Chapter 5 - Guild Registration and Market.
I went to the commercial guild to register as a merchant. If I didn't make a quick buck, I'd run out of money.
Azalea, the innkeeper, told me that I could earn money by doing manual labor, but I've been working at a desk at a computer for years, so there's no way I could do such hard work.
At best, I could plow a field in my vegetable garden.
I arrived at the place I was told to go to. In front of me was a three-story white stone building. The stone was carved with patterns, and the building was quite opulent, with all the windows covered with glass.
「Here, huh... 」
I opened the magnificent door and stepped inside. Perhaps it was because of the glass windows, but it felt bright and spacious inside.
There was a counter in front of the building where the receptionist was sitting, but it seemed to be divided into different departments since there were counters all over the place.
As I stood there, I could see that they were also offering business consultations and loans. I walked to the front counter.
The receptionist was dressed in white and looked like a nurse. I wondered if this was the uniform of this place - she wore a long square hat on her head, which added to her nurse-like appearance.
“Excuse me…” I started.
“Yes, what can I do for you today?”
“I'd like to register for the guild.”
“Okay, sir. The registration fee is one silver coin. Please fill out this form as well.”
She handed me a handwritten document, so I guess they don't have the technology to print it yet. It included my name, age, and other information - there was even a box for my hometown, but I was sure I would write Dahlia.
I don't know the names of any other places. On the right side of the page, there was a math question - maybe this is a test.
There were three three-digit addition problems and two two-digit multiplication problems - I was surprised that this was a test.
It was only yesterday, and I was still a little fuzzy on the letters. I opened the item box and cheated by displaying my notes, of course, the others couldn't see them.
I wrote everything down and presented it to the receptionist, who gave me the OK.
I sat in a chair and waited for a while... The receptionist brought me a thin stick of metal with a hole in the top. This is the one that the young merchant was wearing around his neck.
This is proof of the guild, isn't it? It seems that ordinary merchants wear it around their necks because they have to display it in a visible place when they do business.
Now that I’ve registered, I can do business with it without any problems. I heard that the neighboring country, the Empire, has some kind of tax that requires a percentage of sales to be collected every month, but not here.
Next, I need to do some market research.
The guild told me where the market was located. They told me that if I went out to the street and followed the flow of people, I could get to the market.
That's exactly what I did. It was a crowded and bustling place full of people - most of the stores lined up were open-air, some with roofs, some without.
The goods for sale were not divided into categories. There were knives, stones, fruits, vegetables, and other perishable goods being sold in a jumbled array.
The merchants were quite frank with their customers. They don't use honorifics unless they are dealing with people of high status.
I found some paper along the way. A piece of brown paper cost 1 copper coin (1,000 yen). Maybe I can make some money selling paper. I also found some tableware. I noticed that plain white plates, like those sold at Shangri-La, were selling for more than one small silver coin (5000 yen).
The price jumps up when you add a pattern, but I don't get the impression that they are selling very well. I guess the people who come to this market are just ordinary people from the city, and they can't afford the high prices.
From what I could see, knives were also quite expensive, with one poorly made knife costing over 50,000 yen. But in Shangri-La, you can get a pretty good one for about 5,000-6,000 yen.
That one might sell for two silver coins (100,000 yen).
But I wonder if stainless steel, which doesn't rust, is okay. Blades made of blue steel or carbon steel are very expensive.
Even if I sell it, I won't be noticed out of the blue, but if things get bad, I'll have to flee to another city.
Besides, as long as I have the money, I can use Shangri-La to live anywhere.
I also found the kerosene that Azalea had mentioned, but it was very slippery and similar to the kerosene in the original world. However, the smell was different - it smelled like fish.
I asked the shopkeeper, who was selling it, and he told me that it was the fat of sea animals in the sea. Hmmm... I guess different places call for different products.
Since we are close to the sea, we can get sea animal fat, but in countries further inland, they use oil from plants as kerosene.
We're close to the ocean, but we don't have any seafood…
There is no seafood, not even raw fish, but that's because it can't be preserved. If you have an item box, you can bring the fish straight from the sea.
I'd like to try some fruit.
Even in Shangri-La, you can buy an assortment of fruits and vegetables for about 2,500 to 3,000 yen. However, the rare fruits that are only found in this world can only be found here.
“Sir, would you like to buy some?”
I was approached by a woman piling up fruit. She told me that 10 pieces of fruit in a colander cost 1,000 copper coins.
There are also small copper coins underneath the copper coins, each worth 100 yen, but most of the small items are sold in bulk, probably because the calculation is too complicated.
“Hmmm, I want to eat all kinds of food, can't I get three of each kind for one copper coin?” I asked.
“Sure.”
I bought red, green, and yellow fruits. Then I put all the others in the item box and left one red fruit that looked like an apple.
The item box shows 【Linker】, 【Linyo】, and 【Linzu】. I see, this red one is the linker that Azalea was talking about.
I took a bite of it... it was sweet, sour, and delicious. It looks like an apple, but it tastes like a combination of a peach and an apple.
This is something you can only eat in this world.
“Hey, Mister. Did you put the items you just bought into the item box?”
The woman who was selling the fruit seemed to have seen what I was doing.
“Yes…” I replied.
“Nice and handy, isn't it?”
“It's small, but it's very convenient.”
A well-built, macho man with a shaved head spoke to me, “I heard you have an item box.”
“Well, it's small.”
“I've got a big purchase to make. Can you help me carry it?”
“You look like you could use some help. Well, it depends on the money.”
“How about one copper?”
A thousand yen an hour, that's a little low.
“That's not much. You'd get more if you hired someone.”
“For God's sake, I'm broke. How about two coppers?”
“Why don't you ask some of your friends to buy you a drink and they'll be happy to do it for you?”
“If I had that kind of money, I'd drink it myself, of course. Three coppers, then!”
He seems to be very desperate, but what on earth did this guy buy? I'm not sure what he’s getting at, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.
“I understand. I will carry it for three copper coins, but if it doesn't fit in the item box, you can give it up.”
“Yes, that will do.”
I don't feel malicious or suspicious when I talk to him. I think he really just wants me to carry something for him.
I followed the man to the place where he said he kept the things he bought.
As I was talking with the man, another man spoke to me from behind, “Hey there, mister. I heard you have an item box. I've got some good news for you, how about a ride?”
The man who spoke to me was a slightly hunched-over man with a pale, sneering look on his face. This guy was suspicious at first glance.
But then again, there's nothing wrong with a good story. A beautiful flower has thorns. A good story has a trap.
In my business, it's good to jump at a good deal, but after the payment is delayed, the client is blown away or the bill is blown away.
He told me that he was in the business of transporting seafood from the ocean and ice from the mountains and ice caves.
“It's good money, right?” he asked.
“It's going to be expensive. Who would buy such a thing?”
“Heh, the nobles.”
“I'm sorry, but I don't want anything to do with aristocrats,” the macho man who had been listening interrupted the conversation, “Stop it, mister. I don't want to have anything to do with noblemen. I'm sure you've heard of them.”
The man put his hand in the form of a knife and ran it through his neck. I think he meant to say that he was going to have his head chopped off, which is no joke.
“That's right.”
“And, you know, guys with big item boxes get taken to the battlefield and put to work.”
“Battlefield? Do they carry weapons?”
“That's one thing. We carry food for the nobles. They carry food for the aristocracy, so they can enjoy a luxurious meal on the battlefield.”
“A real piece of work”
“Right?”
The man spread his hands and shook his head, “Don't you regret this!”
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a number of things you can do.
In a world like this, royalty and nobility are absolute powerhouses. If you go against them, you're in trouble.
“It is said that a man who doesn't touch something is not cursed, a man who doesn't approach a dangerous situation is a fool, and a man who goes to smell something when he knows it smells is a fool.”
“You're an educated man.”
“No, I've only had a glimpse.”
On the way, I asked the man about the forest. “Did you know there's a black beast in the forest…?”
“Black? A cat?”
“No, it looked more like a dog - a wolf.”
“Well, it must’ve been a black wolf. I've never heard of one appearing along the highway.”
So, it's a wolf. I've heard that some places call them demon wolves.
“No, it's in the woods.”
“Why would you be in the woods? - Haha, you must have taken a shortcut.”
“Well, it’s something like that. I got lost and was almost attacked and eaten.”
“You don't want to go into the woods because you'll see the same thing over and over again and you won't know where you're going.”
It was just how he had explained it. It was just a bunch of conifers standing there ...I had a compass with me, so I didn't get lost.
In my hometown, there were some people who got lost while gathering wild vegetables. When you are in the mountains, there are no landmarks, and you don't know where you are.
There was a funny story about a friend of mine who kept walking and ended up in a neighboring town on the other side of the mountain.
We arrived at our destination with a man who looked like a toolmaker.
“This is what I bought.”
The man pointed to a large bed - a double bed, so to speak. There is no such thing as plywood in this world, so it's all solid wood.
I lifted the end of the bed, but it was quite heavy. I think it weighed more than 50kg. I'm sure it's too heavy for one person.
“If you're buying such a big bed, did you just get married or are you going to get married?”
“Heh heh.”
The big guy scratched his head and turned red.
“So, you're saying it's going to cost you more than three coppers to transport this thing?”
“That's right, that’s why I was looking for someone who could help me for free or for a cheap price.”
That's how you stumbled upon me. Congratulations, though.
I'm not sure what to make of this.
“Nice.”
The double bed was sucked into the item box, and the label 【Double Bed (Used)】 was added.
“Oh, wow. So, this is the item box.”
“I'm glad it worked out. Well, let's go to your house.”
The man's house was located on the outskirts of the city, right next to the city walls - a small wooden house with armored walls. The house had two rooms, a living room, and a bedroom, with a kitchen attached to the living room.
It reminded me of the cultural houses that were popular in the past.
“Let's get you into your room.”
But there's already a bed in the bedroom, and we can't put the double bed in until we take it out.
But before that...
「Hey, the door between the front door and the bedroom is too small to carry a double bed in.」
“Ah…”
The man seemed to have noticed it too. It seems to be possible to disassemble it, but without a mallet or other tools, it will be a bit difficult.
Well, I'll take care of it.”
First, he took out the double bed he had brought with him. Then, I put the bedroom bed in the item box and took it outside.
Then, put the double bed in the item box and take it out in the bedroom--the installation is complete.
The item box has a capacity of about two beds, but since I said it doesn't have much capacity, I had to go through all this trouble.
“Thank you! I'm in your debt.”
“What are you going to do with this bed you've been using?”
“I will give it to you. Put it in the item box and take it with you.”
“You sure? You can sell it for a lot of money.”
“I'll have to ask you to take it away again. Besides, I have to clean up my room.”
Well, if my wife was about to arrive, I'll have to get a lot of things together, and she won't have time to deal with the bed.
Besides, he knows I'm a merchant because I have the Commerce Guild badge around my neck. ......
“Are you sure you don't want to sell the bed?”
“Of course. If it wasn't for you, I'd be at a loss to get someone else to bring the bed in, but I can't get it in my room.”
The man smiled bitterly, but he was probably right. He hadn't thought that far ahead.
“Well, then, I'll take this bed for the fare.”
“Is that all right with you?”
“Yeah.”
As a test, I put the bed in front of me into the buyer’s window - the result came out immediately. 【Appraisal result】 【Single bed (used) buyback price 20,000 yen】
So, if all goes well, I should be able to get 30,000 to 40,000 yen. But that's a little too much for me.
I pulled up the Shangri-La screen and searched for double linen sheets. I found a no-name brand sheet for 4,000 yen, so I bought that one.
Cotton sheets are available for about 2,000 yen, but the sheets at the inn were linen, so I chose this one. When I pressed the 【Buy】 button, a double sheet fell in front of me.
“I'll give you these sheets as a wedding gift. You haven't bought them yet, have you?”
“Thank you so much! You're too good to me, Sir.”
The muscled man was somewhat teary-eyed, but I hadn't lost anything by getting the bed. It hurts my conscience to be thanked so much.
But the next time I take that double bed out of the house, I'm going to have to take it apart.
After saying goodbye to the man in the bed, I walked around the market - giving a little money to the merchants and asking around. Gathering information is important.
Then I returned to the inn before the sun started to set, but since it was time to go, the dining room was crowded with visitors.
“Welcome back,” Azalea greeted.
“Oh, I'm back. Here's a souvenir for you.”
I gave Azalea one of the linkers I had taken from the item box.
“Linker! Thank you, it's sweet and I love it. Did you get registered in the guild?”
“Yeah.”
I showed her the thin metal stick - the guild's badge.
“You did it.”
It's dinner time and she's busy, so we skipped the conversation and I headed back to my room. I didn't want to interrupt her work.
I was hungry, so I decided to try some of the fruit I had bought at the market. I had already eaten the linker, so I decided to try the green Linyo next.
I bought a fruit knife for 1,000 yen and peeled off the green skin, which spiraled around and around.
「It's so good! 」
It was crunchy and sweet, but it was also very sour. This would be delicious if I dried it like a pickled plum.
I went on to try the yellow Linzu.
「Sweet! 」
There was no sourness at all, and it tasted like a hard mango. This one was good, too. There are still a lot of fruits in the market that I haven't bought yet, so I'm looking forward to it.
I bought a string at Shangri-La - 100 yen. I decided to put the cord through the certificate and wear it around my neck.
This was the most common style in the market, so I decided to go with it.
Now that I've got a feel for the market, I think I'll start preparing for some business tomorrow. But I don't need to make a lot of money, just a little.
If I can make enough money to eat, I can buy what I need from Shangri-La.
For now, my goal is to make 10,000 yen from a 3,000 yen investment.
My goal is to live a slow life in a different world. Will I really succeed?
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