CH 59

A Little Bit of Knowledge Cheating

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“Let’s see, we’ve finished buying cooking utensils and dishes. The only things left to buy at the general store are seasonings and clothes,” said Yuta.

“Understood. Here they are,” Marie replied with a smile as she guided Yuta through the store. Perhaps she was hoping to increase sales, as she moved with agility. In the midst of their journey, he spotted Bell, Turu, and Tamamo playing tag and darting around the store, with Rain as the “it” person.

It seemed that they were only interested in having fun and paid no attention to the cooking tools. Well, as long as they were having a good time, it was fine.

As they arrived at the seasoning corner, Marie arranged a few seasonings on the table for Yuta to see. Some were in leather bags, others in wooden boxes. There were bundles of dried leaves that looked like basil.

“Here are the seasonings that we have available. Would you like me to explain them?” asked Marie.

“Yes, please,” replied Yuta.

After Marie’s explanation, he found out that soy sauce and miso were not available, which was a shock. The only seasonings that they recognized were salt, sugar, pepper, chili pepper, basil, and watercress. Was there no mint?

Pepper was also a luxury item and apparently could only be harvested in the depths of the labyrinth, with a limited yield. It would be helpful if we could collect it ourselves.

On the bright side, sugar was surprisingly cheap. Marie explained that sugarcane was grown regularly in this continent’s warm, almost hot climate. Then again, if sugarcane could grow, couldn’t they grow pepper as well? Was there a reason for that?

Yuta ended up buying small amounts of the other seasonings, which he was not familiar with, just to try them out. He was hesitant about buying pepper, but gave into his desire and decided to buy it anyway.

“Hmm, Marie, do you not sell powdered seasonings?” asked Yuta.

“Powdered seasonings? Since everyone here prepares their own ingredients for cooking, there is no need to sell them in powdered form, don’t you think?” replied Marie.

In that case, were there no garlic powder or similar seasonings? Yuta liked them but making them himself was too much trouble. He pondered whether it would be profitable to sell them.

“Hmm, I wonder if it would be profitable? It’s a difficult decision,” Yuta murmured.

“Excuse me, would you mind sharing your thoughts with me?” Marie’s eyes glimmered as she picked up on Yuta’s words. Perhaps she could make the seasoning for him, or he could share knowledge that might be profitable. However, giving away profitable knowledge for free was not ideal. Well, hr might not make a fortune from it, but receiving a small amount of money in exchange for useful information would be good enough.

“Well, it’s potentially a profitable business idea, so it’s not something I can easily share,” Yuta said, glancing at Marie.

“Rest assured, we do not have anyone here who would try to avoid paying for an idea. This shop guarantees fair compensation for valuable knowledge,” Marie assured them.

Yuta nodded, and Marie immediately led them to a reception room at the back of the store.

“I am Marie, the second daughter of the president of the Porurius Trading Company, who runs this general store. As the store manager, I can promise you adequate compensation for any valuable ideas you have. Please don’t worry,” she introduced herself.

So, she was the president’s daughter, and she was young. Was she the store manager due to her family’s connections? She seemed like the kind of person who would make jokes about three sizes or take on challenges.

“I’m Yuta, a new adventurer. Please don’t worry about me,” Yuta introduced themselves.

She was a bit surprised when I introduced myself as a new adventurer. I wonder if it was because of my age or because she was surprised that a new adventurer had money?

“Thank you. So, what is your idea?”

“Well, first of all, I want you to consider that it’s easily replicable, so the more items you can sell, the better. Is that okay?”

“Hmm. If it’s easily replicable, the price may be lower, you know.”

Well, even if it’s cheap, it can still be useful and make money.

“As a pioneer, you can gain some profit and reputation. Depending on the quality, it may even prevent others from following suit. I don’t mind the price, you can name it.”

“Oh my. Talking about naming my price, I might try to haggle it down.”

Marie tilts her head cutely. She would be attractive if she didn’t carry the aura of money.

“If it comes to that, we’ll see. I’m not a merchant, so I just trust Marie.”

If he can trust the person, he can come back and sell other ideas in the future. If not, it’s okay, he’ll just talk to someone else.

“I’ll do my best to live up to your trust.”

“Thank you. Now, for the idea, I have two. The first is to slice fresh garlic thinly, soak it lightly in water, and then dry it in the sun until it’s completely dry. Once it’s powdered, it can be used as a seasoning.”

“That’s certainly an easily replicable idea. We can’t say if it’s a viable business without tasting it, but just drying and grinding it may be difficult to sell commercially. What’s the other idea?”

“The other idea is to dry and grind all the seasonings and herbs that I saw today and mix them together.”

“Is that the idea? As I mentioned earlier, everyone already uses those herbs and spices at home. Does it have much meaning? Mixing them together limits its use as well,” Marie said, visibly disappointed. Did he phrase it poorly?

“It’s about the combination of herbs and spices and researching the ratios. For example, a seasoning that makes meat taste its best when sprinkled on. The combinations are countless. If we can create combinations that everyone loves, it will sell well. It’s easy and delicious, one perfect for camping, and another could even be useful in a dungeon,” he explained.

Marie began to seriously consider the idea. He would be delighted if he could create a product as successful as Cre*zy Salt. (T/N: No idea)

“Is this the first time you’ve mentioned this idea here?” Marie asked.

“Yes, it is,” he replied.

“Alright, please wait a moment,” Marie said as she left the room. He watched her leave and then asked Slyphy about the situation outside.

“There’s one person in the back, a messenger in the middle, and five people in the front. They’re all weaklings. The plan remains the same. They will pick a fight and lure us into an alleyway. They think that some rich kid is wandering around without any escorts and laughing like an idiot. Then they just talk about what they’ll do after they succeed,” Slyphy reported.

Some rich kid? He had struggled in the Death Land, but it seemed he hadn’t gained the aura of a powerful person. Lost in thought, Marie returned.

“Yuta, it’s 500,000 Elt. We can pay you that for now. I see potential in this, but there are still many uncertainties, so this is all I can offer at the moment. If we succeed, I would like to add more reward,” she said.

He can make 500,000 Elt just for talking about it? And she’s willing to add more reward? Can selling spices really be that profitable? He had so many questions.

“500,000 Elt is already enough, but do you really think it will be that profitable?”

“If things go well, we have come up with a profitable strategy if our research goes well. Please look forward to it.”

She seems confident. Although they talked about contracts, I refused because it seemed like too much trouble. Of course, I was firmly promised to keep it confidential.

After the discussion was over, I returned to the store and chose underwear and pajamas. There were trunk-style underwear with rubber bands that were string-like, so they didn’t seem uncomfortable.

Since there were also stationery items, I decided to buy them, although the price was a bit high. It’s unlikely that my knowledge cheats making paper would work since they are sold normally. If there’s a possibility, it might be with the pen. Here seems to be the type that you dip in ink and write with, or maybe with a pencil? Hmm, I don’t know how to make them. It’s difficult to use cheat knowledge.

I headed to the register and paid the total amount, which was just under 180,000 yen. It’s not the amount of money usually spent at a general store. I stored the purchased items in my magic bag.

“You have a nice bag. What’s the capacity?”

“Um, that’s a secret.”

If I mention anything specific, it could cause trouble if my lie is exposed.

“Yuta, would you like to work at our store?”

It feels like the gaze is not on my eyes, but on my bag. Is it because it’s a convenient bag for merchants?

“I plan to work hard as an adventurer for now, so please ask me again in the future.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

“Haha, thank you.”

While chatting lightly, I ask Slyphy to gather Bell and the others. I wonder how the thugs will appear?

As I walked, five rough-looking men approached me with grins on their faces. It must be them, without even asking Sylphy.

“Sylphy, can you stop those guys from causing trouble?”

Threatening them with a hammer might work, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to wave it around in the middle of the city.

“I’ve stopped them.”

The men’s steps come to a sudden halt. They look confused and bewildered. As I approach the immobilized men, all of their eyes are on me. Do they know I caused this?

“I’m not a pushover. Want me to take you guys to the back alleys?”

The men tremble in fear. It’s kind of amusing. But regardless of what their intentions were, it wouldn’t be wise for me to get physical when I haven’t done anything yet. I’ll leave them be and head to the bookstore. As I walk for a while, Slyphy suddenly starts giggling.

“Sylphy, what’s so funny?”

“Those guys are fighting. The plan was revealed to Yuta, and they started accusing each other of being the traitor, which escalated into a fistfight. Yuta said something mean, so they’re blaming each other.”

It’s an accusatory statement, but she’s smiling, so it lacks conviction. She’s clearly enjoying this. If the thugs turn on each other, it means that the Labyrinth City has become a little bit more peaceful, so it’s a good thing.

“Well, I guess they brought it on themselves. Let’s leave them be.”

“Hehe, okay.”

We arrive at the bookstore and go inside. Bell and the others seem a little bored since it’s a small shop. As I look around the store, there aren’t many books.

“Excuse me, do you have any books on basic adventurer knowledge and popular storybooks?”

I call out to the old man behind the counter.

“There’s no such thing as a book on basic adventurer knowledge. You should attend beginner’s training. As for stories, the tale of the hero party that conquered the Labyrinth in this city up to the 87th floor is popular.”

I guess I have to attend beginner’s training after all. It would have been nice to gain knowledge from a book and avoid any awkward situations. It’s not going well.

When I hear about the hero story, I’m still not sure how many floors the Labyrinth has, but the highest floor that humanity has reached is the 87th floor. It’s a book about the party that reached there. By the way, right now they’re stuck on the 50th floor.

If I break through the 50th floor, I wonder how surprised the guild master will be? I’m getting a little fired up. I didn’t feel interested in anything else I saw, so I purchased the hero’s book and a history book of this country, then left the store.

Two books cost me 20,000 Elt. It may be a natural price for handwritten specialty books, but there are few books and no comics. I want more entertainment.