Chapter 19

"Kazura-san, it's morning. Please wake up."

"Hmm..."

The next morning.

When Ichirou was awakened by the sensation of being shaken, the inn was already bright with sunlight streaming through the lattice windows, and the surroundings were filled with the bustle of people getting ready. It seemed the sun had just risen, and the air inside was still cool. Valleta and Rozuru were also beginning to prepare for departure, like the others around them. Ichirou and Mura were the only ones still wrapped in their cloaks, sleeping. Occasionally, amidst the noise, voices like "My luggage is gone!" could be heard, suggesting that, as usual, thieves had struck during the night. When Valleta saw Ichirou open his eyes, she smiled and greeted him.

"Good morning... Are you going into town?"

"Yes. The shops will start opening soon, so I thought I'd go sell the items we brought."

The items she referred to were firewood and Arcadian bugs. Ichirou didn't know how much the firewood was worth, but Valleta had previously mentioned that Arcadian bugs were a high-end ingredient, and there was also the fur of the Almar that Rozuru had caught, so they could likely get a decent amount of money. However, Ichirou still didn't know the currency of this world, so he had no idea how much it would be worth.

"Hmm, the shops open this early in the morning... Is there a specific place to sell firewood?"

"No, everyone needs firewood, so we go from shop to shop. We'll take the Arcadian bugs to the grocery stores and the Almar fur to the clothing stores."

"I see, so any store will buy what they need."

While Ichirou and Valleta were talking, Mura, who had been woken by Turner, started getting ready. She didn't complain about being sleepy and was efficiently preparing, which made her seem much tougher than the children Ichirou knew in Japan. Seeing Mura, Ichirou hurriedly adjusted his cloak and put on the backpack loaded with firewood.

The group left the inn and headed down the main street, which was already bustling with people. They arrived at an area lined with many shops. The center of this area was a large circular square, and the buildings around it all seemed to be shops. The square was about 50 meters in diameter, and there were covered carts parked everywhere, with some people already setting up stalls. The square was already crowded, and several shops had lines of people waiting.

The shops in the square seemed to be somewhat organized, with grocery stores and clothing stores grouped together by type.

"Let's start by selling the firewood. ...Kazura-san, is something wrong?"

When Valleta asked, Ichirou was still standing with his mouth half-open, staring at the scene in the square. After all, it was a scene he had only seen in movies about ancient times, now right in front of him. There were shops selling unfamiliar foods and others selling real swords and spears, and Ichirou was simply moved by the novelty of it all.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I didn't expect such a grand commercial area, so I was just mesmerized..."

Next to Ichirou, Mura was looking around with shining eyes, clearly as moved as he was by the new sights.

"Hehe, there are several other areas with just as many shops. If you go further into the city center, there are areas with high-end shops."

"Hmm, so this area is for the common people, then?"

"Yes, the closer you get to the city center, the wealthier the residents become."

It seemed that in this city, the rich lived in the center, while others lived in areas farther out. Indeed, the buildings in this area looked more impressive than those near the city gates where they had arrived.

"Let's go sell the firewood, then."

"Sure."

To sell the firewood they had brought, the group headed to the nearest shop. The shop was a two-story building made of stone, with the entrance to the shop on the first floor wide open. Inside, there were large pieces of cloth, sandals like the ones they were wearing, and thick cloth shoes. When the group entered, a middle-aged man, presumably the owner, came out from the back.

"Welcome. What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering if you might be interested in buying some firewood. How about a few pieces?"

Valleta said this and took a piece of firewood from the backpack Ichirou was carrying, handing it to the owner. The owner, after taking the firewood, seemed to check its weight and nodded a few times, apparently satisfied.

"Hmm... This is some good firewood. How much do you have in that backpack?"

"80 al, how about that?"

When Valleta suggested a price while looking at the firewood on Ichirou's back, the owner looked surprised for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Miss, that's way too high. The going rate for this is around 50 al."

"Is that so? Then we'll try elsewhere."

As Valleta turned to leave, the owner called out,

"Wait, I'll give you 55 al. You're a good negotiator."

He chuckled and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"That's too low. I can go down to 70 al, but no lower."

Stopping her steps towards the exit, Valleta turned back, frowned, and offered a price 10 al lower. The owner looked troubled, hesitated for a moment, and then said,

"60... no, 62 al. I really can't go any higher. If that's not good enough, try elsewhere."

Valleta seemed to think for a few seconds, covering her mouth with her hand, and then replied,

"Sorry, I'll try elsewhere."

With an apologetic smile, Valleta thanked the owner and turned to leave.

"Alright, alright, if you can't sell it elsewhere, come back to me. I'll buy it for 62 al. I know it's tough being new, so good luck."

The owner smiled at Valleta, who thanked him and left the shop with a smile.

"Valleta, you did well. It's good that the shop owner promised to buy it for 62 al."

"Really, I should learn from you."

"Phew, it was nerve-wracking... But he did give us a little extra, and it was obvious I wasn't used to negotiating."

Valleta chuckled in response to Rozuru and Turner's praise. To Ichirou, she seemed very confident in her negotiations, but perhaps professionals could see through the nervousness. Honestly, Ichirou didn't think he could negotiate prices like Valleta. Maybe her appearance had something to do with it, but as a man, he felt hopeless in that situation.

"What's the going rate for this firewood?"

"For this amount, about 60 al. The price goes up in winter, but in the summer, it's usually around that."

Rozuru answered Ichirou, who pointed to the firewood on his back, and then adjusted his own backpack.

"Then, let's go sell the firewood and fur. Mura, come on."

"Can I stay with Kazura-sama?"

Mura, who had apparently been sucking on a drop, had her cheeks puffed out and was looking back and forth between Ichirou and Rozuru. She was already holding onto Ichirou's cloak, clearly wanting to stay with him. She seemed to have gotten quite attached in this short time, perhaps due to the candy and canned food.

"I don't mind. I'll keep an eye on her."

"But..."

Rozuru and Turner looked apologetic, perhaps out of consideration for Ichirou. However, seeing Mura's pleading face and her grip on his cloak, Rozuru chuckled and said,

"Alright, we'll be back as soon as possible. Please take care of her until then."

He entrusted Mura to Ichirou and, after agreeing on a meeting place in front of a clothing store, disappeared into the crowd with Turner to sell their items.

"Then, let's go sell our items too."

"Sure, see you later."

Following Rozuru, the other villagers also disappeared into the crowd, leaving Valleta, Ichirou, and Mura. They decided to start by selling the firewood, so the three of them entered the shop next to the first one they had visited.

An hour later.

After leaving the tenth shop, Valleta sighed softly. Mura was holding Ichirou's hand to avoid getting lost.

"Phew, it's hard to find a place that will buy it for more than 62 al..."

"Right... We found a place that would go up to 61 al, but 62 is tough, huh?"

Valleta had negotiated calmly, but they couldn't find a shop that would buy the firewood for more than the market rate of 60 al. Mura, who had initially been excited about the shops, now looked slightly tired, though she didn't say anything. Since searching for a higher price would cut into the time to sell the Arcadian bugs and shop, they decided to return to the first shop and sell the firewood there.

The first shop was only a few dozen meters away, so they arrived quickly. When the three returned, the shop owner greeted them with a knowing look.

"So, the other shops only offered 61 al, right?"

"Yes... Can you buy it for 62 al?"

Valleta asked apologetically, and the owner replied,

"Sure, I promised, didn't I? Here you go."

He took out 8 copper coins and handed them to Valleta.

"6 ten-al copper coins and 2 one-al copper coins... That's right. Thank you."

Ichirou, with Valleta's help, took off the backpack and unloaded the firewood onto the empty space in the shop.

"Next, we need to sell the Arcadian bugs. The grocery stores are over there."

After selling the firewood, the three headed to the grocery stores without a break. The area with grocery stores seemed even busier than the others. In front of each store, there were boards or flat stones with prices written on them. Ichirou had learned a bit of the world's writing from Valleta before coming to Isteria, so he could read the numbers and a few words.

"Um, sweet potatoes are 5 al each... What, 5 al each? That's quite expensive, considering the firewood was only 60 al for all of it. Are they a luxury item?"

"No, these sweet potatoes are common in the village during this season... For them to be this expensive..."

It seemed there was a food shortage, causing prices to rise. When Ichirou looked inside the store, he saw the 5 al sweet potatoes in a wooden box among other food items. The sweet potatoes were about 10 cm long, similar to sweet potatoes, but only as thick as a ring made by the index finger and thumb. Even if they used all the money from selling the firewood, they could only buy 12 sweet potatoes, indicating a significant price increase. They had hoped to get a good price for the Arcadian bugs, but the woman who greeted them offered only 12 al for 8 bugs.

"I'm sorry. Right now, there's more demand for sweet potatoes and beans than for small Arcadian bugs. You might get a better price at a store closer to the city center. Why don't you try there?"

"Is that so... Alright, we'll try. Thank you."

Since they had walked for two days to get to Isteria, it would be better to get a higher price if possible. The three decided to head to a commercial area closer to the city center and left the square.