Chapter 10

The shopping district tour starts with the weapon shop facing the square.

This square, where I first arrived in this world, is a large semicircle just inside the south gate. In the center is a fountain, and the main street leading to the lord's mansion extends northward. To the south, a relatively wide road runs east-west along the outer wall. On either side of the main street, the Adventurer's Guild is to the east and the Merchant's Guild is to the west. The roads extending diagonally from the neighboring guilds to the east and west lead to the respective gates.

The weapon shop, armor shop, clothing shop, and general goods shop face the square with wide storefronts. The houses within the town walls, due to the limited usable land, are built densely, with narrow storefronts and typically extending upwards to three or four floors. However, the shops facing the square are wider than they are tall.

The shops from the opposite Adventurer's Guild to the south wall are somewhat different. The repair shop and the pharmacy have storefronts about half the size of the weapon shop, mainly due to the size and quantity of the products they handle, and the pharmacy has a separate Alchemist's Guild near the east gate. The restaurant has an adjacent store selling outdoor meals, and the production materials shop, which also rents out production facilities, is even larger than the weapon shop. The widths are uneven, but the heights and designs are uniform, maintaining a neat appearance in the square.

"It looks like a row of souvenir shops at a theme park."

"Basically, you can get everything done in this square," Ochazuke said. Indeed, for adventurers who are eager to fight and don't mind spending money, the square is designed to meet all their needs. The only exception is the inn, which is next to the Adventurer's Guild and not facing the fountain square.

The town is governed by a knight baron, a descendant of a man who earned a noble title for his great achievements and contributions as an adventurer. He is still a lord who values bravery and is tolerant of adventurers. In a world with monsters, the knight baron holds a higher position than I thought, and is popular among the common people. The Tarkant Duchy, where the labyrinth city is located, was founded by a former adventurer who became a duke, and the story of the knight baron Galrei, the protagonist, is a favorite among children and adventurers.

Recalling the knowledge I gathered from the market stalls, I started my tour, beginning with the weapon shop.

"Wow!"

Leo got excited. Inside, a large sword, about my height, was displayed as if stuck in the floor, with two gently curving staircases leading up to the second floor. The first floor had mass-produced items and those made by blacksmith apprentices, while the second floor had decent weapons, and the third floor had unique, high-quality items. Despite being a weapon shop, it offered a variety of types, reminiscent of a department store. The first floor also had sections for sharpening and repairs.

The adjacent armor shop had a similar layout, with a full plate armor displayed in the center. Leo got excited again at the sight of the large display armor.

We looked at all three floors of the three shops, but the items suitable for our budget were still on the first floor.

I hastily took the [Weapon and Armor Appraisal] skill at the first weapon shop. The others already had it, but it was a trap.

The next general goods shop had a model room with a fully equipped production facility on the first floor and portable tools on the second floor. I was surprised that production facilities were also considered tools.

I wanted the staff in the apprentice corner at the weapon shop, but I decided to wait until we visited the craftsmen's district. I noted it down in case there were no suitable ones there.

We planned to visit retail stores on a street narrower than the main street but wide enough for carriages, but we skipped it and went to the market stalls behind a nearby weapon and armor shop. After walking down a narrow alley for a while, we could see shops with awnings lined up.

"There it is, let's meet back here in an hour."

There were more NPCs walking around, and it was much less crowded than the market stalls from yesterday. Yesterday, the group that had to stay in the guild's simple dormitory because they couldn't find a room at the inn had rushed to that alley after asking the guild staff. This market might be less known, or perhaps other players were out fighting.

Well, and it's now a free-for-all. Indeed, walking together in a group of six is difficult because each store is small, but are you giving up, Ochazuke?

We initially stuck together, but we eventually split up. Different professions mean different interests, and I ended up buying cooking utensils and seasonings. I couldn't resist taking the [Cooking] skill! A [Cook] was added to my profession list!

And now my item pouch is even more cramped. No, I need to find one before we go to the craftsmen's district. So, I looked for pouches and bags at the market stalls.

"Homura~~~"

Kikuhime waved to me, so I raised my hand and went over.

"What's up?"

"I found a good item pouch!"

Looking behind Kikuhime, I saw a shop selling robes, pants, and old clothes, which didn't seem to sell item pouches at all.

"Welcome! An item pouch, right? I just have one left."

The shopkeeper, who had already heard from Kikuhime, spoke to me. It seemed he had acquired a few item pouches along with old clothes and was struggling to sell them, so he sold them cheaply to Kikuhime.

He showed me an item pouch for 5,000 gold.

Item Pouch

Capacity: 200

Durability: 10/100

The item pouch with a capacity of 200 I saw at the square shops cost 20,000, so this was a bargain.

But isn't the durability too low?

When the durability reaches 0, the item breaks. It's not hard to imagine what happens when an item pouch breaks; the items inside probably scatter on the ground.

While I was appraising it with a sense of unease, Kikuhime nudged me.

"I can repair the durability, so even with the material cost, this is a better deal."

I bought it. I paid Kikuhime 200 silver for 20 threads and had her repair it immediately. My money is about to drop below 10,000 silver. The staff I saw at the weapon shop cost 7,500 silver, and I'm starting to feel short on funds.

I thought the initial item pouch would be replaced, but there was an empty slot next to it, and I could equip both. The initial one has no durability display, so it can't break. The initial equipment for weapons and armor also has no durability setting. If it can't break, it's better to keep important items in it, I concluded.

"Thank you, Kikuhime."

"You're welcome~ But our money is tight."

"Same here."

We laughed, then decided not to buy anything and enjoyed browsing the stores together. As the meeting time approached, we moved on. No one had returned yet, so I gave Kikuhime the berry juice I bought yesterday, and we drank it while waiting.

The craftsmen's district is in the northeast section, over two kilometers from the square. First, we walked through the narrow, winding alleys from the market, then turned right onto a street wide enough for carriages. About 100 meters ahead, the four-way intersection with the Merchant's Guild, Adventurer's Guild, and inn was visible. With the map, it's easy to navigate even the narrow alleys I hadn't been to before. We walked while talking about our market finds.

"I ended up taking [Cooking]."

"You're still obsessed with food."

"Haha, then let me try this."

I told them I took [Cooking], and Leo gave me a fish called 'Yormas' that he caught yesterday. Giving me his first catch... I'll cook it and return it later.

We found out we could pick up carriages at the intersection before entering the craftsmen's district.

We decided on a meeting time and each explored the craftsmen's district. Initially, I toured with Ochazuke, who had a similar profession, but we split up when he disappeared into a short staff specialist workshop. Each workshop had its own specialties, such as making all types of weapons, only certain ranks, or just long staffs. Some had no particular specialty, but they were all varied.

While looking for a long staff and robe shop, I found a short sword specialist workshop and sent the location to Leo and Petros. I found a long staff specialist workshop, but it wasn't as good as the staff at the weapon shop.

As we walked through the narrow, winding alleys, our sense of direction became questionable. Well, it's easy to return to the meeting place with the map, so I didn't worry about it. I closed the map and enjoyed the stroll and scenery.

The narrow alley with walls on both sides, occasionally connected by arches between houses. Many workshops had living quarters on the second floor, and sometimes laundry, climbing vines, and grapes appeared. Perhaps when trying to add greenery in a narrow space, climbing plants are more common? I was so lost in thought that I forgot to look at the workshops and was just enjoying the alley scenery.

I snapped back to reality thanks to an email from Ochazuke saying he found a robe specialist.

I had wandered quite far, so I decided to search seriously.

Another email arrived, unexpectedly from Galahad. It was a light apology for sending a drunken, nearly incomprehensible email in the middle of the night, so I replied that I didn't mind.

Now, this alley has walls on both sides and no workshop entrances in sight. I hadn't noticed because I was looking at the alley, but I had strayed far from the street with the workshop entrances. The correct route to find workshops would have been the next street over, but it was too winding to call it "next." I had avoided entrances with angry voices coming from them and was looking for back doors covered in vines, which led to this.

Should I go forward and exit the alley, or go back?

Opening the map would be faster.

When I opened the map, I was in a place that wasn't a road. What is this, a game trail!?

I thought changing the scale might help, but it didn't change anything. The explanation only covered the controls. Checking the [Map] explanation, I realized I didn't have the [Skill Appraisal] skill. There was a checkbox, so I checked 'Always Overwrite.' I hadn't thought to check my skills because I didn't have [Skill Appraisal].

Probably, with a given map, only the basic roads recognized by the country or city are shown. It wouldn't be a hidden path if it were on a regular map.

I informed everyone via email that there were paths not on the map. Should I get [Skill Appraisal]? I have 3 SP left, so what should I do? As I walked, a road appeared in the middle of the building display. It was a bit interesting.

The alley was a dead end. At the end was a small door with black iron studs on a wooden frame, reached by three short steps. On either side of the steps, the ground was exposed, with a thin tree like a sal tree leaning over the old door from the right, and grape vines climbing the wall from the left.

Great, really great!

Feeling the good atmosphere, I was hyped up when the door opened, and I made eye contact with a man who was about to come out.

Embarrassing! But!

"Excuse me, can I take a photo of the SS...?"

"What are you going to do with it?"

The intimidating old man. Before I could be scared, I remembered the old man from the market. He seemed slightly older than the market old man but was still straight-backed and robust.

"I'll look at it sometimes and smile."

Due to my distracted thoughts, I gave an overly honest answer. I wasn't sure if he understood 'SS' or 'photo.'

"...Are you a pervert?"

He said it with a very disgusted, shuddering face. 'Pervert' is such an old-fashioned term, but that's not the point.

"No, it's the door. It's the alley. It's not you!!!!"

I hurried to clear up the misunderstanding.

Well, he's a good old man, so I could collect old man SS if I wanted.

"Are you not a customer, sorry."

"Customer? Do you sell anything?"

"...I've already retired."

"That's a waste while you're still so energetic. But a life of leisure sounds nice, though it doesn't suit you."

The old-fashioned term 'pervert' made me think of a certain historical novel, where the protagonist is a small old man. This robust old man doesn't fit the image.

"Doesn't suit me?"

"Doesn't suit you. You seem like the type to practice sword swings early in the morning."

"Do you understand?"

He looked at me in surprise.

You do practice, don't you!!!!

□ □ □ □ □

・Increase・

Skills

[Cooking][Weapon and Armor Appraisal]

□ □ □ □ □

Homura Lv.7

Rank E

Profession: Mage, Alchemist

HP: 160

MP: 253

STR: 10

VIT: 11

INT: 31

MID: 13

DEX: 9

AGI: 10

LUK: 10

NPCP: [Galahad][—]

Title: [Communicator]

Skills (3SP)

■Magic

[Fire Magic Lv.3][Gold Magic Lv.3][Water Magic Lv.2]

■Production

[Alchemy Lv.1][Advanced Alchemy Lv.1][Cooking Lv.1]

■Gathering

[Harvesting]

■Appraisal & Concealment

[Tool and Medicine Appraisal Lv.1][Plant and Food Appraisal Lv.2]

[Animal and Monster Appraisal Lv.3][Weapon and Armor Appraisal Lv.1]

[Aura Perception Lv.1][Aura Dilution Lv.1]

■Enhancement

[Intelligence Enhancement Lv.2]

■Other

[MP Natural Recovery][Night Vision][Map]