Chapter 60

Retsu, riding on his back, flew through the sky for about five minutes, and soon a small town came into view.

"That's the first settlement."

"First one?"

"It's the closest to the Northern Demon King's Castle. There are settlements up to the fifth one, besides this one."

While the town drew closer, I learned about the settlements from Dilnan. The settlements are numbered from first to fifth, in order of proximity to the Northern Demon King's Castle. Hmm, I see.

We landed near the settlement, and Dilnan quickly gathered the reins and stroked Retsu's fur.

"Retsu?"

"If we bring Retsu into the settlement, it would cause a commotion. Besides, he hates being in a crowd. If we leave him, he'll find something to do to pass the time."

That makes sense. I had forgotten that Retsu is a wild beast. Of course, it would cause a commotion.

But Retsu was friendly from the start, right? It's hard to imagine him hating crowds.

He played with the brothers of the Mounted Beast Corps and was scolded by Elies.

Tilting my head, Retsu's face fur was petted again, and then he quickly left the scene.

After seeing Retsu off, Dilnan took my hand and led me into the settlement.

At the entrance gate of the settlement, a guard was standing, but he seemed to know Dilnan and greeted us with "Good morning."

"Yeah."

"Good morning."

I greeted the guard along with Dilnan, who seemed a bit indifferent, and the guard looked surprised at me.

"Captain Dilnan, you have a child?"

"No, she's a temporary member of the cooking team."

When Dilnan answered the guard's question, the guard was even more surprised.

But it didn't seem like a joke. That must be due to Dilnan's credibility.

"From now on, she might come here alone, so remember her."

"My name is Yurie."

"...Yurie, huh. Alright, I'll let the other guards know."

"Thank you."

With that, we passed through the gate, and a very peaceful town spread out before us.

It was well-maintained, with plenty of nature, and seemed like a very comfortable place to live.

"Captain, where are we going?"

"First, the general store, then the clothing store."

While being led by Dilnan, I asked about our destination and received a brief answer.

Walking down the cobblestone street, we soon arrived at a street lined with various shops.

"This settlement has the commercial area on the left side after entering the gate and the residential area on the right. When you come to shop, go to the left side."

"Understood."

That's very helpful.

On both sides of the street, shops lined up, and makeshift stalls were spread out in the open spaces.

There were vegetable stands, fish shops, meat shops, prepared food shops, confectionery shops, cafes, bars, boutiques, general stores, bookstores, weapon shops, and pharmacies, as well as some slightly suspicious shops. There were so many different shops that I was dazzled. It felt like a large shopping district. The street was lively with many people of all ages.

There were also side streets, so there might be shops in the back alleys as well.

"Wow."

"Don't wander too far. You might get swept away in the crowd."

"Understood."

At Dilnan's words, I instinctively gripped his fingers tightly. I don't want to get lost again after yesterday.

Still, Dilnan is really amazing.

He's been attracting the gazes of passing women, young and old, who are blushing slightly.

Well, of course. He's young, well-built, handsome, the captain of the cooking team at the Northern Demon King's Castle, and single. It's no wonder he's getting so much attention. Just being around him is a treat for the eyes.

Dilnan, however, is ignoring all of it. He must be used to being noticed. It must be tough.

"Shall we go in here?"

After walking for fifteen minutes with Dilnan, he stopped in front of a store.

It was a very fancy store, which, to be honest, didn't really suit Dilnan.

"Here?"

"It's just right for your daily necessities."

"...Mine?"

Before I could react to the unexpected words, Dilnan led me into the store.

"Welcome, s...sir..."

The shop lady froze with a business smile upon seeing Dilnan.

Ignoring her, Dilnan started looking around the store.

He picked out handkerchiefs, towels, and various small items for children, and without hesitation, put them into a basket.

"Yurie."

"Huh?"

"Which one do you like?"

When Dilnan called me over, I saw low shelves with cute animal-shaped, fluffy neck wallets and children's backpacks. There were several designs, including cats and dogs.

They were all cute, but I especially liked the one shaped like a black cat's face.

"This one."

"That one? ...Let's go to the register."

Pointing it out, Dilnan added it to the basket and took it to the lady's counter.

The lady, who had been frozen, finally came to her senses and started working.

Dilnan's shopping was quite a lot, and the lady was working hard!

"...You'll be using these right away, so please put them out."

"Y-Yes!"

When the lady was putting the purchased items into a bag, Dilnan pointed out the black cat wallet and backpack.

After receiving them from the lady, Dilnan put the backpack on me and hung the wallet around my neck.

Playing with the fluffy wallet, I noticed that Dilnan had already paid and placed the money on the table. He must have calculated the total.

The lady then used the calculator to confirm the amount and prepare the change.

Grr, the table was too high for me to see the price.

"Captain, money."

"Children don't need to worry about such things."

Dilnan, ruffling my hair, was super cool.

And he even put the change in my wallet!

"Allowance. When we get back, look at some sweets and learn how to use money."

"Understood."

Wow. Dilnan is really too cool.

The shop lady must be swooning. I get it, I get it.

Even if she describes Dilnan's coolness with such passionate eyes, I can only nod and agree with a smile.

"Alright, let's go to the next place."

"Thank you, miss."

While Dilnan, who had put the items in the subspace, was about to move on, I waved goodbye to the shop lady.

Her face turned even redder, but I hope she's okay.

Walking down the street with Dilnan again, we arrived at a clothing store about five minutes from the general store. It was clearly a store specializing in cute children's clothing, which didn't really suit Dilnan.

As soon as we entered, the apparent owners, a couple, were surprised, but after Dilnan introduced me and asked for "easy-to-move, gender-neutral everyday clothes," they immediately got to work.

Then the changing began.

This part was not at all fun. I was made to try on pants, skirts, and even animal costumes, which drained my HP. I'll skip the details...

I'm not the type to spend a lot of time shopping. When I find something I like, I decide quickly and just check the size.

"Would these clothes be suitable?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Dilnan quickly chose five outfits and added underwear, socks, slippers, and shoes. By the time we got to the register, I was already slumped on the sofa.

"Still, I'm surprised to see Captain Dilnan bringing a child to our store. And a temporary member of the Northern Demon King's Castle, no less."

"My name is Yurie. I might bring her occasionally."

"Yurie, I'll remember that."

While Dilnan and the owner were talking, the wife brought us some juice.

After taking a breath, Dilnan came over to the register.

I offered him some juice, but he declined, so I drank it all.

"One more store, and then we'll go back."

"Understood, I'll do my best."

When Dilnan patted my head to encourage me, even the couple patted my head. Hehe.

After leaving the clothing store, the last store Dilnan took me to was a confectionery shop.

This revived my spirits.

"Yurie, listen. First, learn the types of money."

Before entering the store, Dilnan showed me the money in a corner of a side street.

The money is divided into three types: gold, silver, and copper, and each type has three sizes: large, medium, and small.

...From the explanation, it seems that the small copper coin is 1 cent, the medium copper coin is 5 cents, the large copper coin is 10 cents, the small silver coin is 50 cents, the medium silver coin is 1 dollar, the large silver coin is 5 dollars, the small gold coin is 10 dollars, the medium gold coin is 50 dollars, and the large gold coin is 100 dollars?

Copper coins are like small change, silver coins are moderate, and gold coins are like paper money, which makes it easy to understand. You just need to combine them to match the amount.

For really large transactions, it seems that gold bars and other precious metals are used. That makes sense.

Currently, my wallet contains four small gold coins and one large silver coin, three medium silver coins. That's a total of 48 dollars.

...That's not just change. Isn't that a bit too much for a child to carry?

"Money, a lot..."

"Yeah. But use it to buy your own sweets until the next payday."

"Huh?"

"Payday is the 10th of the following month, based on the end of the month. So, you have about a month until the 10th of next month to manage your finances."

...So, I just need to get through until payday. I'm grateful for everything, Dilnan.

After putting the money securely in my wallet, we finally entered the confectionery shop.

There were various colorful sweets, both by weight and pre-packaged, and the sweet smell filled the store.

I was so dazzled by the variety of sweets that I started looking around, and the shop staff, noticing the few customers, watched me with a smile.

"Don't look up too much and fall over."

"Captain."

While looking up at the sweets that reached the top of the shelves, I must have lost my balance, and with my heavy head, I almost fell backward. Dilnan, standing behind me, supported me with his thigh, preventing me from falling.

Looking up at Dilnan, I heard the shop staff giggle. It was a bit embarrassing.

"Captain Dilnan!"

"We often get help from the cooking team's Alph. I'm bringing another temporary member who will be a regular addition."

"Oh, what a cute customer."

While supporting me, Dilnan was greeted by the apparent owner at the register.

Tilting my head at the conversation between Dilnan and the owner, Dilnan smiled.

"This confectionery shop comes to the Northern Demon King's Castle for sales. It's on the 5th of every month."

"Can we buy sweets at the castle?"

"Yeah. This old man and another staff member come. We visit the gate from noon for two hours. Please patronize us."

"Thank you."

Feeling grateful for the unexpected information, the owner also smiled.

"Cute customers get special treatment."

"...Special treatment?"

"Any confectionery shop gives a 50% discount to minors under 100 years old."

What! There's such a sweet special rule.

"Watch and practice shopping."

"Okay!"

Responding to Dilnan's words, I adjusted my posture and started choosing sweets.

I don't know when the next 5th will be, but if I assume the longest, it will be ten days. I should buy enough to last that long.

I'll buy a little less of the sweets that don't last long and a bit more of candies and cookies.

Then, I'll consider the money. Thinking about the amount I eat and my allowance, I'll set a limit of 5 dollars per time. That's actually 10 dollars in real terms. For a small child, that's quite a lot, isn't it?

Once I decided on that, narrowing down the choices wasn't too difficult. I started with a beautiful glass bottle of assorted candies, a small bag of the smallest cut cake, and then I was indecisive about the variety of cookies. The cookies are quite large, so I don't need many.

"Sir, which ones do you recommend?"

"They're all delicious, but the most popular are the jam-filled and nut-filled cookies."

"Okay, then five of each, please."

After requesting them, I had the amounts measured and divided the total by two.

Adding everything up... it's about 4.5 dollars. That seems reasonable.

"Here you go."

Handing over the items and a large silver coin, the owner was surprised.

"...Captain, did I make a mistake?"

"It's correct."

Feeling uncertain, I asked Dilnan, who was standing behind me, and he immediately confirmed it for me.

Dilnan's gaze turned to the owner.

"Old man, I told you. She's a temporary member of our team."

"...Right, that's true. Given that you're at the Northern Demon King's Castle, you must have considerable ability."

"?"

The owner took the large silver coin with a wry smile after Dilnan's words.

After successfully completing the transaction and putting the change in my wallet, I put the purchased sweets in my backpack.

"Your money management seems fine."

"I bought some sweets."

"Yeah. It's a good time, let's head back."

Looking at the clock in the store, Dilnan announced the end of our shopping.

The store was getting crowded, and I might get lost in the crowd.

When I started to struggle, Dilnan, feeling bad for me, picked me up and rescued me.

"Thank you. Please come again."

While being carried by Dilnan, we left the store, and the owner saw us off to the outside.

I waved until he was out of sight. I'll definitely need his help in the future.

We then headed to the gate of the settlement. There were other guards besides the one we met earlier, so we greeted them.

After finishing the greetings and leaving the town, Dilnan called out Retsu.