Chapter 85
"It means, you must be allowed to leave." I laughed, the sound vibrating through my mask as I pulled her close to me, hugged her tight, and walked through the portal.
And into open air, high above the ground. Far below was what looked like a shrine of some kind, the grounds in and outside its simple walls were well groomed, but that's all the attention I spared it as I put an Air Strike Shield between me and the ground, Kizuna grunting as she landed on top of me. "Ow... OH CRAP!"
"Relax." I said, keeping an eye on the cool down for the Air Strike Shield as I stood, pulling her to her feet as well.
She didn't move very far when I let her go, "Relax? We're super high up!"
"We are." I admitted. "I'm going to get us down. Just stand properly and we'll be fine."
"Ho-AHH!"
The spectral platform vanished, and the two of us started to fall again, but I summoned the 'Second Shield' about five metres down.
"ow..." Kizuna pouted, "How are you so good at this?" She stood up quickly, rubbing her rear.
"Discipline, and lots of practise thinking on my feet. Five seconds, another drop." I really missed being able to summon my mana cloth. But this wasn't so bad. I did take out one of my 'soul healing' potions, just in case it was farther down than I thought.
It was a bit farther than I thought, but with my apparent 'natural' abundance of magic and SP (still didn't know what it really was. Stamina? Soul? Spirit? Stupid?), as well as that hard core rat killing session, I had just enough energy to get us to the ground without using potions. All I had to do was time the cool-downs on my 'Air Strike Shield' (rope Shield), Second Shield (soul eater Shield) and 'Dritte Shield' (from the Whale).
Kizuna had flopped onto the ground, as if giving the world a hug, then rolled over, laughing, "I'm free!"
The feeling she put into those two words made my spine tingle. It was the same feeling I got when I fulfilled a promise to someone (instead of putting myself at risk of becoming a bogglin). I let her enjoy her first taste of being free and safe from terminal gravity poisoning, and looked around.
In the interest of not ruining the nice flowerbeds and actual zen gardens inside the walls of the shrine, I had set us down outside the grounds. The wall was fairly high, and made of plastered stone and topped with a simple clay shingled 'mini roof' that made it look nice and kept most of the 'gentle' rainfall off the walls.
I could only see the very top of the inner building's roof, and it too was clay shingled.
There was... power... here. Nothing divine, but certainly spiritual. It had a certain gravity to it, like a well loved graveyard, or even a library. But with no gods, it could never be anything more. "Any idea where this is?" I asked, turning to Kizuna (who was making snow angels in the grass happily).
She stopped her little celebration, let out one last happy giggle/sigh, and sat up. "Oh! Yeah... This is where they threw me in..." She shook her head side to side quickly as my posture went to 'high alert', "No no... Why bother guarding the door to an inescapable prison? Though..."
"Someone has to tend the grounds... This kind of garden doesn't stay this way on its own." I said, offering her a hand, "But... This world is really similar to Japan, isn't it? I mean look at this!"
"Yeah, I noticed it too!" She nodded, looking left and right, "It was one of those 'weird things' that made me think it was a game at first. So many things I recognized. Too similar to the 'real', that I didn't think it could be anything but a game."
"Weird things happen in different worlds when it comes to architecture." I nodded, patting her on the shoulder, "We need to get to a town, and find my party. We also need a source of money, and if I could get a heap of those crystals..."
"Yeah... I also don't want to get caught..." She sighed, "Though, we can just get out again the same way, right?"
"Probably." I nodded, "I can't use my 'portal Shield' until level forty, and I'm only just over half that."
"Well..." She sighed, "Unless something really bad happened, the closest town was this way."
It was a bit of a walk to the nearest town. Nothing dire, but we had a few monster encounters. While my level was low, and I had lost access to many Shields from Raphtalia's world, I was confident the two of us could handle anything this close to a town.
Sadly, or rather, ironically, with her using part of my new armour, I didn't bother putting on the rest of it. It would look weird, and draw attention to us. Kind of like my ears and tail would... So yes, I was hiding them, as well as wearing my 'more or less' all black Japanese house robe and pants. This had to be some kind of record...
"I know I know..." She assured me as I changed my shape a little to appear just as human as her, except for my eyes (a weird four out of four... five? Worlds thing). "But the there are no beast races here."
"No?"
"No. We have Grass people. Hmm, kind of look like elves, love the forests etc etc." She ticked off points on her fingers, "The Dwarf race is like you'd expect from a fantasy game, though, no weird accents, just very plain speaking. You've met the Spirits. Humans, of course. And Therese might look human, but she isn't really."
"But you said Kitsune were lucky." I pouted a little, wondering if I should keep the mask on, or not, then deciding that it DID hide the fact my horns were growing out of my skull.
I felt my inner mysteriousness perk up, and I did a little 'extra' work under my mask, just in case someone told me to take it off in public. Fu-fu...
"They are! But they're a monster, not a race. At least... here they are."
"Fine fine... Not like I can file a complaint." I leaned my head forward a little, squinting into the distance behind my mask, "Ah, I see our destination."
"Oh?" She looked as well, "Oh! Well, suppose nothing really bad happened then." She tugged my sleeve, "Come on."
"Not too fast." I said, looking left and right, seeing other roads leading out of what seemed to be a late Edo period Japanese city. "Still need to know stuff."
"I know, but..."
"No no. When you want people to see that nothing is wrong, don't do anything differently. We are just two travellers, who have been walking a long way, with no energy to run." I laughed, "I'm eager to sit down too. But the more I know before it's needed, the less I have to guess."
"I suppose, with you being new here, and me needing a special item or direct contact with an hourglass to fast-travel... Okay..."
The simple explanation went like this.
The place we were in now, was hostile to where she'd come from when she started her time as Hunting Hero. It was why she was tossed in the Labyrinth in the first place. Entering the country was reasonably easy. But leaving required a pass of some sort. Similar to a merchant pass over in Raphtalia's world.
But to get that, you needed to be a citizen, go through various bits of paperwork, and finally get your pass. Now, the guards would 'sell' a pass, but the border wasn't the only place with a checkpoint. We also lacked money.
I was corrected here, since Kizuna did have a little money. Though she put a big emphasis on 'little'.
They did have adventurer styled 'guilds' but these were almost always government controlled, and needed some kind of identification. I was from another world, she was a 'throw away the key' styled prisoner. So that was a no-go.
I also found out something interesting about Glass. Or just 'Spirits' in general. And all at once it made sense why she was so powerful, and why the Soul Eater Shield was so traumatic for her.
"So... They have one status bar?" I puzzled that out, double checking my own HP, MP and SP bars, "Huh... It's changed a little..."
"What's changed?"
"My HP is called 'life force' and SP is now 'soul power'." I shrugged, "Oh... And there's a little over two weeks before the wave." Yes, leaving the labyrinth had put the Wave Timer back on.
"Always been that way for me." She shrugged, "But yeah! I thought it was weird too. But Glass, all spirit people, only have one 'bar'. But they don't have levels either. Instead, they are as powerful as that 'bar'." She tapped her chin, "If their life bar is a hundred, then they are a hundred. But, they also use magic and special abilities with that same bar."
"And you said the various weapons allowed special ways to recover... oh boy..." If Glass had a similar system to mine, then she might have had literal soul eating abilities as well.
"And because of that, they are also SUPER tough. Though, I suppose you'd know that." She grinned up at me, "Please get along next time? I know you were fighting but..."
"I don't hold grudges. Just informed opinions about the next encounter." I gave her shoulder a pat.
We stopped chatting as we got within earshot of the town's gate. The two guards on either side of the tall wood-log wall didn't even look our way as we walked by with other random foot traffic.
We both let out a little breath after we'd gotten past. "Oh... That's..."
Yeah, it was an Elf. Pointed ears, very pretty/handsome, had a bow and travelling cape. They (wasn't sure about the gender) also had a slightly different ear angle to both Orario and Falmart elves.
"Yeah, they're usually pretty friendly. Not outgoing but easy to get along with." Kizuna said, "Oh, see that?"
She motioned to a booth with a kind of podium on it. There was a small lineup outside as well. Following the line (a couple humans, that Elf, a Spirit or two) I spotted a Spirit who was tapping on something next to a glowing object on the podium.
And with a little magical 'puff' of smoke, a couple of drop items appeared on a desk next to the podium.
"The Jewel people invented something that kind of mimics the Weapons and their loot functions. Just about anyone can get a gem that lets you convert monsters into their drop items, and then you bring them here to have them spit out again." She explained, tugging my sleeve so I didn't stop and stare.
"You know, my home is a world of magic. But dimensional storage is apparently impossible. Yet here, it's been industrialized. I am so very jealous right now."
She couldn't hold back a giggle at my misfortune, but stopped, "Oh, hold on." And she made a quick left turn and walked towards a big billboard.
It looked almost exactly like the job posting boards back home, though, this one also had other things, like what was an obvious WANTED poster. I couldn't read it, but three out of five worlds now had them (I didn't see any in Falmart). But if this was a 'job board' then...
Yes, a little to the right was a big three floor building with lots of activity inside. Every so often someone dressed for adventuring would enter or leave, combat or relaxation clearly on their mind depending on direction.
But a moment later, Kizuna returned from the job board, "Well, no one has noticed yet." She smiled, "We should be able to set up shop, so to speak."
"Excellent." I nodded, "Let's find a place where I can sort out my inventory for stuff that we can sell here, without too much risk."
"There." She pointed to a place a few buildings over, and yes, every world so far used a similar sign for an Inn.
Even so close to the adventurer's guild, this was a pretty quiet place. There was a small tavern/bar on the first floor, with a half dozen tables to eat and drink at, and a stairway leading to the second and third floors with rooms.
"Room for the night?" The man asked as we rolled up to the counter like a pair of tired adventurers. Like the rest of the town, he (human) had a simple house robe and pants like mine, save that the colours were blue and white stripes. "Interesting mask." He commented.
I bowed my head, keeping silent. Kizuna spoke up, "Yes please, breakfast too?"
"Sure."
A couple of coins slid over the counter and he picked a skeleton key out of a cupboard behind him. "Second floor, end of the hall." He looked up at me (yes, my average height seemed just above average in this world too...) but didn't comment further.
"Come on you." Kizuna said to me, tugging my sleeve.
A flight of steps (nice rustic creaky wood) and hallway (ditto on the creaky) and we entered the designated room. Two beds, window (no glass, but it did have shutters) and a little writing desk with a chair.
"I'll never get used to how simple some of the stuff in this world is." Kizuna said with a pleased sigh as she sat on a bed, "But I do like it." The mattress accepted her weight without noise, "Funny how I had to get taken to go to a place that others paid out the nose for when they went on vacation."
"Heh. It wasn't my first thought, but I'm wired a little differently than most." I waved it off, "Okay... So lets see what we can do with what we have, and find a place to sell it."
"Oh, has anything changed? You said your other party members were slaves or something?" Kizuna asked, already knowing why they were slaves. Being a gamer, who wasn't delusional, meant she understood 'the numbers'.
I looked, "Well... Still alive is all I can tell." I sighed, "I don't know why, but I can't see anything past that. No levels, no numbers at all. Just on the list and alive."
"Hopefully, they didn't end up in a prison. I was a special case, maybe because of my weapon. But the prisons here can suppress your levels and abilities." She shivered. "I can't imagine that. Bad enough I was put in solitary, but..."
"Hey, you're out now." I reached across the narrow aisle between the bets and pat her knee. "Focus on what next."
She nodded, standing suddenly, "Oh! That reminds me. There was a notice on the board about a prison break. But the artist drawing the picture sucked, so I have no idea if it was your friend or not."
"If it was, I kinda feel bad for the jailer." Raphtalia would be... upset.
"Okay. So." She started to pace, similar to my own 'two steps, turn', "We can sell a bunch of our drop items, and make some money that way. Then we can start really gathering information, get better equipment..." She paused, looking at her forearm, "Well... I mean..."
"Yeah, my European styled plate would stick out a bit..." I motioned for her to continue, "Money, equipment, then? Any idea about Glass, L'arc and Therese?"
"Well... Politics being what they were before... These three might not be very popular." She sighed, "But if they do show up, well, they'd stick out too... And unless they were captured, they'd have their levels and gear intact."
"Okay. Oh... Might want to limit some of the stuff we sell. I mean..." I took the Shield off my back and put my hand over the gem. With a little 'fizz' one of the Tyrant Dragon Rex's teeth appeared, "Might raise suspicion."
"Oh... wow. It was THAT big?"
"Here. A little late, but have a dragon tooth."
She took it in both hands, taking a moment to appreciate the weight (not very heavy, even if it was a leg sized tooth) and then rested it on her shoulder for a moment so she could get the Hunting Cleaver off her belt. The tooth vanished into the gem, exactly how it did with the Shield, and a moment later the long Cleaver changed to a serrated machete.
"Ooooooo." She looked at the nasty bit of work in her hand, "Scale Cutter." She said, "Well, if I ever do fight that dragon..." She grinned.
"I'll warn you..."
"I know I know. I wanna make friends with Tetsu too! I mean, if she's anything like you described, we'll get along I'm sure." She laughed, changing the 'scale cutter' back into the Cleaver and sheathing it, "I mean... after so long alone? I want to make friends with just about everyone."
Yup, her and Tetsu would get along like bread and butter.
"Okay... so let's do a bit of an inventory, and figure out how to make money without crashing the market or looking suspicious."
While we sorted stuff, she explained 'money'. Much like Melromarc, they had a simple Metric system for coin. 100 copper is a silver, 100 silver is a gold. The names weren't copper silver gold, but Doumon, Tamagin and Kinhan.
That made it east to remember at least, only needing new names and not going by like... Pieces of Eight or something.
Next, though I realized it was a simple answer as I asked, was 'we showed up with nothing in hand'. But apparently the 'drop item kiosks' were everywhere. One at each town entrance, one in the guild hall, one in the town hall, some of the bigger shops even had them.
"Wait... So they mimic the weapons with their monster item conversion and storage... But need a 'storage' and 'output' gem..." I wished my tails were out so I could pat them thoughtfully.
"When you say it like that, I get a chill up my spine." Kizuna said, hugging herself and shivering a little. "Oh... No way."
She'd seen me make an hourglass. It was miniature, sure, but even if it wasn't perfect it was good enough to register in this world's weird system. I still had it on my list too.
"Later." I smiled under the mask, "Please continue Kizuna Sensei."
I did have a few very unique things in my inventory that could easily crash the market. With my own skill at alchemy and being prepared for everything to the point where even people back in Orario thought I was paranoid, I had more healing items than most actual apothecaries would on their shelves. Of course, my version of 'magic potion' did weird things to people in this world. My healing salves and potions worked the same, but were different than the local version.
The plants I'd found in the Labyrinth were medicinal, but I hadn't had a chance to poke at them yet...
"What are you doing?"
"Now that I'm not trying to get out of an impossible maze of random bits of landmass, have a flat space and a bit of time before bed, I'm going to experiment." I replied as the Shield spit out bits of alchemy equipment.
"Oh. Sounds good."
The 'Soul water' on the other hand... Sure, I knew it did something when I gave it to Glass. But to find out it was literally a kind of 'supercharge' tonic... I still had a good amount of it too. But that kind of popularity might make me unpopular with a lot of people.
This world already had some weird politics in it. Imagine someone just showing up with a key to make an entire race that was already hard to kill, super powerful?
Various other potions and tonics I had worked as normal, yes. They weren't magical really, so the 'system' didn't have a way to get its hooks into it.
"I had no idea how much I missed mint until this exact second." Kizuna sighed, rolling around a little mint candy I'd made in her mouth. "And this... yeah, I think it's... huh." She sniffed at her arm where I'd put a little dab of numbing cream. "Yup, numb."
"Non-magic medicines work as intended. Check. Another mint?"
"Sure. I'll save it for later though."
I had a few magic trinkets in storage. Most of it was for the Shield of Marius and the 'upgrade slots' I'd added. Standard sized bits of metal about the size of a Dog Tag, each with some kind of enhancing or protective enchantment on it.
However, Kizuna told me these were 'weak sauce'. Yes, she said that. But it was because of the Jewel people and their amazing crafts. Stuff like this was 'pretty common', though of course it favoured gems not metal. So my 'simple enchantments' were just 'novel' not 'impressive'.
Next were 'monster bits'. Teeth, fur, bones, quills, scales, claws... You know, bits. However, aside from what we'd gathered (she'd stopped gathering soon after she had finished exploring the Labyrinth), all the bits I had were from Melromarc.
"Why the sigh?" Kizuna asked.
"We don't have the time for me to get a workshop, and make something super impressive. Or local materials." By now, we were getting tired and shovelling things back into our inventories. "Fur is easy to pass off, leather too, more or less, since some of it kind of... translated into the local language..."
Yes, my 'Rabbit Ball' fur had translated to 'Ball Rabbit' fur.
"Well, you do have the soul healing water." She said, coming to the same conclusion I had, "But getting into the market with an unknown item..."
"Oh, I know how. With all the other medicine I have, I'd just have to get a passing Spirit to try a little. They aren't subject to most of the problems us more material people are, but they mingle with normal folk easily enough." I sighed, "We do need to hurry though."
"Why the sigh then?"
"I don't like working so hard." I chuckled, "I mean, back home? I was a volunteer monster hunter. Here? Well, if I want to get back home, it's mandatory." I shrugged, "Okay, the plan is simple then..."
Before bed, Kizuna went to the Guild hall to check a few things, and get a couple of the 'monster storage' gems. They were common enough anyone, literally anyone, could buy one. While she did that, and I worked on some 'local made' medicines, I quietly slipped out of the inn, pausing only once to nod to the innkeeper, and very quietly found some back alleyways to scavenge some wooden crates.
Like any world that didn't want to step on broken glass, this world had also come up with 'the cheap bottle crate'. Earth of modern day used cardboard, but this world had something similar to bamboo, almost exactly the same actually.
I spent a little time scraping or scorching the outsides to remove paint and the like, so the people who used to own them didn't recognize a logo or something. Then, I started filling the crates with neat rows of bottles and jars.
Kizuna returned, little 'inventory pendants' in hand, and just like a local, we stored the crates in the pendants.
"So." She paused to yawn, "I made sure to check if anyone was looking for us again, and found us a place near the edge of the main market square for travelling merchants. So long as it's during daylight, we can set up shop and sell without issue."
"Perfect." I nodded, "When we get there, we can use the nearest item kiosk to unload the inventory like any other merchant, and get to work."
It was kind of funny to watch. The Shield or her Cleaver would spit out an item, and it would vanish into the 'lesser' gem a moment later. While I held the lesser storage item, a little sub menu opened up on my status screen with its contents listed inside exactly like the Shield did. The only difference was I couldn't pull the items out without going to a kiosk.
Once done, we both flopped down on a bed. It wasn't surprising that Kizuna couldn't go to sleep right away, but...
"I'm really free, aren't I?" She asked, rolling onto her side to face me.
"Free to get into trouble again." I replied, letting my face return to normal under the mask, then removing the mask. "Get some sleep, going to start early."
"Boo. First day of freedom, and you want to wake up early?"
I laughed into my sleeve, "Ha! I want to sleep in. But I got work to do."
Kizuna laughed, though it lacked any kind of cheer, "Yeah... Saving the world comes before sleeping in I suppose."
I woke up to the sound of my stomach grumbling. To be expected so soon after 'fast growing' into adulthood, again. I won't call it normal, but it was the same the first time around.
Kizuna, was just starting to roll over near the end of my morning stretch routine, and even managed to join me, if only to do some really lazy stretching.
After breakfast (this world had rice! Sweet glorious rice!) in our room, I got my mask back on and we headed to the market.
It was early yet, but in every world a merchant who sleeps in makes less money, and most of the shops were either open, or putting out their signs by the time we got there. Much like historical Japan, the market here was a mix of 'permanent building' and 'bus stop' stall. The biggest buildings were the tailor, weapon dealer, and armour merchant. Next was a well established apothecary. Then just a little smaller than that, were a couple of taverns. All those places needed a more fixed location, or had stock that couldn't be kept safe unless you put it into an inventory gem. But doing that would be like moving into, and out of, a house every day.
The farmers (produce and meat) had the 'bus stop' stalls, roofed enclosures that kept the weather off and the stock under constant supervision. Their stock was managed and hopefully all sold out by the end of the day, so yes, they got the smaller, more mobile stalls.
Then, there was the 'public' stall. Honestly, it was a simple wooden platform with a roof that might have kept the weather off if there was no wind. It was one hundred percent on the person using it to furnish it. But these stalls went to the hunters, gatherers and those just passing through.
So, with Kizuna setting up stuff, I made multiple trips back and forth between the little item retrieval Kiosk and the shop. Even with her level (she never told me what it was, but it was obviously much higher than mine) I was physically stronger. And with my mask, I was content to play 'the silent servant'.
She had asked why I kept it on, and my reply was 'only you, your old party, and the people I brought with me, know what it looks like'.
Speaking of disguises, I had my old 'black dog' cape on, with the Shield under it on my back. Even if it looked like a Japanese footman Shield, it still had the plain as day green gem in the middle. I could have changed it to a few of the lower level Shields from Melromarc, but they were 'outlandish'.
This of course gave me another idea, but it would have to wait.
"You there! Sir!" Kizuna stood behind a stand of (appropriated) crates, "It's hardly after breakfast and you're moving like that! We have just the thing here!"
He got a little bottle of muscle cream.
"Oh! You there! Sorry for the loud voice, but lemme guess? Drinking late into the night? Try this!"
The poor guy with a hangover got a bit of headache medicine (non-bitter pill flavour).
"You! I see you were out in the sun a little long! Well, we have just the thing!"
Sunburn cream.
Using observation, my penchant to be ready for everything, and Kizuna's sparkling enthusiasm, we picked out every single passerby with a problem we could solve, and sold them the cure. Early mornings were great for this kind of sale. No one wanted to start their day miserable, but you had to work to eat, so, miserable or not you had to start your day.
Then, it was lunch time.
"You there! Looking for a little mid-day pick me up? Freshly mixed tea blends! Having trouble with your laundry? We have soap for that! Oh... A little trouble bringing down that beast on your shoulder? It might smell a little funny, but we have healing salve for that!"
Yes, just like Orario, the 'weak' 'lazy' or 'unfortunate' started to show up around lunch. Bare minimum done for the day, an accident doing them in early, or a tool breaking before the work was done? Yes, we had something for that too.
But, that hunter was the 'in' we needed for the next part.
"What is this made from?" That same hunter, an elf, came back a little after lunch (likely after getting his kill sold), "It's... well it works, but it's nothing like the potions."
Behind him, were two others, another elf with a half dozen 'Ball Rabbit' strung to her hip, and a Spirit (who looked even more see-through in the midday sun) with a long rectangular pouch at his hip.
"My silent friend here came up with it!" Kizuna said, motioning to me. On cue, I bowed. "I found her in my travels, and we've been fast friends ever since." No word of a lie there, even if I'd only known her for a few days. "But!" She pointed to the Spirit, "We have something for everyone! Even you!"
The Spirit glided up to the stall, "Me? You should know we only recover with time." Calm like a still pond, there was only truth in his voice, no admonishment for potential ignorance.
"Not so." Kizuna said, looking to me for 'permission', getting a slow nod, then reaching down and into a crate 'shelf' under the stand we'd made. "This is something she made after a certain incident. It was either genius or insanity, but after that encounter, she created something called 'soul healing water'."
Having been stuck in the labyrinth so long, Kizuna was really flexing some Ganesha energy with the theatrics. On the makeshift counter of crates, she put a tiny clay jar with a silvery stripe of paint on top. Just for fun, I'd put the fanciest calligraphy Kanji for 'Soul' on the jar.
I was proud of it, even if Kizuna said she could barely read it.
"Like the paste, you only need to apply it to your body. Though, unlike the paste, it tastes good enough to drink if you cared to." Kizuna explained, motioning to the little pot, "She has assured me it works, and if you wish to risk a single doumon, you can try this for yourself."
The Spirit looked doubtful, but the elf woman behind him said, "Even I'm curious now." And tapped a little copper rectangle doumon coin on the crate at the behest of her friend.
With my skill at alchemy, that half mouthful in the jar cost as much as the jar itself to make. And with the Shield's auto-production, I could make the jars for free so long as I dug up the clay. Of course, enough 'free' samples and I'd still end up in the red, profit wise...
But to humour his two friends, the Spirit picked up the little jar, gave it a sniff for show, then sprinkled a little on his arm.
Under the mid-day sunlight, anyone who was looking could see him gain a little 'substance' instantly. It wasn't much, and dimmed a little after a moment, but the look of total shock on his face was clear. "Where... How..."
"Sadly, my friend can't speak of it, even if she wanted to." Kizuna said with a sad tone.
"What even happened?" The male elf asked, "This seems impossible, yet even I can tell it did something for my friend here."
Kizuna looked at me, and I lifted the bottom of my mask just a little, enough to show my chin and cheeks. With my shape shifting ability, I had created a bit of a horror show of burn marks, angry red and black, but healed over.
"She met a Kitsune." Kizuna said quietly, "And was both inspired and traumatized by the encounter."
I settled the mask on my face, and gave the three horrified customers a slight bow.
"We won't be in town long." Kizuna said, "But we sell something for everyone, and every profession."
Snacks were the salvation of our day long stint at the market stall. And just like Orario, just before dinner was the busiest time of the day.
And yes, from behind our mysterious stack of crates where all of our stock came from (when we didn't make the occasional trip to the item kiosk to avoid suspicion), we took out a couple little pyramid stacks of snacks.
But now that we were late in the day, we had not just 'people looking to buy dinner' and 'fortunate adventurers' (who didn't come by earlier due to bad luck or 'just enough' success to stop for the day). But also some of the 'word of mouth' crowd started in.
"See? Oh, what's this?" It was the lady elf who came by earlier, though this time she had a new party with her.
"Those? Sour dango. It's made from pulverized rice, and a really sour fruit. 2 Doumon!" Kizuna, somehow, still had the same energy she had around lunch. I was really impressed honestly. "Thank you! And... Here you go. You came back? With friends I see!"
"We heard about the medicine you were selling, specifically for Spirits." One of them (woman, elegant, but short hair, so no, not Glass). "And were wondering..."
"Well." Kizuna smiled, looked back to me, got the nod and looked forward again. "We understand you might not believe us. And maybe doubt your friend. But since we are trying out the market for today, we can let you all try just a little."
Five of the six people the lady elf brought with her stepped forward, and yes, all of them were spirits. And as one, they all held out, then placed, their own single doumon coin on our crate-counter.
"There is just a little thing you have to do." Kizuna said while she carefully fetched them each a little clay pot. "Tell your other friends about us."
Each of them did a near identical 'sniff test', but some put the water over their arm, or hand, dipped their fingers in, and one even dared to drink it.
Kizuna continued her sales pitch, "We know we take a huge loss by making something so valuable into a bunch of nearly free samples, but if it gets the word out about how amazing it works..."
I had to bite my lip when they all reacted differently too. Little sparkles, amazed eyes, one almost started to do a power up pose!
"But for something that can restore even the most faded Spirit to power..." She looked back to me, and I held up my index finger, "We are going to set our sale price to one Ginhan each." She then held up an actual bottle, a 'standard potion bottle' though it was mostly empty since it had been the one we made the samples out of.
NOTES!
At least the money isn't called Koku. :)
Lots and lots of scene breaks here. But much of what happens is kind of 'silent movie' stuff. Like how they might pan a camera through a busy classroom, then have an actual scene for lunch time. (grumble) The LN books don't do this... In some places its like 'wait, a day has passed? a week?'. It makes me want to shout at Naofumi OFTEN.
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!
And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.
And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!