Chapter 62 - City of Canals (part nine)
Chapter 62: City of Canals (part nine)
Harold and I came back to the Turm Wand Store after finishing the wands’ trial and lecture from Gilbert.
All the wands were arranged carefully on the table, with simple notes on each one.
The estimation seemed to have ended.
『Ooh, you have come back, huh.』
“I’m sorry. Am I late?”
『No, no, I’m also sorry, our conversation unexpectedly became lively.
This is a good time to end it anyway, given that we are taking a break right now.』
I sat beside Tirnanog,
Tirnanog stroked my hair with a big gloved hand.
“Wha~t. So we don’t need to worry then.”
“This, Harry. You should care a bit more about our customers.”
“Oops, I have to bring another cup of tea for Erica~.”
The shop owner made a complaint to Harold.
Harold retrieved the pot in panic, and returned to the back of the store.
The shop owner was all smiles as he turned to face me.
“The numerous wands must have given you a lot of trouble, right?”
“No, no, it’s good for business.”
『You should be relieved. There seems to be no problem in repairing and charging the wands. About the price and the time for payment……』
The price was quite high, but the completion was quicker than I thought.
If it was only charging, there were even wands that were completed on the next day.
The reparation of some of the expensive wands had to be postponed, and I had to compromise for the rest of the wands.
“Then, please charge this one, this one, and this one……ah, and this one.
If possible we would like to collect some of them tomorrow, so please give priority to the offensive and visual wands.”
“Understood. Well then, in total, the deposit is—”
I confirmed the face value of the contract produced quickly by the shop owner and signed on it.
In exchange for passing the deposit money and the wands, we received a metal card engraved with the same emblem and feature as the store signboard.
It was a careful consideration worthy of a nobleman’s shop, so that an envoy could come and receive the wands.
“Huh? Are you leaving already?”
“Sorry, Harold. Because there are other places I have to visit after this.”
“Just in time. Harry, please carry the teaware to the workplace.”
Harold came back with a steamy pot.
The shop owner wrapped the wands that he had with a soft cloth one by one while giving instructions to Harold.
We said our farewells to the shop owner and Harold and left the store.
However, after we were walking for a while, a voice came from behind.
“You guys! If you don’t mind, can I guide you to where you wanted to go?”
“We’ll gladly accept it, but is it fine for you leaving the shop?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.
It seems that there are interesting wands, and Master won’t let me help him.
Today it seems there won’t be any more customer coming~. So, it’s fine, right?”
『Isn’t it fine? ……This brat, he seems to be involved in that matter.』
Tirnanog quietly whispered.
It was something I already knew, but he seemed to have pulled out information from his conversation with the shop owner.
He was such a competent guardian.
“So, where are you two heading right now?”
『First of all, we are searching for alchemical materials.』
“Also, a bookstore. It will be even better if it has books about things related to folklores.”
“Heeh, a bookstore and a material store, huh. If that is the case, I know a nice shop.”
We took a small boat from the ferry landing and went to the canal following Harold’s guidance.
The second purpose of today was to investigate the price of alchemical materials with star steel as the main object, and to collect local data.
Of course, both were part of the countermeasures against the phantom beast.
“If you need ores or monster materials, then you should go to 〈Goblin Street〉 and 〈Barker Street〉.
For the bookstore, you should go to 〈Poisoner Street〉 that you can find if you get off in front of the monastery.”
We got off on an island that was about two blocks away from Crucible Street.
Then, something that looked like a yellowish green ball passed by my feet as I got off from the boat.
Tirnanog picked it up when it was about to fall off the river edge.
“What is that? An unripe orange?”
『Fumu, it doesn’t smell like oranges.』
It was a citrus fruit that was in Tirnanog’s hand.
It looked like an orange but it was a bit different.
What was it, this thing.
Looking closer, the same thing was rolling around everywhere.
As I walked and picked up three of those, I met a woman with red braid who was picking up the fruits rolling on the road.
“Huh~!? Bell-anechan, what’s going on?”
The woman who was called ‘Bell’ by Harold looked towards our direction.
She was an earnest-looking lady in her early twenties who was wearing clean and comfortable clothes.
Looking like she found a Buddha in Hell, she turned her enthusiastic gaze towards him.
“Aah~, Harry, you came just in time. Help me~~!”
“Ah~, ah~, I understand. I will come back in a bit, Erica and mister, please wait a minute.”
Harold got involved in collecting the yellow-green fruits and putting them in Bell’s basket.
He told us to wait, but there seemed to be an enormous quantity for just the two of them.
I exchanged looks with Tirnanog and nodded.
We cooperated with them and carefully picked up the fruits that had spread around.
“After all, I am saved if there are more people. Thank you, everyone!”
This woman named Bell was a perfumer of a perfumery right there.
It seemed that the true identity of the fruit was bergamot1 from Ignitia.
“On my way from the pier, I accidentally dropped down my basket……
Thank you very much for helping me even when you have a busy schedule.
If you have something you want, please come to Euclase Perfume Store, because I will give you lots of service.”
“She’s just a disappointing person outside the store, but she is excellent as a perfumer.
Please recommend the store to Erica’s friends too.”
Bell smiled broadly towards us.
Even when she gave her gratitude, she didn’t forget to promote her business, what a strong-willed woman.
“Aah, that’s right, I just remembered, Harry. This is from Gizella-obasan as thanks.”
Bell handed a small white packet to Harold.
She seemed to have wrapped it in a big linen handkerchief or something.
“Eh~, she doesn’t need to worry about it, though.”
“Now, now, can you please also share them with the mister and lady over there, Harry?
The contents are the usual baked snacks and some new candies. She made it with a top quality honey from the South.”
“Ooh, thank you!”
“Ufufu. Well then, everyone, I will excuse myself.”
After bowing, Bell went into the perfumery shop that had a signboard with a design of a lady on it.
I was talking about the Euclase Perfume Store. It was a bigger store compared to its surroundings.
Looking at it, well-dressed ladies were entering and leaving the store in turn.
It seemed like a nice store that was pretty popular.
Returning my eyes to Harold, he was unwrapping the bundle immediately while grinning.
“By the way, what is the reward for?”
“Ah no, I guess it was the day before yesterday, I just repaired her broken revolving-type whetstone.
The price of a round whetstone has risen ridiculously since a while ago.
There were a lot of things sticking out of the old one when I was using it as I repaired it.
Oh, since you have worked hard, please eat it. I will guarantee the taste.”
He also shared the new honey candies with us.
『Umu, it’s delicious.』
“True, this is delicious.”
What spread inside my mouth was a gentle sweetness that was rich but wasn’t overwhelming.
After studying, it was pleasant to eat sweets.
Tirnanog was licking and chewing intensely.
“Hehehe~, Gizella-obachan’s sweets are all delicious, right?”
Harold was pleased as if he was the one who was being praised.
Even though he was the only son of the Count of the neighboring territory, he seemed to be very familiar with Town of All Kinds of Goods.
While following Harold who was walking forward while greeting people who was coming and going, I was thinking about such a thing.
At the base of the bridge, there was a statue of a goblin carrying a pickaxe.
It seemed to be the place which was the boundary between the Barker Street which had many magical beast materials stores, with the Goblin Street which had many mineral stores lining up.
“The recommended mineral merchant has a shooting star design. For the magical beast materials merchant, it has a kraken on it.”
“As expected, it’s detailed.”
“Yeah, well. This town is like my garden.
By the time I was five, I was already frequenting Master’s store.”
Why was he in the Town of All Kind of Goods since he was very young?
Since I had no choice but to stop playing the original game halfway, I became concerned about the family situation of the Nibelheim family.
“Did something happened when you were at the age of five?”
“At first I came for a medical treatment. Master is also good at curing wounds with a wand.
Well, afterwards I pushed myself to become his disciple.”
“Wounds?”
“It was because of the wand’s recoil. I’ve already healed, but there are still some traces of it.”
Harold rolled up his sleeve.
There was a small portion of his skin that looked like a severe burn mark on his right arm.
It somehow resembled the shape of a flickering fire.
“It was such an exaggeration.
But thanks to that accident, I feel anxious if I wear short sleeves.”
“It was a serious injury that it caused a scar like that, right?
I apologize for offering you a wand earlier.”
“I said it’s fine.
At the time of the accident……my father was holding a wand for protection.
If it is about Gust, it’s not that serious, don’t worry about it.”
Harold replied with a refreshing smile.
I wanted to learn such a peculiar personality.
“Oh, it’s Harry!”
As we were talking, I heard someone calling Harold.
It was a senior male with a good physique and attire that had a great smile on his face.
With his big belly bouncing, he rushed over while breathing heavily.
“Ah no, you arrived just in time. I’m saved.”
“What is it, Serge-ossan.”
“I have something I’d like you to repair. Of course I will give you pocket money.”
He was in great demand since a while ago, this guy.
I guessed everyone was depending on him because he was dexterous.
“Perhaps it’s the filter again~? Please buy a new one.”
“No, not the filter but the pump.
The pedal has begun to strain. Will you do it quickly?”
“Eeeh~~, have you become fatter?”
“How rude, even I got 50 grams thinner than last week.
I will give you an effective potion for stiff neck as a bonus. I will even give you medicine for internal disorder and for burn mark.”
“……Uu, it can’t be helped.”
Harold nodded his head helplessly.
Harold lowered his head towards me while looking sorry.
“That’s why, I guess I won’t be able to guide you until the end. Sorry, Erica.”
“No, you have helped enough, Harold.”
“Hehe, I’m glad then.”
Ah, that’s right.
I should also ask for the recommended bookstore in Poisoner Street.
“Also, do you know a shop that can provide information on historical and domestic beasts?”
“If you want those kind of books……try searching for a store that has a signboard with a monk that has an open book on it.”
“You really know everything, Harold.”
“No, no, this is an easy task. Well then, see you later!”
Harold got on a different boat and left.
Beside Harold who was waving at me, the man with a good physique that seemed to be a drug store owner was also bowing a lot.
While waving my hand in return as I saw them off, the boat went under a canal and became out of sight.
『He is a busy brat.』
“Hey, Tir. You also realized that he is the son of Count Nibelheim, aren’t you?”
『Umu. While chatting with the shop owner, that kind of story came out.』
“If we do this well, we may be able to tell the matter of fraud via Harold.”
If we said it through Harold, Count Nibelheim should become more cautious.
Rather than being told by someone he didn’t know well, his son’s appeal should be heard.
The problem was how to convey the information about the fraud to Harold.
Well, we made a step forward, we should put this on hold and think about it later.
We should go through our original schedule first.
I was looking forward to seeing what kind of store that had Harold’s stamp of approval who said that this town was his garden.
I should first find a mineral store that had a shooting star signboard on it.
I walked hand in hand with Tirnanog down towards Goblin Street.
☆
We entered the store with a shooting star signboard made of high quality crystals.
In the center of the store there were large-sized crystals such as garden quarts and big purple crystals.
Cubic pyrite which was crystallized to dig into white talc which was the host rock was also pleasing to the eyes.
There were about four staffs, but they were in the middle of negotiations.
I looked around the various minerals that were displayed in the case.
Tirnanog was looking from behind me.
“First of all, this is star steel.”
『Hou, so this is the ore of star steel. It’s quite beautiful.』
“Isn’t it?”
It was a crystal body of a unique star steel that had rainbow colors blurred into black.
It was very regrettable that this color tone would be lost when it was processed.
Incidentally, the price of star steel was equal to the same amount of silver.
It would be advantageous to have that much of a bargain.
Since it couldn’t be flexibly used unless it was the owner of abundant magical power like Tirnanog, naturally it would be cheap.
We should always buy spare steel for his armor.
I also made note of the unit price of magnetite, jade, amber, granite, fluorite, meteorite, etc. beside the star steel.
They also had pretty fine opals and jasper.
This was also a good store.
There was also moonlight mineral from Hafan lining up.
On the obsidian which was the host rock, there were about seven crystals of dark gray twisted tetradecahedron were attached.
I recalled the events at Ruins of Visitor with the siblings of Hafan Ducal.
I was indebted to Klaus and Ann, so I should give them something.
What should I give them?
Perfumes sold at Euclase Perfume Store might be nice.
While thinking about such things, I checked the minerals in line.
Next, we went out of the mineral store and headed towards the Barker Street that was lined with stores that handle magical beast materials.
There were shops dealing with living magical beasts and shops that were selling materials from magical beasts and phantom beasts.
My aim was the latter.
The signboard of the monster materials shop that Harold recommended had a design of a kraken on it.
There were five other people beside me.
There was a huge eyeball glaring among the huge glass bottles that were displayed in the store.
There was a bottle of preserved merman.
Among the amber liquid, fillets of merman that was peculiar to the South were spread out like the frills of a dress.
Perhaps they were imported items from the continent of Karkinos.
“Uuh……!?”
『Haha, what a bad taste.』
I looked inside the grotesque-like store somewhat fearfully.
Among the bones of chimera that looked like a mixture of a cat and a sheep, there were bones of a centarur.
The mummy of a manticore.
Every time I encountered human-like monsters, I felt that my heart was sunk.
After passing through the area of large materials, the display shelves of various sizes of preserved materials that were illuminated by the light were spread out.
On the shelves made of glass, beasts packed inside glass bottles showed up.
There were preserved mandragora and arachne that had an agonizing expression.
The preserved larvas of a hydra and kraken.
Tirnanog looked into those bottles of preserved specimens and he seemed to be having fun
『Can this be eaten?』
“It should not be edible.
Even if you ate it, it is probably too sweet since it is preserved in honey, right?”
He wouldn’t be able to eat important materials, so I would deny it as much as possible.
『It’s honey, huh. If it is the same degree as the candy we ate before, I think I will like it.』
“No, it doesn’t taste the same.”
We were looking around inside the store while comparing ideas about the materials with Tirnanog.
Finally, we arrived at the horn of a unicorn and resin-coated cockatrice and I took a deep breath.
This seemed to be the limit of my tolerance.
Wyvern fossils, archeoptery fossils, and other fossils were everywhere.
(Yup, this seems like a good shop too. I got introduced to really good stores.)
While watching the price tag, I wrote the price of the necessary materials on a piece of paper.
Larger materials were more expensive than I expected.
But the ones with the size of my little finger nail had a very affordable price.
While I was making a memorandum, the clerk and the customer who looked like a maniac were talking about ‘angel’s bones’ eagerly.
Everything seemed to be circulating on the continent of Karkinos.
Recalling the lion-shaped angel who I made friends with lately, it made me feel inexplicable things.
That reminded me, she was dying, so it wasn’t surprising that there were already dead angels.
But it was somewhat sad.
After completing the general price survey, Tirnanog and I quickly headed towards the bookstore.
On the island facing across the bridge, Poisoner Street, we were looking for the monk signboard.
The shop was finally found at the back of the street.
I smelled a musty scent as we entered the store.
It seemed to be packed with many old and valuable books.
I should find the books that matched my purpose first.
I talked to an old man with a monocle that looked like the shop owner.
“Excuse me, do you have a book about phantom beasts and the history of this land?”
“In the case of history, it will be over there. If it is about phantom beasts, just go further back.”
As he pointed at the two places bluntly, I asked the old man who had started to organize the inventory once more.
“I’m hoping for materials about the phantom beast who actually exists around this area, if possible, do you have such a thing?”
“……Hou, what an interesting customer.
Yeah, there are two good ones. Please wait a moment.”
The books that the shop owner found for me was a pilgrimage story related to this land and a diary of a merchant.
1 Bergamot is a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange.