Hearing Azure Nazac itself say, ‘That’s murder,’ held great significance.
Yan was genuinely grateful to Doah for saying that.
A traveler from the far southern continent.
It’s said that ancient spirits still exist on the southern continent, and the fairy race still walks the land.
Yan smiled as he looked at Doah’s youthful face, unsure of what else to say as she hesitated.
She could be an enemy.
She might be an enemy.
However, he wasn’t sure if sharing this story was the right thing to do.
But since Azure Nazac itself appeared, it was hard not to speak.
Of course, Azure Nazac wasn’t the only one.
Others, too, showed both concern and disdain toward the possessor of the cursed sword.
It was unavoidable.
But at the same time, Yan felt a sense of rebellion, thinking, ‘A half-hearted Azure Nazac at that.’
Yet, when the real one appeared and said those words, it truly brought him comfort.
Did Khunak also receive similar comfort from her?
Yan slowly reached out and patted Doah’s head.
Doah widened her eyes in surprise.
Yan awkwardly pulled his hand away and said,
“Sorry, I just…”
“Did I look that sad?”
When Doah asked in a way that made it easier for him to answer, Yan nodded.
Doah looked at him and said, “Hmm.”
Patting someone’s head is like treating them like a child.
But Doah didn’t dislike how he treated her.
Well, it was certainly true that he was older than her.
“Then it’s okay if you pat me.”
As Doah lowered her head, Yan laughed again and gently patted her head.
When he was done, Doah lifted her head and looked over at Berry.
“Berry, come here.”
Berry hesitated and approached his cautiously, glancing at Doah for approval.
“Are you mad?”
“Huh? No, I’m not mad.”
“But after I said I would stay still as if I were dead..…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Doah smiled and reached out, pulling Berry onto her lap.
He was surprisingly light.
“Do you dislike Khunak, Berry?”
Berry’s ears twitched.
“It’s not that I dislike him…”
Yan spoke up.
“Thules are more sensitive to contamination than humans.”
“Oh, I see.”
It’s understandable that he might dislike it.
As Doah said this, she gently patted Berry’s head.
Berry’s fur was soft and fluffy.
Berry purred for a moment before speaking.
“As long as Miss Doah is here, it’s fine! The cursed sword stays quiet because of Miss Doah. But, when Miss Doah isn’t around…”
Berry swallowed nervously.
“It’s really noisy and a bit scary…”
Berry mumbled, admitting he was scared, and glanced at Doah for her reaction.
But Doah didn’t get angry or look down on him for being scared. Instead, she met his eyes and smiled gently.
“Oh, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
Berry shook his head vigorously.
Doah said,
“Once the guild master finishes receiving the sap treatment, would you like to go to the market with me? Thanks for waiting so patiently.”
Berry’s ears perked up.
He got so excited his eyes widened.
“Really? I can go with you?”
“Of course, you can.”
“Yay!”
Berry flapped his arms in excitement. Doah laughed and hugged him tightly.
A little later, after Yan had finished receiving the sap treatment, Doah checked his condition once more.
“Great. Your fingers have fully reattached. Could you try moving them? The contamination has also greatly reduced. How do you feel?”
“I feel the best I’ve felt in the last ten years.”
“That’s a relief.”
Doah paused and then said to him,
“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be possible for Khunak to receive this sap treatment too?”
“Well, it could help delay things, but it wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.”
“Then, we should delay it as much as we can.”
Yan nodded in agreement and stood up.
“Well, I’ll be off now. Thank you, Miss Doah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk you to the guild.”
“No need. I’m more than capable of protecting myself.”
“Still…”
As Doah and Yan argued near the door, Khunak appeared.
“I’ll escort him.”
Doah responded cheerfully, “In that case, I’ll leave it to you.” Yan smiled and asked, “What’s gotten into you?”
Watching the brothers walk side by side gave Doah a warm feeling.
Holding onto that feeling, Doah spoke to Berry.
“Shall we go too?”
“Yes!!”
Berry answered enthusiastically.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Wow.”
Doah gasped in awe as she saw the rows of street vendor stalls. Berry was busy looking around everywhere.
Doah lifted Berry into her arms.
“M-Miss Doah.”
Berry stammered, startled, and Doah said to him,
“But Berry, you’re so short you can’t see anything, right? You’d only see people’s butts.”
“But… but…”
“You’re so light, don’t worry. Today, I even carried the guild master with one hand.”
Berry, though shy, nodded slightly, and then timidly reached out to grab the edge of her clothing.
“Let’s see…”
Doah glanced at the price lists written on wooden boards, wondering if the prices were fixed.
‘Wow, everything’s so cheap.’
She had thought that prices were low because the villages they visited were remote, but even here in the city, prices were still low.
The cost was only about 10% of what it would have been in the modern world where Doah came from.
For example, if a loaf of bread cost 5,000 won, here it was just 500 won.
‘At this rate, there’s really no need to use gold coins.’
A bronze coin was worth 1,000 won,
A silver coin was worth 50,000 won,
A small gold coin was worth 1,000,000 won,
And a large gold coin was worth 5,000,000 won.
Food ingredients were even cheaper.
Doah bought plenty of ingredients like flour, butter, and milk and had them delivered to the inn.
After passing through the food stalls, they turned into another alley and found an adventurer’s supply shop.
‘Wow.’
Doah was amazed.
‘That’s ridiculously expensive.’
Compared to the general cost of living, adventurer supplies were priced outrageously.
In fact, all items from dungeons were like that.
A large banner was hanging, and a line of people, who looked like adventurers, stretched out the door.
[Solid Potions on Sale! Half a gold coin each!]
“??”
Doah blinked in confusion.
Half a gold coin was 500,000 won.
And yet, the quality of the solid potions they were selling wasn’t even that good.
Compared to the potions Doah made in the Rakshasha style, the quality was quite poor.
But they were selling one pill for half a gold coin, and people were lining up to buy them.
They were even limiting sales to two pills per person.
‘So, how much does a high-quality solid potion cost?’
Doah was stunned to see that the highest-grade potions were labeled ‘Market Price.’
Doah suddenly understood why the people in the first village had been so flustered, saying, ‘We can’t repay this potion’s cost.’
Even the sap set she had casually used on Yan earlier, excluding the sap itself, was priced at one small gold coin.
“…….”
Berry seemed to notice the same thing as his eyes widened, and he whispered to Doah.
“Miss Doah, did you receive money from the guild master?”
“No, I submitted a request though…”
Doah muttered to herself, hearing Rakshasha nagging in her mind, ‘Take the money, take the money. You should charge for it!’
‘I’ll be more careful from now on.’
Doah resolved to be more cautious as she walked along.
At a large camping supply store, a hand-drawn poster caught her eye.
[New Instant Tent by Jake Corp in stock!]
Below the picture of the tent, the price was written.
[40 large gold coins]
Forty large gold coins. Yes, that would be two hundred million won.
Doah felt sweat running down her back.
‘If I add up all my camping gear, the total would be outrageous.’
There weren’t even places selling subspace bags here.
She now fully understood why Khunak had told her to hide her bag.
‘It’s way too conspicuous. But more than that, is there anyone who can actually buy this?’
Judging by the fact that they had posters up to advertise it, adventurers probably bought such things.
‘Maybe adventurers make more money than I thought…’
As Doah wondered seriously about the average annual income of a B-rank adventurer, she slowly walked through the market and into a street lined with upscale clothing shops.
There were no street vendors or loud sellers here.
‘A clothing store! I wonder if there’s a shop run by the Thule?’
As Doah looked around at the stores, she finally saw a shop run by a cat tribe member.
[Kookie’s Clothing Store]
Inside, a long-haired cat was arranging clothes. When Doah opened the door, a cheerful bell rang.
“Oh, welcome!”
A smiling cat-person, elegantly dressed, approached her. The cat had a white base coat with stylish gray spots.
“Welcome to Kookie’s Clothing Store.”
Doah set Berry down as she spoke.
“I’d like to get some clothes tailored for this friend.”
Berry jumped up in surprise.
“M-Miss Doah! I’m fine, really.”
“But I’m not fine.”
“But, but… then, then…!”
Berry lifted his head boldly.
“Please hire me as a servant!”
“…What?”
Doah was so shocked that her mouth fell open.
Berry clasped his hands together and pleaded,
“I can do anything! I can run errands, carry water, and, and… I never get lost either.”
Berry worked hard to promote his skills.
Doah, feeling bewildered, looked at him. It was something she hadn’t anticipated at all.
“But Berry… weren’t you searching for your younger sister?”
“Yes! I’ll definitely find her. But in order to do that, I need to become stronger too. And Miss Doah, you’re so strong…”
Berry’s voice trailed off.
“Is it not possible?”
His head drooped in such a pitiful way.
Doah looked to the cat tribe member standing nearby for help, but the cat—probably Kookie—was watching with great interest, showing no intention of stepping in.
Doah sighed and tilted her head before finally saying,
“Alright, let’s make a one-year contract first.”
“Huh?”
Berry looked up in surprise.
Doah held up one finger.
“For now, let’s make a one-year contract. After that, we’ll think about what comes next. How does that sound?”
“Great!” Berry replied in a loud voice, seizing the opportunity. Then he smiled brightly.
“Then you can get me some clothes, too.”
Doah burst out laughing at his words, and Berry soon realized how odd what he said sounded.
“No, wait, that’s not what I meant. I mean, you don’t have to get me clothes! I’m fine with these!”
“No, we’ll get you some proper clothes. My errand boy can’t walk around in those. Please make them durable,” Doah said.
Kookie smiled and took a measuring tape from the apron.
“Should we make everything from top to bottom?”
“Yes, please make everything. Three shirts, two vests, one coat, and three pairs of pants should be enough, right?”
“That sounds about right. Kids this age tend to grow quickly.”
Kookie placed Berry on a rotating chair and quickly measured him from head to toe, including his tail circumference.
“The contract price is one silver coin. Please come back in a week to pick them up.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
Doah left the shop, feeling both fascinated and pleased.
‘So, everything here is custom-made, not ready-made.’
It made sense when she thought about it. Mass-produced clothes had only been a recent development where she was from, so it was natural for clothes to be custom-made in this world.
‘How interesting.’
Berry spoke softly.
“You didn’t have to buy me this much.”
“I have enough money, don’t worry,”
Doah replied, smiling as she patted Berry on the head.
Berry’s ears flattened back, and he purred, savoring her touch. It had been so long since he had felt the comfort of having someone he could truly rely on.
‘I’ll work hard.’
Berry resolved to work diligently for the next year, so that when the time came, Doah would say, ‘I can’t do without Berry,’ and extend his contract.
With that dream in mind, he reached out his hand.
Doah immediately took it, and they held hands as they walked.
Doah almost picked Berry up again but decided to let him walk since he was trying so hard.
Then, a question suddenly occurred to her.
“Berry, you said you’re looking for your sister in Gran, right? Is she in Gran?”
“No! There’s an information guild in Gran.”
An information guild!
Doah’s ears perked up.
“Really? An information guild?”
“Yes, I’ve heard they can find anything. It’s expensive, but they say they can find whatever you need.”
“I see, that’s good to know.”
An information guild, huh?
Interesting.
That might be exactly what she needed right now.
Three relics and one spell.
Since it was such a famous story, there could be clues somewhere.
‘By the way, it’s a tragic love story.’
She was curious about what the story was. If it was that well-known, maybe there were books about it.
Would books be expensive here?
Did they even have printing technology?
Doah and Berry found a small bookstore.
The shop was small, and the books were expensive, but Doah could afford to pay in silver coins.
She purchased a thick book recommended by the shopkeeper as the most famous and well-researched, then the two of them returned to the inn together.
They stopped at a street vendor to buy skewers when they got hungry.
Since the market was too crowded, Doah ended up carrying Berry again.
When they arrived back at the inn, they cheerfully opened the door, only to find Khunak sitting inside.
His face looked extremely serious.
