Just a heads up:\nI'm not splitting the chapters into parts, the author did. There's a total of 4 chapters dedicated to the market and each chapter contains 1,500-2,000 words. I'm leaving each as a separate chapter and we're in Arc 2 which I assume is the Town Arc because all the author wrote was 第2章(Chapter/section 2).
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When I left the store, only Lina-san and Fina-san were there.
"Ara, welcome back. Did you buy what you wanted?"
"Yes. Um... where are Gil-san and Bucket-san?"
"Those two went to look for new weapons. It's to replace the ones they broke at the Abyssal Forest."
"I see"
I'd like a weapon too, but I'm not sure a normal one would be suitable with my physical abilities. I guess making one myself is better.
<I agree with your idea>
Even Haku says so. If that's the case, I'll need some iron ore... well, I'll look for those in the future. Besides I already have a sword*.
*I think she made a wooden sword in a previous chapter... out of an entire tree 🌲
"So, what are we going to do now?"
"Right, I still need some seasonings."
"Seasonings... I know a good store. Follow me."
"Yes!"
I followed Lina-san and Fina-san while looking at the shops around us. I also bought a few items I wanted along the way.
"It's here"
Lina-san stopped and pointed to the store in front of her. It felt more like a spice shop than a seasoning one. We went in without delay and looked at the goods.
"Ah, this..."
As I was looking around I spotted a cube around an inch long, brownish in color. Could it be?
Name: Consommé
I knew it! But I didn't think they were sold in cubes...
"Oh, that's consommé. It comes from a long, thin fruit that grows on a consommé tree."
"Eh, really?"
"Yes indeed"
What can I say... it's another world after all. I don't care whether the consommé comes from a tree or not as long as it tastes the same.
"Wait a second, there's also something that looks like pepper."
Name: Pepper
Apparently, the names of the seasonings here are the same as the ones on Earth. What I found was black pepper, the kind where the tiny fruits are just dried. Didn't they have mills or anything of the sort?
"Um, do you have a tool to grind this into a powder?"
I asked the Obaa-san tending to the store.
"Into a powder? You're supposed to use the pepper as it is."
...So they just use it like this. There's nothing wrong with that, but the taste is stronger when it's crushed. For the time being, I'll find a substitute for the mill. Worst case scenario, I'll make one myself. I don't know the specifics of how it works, but I think I'll manage somehow.
"ahhhh, I can't get curry spices now..."
I've made the spices from curry before so it's not hard, but the ingredients I have on hand aren't enough.
"And there's no rice either."
The spices needed for curry are different from the ones used for curry rice. I only know the recipe for the latter, so rice is necessary.
<Rice is called [Gliano] in this world>
I see.
<Gliano is used to feed livestock>
Eh, what?
<The people of this world don't have the means to cook rice>
I understand. If the food culture isn't advanced, they won't have the knowledge to prepare certain foods. I've always been an earthenware pot person, so I know how much water I need to add. While I don't have a pot right now, I can make it with earth magic later. It's decided! I'll buy some rice, I mean, Gliano!
"Onee-san, I want this please."
It's important to be careful when addressing women.
"Sure, is this everything?"
I bought salt, pepper, consommé, and various other things. It's quite a lot.
"Yes. How much is it?"
"Right. Let's see... I'll charge you 1000 lithia for now."
Ooh! It's around 2,000 yen!
"Is that okay?"
"You're the only young girl I know who buys this stuff."
Seems like people will buy the salt and pepper but ignore the other spices. I wonder why they kept the others here.
"Then who buys the spices?"
"The adventurers. They use them to blind monsters or something."
R- really... it'll certainly hurt if it got in my eyes I guess.
"So, can I pay with a card?"
"Yes, place it here."
I placed my card onto a crystal similar to the one from the grocery store and paid. Then, I put everything into my inventory. The obaa-san was a bit surprised at first, but she quickly gained her composure without a word. Merchant spirit, I suppose.
"Thank you very much"
"Please come again"
The obaa-san sent me off while waving her hand. What a nice person!
"So, what are you going to do with all the spices you bought?"
"I'm using it for cooking."
"Those spices?! For cooking??!!"
You're quite surprised. Should I just say, "This is edible!"?
"You'll see, so just try to look forward to it please."
"R- right (But can Marina really cook? ... the soup served in her cave was delicious though)"
She just questioned my ability to cook... well what can I do? We have different cultures after all.
"Ah, where can I buy gliano?"
"Gliano? You mean the horse feed?"
"Yes, that's it"
"I... what are you using it for?"
"It's a secret."
She was so surprised to learn that I use spices in cooking, so it's better to keep quiet for now. I'll tell them after we finish eating and ask if it's delicious.
"It's fine if it's a secret. You can buy gliano at a store in the outskirts of this street."
"Outskirts?"
"Mm-hm. People use use horse drawn carriages to transport large quantities of goods. They use them outside of the street so they don't bother the people walking. So, let's get it later."
"Ok. Then do you know where I can get flour?"
"You can buy it at that store."
As she said that, she pointed to the bakery across from the spice shop. The scent of freshly baked bread wafted out from the store.
"Is this a bakery?"
"Un... they also sell bread too."
"What do you mean by 'also'?"
"I think I told you before, but bread is like an emergency ration so they don't sell very well. Most stores sell other goods."
I understand. I swiftly entered the store. Apparently, it mainly deals with dried meat and other foods that adventurers often eat on their trips. I'll need some dried meat for the broth anyways.
There were about 3 large sacks of flour in a corner.
"Can I take a look inside?"
I asked the male shopkeeper.
"Sure, I don't mind."
After getting consent, I opened the mouth of a bag and looked inside.
The contents looked like bran and was yellowish. Maybe it's whole grain?
"That's the more expensive flour. This is the cheaper one."
What he showed me was probably rye flour. Rye is a little different from wheat though, so it seems they are confused with the classification.
"Hmm ... Then, please give me one bag of each type."
"The cheaper one is 1000 lithia, but the more expensive one is 3000 lithia. Can you pay?"
Wow, I didn't think the cost would be more than doubled. But it's no problem.
"I'm fine. Can I pay with a card?"
"Place it here"
I put the card on a crystal yet again and completed the payment.
"It's done but miss, can you carry all of this?"
Each sack seems around 40 lbs. It's not weird for him to ask.
"It's okay"
I stored the flour in my inventory.
"I see, you have storage. How envious."
It does make life more convenient.
"Thank you very much"
"Please come again."
I waved goodbye to the man and left the shop.
"Did you buy what you wanted?"
"Yes, I did!"
"Then let's go look for some clothes next."
Oh, I totally forgot ...
"Did you forget?"
"Y- yes... I'm sorry."
I was so absorbed in everything else that I forgot ...
"Fufufu. It's okay. Now, shall we go?"
"Yes"
I followed Lina-san as we headed for the clothing store. We're going to take a look at some clothes.
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Fina: Umm, hello? Did I just get ignored for more than 3/4 of this chapter?
<b>Some of you may be wondering why I'm releasing chapters from 5pm-8pm the day before it's supposed to be released. That is because according to the demographics, some readers come from the other side of the world. So, releasing at this window of time satisfies everyone. Even more so if you're in the Eastern time zone. That is, if I'm correct about how time zones even work.</b>