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011 Beware of
Stalls
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Translator : PolterGlast
My sixth day in the
other world began with shopping.
At the armor shop, I
browsed for head, arm, and leg armor. Both ear and neck pieces were accessory
slots, not armor slots, so they were sold at different stores.
·
Labyrinth Cowhide Headgear: DEF+4 VIT+1 MIN+1
Durability 13/13
·
Labyrinth Cowhide Gloves: DEF+4 VIT+1 DEX+1 Durability
14/14
·
Labyrinth Cowhide Boots: DEF+4 VIT+2 Durability 15/15
I tried to buy some
for Anneliese too, but she said she didn't need the headgear. She seemed
worried about her hair getting messy. I almost thought, What's an old woman
worrying about that for? but I made myself think that age has nothing to do
with a woman's fashion.
Instead of headgear, I
bought her a Mage's Hat.
·
Mage's Hat: MDEF+2 INT+2 MIN+1 Durability 9/9
·
Labyrinth Cowhide Gloves: DEF+3 VIT+2 Durability 13/13
·
Labyrinth Cowhide Boots: DEF+5 VIT+1 Durability 14/14
Even with the same
Labyrinth Cowhide Gloves and Labyrinth Cowhide Boots, there were subtle
differences in ability bonuses.
Since I'd already
realized this, I chose the best ones available.
"No beginner has
this much equipment."
"Is that
so?"
"Look at
that."
Anneliese prompted me
to look in the direction she indicated, where a party of five Villagers stood.
"They run out of
funds just by staying at an inn and eating, and they don't have proper armor.
That's the reality for beginners."
Some Villagers even
had wooden planks sewn onto their clothes. It was a sight that showed they were
trying to mitigate damage, even if only a little, with such ingenuity.
Their weapons were
also heavily used copper swords and spears, with their maximum durability
greatly reduced.
When weapons and armor
undergo repeated maintenance, their maximum durability decreases. Eventually,
they break down completely, becoming unusable even with maintenance. It's rare
for them to be used that long, but one has to be careful with inherited
weapons.
"Where can I find
a shop that sells accessories?"
"Are you planning
to buy accessories too?"
"Is that a bad
thing?"
"No, it's good to
be fully equipped. It increases your survival rate."
"Yeah, I think so
too. So, can you guide me?"
Anneliese nodded and
started walking.
She led me to a side
street off the main thoroughfare, to a stall selling suspicious items.
"Rarely, you can
find good accessories here," Anneliese said in a low voice, then stopped
in front of a suspicious stall where accessories were laid out on a cloth on
the ground.
I figured she brought
me here on the assumption that I had Detailed Appraisal. She must have trusted
that I wouldn't get swindled.
"I've got some
good stuff here. This one was even used by royalty from a neighboring
country!"
A shifty-looking old
man with a catfish mustache showed me a dazzling necklace.
"Today, it's a special
offer, 100,000 Grill. You won't find a better deal than this."
A royal necklace worth
about 1 million yen. How suspicious (laughs).
▼Detailed Appraisal Result▼
Royal Necklace (Fake):
A dazzling-looking necklace. Has no value as equipment or as an ornament.
As expected of the
suspicious old man. Selling a worthless necklace for 1 million yen, I'm truly
impressed.
"That's a lot of
money... How much is this necklace?"
I asked the price of a
plain silver necklace.
"That's a silver
necklace, so it's 30,000 Grill."
▼Detailed Appraisal Result▼
Lead Necklace:
Contains 1% silver, 91% lead, 8% chromium. Prolonged wear will lead to lead
poisoning.
It contained silver,
but the sheer nerve to sell this as a silver necklace was incredible. And it
came with the bonus of lead poisoning! I was angry not just that he was selling
fakes, but that it was cursed to make people sick.
There was no way I'd
buy something like that for 300,000 yen.
"Then what about
this earring? It looks so shabby."
"That one's
500."
The plain,
shabby-looking earring was 5,000 yen.
Magic Earring: INT+5
MIN+3 Durability 16/16
I would've preferred
equipment that increased STR, VIT, or AGI, but this was perfect for Anneliese.
Of course, I bought it
for 500 Grill. The shopkeeper tried to recommend expensive, useless items, but
there was no way I was buying them.
"Anneliese, you
wear this."
"Thank you."
We looked around at
other suspicious stalls, but every shop only sold garbage. But at the last
stall we stopped at, I found something good.
"Mister. How much
is this?"
"That's 8 gold
coins."
8 gold coins is 8,000
Grill. About 80,000 yen.
"Then what about
this?"
"3 platinum
coins."
30,000 Grill, about
300,000 yen.
"And this
one?"
"...3 silver
coins."
300 Grill, about 3,000
yen.
He said it reluctantly,
probably because it was cheap.
I handed over 3 silver
coins and bought it.
This is the same in
Japan as in another world: don't ask the price of what you want first. The
theory is to check several items first, then get the one you're aiming for.
The accessory I bought
was a dull silver necklace.
Lucky Necklace: Avoids
instant death 3 times (3/3)
It doesn't increase
abilities, but it's an excellent item that avoids instant death three times. I
think it's perfect as a good luck charm.
I'll wear this. Just
knowing I won't instantly die makes me feel lighter.
"Having Appraisal
means I won't fail with purchases like these, but normally people get scammed,
right?"
"I think so, but
it's rare to find decent items at stalls. Even so, people who buy from them are
prepared to take a loss."
"Aren't there
people who don't know that?"
"Even if there
are, it's their own responsibility."
In this world, it's
not the seller of fakes who's bad, but the buyer who's bad, huh?
"If you're forced
to buy something malicious, you can complain to the government office. Selling
defective goods at a high price is a crime, so the government office will
handle it to some extent. However, sometimes the stall owner also believes it's
genuine, and in such cases, it's the buyer's responsibility."
Since record cards
exist, selling defective goods at a high price apparently results in a criminal
record for fraud and such. Thanks to record cards, there are probably very few
false accusations in this world.
At any rate, since
they clearly look suspicious, the best thing is not to buy from them at all.
It's natural to protect yourself, so if you really want something, you should
bring someone with Appraisal.
However, that
lead-poisoning necklace is unacceptable. I'll secretly report it to the
government office. I hope they'll act on an anonymous tip (accusation
letter)...
I'll keep it secret to
hide that I have Detailed Appraisal. I decided to keep my unique skills hidden,
so I wouldn't do anything that might make them suspicious.
After that, I went to
a regular accessory shop, but there was nothing good there. There were
accessories that boosted abilities, but they were incredibly expensive. The
cheaper ones were 500,000 Grill. It wasn't impossible to buy them, but it would
deplete my money. And the ability boosts weren't what I really wanted, so I
didn't buy them.
Anneliese said these
were fair prices, and the two items I bought at the stalls were bargains. I
thought so too, so I didn't complain to the shop.
Today was spent entirely
on shopping, so tomorrow morning will be dungeon exploration.
With the armor I
bought today, my DEF value increased quite a bit. I feel like I've bought peace
of mind.
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