Chapter 26

7/16 This is the second post of the day.

Bezart is a small town located on the outskirts of the border.

According to Amanda, the "Ragreese Kingdom" where this town is located extends from north to south, and Bezart is situated at the southernmost point, almost adjacent to the Palmera Great Forest.

The road only leads to the provincial city of "Marta" to the north, and this "Marta" is a southern trading hub with four roads extending in all directions.

Of course, there are several villages, including small ones, scattered around, but the kingdom and the town do not have a complete grasp of all of them. Villages that are not near the road and are of a certain size are not much involved with the kingdom.

In other words, they are in a tax-free state, but it would be more accurate to say that there is nothing to tax in the first place.

Bezart, being a small town, is surrounded by a wooden fence about the height of a person.

The main streets extend in a cross shape, each about 2 kilometers long, and the central area is where commercial facilities such as shops and the Hunter's Guild, as well as major facilities like the church, are located.

As you move away from the center, the number of residential houses increases.

The inn where I am staying is slightly to the north of the center, along the main street.

Therefore, it is very convenient for the guild and shopping, and I think it is a very activity-friendly inn.

The inn that Mei mentioned as being dirty is located along the main street that extends to the left and right, and is slightly away from the center of town, so it blends in with the residential houses.

Well, if it's that level, I personally don't have any problems, but from a Japanese perspective, it's hard to imagine anything more than a minshuku (a small, family-run inn). The problem is that the town has only two entrances, to the north and south, and it is very inconvenient to go hunting when you go to the left or right of the town.

For that reason, and because the financial situation has improved, I haven't even considered changing inns.

Incidentally, the south leads to the Palmera Great Forest.

There is almost nothing to the south of the town except for the forest, so the southern area of the town is not very popular.

On the other hand, the north leads to the provincial city of Marta, and to the left and right are vast farmlands.

If you go further northeast, you reach the Locker Plain, and if you go northwest, you reach the Lulub Forest. The town's powerful hunters, merchants, and farmers also go out to the north, so the north of the town is treated as a slightly more affluent area.

I have never met the mayor, but his house, which I received a reward for rescuing Jink and the others, is probably somewhere in the northern area.

When I received this information from Amanda, I wondered why there was a wooden fence when the Palmera Great Forest was right next to the town.

I asked if a more solid stone wall would be better, but apparently there has never been a case of a group of monsters running rampant in the Palmera Great Forest.

Therefore, there is no need to waste money on vigilance. As Jink mentioned before, it is enough to leave the area between the forest and the town as a grassland without planting crops to prevent goblins from getting close to the town.

When I heard this, I thought, "Then, does the Lulub Forest have group rampages?" but I didn't ask because I felt it might set up a bad flag.

If a group rampage of monsters were to occur in an E-rank recommended area, I would have no choice but to go into hermit mode. I would definitely die.

So, I am in the center of the town.

I explore the side streets off the main intersection.

I haven't been to the left and right before, so it's quite enjoyable to explore like a tourist.

The wooden signs with worm-like writing are mostly shops, and the first one I found was a fruit shop.

There are kiwi-like fruits that I often ate in the forest.

"Hmm... Mei said that these can be sold to the guild for 100 beke, but they are sold here for 200 beke..."

This makes me understand why people might want to go into the forest to get them when they want to eat them.

There are also yellow fruits priced at 3500 beke, which is more expensive than my room, but I guess the price is driven up by transportation costs in this world.

Escort requests also seem to cost a considerable amount.

Then I found... there it is! The magic stone shop I was looking forward to!

Since I couldn't see the merchandise from outside, I opened the door and peeked inside. The shopkeeper noticed me with the sound of the door.

"Welcome!"

"Ah, hello."

As I greeted, I was immediately captivated by the scene inside the shop.

Unlike a jewelry shop in Japan, there were various colors and sizes of magic stones.

The shop, though small, had over 50 magic stones on display.

"I've never been to a magic stone shop before... There are so many different types of magic stones."

I couldn't help but mutter to myself, but the sleepy middle-aged female shopkeeper, whether out of kindness or boredom, answered me.

"We also stock magic stones from other countries based on their uses."

There were magic stones as small as my thumb and some as large as a child's fist.

The colors were not uniform, and there were magic stones with mixed colors like light blue and orange.

"Come to think of it, goblins and horn rabbits were black, but the furimole was a bit brown..."

I started to wonder about something.

"I understand that larger magic stones are more valuable, but do the colors have any significance?"

"Oh... You seem to be quite unfamiliar with magic stones. I'll explain it to you."

"Thank you..."

"The color represents the attribute of the magic stone. Black is non-elemental, light blue is water, and the brown magic stones from the furimoles in this area are earth. The more powerful the attribute, the clearer the color, so the larger and more vivid the color, the more valuable the magic stone."

"I see!"

When I looked at the magic stones again, I noticed that some light blue stones had a slight blue tint, while others were more blue.

"Do the attributes mix and change anything?"

"They do. For example, a water magic tool will be more effective and last longer with a water-attribute mixed magic stone. For fire-related magic tools, orange or red would be better. However, attribute magic stones are expensive, so ordinary households use non-elemental black magic stones. We do stock attribute magic stones for the wealthy, though."

"Wow..."

"Are you looking to buy or sell magic stones?"

"Um, I'm more on the selling side. I'm a hunter."

"I see... You don't have a weapon, so you must be just starting out, right?"

"Yes, I'm a beginner who has only been doing this for a few days..."

"In that case, you might want to come back when you want to add an attribute to your weapon."

"Add an attribute to a weapon?"

"Exactly. To add an attribute to a weapon, you need a magic stone of the desired attribute. Paiser, the owner of the weapon shop in this town, can use the enchantment magic, so some people buy attribute magic stones from us and have him do the enchantment. Fire attribute magic stones are especially rare around here."

It was very interesting to hear this.

And Paiser... So, the short sword I'm aiming for was made by Paiser himself.

I vaguely remember that it had some kind of enchantment.

I quietly opened my status screen and checked the skill list. I could see that I had the "Enchantment" skill, so it wasn't a hidden rare skill.

Hmm... Even if I were to get the "Enchantment" skill, I wouldn't know how effective it would be at level 1 or 2, so it would be better to discuss the price when I want to add an attribute.

While I was thinking this, I closed the status screen and checked the prices of the attribute magic stones.

But—

"A 50,000 beke ice attribute magic stone similar in size to a furimole... That's quite... expensive..."

I couldn't help but say it out loud.

After all, a furimole's earth attribute magic stone is only 2000 beke for one. Isn't that too expensive!?

"Haha! Of course, they are imported from other countries, so they are expensive. Magic stones are small but valuable, so they are often targeted by thieves. Ice attribute magic stones are especially expensive. They are very popular for adding to weapons!"

When I checked the price of the earth attribute magic stones, I found that they were indeed cheaper at 3500 beke.

"Earth attribute magic stones aren't popular... It makes me sad to think about how I've been killing furimoles..."

"Earth attribute magic stones are generally used for building construction. There are no large buildings around here, and the materials are mostly wood, so there isn't much use for earth attribute magic stones. They are used in large quantities when building fortresses, though."

There is a surplus of supply but no demand, which is a very unfavorable situation for the seller.

However, what she said made sense, so there was nothing I could do even if I complained.

If I were a merchant, I could buy a large quantity of earth attribute magic stones and sell them in a country that is likely to go to war, but only if they weren't stolen along the way.

I thanked her and told her I would come back if I wanted to add an attribute, then left the shop.

Attribute weapons...

They are expensive... But ice attribute magic stones are so expensive!

Still, the idea of a weapon wrapped in a cold, blue aura is pretty cool, isn't it?

What about a dual-wielding setup with one ice and one fire attribute?

That would be an incredibly powerful look!

...Alright, I'll aim for it.

I'll make it a goal.

While thinking this, I was drawn to a familiar smell and was pulled into the next shop.

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By the way, the romantic comedy? starts from Chapter 4, which begins in Episode 58. The upload preparation for that is already complete.