Published: August 31, 2025
This is Satou. Suzuki, but Satou. This has to be a dream, right? Please tell me it's a dream, Johnny.
Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit unsettled inside. Right now, I’m shopping on East Street in Seryu City, the capital of the Count's Domain.
It’s only a few minutes from Martha's Mother's inn (come to think of it, I never asked the name of the inn; on the map it’s labeled as “Gatefront Inn,” but is that really its name?). At the edge of East Street, right after entering, food stalls line the street, filling the air with delicious aromas.
Huh? Is that the smell of soy sauce grilling?
Someone is cooking something that seems to be a cross between okonomiyaki and crepes on a griddle. Apparently, it’s flavored with soy sauce.
No way, this has to be a dream. Soy sauce in a fantasy world is just unacceptable!
Despite having eaten already, I buy a serving.
“Yeah, it’s tasty.”
I would prefer tonkatsu sauce over soy sauce, though. Next door, they’re frying something that looks like croquettes in oil. Even though it’s a fantasy setting, the food culture here is surprisingly rich!
I wander around sampling food and browsing the stalls.
“How much for three Gabo Fruits?”
“Three for two copper coins.”
“Too expensive, it should be about one copper coin for three, right?”
“Sis, if you say that, we won’t be able to eat. How about four for two copper coins?”
“Five for two copper coins.”
“Alright, you’re pretty, so I’ll pay that price.”
I listen with interest as the auntie and the shopkeeper haggle. Bargaining seems to be the standard here. I’m used to buying at the sticker price, so haggling looks tough.
＞ “Eavesdropping skill acquired.”
“Hey, what do you want, young man?”
Hmm, from the previous conversation, it looks like the market price for Gabo Fruit is around 0.4 to 0.5 copper coins each. The shopkeeper seems to have arithmetic skill too, so maybe he’ll calculate even for small quantities.
“I want to buy two Gabo Fruits. Is one copper coin okay?”
“You heard our conversation, huh? That’s fine. You’ve got arithmetic skill too, impressive for someone so young.”
I just did some mental math, really…
I give one copper coin and receive the Gabo Fruits. They look like fist-sized pumpkins painted red—a kind of root vegetable. By the way, the copper coins are rectangular, weigh about one gram, and are made of a brass alloy of low quality.
＞ “Market skill acquired.”
＞ “Bargaining skill acquired.”
Wait, I didn’t really haggle, did I?
Maybe I got credit for haggling by tagging along with the auntie.
Juggling the Gabo Fruits, I continue browsing the stalls. Each stall only occupies about half a tatami mat’s space, but there are so many of them and they’re full of life.
While checking out the goods, I max out the levels of my “Market,” “Bargaining,” “Arithmetic,” “Negotiation,” “Explanation,” and “Deception” skills.
After wandering for about ten minutes, I finally find what I’m looking for.
At a stall, I pick out a large shoulder bag. Thanks to my market skill, the price appears overlapping the bag. Convenient.
Apparently, trying to buy at market price right away is frowned upon. By the third shop, I catch on: start negotiating at about half the market price, then haggle 3–4 times to bring the price up to market value. Honestly, it’s a hassle.
My haul from the stalls: a large shoulder bag, a slightly stylish bag, ten sets of commoner clothes (top and bottom plus underwear), and ten each of large and small towels and handkerchiefs. I’m a bit disappointed that the towels are just two pieces of cloth sewn together.
Although I can’t sew, I also buy “five 2-meter lengths of hemp twine,” “one spool of cotton thread,” “five sewing needles,” “fabric shears,” and “a bolt of cotton fabric.” With storage space, having lots of stuff I don’t need isn’t a problem.
All in all, it cost four silver coins. Fabric goods are surprisingly more expensive than food.