulu, and we gather in front of the wagon. The breakfast are potatoes and meat skewers that I've just bought.

I talk to Arisa in whisper to check on Lulu's condition. If she still hasn't recovered, I'll postpone our departure for two days.

According to Arisa, it was only serious in the first day, it's fine now.

Since it looks painful, let's give her the painkiller I made from practices. There are five of it, those should be enough.

After we finished our simple meal, I advance as planned yesterday.

◇

I ride the wagon until the parking s.p.a.ce of the Commercial Guild. Horses were easier to fine-drive unlike cars so it was easy.

It's lively here too in the morning. Every carriages which occupy half of the parking lot are unloading their cargo. Every carriages look well seasoned. The ratio for luggage carriages and covered wagon is fifty-fifty. The carts are loaded with a lot of 10 kilogram bags. The people who are moving the bags look like ruffians who wear villager-like simple long-sleeved s.h.i.+rt and trousers. I can see patchworks on its knee and elbow.

While I look at other carriages out of curiosity, Sunifun-san who has finished confirming the load and a.s.sessing the prices comes here.

"Good morning, Satou-sama. You came really early."

"I'm sorry. Am I troubling you by coming too early?"

I don't think that what I'm doing is that bad, but let's apologize for now.

"Not at all. The G.o.d of business surely like people who are quick."

Even though Sunifun-san said that, if I look at the surrounding, it's probably customary to bring in the goods in the morning and bring it out in the afternoon.

I am guided to the warehouse. The goods that I've ordered yesterday are put on one of the section. I confirm the products and their number with the help of an employee. I check the contents of every barrel of the Dragon White Stone and close the lid.

Sunifun-san watches over me doing that like a grandfather watching over his grandson. Hey, you're not that old right.

I ask the employee to carry the goods to my wagon, while I complete the payment for the transaction at the office.

When I get back to the wagon, the loading is complete so I visually check on the goods. Since I've put tags on the Dragon White Stones, it doesn't seem like it has been swapped. It can't see through if the inside of the barrels are swapped, but they probably wouldn't have enough time to go that far.

I thank the employee and give him one big copper coin.

"May you have good businesses!", Sunifun-san left the words as farewell as I left the guild.

◇

"Welcome nano desu~."

I'm greeted by Pochi when I return to the gate inn. She hugs me as I go down the coach seat, so I rub her head. I separate from her as I pat her head, and I work to unfasten the horses from the wagon.

"I'll help no desu.", she immediately stands on the stoll that we've just bought and begins to help. Might as well teach her the way to unfasten the belt, manage the yoke, etc. It's also good to review myself as I teach others.

"What's everyone else are doing?"

"Lulu is was.h.i.+ng over there. Others are shopping no desu~."

"So Pochi and Lulu are house sitting huh?"

"I'm watching the luggages no desu~"

Pochi said it pridefully. She's certainly qualified for it. I can somehow imagine Tama sleeping on top of the luggages.

I ask Pochi to take care of the horses in the stables. Meanwhile, I put the goods I brought from the commercial guild into the Storage.

I thought of leaving the goat leathers and wools outside, but the smell was severe so I stow it away. Let's practice to make deodorant next time.

Pochi carried the luggage until it loaded. Pochi says, "Watching the luggage no desu." from the wagon. Since she's doing her best, I'll go to see Lulu's condition. Since the laundries that Lulu is doing are underwear, I go back without calling her.

◇

After that, I ask Pochi for house sitting, and take a cab to the plaza before the castle. The flower bed on the center are still being worked on but the pavements are already beautifully set with the paving stones. They sure work fast. They might have used magic since this is fantasy.

The wall on the magic shop are still being repaired, but it seems that it's open for business for once.

"...then... catalyst... scales. If you get your hand on these, I'd like you to deliver it to the magic corps station."

"I'll see to ask my magicians and alchemist friends. At most, I could get my hands on 1-2 pieces of scales."

As I enter the store, a magician-looking old woman and old man come out while having those conversations.

The old man take a glance at me but leave without saying anything.

"Oh, a visitor eh? I'm sorry but I don't deal on love potion or energy drink. Go to the alchemy store in the east district."

It's a thin and dried up old woman. Wearing clothes appropriate for a magician. Deep blue robes with long sleeves, wide-opening tall hat unwieldy for indoor, wearing numerous ring with suspicious design on her fingers, and with about a 5 cm big emerald pendant designed after skull on her neck.

"No, I want to buy magic books."

She raised just an eyebrow in surprise after hearing my words. She put lean the cane which was on her hand to the wall and take out a litograph from under the counter.

Yamato stone again?

"We don't sell magic books to a man without talent okay? Recently there are a lot of scoundrels of n.o.bles who buy magic books just for prestiges, soiling them. I'll sell the books only to people having certain amount of magic measured from this instrument."

...Dang, I should've brought Arisa along.

I don't know how far this stone can measures, but it'd be bad if my enormous magic power is known.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that it'll break if I carelessly touch it."

"Fuhn, excuse huh? If you put magic power on this, it will emit blue light. It's cheap compared to the instrument in royal capital, but that's exactly why it's robust.  So that it won't break if a veteran do his best, magic power stops flowing after it feed on the required amount. If one has a capability of a full-fledged magician then it will s.h.i.+ne blue. Other than that it'll stay red as it is."

Is it safe?　If it's as the old woman said that there's no problem but if the punchline is, "Actually it can read the exact value.", that's scary.

"If you don't want to try then go home. I have a business to get Dragon Powder from my alchemist friend after this."

The powder that the old man mentioned earlier is Dragon Powder huh. When I thought that it's a familiar name, I remember that I obtained some in the labyrinth.

Would she be willing to trade magic books for this?

"Shopkeeper-san, If it's dragon powder then I have it, if you're fine with I can give it to you?"

I take out 5 vial of Dragon Powder from the bag. I got 6 from the labyrinth, but I decide to keep one in hand.

When I take it out I estimate the market price... 20 gold coins huh?

"Are those real?"

The old woman picks one vial and takes out one earpick worth of powder, then she tests it with some reagents and apparatuses.

"I'll buy it for 10 gold coins a vial."

What a greedy old woman.

When I say that the market price is 20 gold coins, she says, "That's the price on a shop", rejecting it.

Since I don't intend to force the sales and the aggrement doesn't seem to be achievable, I'm about to leave the shop, but her hands hold out at the speed that doesn't match her age. Her eyes are fiery and glittering, she's a bit scary.

"W, wait!　That thunder old man is probably going to buy them at that price, I'll buy it at 20 gold coins a piece. But I'll pay at the end of the month as the condition. Since the payment from officials is slow."

"I'm sorry but I intend to leave the city tomorrow, so I can't accept that condition."

The negotiation continue until lunch time, and in the end, it's decided that the payment is in the form of magic books. Because magic books higher than intermediate level aren't allowed to be sold to people who aren't a citizens of Seryuu city, I'm having a hard time choosing books that worth 100 gold coins.

First, I'll collect lower-cla.s.s magic books from every elements. Still it's only 40 gold coins, so I buy thesis and investigation, and various miscellaneous notes for reading materials. It's 60 gold coins up to this.

Then I buy canes and amulets. It seems that only those who have permit from the city are allowed to sell magic scroll, so I can't buy it here.

Furthermore, I buy cheap catalysts for making potion. It seems that they're made from magic cores from lower cla.s.s monsters.

"Oh, your main job is an alchemist eh. Then, how about these books?"

The old woman takes out two magic books from the back of the store written with, "Magic Catalyst and the Material",  "Seeds and Catalysts". I'm a bit worried with those t.i.tles, but since the author is named Jahad, I buy it. It's the maker of the spinning disk magic tool if I'm not mistaken.

I buy 5 other books written by this guy.

"15 gold coins remaining is it. What else do you wish?　I don't have good magic tools left. At best, I have a tool that emit light, or a tool that heat up if you put it above."

Oioi, you're putting out good things in the end.

When I receive them, the first is a crystal ball about as big as a candy ball and the other is something black that looks like a pot stand with 20cm diameter. It's about 3 cm thick and feel like it's made from porcelain. On one side, a copper line is drawn on top of a concentric circle.s

The crystal ball-- Light Drop begin emitting light after I pour it magic power. Seems that it s.h.i.+nes for 30 minutes every time it's poured with magic power. The pot stand-- Light Hot Plate is also the same, by putting magic power on the copper line, it gives warmth for 10 minutes. However, since it only emit heat enough to scald a person yet not enough to boil water, it's not suitable for cooking. That should be usable to warm tea or stew though.

The Light Drop is one gold coin each, while the Light Hot Plate is 3 gold coin. Since the Light Drop is in stock of two, I buy both.

In the end, since I couldn't find good stuffs for the remaining 10 gold coins, it's exchanged in cash. I thought that I have to use it all up but that's not good. Dangerous, dangerous.

"Fuhn, putting money aside, it's been a long time since someone bought this much."

"Thank you very much, I was able to buy many nice things."

Thanking the old woman, I ask to deposit the stuffs I've bought in the store for a while. After this, I've completely forgotten to buy map from the bookstore next door.

The old woman kindly agree to keep the stuffs, then I go toward the bookstore.