CH 22

“Come on, Naoya, this is the best market in town! It’s always open, except during winter!”

“A market that’s open every day of the year, and where non-vendors can shop. So you’re telling me that the Aion Mall’s otherworldly store isn’t open every day?”

After leaving the butcher shop, I asked Chloe to bring me to the city market.

The market was located in the center of town next to the square where the two main streets meet.

It was mostly an open-air market lined with stalls covered with cloth, and some of the stores seemed to be inside buildings.

The street market was lined with a wide variety of goods.

“The vegetables are almost the same as the ones we sell at our place. Rather, there are more fruits and vegetables here.”

“The fruit season is short around here, and there are only a few varieties and quantities! The fruits here are brought in from faraway cities!”

“Aion Mall’s Otherworldly Store only deals with farmers in the neighborhood. The distribution is reasonably good, and the city is better off at the moment. But Chloe, it seems like people aren’t using magic tools.”

“Naoya, magic tools are expensive. That’s why I go to that butcher shop. The best meat is freshly caught and processed!”

“Not every store has it, huh? Good, good, good.”

“What’s wrong, Naoya?”

“Storage methods and storage space are both headaches when it comes to selling perishable foods. The freezers and refrigerators at the Aion Mall Otherworld Store are going to be an advantage.”

“I-I see.”

“And Chloe, some meat and fish taste better when they are not fresh. If they are properly processed and stored.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Naoya, are you joking? I’ve had some good gutted, smoked and dried meat, too. But nothing beats freshly caught meat!”

“What kind of elf cares about meat? I’m sure they hunt since they are forest dwellers,……, but that’s okay. Chloe, I’ll feed you some tasty ‘not-so-fresh’ meat sometime.”

“Are you sure? Really, Naoya! You promised!”

“Yeah, ‘kay.”

“Ha! W-w-w-wait a minute, Naoya, what’s the price? Don’t tell me you’re going to show me some delicious meat I’ve never tasted before! [If you want to eat this, you have to ……] you know what I mean? and then make me pay for it with my body! What a clever trick!”

“No way in hell. I’m just giving you a taste of what I might sell.”

While talking to Chloe, I look around the market.

It’s so messy that you can’t see the goods, so you get the illusion that it’s a big market, but it’s actually not that big.

In fact, it’s not that big. If I had to say how big it is, the supermarket at the Aion Mall’s Otherworld Store is bigger. Some space is not open for business though.

They sell a wide variety of goods.

Vegetables, fruits, dried fish and other seafood, dried and smoked meats, spices and spice-like herbs.

They also sell used clothes, wooden baskets, and leather goods such as furs and leather straps.

At a store inside a building with a wide-open entrance, I saw fish swimming in a tub. They seemed to be river fish.

There was also a butcher shop in the building. The meat was not cut into pieces and was still very much in its original state.

There was a one-horned rabbit similar to what Chloe had killed on the way here, a wild boar, aves-like meat, birds of various sizes, and meat from a cattle-like animal hanging from the ceiling. It was so big, it was unclear whether it was a cow or a cow-like monster.

“I guess they don’t use storage magic tools here, either.”

“Naoya, there are some things in here. Now they just take them out of the magic box and sell them!”

“I see. The only thing they do now is sell the stuff from the magic tools. Why does Chloe like that butcher shop so much?”

“What are you talking about, Naoya? That butcher shop is where you bring in your catch and the lady butchers it right in front of you! Nothing is fresher than that!”

“What kind of elf cares about the freshness of meat? Well, storage magic tools are expensive and don’t seem to be used much, so freshness is important for safety.”

The only way to move around is on foot, in a carriage, or on horseback, I guess.

If you use storage magic tools, but if you don’t, it will take a long time to be distributed.

In that case, it would not be surprising if the meat, fish, and vegetables sold would spoil, which explains their insistence on freshness.

“Wait, what about parasite control? The vegetables may have worms on them, too. Hey, are the vegetables at Aion Mall’s Otherworldly Store safe?”

“Don’t worry, Naoya! I am not just a [Knight], I am a [Holy Knight] who can use magic! If I cast a [Purification] spell, any insects on the food will be destroyed in a single shot!”

“That’s very convenient! I see… Chloe was touching the vegetables that came in to cast a spell on them! Oh, come on! I didn’t realize there was magic so close at hand! And what the heck is a [Holy Knight]? And what kind of magic can only kill bugs?”

Chloe tilts her head at my words.

Is it because I’m being thrown around all at once and my understanding isn’t catching up? I can’t even keep up with my tsukkomi.

“It’s a different world. The magic is sometimes outrageous with its power and techniques. I wonder what happens to bacteria if they only kill insects. I wonder if fermented foods are safe.”

“Naoya, we’ve done our market rounds! What are we going to do next? Should we go to a restaurant or something? If you are feeling hungry, I can take you to a place to eat.”

“Let’s think about it later. Now is the time for inspection. …… Hey, Chloe, I was just thinking of something…..”

“What is it?”

“Chloe, where’s your luggage? Where are the fruits and spices I bought and the rabbit meat from the butcher?　Ah, maybe they’ll deliver it to you?”

“What are you talking about, Naoya? When I ran away from home, I borrowed my father’s baggy pouch! But it’s so small that not even a whole cub could fit in it!”

“Oh, that’s a magic tool. I don’t know if I was that close with storage magic tools either. I’m not going to ask you if it’s okay to use it like that, or what does it mean to run away from home, or that you borrowed it without permission.”

“Naoya, are you tired? Do you want to take a break? Kya, It’s just a normal break! It’s not that a man and a woman take a break and go into a brothel, but don’t get me wrong, Naoya!”

“I heard that there are some kinds of brothels in other worlds. Chloe is a holy knight, or rather her image is more like Indecent Knight.”

I dropped her shoulders in disappointment.

It’s not because of Chloe, who associates it with something erotic. No, but that too.

I really don’t know anything about life in this world, what is normal in this world, what is common practice in this world.

“Aaaaah! But I have to make 100 million in monthly sales in the next five months! I don’t have time to be depressed! Okay, Chloe, let’s go around the store now!　Show me the way!”

In desperation, I decided to get over it and continue my tour of the city, my first time in a different world.

I asked Chloe, who is a clumsy but actually brilliant woman, to show me around.