The City of Astrantia

――The next day.

Since we'd decided to go to the nearby city of Astrantia, we decided to eat breakfast in the city.

I locked up carefully and took the off-road motorcycle out of my Item Box. I removed the Forest Cat's box from the rear rack.

Even if I locked the house, the wooden windows meant we'd be done for if someone broke in. Still, there was nothing worth stealing.

There was only a bed in the room. Everything else was stored in my Item Box.

I took out a helmet and put it on Anemone.

"Did you come all the way here on that strange vehicle, nya?"

"That's right. They run around Dalia too, don't they?"

"Nya, the Draine-something, nya."

"This one runs on magic, though."

"Is it like the horseless cart we used when we went to the bandits' place, nya?"

"Something like that."

We rode the motorcycle through the forest, while Myaree said she would run.

Apparently, beastfolk could reach a top speed of about 60 kilometers per hour, so she could keep pace with the motorcycle easily enough.

Besides, Astrantia was only about five or six kilometers from here. At that distance, Myaree apparently had stamina to spare.

It was practically a species that had put every status point into physical ability.

"All right, let's go~. Hold on tight, Anemone."

"Okay."

I pulled out the choke, and the engine started with a single kick. White smoke flowed from the muffler along with a dry, high-pitched popping sound.

"Ah, that smell, nya!"

Apparently, Myaree had followed the smell of the two-stroke engine's exhaust and the faint scent of the Forest Cat to catch up with us.

I opened the throttle and began riding through the forest at about 10 to 20 kilometers per hour. Even going slowly, we should arrive within thirty minutes.

With the high cliff to our left, we rode over the soft leaf mold that had piled up in the forest. It felt like riding over a fluffy carpet.

When I revved the engine a little, the rear wheel spun in place and sent leaves flying.

It would have been nice to ride straight through the forest, but there were plenty of tree roots and fallen trunks, so we often had to detour.

Myaree simply leaped over them and kept running straight ahead, but I couldn't be so reckless with Anemone riding behind me.

If I were riding alone, I could afford to take a few chances, but it would be terrible if I fell and Anemone got hurt.

Even so, after about thirty minutes, we could see a stone city wall through the trees.

It seemed to be a little smaller than Dalia. Apparently, large cities generally had walls to protect against monsters and bandits.

"Have you been to Astrantia before, Myaree?"

"A few times, nya."

Well, with a beastfolk's legs and stamina, I didn't think a 100-kilometer journey would be all that difficult...

We continued straight toward the edge of the forest, then got off the motorcycle before the road and stored it in my Item Box.

The motorcycle stood out too much. Even though bicycles had only just begun to spread, riding it through the city would probably be a bad idea.

We would walk along the road from here. According to Myaree, the city gate was about a kilometer away.

We were heading for the city's east gate. The west gate was closer to the village of Santanka on the lake.

"Can you walk, Anemone?"

"Yes."

People in this world generally traveled on foot. They walked wherever they needed to go. Keeping a horse cost quite a bit of money, and you had to be fairly well-off to own a carriage.

Even in the countryside, that was true if you owned land and ran a farm.

But since people had grown up walking everywhere, they were used to covering this sort of distance.

I'd walked all over the place since coming to this world, so my legs had grown considerably stronger. I must have finally gotten enough exercise.

As you got older, reluctance tended to come first, and you became reluctant to go out.

Besides, in my original world—the more rural a person was, the less they walked. People would even take a car to a store 100 meters away.

For that reason, I thought people in cities actually walked more.

They walked from home to the station for their commute, climbed up and down the stairs from the ticket gate to the platform, then walked from the station to work. That alone added up to a considerable distance.

If there were no exhaust fumes and the air was clean, I thought city dwellers might actually be healthier.

We passed through the gate in the city wall――.

There was no inspection in this city either. Looking down the street, I saw several Draisines running here too.

"First, we should go register at the Adventurer's Guild."

"I'm coming too!"

"Me too, nya!"

"Myaree, are you registered with the Adventurer's Guild here?"

"No, nya."

"Then you should probably register, Myaree. I might ask you to run errands for me at the guild."

"Nya."

Myaree knew where the Adventurer's Guild was. She wasn't registered, but apparently she knew the location.

If one member of a group was registered, there was no need for everyone to register.

It stood along the main street. It was a two-story stone building, with glass set into the windows on the first floor.

Many buildings in this world used this sort of architectural style. It was a little smaller than the guild in Dalia.

The sign bearing a sword and shield was the same as Dalia's, but apparently it was standard for every guild.

Not that the size of a building necessarily showed the guild's influence, but the city itself was also a little smaller than Dalia, so I supposed the guild was scaled accordingly.

I opened the double doors and went inside――.

The interior was bright, with sunlight slanting in through the clear glass windows.

The Adventurer's Guild also served as this world's equivalent of a job center, so many people came in to check the notices posted on the bulletin board.

I went to the reception desk in front. A young woman wearing a white blouse and red vest assisted me.

She was also extremely well-endowed—extremely well-endowed.

I said it twice because it was important.

Were receptionists in every world chosen for their looks? As I stared at her breasts, I felt the gazes of Anemone and Myaree stabbing into me.

"Welcome. How may I help you today?"

"I'd like to register."

"Are you already registered with any other guilds?"

"Yes. I'm registered with the Merchant's Guild and Adventurer's Guild in Dalia."

"Then please present your guild card."

"I'd also like to register this beastwoman."

I handed my guild card and Myaree's to the receptionist.

"Please wait a moment."

The receptionist took the cards and disappeared into the back, but she soon returned.

"Um, Kenichi-san! Are you the person who defeated Shaga in Dalia?"

"Hey, leaking personal information is a problem."

"I-I apologize!"

The receptionist hurriedly covered her mouth, but she was cute, so I forgave her. Still, I didn't want her leaking information.

"Your registrations are complete. The registration fee is two silver coins (100,000 yen)."

I paid Myaree's fee too, but she seemed to have a problem with that.

"I was going to pay my own fee, nya."

"I might ask you to do work for me."

Come to think of it, she'd received a large sum of money when we defeated Shaga. Where was she keeping it?

"It's inside my guild card, nya."

Apparently, the guild card could also function like a cash card.

You could take the card to any guild where you were registered and withdraw money.

Of course, withdrawing a large sum required contacting them in advance and so on.

Still, was it really safe to give large sums of money to beastfolk who weren't good at handling money?

That might have been none of my business, though.

I asked the receptionist where the purchasing counter was and headed over there.

Myaree and Anemone went to the bulletin board and looked at the request notices. Since Myaree couldn't read, Anemone seemed to be reading them aloud for her.

"Hey, what've you brought in?"

A young blond man wearing a long black apron and a smug grin served me.

His attitude was a little concerning, but since he had been entrusted with this job, he was probably competent.

"Three Horned Rabbits and four birds—and..."

This wasn't Japan, so apparently rabbits weren't counted using the counter for birds.

There were also two Giant Rats. I'd never eaten rat meat before, so I wondered what it tasted like.

According to Myaree, it wasn't bad.

"Oh! An Item Box! I haven't seen one of those in ages. Are you selling everything?"

The man seemed surprised when I took the prey out of nowhere.

"No, I only want the meat. Buy everything else."

The man checked the condition of the prey I'd taken from my Item Box by placing his hands on them.

"The prey's still warm... Looks like everything's fine. Hmm, I don't have anything scheduled today, so I should have everything ready by evening."

"Then I'll come back for it later."

"Sure thing~"

The man gave me a metal token to use when picking up the meat. That seemed to be another guild-wide standard.

Oh, right. I needed to ask about plants too. I went back to the reception desk.

"I wanted to ask—do you have a book that explains the different types of plants?"

"We have a booklet for beginners gathering medicinal herbs."

"Could I take a look?"

The receptionist took a booklet of several sheets of paper from a shelf, her ample breasts swaying as she did so.

"This is it—but it costs one small square silver coin (5,000 yen)."

I see—the booklet had illustrations of commonly used medicinal herbs and the like. Of course, since there was no printing technology here, everything was handwritten.

This looked useful. Once I'd memorized or copied everything in it, I could sell the booklet to someone else.

The guild charged 5,000 yen, but someone might be willing to buy it for around 3,000 yen. Naturally, I bought it.

It contained the names and descriptions of the plants stored in my Item Box.

The Blue Dewgrass and Red Dewgrass I'd often seen were medicinal herbs. Most of the other plants seemed to be medicinal herbs too.

Even medicinal herbs had various effects, such as helping with stomach problems or relieving pain.

"We always purchase items that are in constant demand."

I sold ten Red Dewgrass for one small square silver coin (5,000 yen), and ten Blue Dewgrass for three copper coins (3,000 yen).

There was also something called 【Selfless Insect Grass】 in my Item Box, but apparently it was poisonous. Poison was in demand too, but they said they would buy it if a notice was posted on the bulletin board.

I'd put that on hold.

I tried putting Red Dewgrass into Shangri-La's buyback system—but...

【These purchases are made in 1-kg units】—that was what it displayed.

One kilogram? I'd have to gather quite a lot of this sort of grass to reach a kilogram. It looked like the guild paid more for medicinal herbs.

In my original world, Chinese herbal medicines were probably bought by the bag, too.

Precious herbs, such as cordyceps, might be worth a lot, though.

"Um... Do you know about mushrooms that grow on insects?"

"Ah, Mushitake. Those are expensive. The price varies depending on the type of insect underneath."

"That's good to know."

As I listened to her explanation, I looked through my Item Box and found something that wasn't listed in the booklet.

"This 【Black Ruby Grass】 isn't in the booklet, though?"

I took a plant with black leaves and bright red berries out of storage. The berries were about the size of cherries.

"Ah, this is used as a spice. The ruby, I mean. Hmm, if it's this fresh, I'll pay one small square silver coin (5,000 yen) per stalk."

Seriously? I had two of them, so that made 10,000 yen.

Gathering medicinal herbs could earn quite a bit of money. If I found a place where they grew in clusters, I could harvest them little by little and rotate through the area.

That would give me a steady income. Hmm, I was learning a lot.

I'd sold almost everything stored in my Item Box, so I called out to Anemone and the others.

"Hey! We sold the medicinal herbs, so let's go get something to eat."

"Okay!" "Nyaa~!"

I had a little spending money—18,000 yen, or 13,000 after subtracting the cost of the booklet.

I wondered what the somewhat expensive food in this world tasted like, so I tried to enter a slightly fancy-looking restaurant along the street—but...

No beastfolk allowed... The reason was Myaree.

"Discrimination against beastfolk? That's awful."

"It's always like this, nya. Our fur sheds, nya~"

Apparently, Myaree was used to it and didn't care much.

We had no choice but to eat at a food stall in the market.

The market was a swirling mass of people, just like Dalia's. Business seemed to be booming. That was good.

The food that came out was soup made by boiling vegetables and meat without even making stock, along with hard bread.

Well, food like this was normal in this world.

I took some bonito stock out of my Item Box and sprinkled it into the soup. Then I added a little pepper...

"It's a little more respectable now."

I made sure the other customers couldn't see and added bonito stock and pepper to Anemone's and Myaree's bowls too.

"It tastes better now."

"Nyaa."

As I listened to Anemone and Myaree whispering to each other, I dipped my bread into the soup and ate it.

At least my stomach was full, even if the food had been mediocre, so we wandered around the market.

The selection wasn't much different from Dalia's. But looking at it now, I realized again just how unusual the things I'd displayed at my stall had been.

No wonder so many people had flocked to them.

To cleanse my palate, I bought thirty Linkers from a stall. One bunch cost three copper coins (3,000 yen).

"They're sweet and delicious."

Anemone stuffed her cheeks with Linkers and smiled at Myaree.

"Nyaa!"

Of all the fruit sold in the market, Linkers had the best balance of sweetness and acidity.

Vegetables were mediocre in this world, but I thought this fruit was delicious.

While I was at it, I bought various vegetables too. They weren't very tasty, but it would take some time for the vegetables in our field to grow, so it couldn't be helped.

As we walked through the market eating Linkers, I discovered a tool shop on the outskirts.

This place smells like treasure—should I go in?

The sign read 【Snowflake Tool Shop】.

"Hello."

"Yeah?"

An old woman wearing a khaki-colored robe emerged from inside. Beneath the robe, she wore black clothes, and a large green jewel gleamed on her chest.

I couldn't tell how old she was, but she was certainly quite old. She also seemed remarkably spry.

I could easily imagine her boiling something suspicious in a huge cauldron.

Was Snowflake this old woman's name? It seemed strange, considering how black she was...

I wandered around the tool shop. There were countless tools whose purposes I couldn't understand.

"Whoa... I have no idea what any of this is."

"I don't recognize you, young man."

Young man, huh? From this old woman's perspective, I might as well have been a kid.

"I came from Dalia. There was a tool shop near Dalia's market too, but..."

"That old man still alive?"

"Huh? Do you know him? He said he was the guild master's teacher, but..."

"Ah, it's him. No doubt about it."

"That old man is still going strong."

"He sent me a letter saying he'd made some amazing discovery, but he hasn't gone senile, has he?"

Come to think of it, I'd done the old man from the tool shop wrong too. He'd helped me with all sorts of things.

Anemone also wandered around looking interested in everything, but Myaree didn't seem interested at all.

"Are you going to buy something?"

"Yeah. In that case, give me a variable-range plasma rifle with a range of 400."

"Unfortunately, it's out of stock. Pick something we have in stock instead."

Of course, I was joking—but the old woman had simply said it was out of stock because I'd asked for something she couldn't make sense of, I supposed.

As I continued wandering around, I found a strange tool.

It was a long, thin, black instrument with a large vessel on top—and a small vessel in the middle.

Grooves carved at a 45-degree angle like umbrellas extended from both sides of the instrument. Was it designed to let something drip down?

The insides of the vessels and grooves were coated with something resembling glass.

If I had to compare its shape to a kanji, it looked like 【不】.

"Granny—no, ma'am. What exactly is this tool?"

"Ho ho ho. You're interested in something like that?"

The old woman silently held out her hand. She probably meant that I should pay her if I wanted a demonstration.

I gave her one small square silver coin (5,000 yen).

"You catch on quickly. I suppose I'll explain it properly to a good boy like you."

The old woman accepted the money and began preparing the instrument with a smug grin.

It had been the right decision to give her a little extra. Nothing was free in this world—everything required compensation.

The old woman went to the back, brought out something in a jar, and poured it into the vessel on top of the instrument.

Judging by its color and smell, it looked like wine. She then set a vessel underneath and poured a transparent liquid into the small vessel in the middle.

Then—the liquid began dripping down the grooves set at a 45-degree angle.

The liquid flowing into the vessel on the left was transparent, while the drops flowing down into the one on the right remained purple.

"This side is water. But this side..."

The purple liquid had become quite thick, but it was still wine. Yet when I tasted it, its alcohol concentration had increased considerably.

The conclusion that followed was...

"Could this be a tool that separates a specific substance from whatever you put in the top vessel?"

"Ho ho ho, you're quite perceptive. Whatever you put in the middle vessel is extracted and falls to the left."

"So because you put water in the middle vessel, the water was removed from the wine?"

"Exactly. This is a tool used by alchemists."

I didn't understand how it worked, but it had to be a magic tool. It moved in ways science couldn't explain.

She said it could only be used with liquids and not with metals.

But wait... If I could use this to remove glycerin from vegetable oil, wouldn't I be able to make biodiesel fuel safely?

Then I wouldn't need to use dangerous alkali chemicals like that.

"How much for this, Granny?"

"What? You want to buy it? You?"

The old woman clearly hadn't expected me to buy it.

"Well, that depends on the price..."

"Five gold coins (1,000,000 yen)."

"All right! I'll buy it!"

"You're serious?!"

The old woman's wrinkled face filled with surprise.

"Completely serious."

"Ho ho ho. What an eccentric you are."

I paid the old woman five gold coins and stored the magic tool in my Item Box.

"An Item Box?! Well, I'll be damned!"

"Granny, do you have anything else interesting?"

"Hmm..."

The old woman rested a hand on her chin and pondered. Then, as though she'd thought of something, she disappeared into the back of the shop.

"I wonder what she's going to bring out."

After a while, the old woman returned carrying an old book with a thick cover.

The book gave off a suspicious air and was about as thick as a manga volume.

"What's this?"

"A grimoire."

A grimoire! What a wonderfully otherworldly, fantasy-like word.

"A grimoire? One of those books that lets you use magic once you've read it?"

"A person without magic power won't be able to use magic no matter how much they read it."

But magic... If this was another world, then surely there had to be magic. Maybe it was time for me to learn a little magic too.

"How much?"

"Ten gold coins (2,000,000 yen)."

"That's awfully expensive."

"But it's an asset, you know."

"I see. So after learning magic, I could sell it to anyone who wanted it..."

"That's right. So? What will you do?"

"Hmm... All right! I'll buy it!"

I took ten gold coins out of my Item Box and handed them to the old woman.

"Ho ho ho. I suppose I can close up for today. You can take the magic tool home today, but registering the grimoire will take about a week, so come back then."

"Registering?"

"Grimoires have serial numbers, and you're required to report it whenever ownership changes."

Was it really that dangerous? It was like registering a Japanese sword in my original world.

According to the old woman, even if you found an unregistered grimoire, you had to report it to the authorities and receive a number.

Possessing one without permission was illegal. Apparently, though, unregistered grimoires occasionally circulated.

The old woman was in such a good mood that she gave Anemone a silver ring and Myaree a necklace with a green stone as bonuses.

And as we were leaving the shop—

"Granny, do you have that medicine? The one used after sleeping with a woman..."

"Ah—yes, I do. Well, well, so it's not just that beastwoman? Ho ho ho, you do like them. Mind if I join you?"

You've got to be kidding. Don't say something so terrifying.

What I received was ten small black pills wrapped in a piece of cloth, for one small square silver coin (5,000 yen).

Women in that line usually carried their own, but better safe than sorry.

I left the old woman's tool shop after making some very expensive purchases.

Anemone and Myaree were happy about their gifts too.

Well, there was still some time before the meat would be ready at the Adventurer's Guild.

What should we do?