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004 I'll Buy
That Old Woman!
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Translator : PolterGlast
On my second day in
this world after being reincarnated, I put on the clothes I'd hung out to dry.
"It's
cold..."
They were half-dry.
"Will they dry
from my body heat if I wear them?"
I put my rucksack into
the Item Box and left the room with only a leather pouch containing five gold
coins in my pocket.
I entered the dining
hall on the first floor and read the menu at the entrance.
For some reason, I
could read the writing of this world. Was it a special perk of being
reincarnated into another world?
"What can I get
for you, sir?"
There was a waitress
in the dining hall.
"I'll have the A
Set, please."
The A Set was a
meat-based meal. I missed dinner last night, so I wanted to eat heartily.
I sat down and waited,
and then a meal on a tray was brought to me.
"Ohh~"
It was just white soup
that looked like cream stew, meat, and bread, but the meat was huge. And the
bread was also huge.
The meat looked like
it weighed about 300 grams. The bread was about the size of my face. This was
going to be a satisfying meal!
The bread was softer
than the one the god gave me. It was about as hard as a baguette, though. I
dipped it in the soup and took a big bite.
"Oh, it's
surprisingly good."
I felt the taste was a
little bland, but it was delicious in its own way.
Next was a thick
steak. It was a bit tough and hard to cut with the knife, but not impossible.
"It's lean meat
with little juice. When you're eating a lot, lean meat is more
appreciated."
Even for young me,
fatty, high-grade meat tends to sit heavy in the stomach.
The taste was salt and
what was this? Was it herbs? It tasted a bit refreshing. This wasn't bad
either.
"Burp... I ate a
lot."
As expected, eating
this much made my stomach feel like it would burst.
To eat so much for
breakfast, another world is truly amazing.
"Oh my, you ate
it all?"
It was the same
waitress from earlier.
"Was I not
supposed to eat it all?"
"It's fine. But
girls usually leave some behind. Hehehe."
I'm not a girl,
though. It wasn't worth making a fuss about, so I didn't say anything.
"Excuse me, is
there a shop in this town where I can buy clothes?"
"Yes, leave the
inn, turn right, and at the third crossroads, turn left. It's the fifth shop
you'll see."
"Thank you. I'll
go check it out."
I probably should have
given a tip here, but I only had gold coins. Naturally, a tip worth 10,000 yen
made my hand freeze. I'm just a coward, I guess.
I left the inn and
followed the lady's directions, finding a clothing store. It had no windows, so
if it weren't for the sign, I would have walked past it.
However... it was a
women's clothing store. That lady seemed to have completely identified me as a
girl.
I asked about a men's
clothing store, yes, I asked.
But asking directly
would be awkward, so I bought one piece of clothing that a man could wear.
Still, it was women's clothing, so I probably wouldn't have a chance to wear
it.
And then I bought 5
shirts, 10 pairs of underwear, and 10 pairs of socks at a men's clothing store.
I also bought 10
towels and a small bucket at a general store. I was exhausted.
As I sat on a bench in
the plaza resting, a pleasant aroma wafted over.
I sniffed, followed
the scent, and stood in front of a food stall. It was whole grilled squid, like
what you'd find at a festival stall.
This scent wasn't soy
sauce, but it was a fragrant and good smell.
"Oh, what a cute
young lady. How about some grilled pond squid? If you buy a grilled squid now,
I'll give you a grilled tentacle for free!"
He's giving me a
freebie. My appearance isn't so bad after all. Cuteness is justice in any
world, I guess.
"Mister, I'll
have one grilled squid."
"Alright, that'll
be three bronze coins."
This pond squid looked
exactly like Japanese surumeika (Pacific flying squid), but did it come from a
pond? Was there a pond nearby?
I received the grilled
pond squid and sat on the same bench.
"It's a bit
fishy, but it's delicious."
Rather than the fishy
smell of the pond squid, I think it was more that the sauce wasn't refined. But
it was still delicious.
This sauce, it wasn't
soy sauce, but it tasted like soy sauce.
I wonder if I can buy
this sauce. I also want some salt and other seasonings.
Thinking such
thoughts, I ate the deliciously grilled pond squid and grilled tentacles
alternately. Even after that huge breakfast, I finished it all. It had a
somehow nostalgic taste. But my stomach was so full that I wouldn't be able to
eat dinner.
Where could I buy the
sauce? I should ask the old man.
"Mister. What's
that sauce called?"
"You're interested
in this sauce? Hmm, I usually don't tell, but since you're cute, young lady,
I'll make an exception."
"Really!? Thank
you, mister!"
I tried to act as cute
as possible. It was no big deal if I think of it as a fee for the information.
"This sauce is made
with Burgan."
"Burgan?"
"Burgan is a
seasoning made by crushing and fermenting Gugurt."
"Gugurt?"
"What, you don't
know Gugurt?"
"No."
I looked up at him a
little, trying to seem eager to learn. In times like these, a cute appearance
is a weapon.
"I'll tell you,
so don't look at me like that."
"Thank you!"
Gugurt was apparently
a bean. Like soybeans, perhaps.
I asked where I could
buy it.
"Hahaha. It's
faster to buy Burgan than Gugurt. Besides, amateurs can't make Burgan from
Gugurt anyway."
That's true, I
suppose. It makes sense.
"You can buy it
at the Golteo Trading Company up ahead."
Golteo-san's shop,
huh? I knew I'd have to show my face there eventually, but it happened sooner
than I expected.
I thanked the old man,
and when I bought another grilled pond squid, he again gave me a grilled
tentacle for free. I'll definitely stop by again.
In a secluded spot, I
stored the grilled pond squid and grilled tentacles in my Item Box. I remember
reading in a light novel (my bible) that it's best to avoid being seen doing
such things. I might be overly cautious, though.
Golteo-san's shop was
large. It even had a show window. So glass existed in this world after all.
Given that only such
large shops used glass, it must be quite a luxury item.
"Excuse me. Do
you have Burgan and Gugurt?"
I asked a nearby store
clerk, who showed me around.
Burgan was in a
pot-like container that held about a liter, and Gugurt wasn't soybeans. Gugurt
was a bean with tiny grains packed tightly in pods about 10 centimeters long.
Since they were quite small, there were dozens of them in each pod.
I bought one bottle of
Burgan and one bag of Gugurt.
Gugurt was a common
food in this town, and when dried, it became quite salty, often used as a
substitute for salt in powdered form.
It seemed that further
fermentation turned it into Burgan, but the detailed manufacturing method was
unknown to the clerk and he couldn't tell me. That's understandable.
Apparently, it could
be eaten raw, but it had a strong astringent taste. If you want to eat it, it
is common to soak it in water for a few days and then boil it to remove enough
of the astringency.
Come to think of it,
there were small beans in the inn's soup. Those must have been Gugurt.
I also bought 10 large
cloth bags. They were as big as Santa Claus's sack. As I was putting the Burgan
and Gugurt into one of the bags, someone called out to me.
"Good to see you
again. Welcome."
"Hello,
Golteo-san. I've brazenly come here."
"You're welcome,
Toi-sama."
Golteo-san still had
that unctuous smile on his face.
"Please, this
way."
"Eh, ah,
I'm..."
"Just come along
now."
I was planning to go
home after buying Burgan and Gugurt, but I couldn't refuse and was led to the
basement.
"This is..."
"This is the
floor where we handle slaves."
People were being kept
in cages. Seeing it like this, it still didn't feel good.
"Don't you fancy
slaves?"
"It's just that
this kind of thing..."
"There are few
people like that, but they exist. However, the slave system is necessary. Many
of those here would have starved to death if they hadn't become slaves."
"Starved to
death..."
"Many families
struggle to eat. If they become slaves, their master guarantees their food,
clothing, and shelter. And their families, temporarily, get money. With that
money, they can repay debts, buy food, and perhaps live a life, even if only
temporarily."
Golteo-san continued.
"Criminals are
also enslaved, but here the main purpose is the execution of their sentence.
They are made to work in harsh places like mines or battlefields."
In this world,
criminals are apparently not encouraged to reform. If you commit a crime, a
corresponding punishment is given. That's what the criminal slavery system is,
Golteo-san said.
Criminal slaves are
forced to labor according to the severity of their crime. For light offenses
like theft, it might just be town cleanup, but for robbery, rape, and murder,
they are apparently worked to death in mines or on battlefields.
Slaves are divided
into controlled slaves, whose actions can be restricted, and voluntary slaves,
whose actions are not restricted. Criminal slaves fall into the former, and
debt slaves into the latter.
Even voluntary slaves
are reportedly given restrictions, such as not divulging their master's
information.
Both controlled and voluntary
slaves have set slave periods.
For controlled slaves,
it's their sentence period, but for voluntary slaves, it's the debt repayment
period.
"This slave here
is a controlled slave. The price is 10,000 Grill."
I was thinking about
slaves while staring at one particular spot, and it seemed he misunderstood
that I liked the slave in my line of sight.
"Ah, no,
I'm..."
Then I noticed, that
slave was an old woman. She was an elder with deep wrinkles on her face,
looking like the wrinkled old witch depicted in stories.
It might be rude, but
I wouldn't fancy someone who could die at any moment. Please consider this
thoroughly..
"This person is a
mage, but she became a controlled slave after her magic went out of
control."
Even an old woman like
this becomes a controlled slave? If she were sent to a harsh place, wouldn't
she die in an instant?
Anyway, since she was
a mage, she was literally a witch.
"At this age, she
doesn't have long left. That's why she's at such a bargain price."
So, if she passed away
the next day after being bought, one can accept it because it's only 10,000
Grill? No, 10,000 Grill is 100,000 yen. That's quite a sum.
"How about
it?"
How about it, he
means, should I buy her? Seriously, with an old woman like this, even 'that'
wouldn't stand up.
"Such elders are
used for their knowledge, not their labor."
So, they use their
minds instead of their bodies.
I wasn't planning on
buying a slave, but if I were to, I'd prefer a young woman. Someone beautiful
who could just be pleasant to look at, that's for sure.
"This one is
unsold and will be sent to the mines after this. If that happens, in a few
days..."
Golteo-san lowered his
gaze.
Oh, come on! Hearing
that makes my heart ache, doesn't it? You're trying to make me buy her, aren't
you? Well, I won't buy her.
"It's a pity. So
this person's life only has a few more days..."
Gulp... I feel like
I'm doing something terribly wrong.
Even the old woman was
staring intently at me. Don't look at me with such a resentful gaze.
"Well then, let's
go over there. You there, send Anneliese to the mines."
"Yes, sir."
Aaah, for crying out
loud!
"I'll buy her.
I'll buy this person, so please don't send her to the mines."
Why am I such a
softie? I hate myself for it.
Golteo-san smiled
pleasantly and held up a hand to stop his employee.
"Thank you for
your purchase. We'll proceed with the paperwork right away, please wait in
another room."
His response made it
seem like he knew I would buy her. No, I was probably forced to buy her. The
difference in skill between a seasoned merchant and me was just too great.
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