Chapter 4

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004＿I'll Buy That Old Woman!

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On the second day of my reincarnation, I put on the clothes I had hung out to dry.

"It's so cold..."

They were only half-dry.

"If you wear them, your body heat might dry them out."

I put my backpack and item box away, and only kept the leather pouch with five gold coins in my pocket before leaving the room.

I entered the dining hall on the first floor and read the menu by the entrance.

For some reason, I could read the script of this world. It must be a perk of being reincarnated in another world.

"Sir, what would you like?"

A waitress was there when I entered the dining hall.

"I'll have the A set, please."

The A set is a meat-heavy meal. I missed dinner last night, so I wanted something hearty.

I sat down and waited, and soon my food was brought to me on a tray.

"Wow~"

There was only white soup, meat, and bread, but the meat was huge. The bread was huge too.

The meat looked to be about 300 grams. The bread was as big as my face. This is going to be a satisfying meal!

The bread was softer than the one given by the god, about as hard as a French baguette. I dipped it in the soup and took a bite.

"Oh, this is pretty good."

It was a bit bland, but it was still delicious.

Next was a thick steak. It was a bit tough to cut with the knife, but not impossible.

"Lean meat with little juice. When you want to eat heartily, lean meat is more appreciated."

Even in my youth, fatty, high-end meat would make my stomach feel heavy.

The flavor was just salt and... what is this? It has a slightly fresh taste, probably from herbs. Not bad at all.

"Phew... I ate, I ate."

Sure enough, after eating so much, my stomach felt like it was about to burst.

To eat this much for breakfast, this other world is quite something.

"Oh my, you finished everything?"

It was the waitress from earlier.

"Was it wrong to eat it all?"

"It's fine. But most girls usually leave some. Hehehe."

I'm not a girl, but it's not worth making a fuss over, so I didn't say anything.

"Excuse me, are there any shops where I can buy clothes in this town?"

"If you go right out of the inn and take the third crossroad to the left, it's the fifth house."

"Thank you. I'll go check it out."

I probably should have given a tip, but I only had gold coins. I couldn't bring myself to give a tip worth 10,000 yen. I'm just a coward, after all.

I followed the directions and found a clothing store. It had no windows, so I would have walked past it if there hadn't been a sign.

However, it was a women's clothing store. The waitress must have completely mistaken me for a girl.

I asked where I could find a men's clothing store, yes, I did.

But just asking felt awkward, so I bought a piece of clothing that a man could wear. It was women's clothing, so I probably wouldn't have an occasion to wear it.

I then bought five sets of men's clothing, ten pairs of underwear, and ten pairs of socks at a men's clothing store.

I also bought ten towels and a small bucket at a general store. I was quite tired by then.

I sat on a bench in the square to rest when a pleasant smell wafted over.

I followed the smell to a food stall. It was grilled squid, like the kind sold at festivals.

The smell wasn't soy sauce, but it was a fragrant, good smell.

"Hey, cute little girl. How about some grilled squid? If you buy one now, I'll give you a free tentacle."

They're offering a freebie. This appearance isn't bad. Being cute is justice in any world.

"Sir, I'll take one grilled squid."

"Sure thing, that's three white copper coins."

This pond squid looks just like Japanese surume squid, but can it really be caught in a pond? Is there a pond nearby?

I took the grilled squid and sat back on the bench.

"A bit fishy, but it's delicious."

It's more that the sauce isn't refined. But it's still delicious.

The sauce isn't soy sauce, but it's soy sauce-like.

Can I buy this sauce? I also want some salt and other seasonings.

While thinking about this, I enjoyed eating the grilled squid and tentacles alternately. Even after eating so much for breakfast, I finished it. It's a nostalgic taste. But my stomach is so full I might not be able to eat dinner.

Where can I buy this sauce? I'll ask the vendor.

"Sir, what's the name of that sauce?"

"You're interested in the sauce? Hmm, I usually don't tell, but you're so cute, I'll make an exception."

"Really! Thank you, sir!"

I acted very cutely. Considering it as a tip, this is nothing.

"The sauce is made from burgan."

"Burgan?"

"Burgan is a seasoning made by fermenting crushed gugurt."

"Gugurt?"

"What, you don't know gugurt?"

"Yeah."

I looked up with big eyes, as if I really wanted to know. Being cute is an asset in situations like this.

"I'll tell you, but don't look at me with those eyes."

"Thank you!"

Gugurt seems to be a type of bean, probably soybeans.

I asked where I could buy it.

"Haha, it's faster to buy burgan than gugurt. Besides, amateurs can't make burgan from gugurt."

That makes sense. I understand.

"You can buy it at the Gorteo Trading Company down the street."

Gorteo's shop. I had planned to visit eventually, but it happened sooner than expected.

I thanked the vendor and bought another grilled squid, and he gave me another free tentacle. I'll come back again.

In a place where no one could see, I put the grilled squid and tentacles in my item box. I remember reading in a light novel that you should avoid being seen doing this. It might be overcautious, but better safe than sorry.

Gorteo's shop was large, with a display window. It seems glass exists in this world.

Judging by the fact that only such a large shop uses glass, it must be quite expensive.

"Excuse me, do you have burgan and gugurt?"

I asked a nearby clerk, who then guided me.

The burgan was in a container that looked like a pot, holding about a liter. The gugurt wasn't soybeans. It was a bean with small grains densely packed in a pod about 10 centimeters long. There were probably dozens of grains.

I bought one bottle of burgan and one bag of gugurt.

Gugurt is commonly eaten in this town, and when dried, it becomes salty, often used as a substitute for salt.

It seems that when further fermented, it becomes burgan, but the clerk didn't know the detailed process. That's understandable.

It can be eaten raw, but it's quite bitter. If you do eat it, it's common to soak it in water for a few days, then boil it to remove the bitterness.

I remember seeing small beans in the soup at the inn. They must have been gugurt.

I also bought ten large cloth bags, like Santa's bag.

While putting the burgan and gugurt in one of the bags, someone called out to me.

"Long time no see. Welcome back."

"Hello, Mr. Gorteo. I came again, boldly."

"I welcome you, Mr. Toi."

Mr. Gorteo still had his usual, unpretentious smile.

"Please, this way."

"Huh, ah, I'm—"

"Come, come."

I was about to leave after buying the burgan and gugurt, but I couldn't refuse and was led to the basement.

"Here is—"

"This is the floor where slaves are handled."

People were kept in cages. Seeing this, it's not a pleasant feeling.

"Are you interested in slaves?"

"Well, I—"

"Few people are, but there are some. However, the slave system is necessary. Many of the people here would have starved to death if they weren't slaves."

"Starved to death..."

"There are many families struggling to eat. If they become slaves, their owners provide food, clothing, and shelter. They also get money temporarily, which they can use to pay off debts or buy food, improving their lives, even if only temporarily."

Mr. Gorteo continued.

"Criminals also become slaves, but the main purpose is punishment. They are forced to work in harsh places like mines or battlefields."

In this world, criminals are not rehabilitated. If they commit a crime, they receive a punishment that fits the crime. This is the criminal slave system, according to Mr. Gorteo.

Criminal slaves are forced to work based on the severity of their crime. For minor crimes like theft, they might just clean the town, but for serious crimes like robbery, rape, or murder, they are worked to death in mines or battlefields.

Slaves are divided into controlled slaves, whose actions are restricted, and voluntary slaves, whose actions are not restricted. Criminal slaves are the former, and debt slaves are the latter.

Even voluntary slaves have restrictions, such as not revealing their owner's information.

Both controlled and voluntary slaves have a set period of slavery.

For controlled slaves, it's the sentence length, and for voluntary slaves, it's the debt repayment period.

"This slave is a controlled slave. The price is 10,000 grils."

I was looking at a point, thinking about slaves, and it seems they misunderstood and thought I liked the slave I was looking at.

"Ah, no, I—"

Then I noticed it was an old woman. An elderly woman with deep wrinkles, looking like a witch from a story.

I thought it was rude, but it's impossible to like someone who looks like they could pass away at any moment. They should think about it more carefully.

"This person is a mage, but became a controlled slave due to a magical mishap."

Even an old woman like this becomes a controlled slave. If she's sent to a harsh place, she'll probably die quickly.

In any case, she was a real witch, being a mage.

"At this age, there's not much time left. That's why the price is reasonable."

If she dies the day after I buy her, 10,000 grils is a small amount to accept. No, 10,000 grils is 100,000 yen, a considerable amount.

"How about it?"

How about it, are you asking me to buy her? There's no way I can get excited about an old woman like this.

"Old people like this are not used for labor but for their knowledge."

So they use their brains instead of their bodies.

I have no intention of buying a slave, but if I were to, a young woman would be better. Someone beautiful who can please the eye just by looking at her.

"This person has been unsold and will be sent to the mines next. If that happens, she won't last a few days..."

Mr. Gorteo lowered his eyes.

Yeah... Hearing that makes my heart hurt. You're trying to make me buy her, right? I won't, though.

"What a shame. This person only has a few days left..."

Ugh... I feel like I'm doing something terrible.

The old woman even stared at me. Please don't look at me with such a resentful gaze.

"Let's go over there. You, send Annelise to the mines."

"Yes, sir."

Ah, come on!

"I'll buy her. I'll buy this person, so please don't send her to the mines."

Why am I such a soft-hearted person? I hate myself for it.

Mr. Gorteo smiled and stopped the employee with a hand gesture.

"Thank you for your purchase. Please wait in the other room while we process the paperwork."

His response was as if he knew I would buy her. No, I was tricked into buying her. The seasoned merchant and I are in different leagues.

Thank you for reading.

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