“The adventure over there! Look! This quiver might look like just any other quiver, but with the enchantment of the Item Box spell, it can store up to 300 arrows! With this quiver you’ll never have to worry about running out of arrows again! What was that? 300 arrows isn’t enough? If you can’t finish a hunt with 300 arrows, then you should stop give up the arrow!” [Merchant]
A merchant was enacting a short play to attract customers.
“How much for the quiver?” [Male Adventurer]
“You can get it for just…. 20,000 suits!” [Merchant]
As soon as the merchant said that, the customers distanced themselves.
“It seems 20,000 suits is too expensive… Is it?” [Ryouma]
“It’s not overpriced. Crafting a magic tool requires an artisan to know enchantment magic as well as the spell he wishes to imbue his tool with. In other words, it’s not possible to enchant a tool with a spell one doesn’t know of. And with dimension magic being one of the hardest disciplines, there aren’t many magic tool artisans out there that can enchant a tool with a spell of its type; hence, the price tag.
But that quiver and the farming tools you bought just a while ago are meant to be used for several years. So, while they might seem expensive at first, they are more than worth it considering how long they last.” [Serge]
I see.
“The young master over there. Are you interested in magic? Why don’t you take a look at my selection?” [Merchant]
“What are those?” [Ryouma]
At the store of the man that called out was a pile of metal rods and books bound together with a string.
“Teaching materials for magic. The books can give information on theory, while the magic tool can invoke said magic and allow the student to have a better grasp of the image needed. But, these aren’t published by the magicians guild.” [Serge]
“I assure you that these are not illegal goods.” [Merchant]
“I know perfectly well that it is legal to produce one’s own instructional sets and sell them, but without the certification of the guild, there is no knowing whether the instructional materials provided can be trusted. Even if the spell is the same, there’s no way to know whether the example provided by the magic tool and interpretation are correct. Unless of course you’re willing to let us test the tool and read the book first.” [Serge]
“No! …You can read if you want but only if you pay first.” [Merchant]
“That won’t do. Let us go, Ryoumsama.” [Serge]
“Tch!” [Merchant]
“It seems there are bad stores here too.” [Ryouma]
“Indeed. That’s why it makes me so happy when I’m able to find a good product or a promising individual… Oh? Ryoumsama, look at that.” [Serge]
When I followed Serge-san’s gaze, I saw Dinome-san, whom we met yesterday. He was under a huge tent and was gaving orders to his daughter and a young man, who seemed to be his disciple.
“I was thinking of greeting him and talking to him about our discussion yesterday.” [Serge]
“Isn’t he busy?” [Ryouma]
“Doesn’t seem to be the case. Look.” [Serge]
“…Oh.” [Ryouma]
When I took another look, I noticed that a small child was clinging to his legs. And then after Dinome-san finished giving orders, he immediately went to seat on a wooden box and started patting his kid. He was completely in doting-grandpa mode.
“So, that’s Federe-kun. He left the customers to his family. Are you sure he won’t get mad if we drop by?” [ryouma]
“He’s not that narrow-minded. And besides, we’re going there for business. He’s the sort of guy who’ll lend you an ear as long as he’s not in the middle of work.
By the way, you know how to make a sound-concealing barrier, right? Can you use that?” [Serge]
“Sure.” [Ryouma]
It’s related to me too, so I don’t really have any reason to refuse.
When we went to the tent, the disciple noticed us and nodded to us.
“Pops! Master Serge is here!” [Disciple]
“Hmm? Master! And Ryouma too! Welcome. Look, this is my grandchild, Federe, who I spoke to you about. What do you think? Hmm?” [Dinome]
“Hello. I’m Ryouma.” [Ryouma]
“Ryouma?” [Federe]
“What a cute kid.” [Ryouma]
“Right!? But why is he looking at you like that?” [Dinome]
“Dinome-dono, I’ve seen how cute your grandchild is now. Actually, I have something I’d like to talk to you about.” [Serge]
“Huh? You should’ve said so earlier then. Follow me.” [Dinome]
Dinome-san led Serge-san to a corner of the tent where some chairs were. That area is probably meant for resting. It’s not very spacious, but it should be more than enough if they’re just going to talk.
“Umm… Is there something the matter?” [Ryouma]
For some reason, though, Federe-kun was holding onto my clothes.
“Ryouma, play with me?” [Federe]
“Oh, seems he likes you.” [Dinome]
“Let’s play?” [Federe]
“Uhh… Serge-san.” [Ryouma]
“Don’t mind me. I can talk to Dinome-san by myself. Go ahead and play.” [Serge]
“Dinome-san, is it alright?” [Ryouma]
“Talking with us will just bore you. Go ahead. Have fun.” [Dinome]
It’s probably safe to leave the negotiations to Serge-san.
But before playing with Federe-kun, I did as we planned and put up a sound-concealing barrier.
“Did you just make a barrier?” [Dinome]
“Yes. With this no one will be able to eavesdrop on you. I’ll go play with Federe-kun now.” [Ryouma]
Dinome-san was a little shocked at my display, but I left him and went outside the barrier with Federe-kun.
The tent was the same as before.
“So, what should we play then?” [Ryouma]
“Shiritori (Word-chain game)! Let’s start with the ‘gu’ from magic tools (mahou dougu).
It seems the rules are no different from Earth’s.
Like that we started playing Shiritori.
Tl Note:
Shiritori’s Basic Rules from Wikipedia:
1.) Two or more people take turns to play.
2.) Only nouns are permitted.
3.) A player who plays a word ending in the mora N (ん) loses the game, as no Japanese word begins with that character.
4.) Words may not be repeated.
5.) Phrases connected by no (の) are permitted, but only in those cases where the phrase is sufficiently fossilized to be considered a “word”.
Example: sakura (さくら) → rajio (ラジオ) → onigiri (おにぎり) → risu (りす) → sumou (すもう) → udon (うどん)
The player who used the word udon lost this game.
There are various optional and advanced rules, which must be agreed on before the game begins.
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