I'd changed my views of new features not too long ago. This should work.
For example, it was like when the world was filled with monochrome TVs, and people all over the world were introduced to color TVs. It was hard to go back once you had an improvement like that.
This time, our stall was pretty modest.
Our main attraction today was the pumpkins, because the surplus of them was threatening to explode the warehouse. That, along with some economical packs of fake starch and fermenting mushrooms I'd gotten from Tundra; plus salt for seasoning, sugar, and fish paste. No hoes or sickles this time around. They didn't need that many of them in such a tiny village. If I'd brought those every single time, all the people that needed them would have been covered, and there wouldn't be any demand.
"The delicious food from before has this thing inside it? It smells pretty fishy, doesn't it?"
"Starch? It has such a curious name, but it's so white and pretty. Will it really give it that kind of texture?"
"This thingie? So the pot goes for 8000 DL? Hmm... it would be hard on my husband's wallet..."
Just like I'd planned... the crowd gathering around the stall this time was different. Now it was the wives instead of the husbands who were eagerly looking at the items.
It was a good idea to have Ann hand out the demi corn... cakes and the pickled white bana around. It'd be nice if no one noticed the fish paste price tag was a little higher than what was listed on Tundra. I figured it would be fine to sell it for as much to the village, but it'd end up being a huge deficit due to the 'shipping' charges of bringing it from the labyrinth to here if the demand increased.
The housewives ranged from humans, elves, dwarves, to even kobolds like Ann. Hell, there were even orcs, minotaurs, and giants among the crowd. The spectacle was amazing, to say the least. I could somewhat manage to discern a male dwarf from a female one, but I still had a little bit of trouble figuring out a kobold's appearance and sex. I guess I just had to get used to the increased difficulty of making out individual differences.
There was a reason as to why there were so many people gathered around here. Aside from giving out the gifts that Ann and I had prepared, I started giving out samples to all the wives that had heard the rumors and came by within the first hour of opening.
The first ones to eat the samples were the men and children at first, but they gave up due to the sheer enthusiasm of the housewives, and disappeared before long.
There were a lot of wives asking all sorts of questions in front of the stall. I guess there weren't many people with that much pocket money in a village like this, since not many people were actually buying.
Even if it didn't sell this time, people would at least know it existed. I guess I could also leave the selling to Fez next time as well. And right as that thought crossed my mind...
"I'll have one of those fish paste thingamabobs, please!"
An elf, maybe? Her ears were kinda pointy. The wife that spoke up was a pretty well-built lady, and led a vanguard of five other housewives with a money-filled bag in her hands.
"Just one, right? Thank you for your purchase."
I gave the pot to her and she embraced it as if she just picked up a rare treasure, with a big warm smile on her face. The housewives accompanying her were quick to express their delight.
Fish paste was sold in one liter pots, but it seemed they'd decided to rally their money together with their fellow housewives as they heard my explanation about how one pot was more than enough to make a hundred dishes with the demi corn.
Barely an hour had gone by before the housewife that had made a fuss and bought the fish paste came back after trying it out with her cooking...
"Try this!"
She passed them around quickly among the others. I was truly impressed by her speed, and the depth of the relationships between all of them, that allowed her to give it out without any hint of selfishness.
She gave one to me as well. The taste was sweeter and smelled more like seafood. Perhaps she used too much fish paste, but even then, it was still delicious. Soon enough, there were more housewives rallying together saying "Let's raise money together!" I ended up selling a total of six fish paste pots that morning.
"Bring more of these for the next market, please!" implored the housewives that didn't manage to buy a pot this time.
They kept urging me to bring more with unbelievable insistence.
"Looks like you had a good day... You doing okay, buddy?"
I arrived at Fez's cart as he was already closing shop and picking everything up. His hair looked kind of messed up, and he seemed absolutely exhausted with a mountain of vegetable and corn bags all over him.
"Do I look okay to you? It's the first time I've had so many clients in this village."
The tired Fez breathed a heavy sigh, then crossed his legs and took out his smoking pipe.
"Sorry about that. I didn't expect the people to come rushing to your place, but it really was more than I expected."
Since I was selling the fish paste for money instead of exchanging for goods, the wives that didn't have enough money rushed to Fez's cart in hopes of cashing out their corn and vegetables with him.
"I did hear about that. You turned out to be quite the schemer, eh, hermit? You're surprisingly sharp."
Fez stuffed the tip of his pipe with some kind of fragrant grass and inhaled deeply. The usual smell of mint started wafting along.
"Mister Fez, what do you mean? Aoi was just teaching everyone to make tasty food." said Ann.
"He didn't just teach them to make tasty food. It costs money if you want to eat something tasty. He's training their stomachs to make them say 'I'll work harder so I earn more money to eat more tasty stuff'. Simple enough, but the result is still rather... strong."
"Um... What's so bad about that? Everyone in the village gets to eat tastier things, and I think it's good that they have a reason to work harder. It helps your business too, doesn't it, Mister Fez?" replied Ann, tiling her head in confusing.
"I'm ticked off because he got the upper hand today. It's not cute at all when he's so good..."
"H-Huh...?"
Ann looked more and more worried by the second. Yeah, I'd like it if Ann could stay this innocent forever.
"If you hate it that much, then all you gotta do is step up your game, right?"
A long while ago, the AI in simulation games were more of a pushover; but as the advent of multiplayer came to the simulator genre, it became more difficult to survive, let alone win, against your opponent when you couldn't do much.
"As a merchant, I have no choice to. So, what's your endgame?"
Fez's expression was as grim as a dog's face could be, and his words feel like sharp blades.
"My... endgame?"
---That's actually a very good question. What even is my goal here?
"Yeah, you drew your hand and kindled a fire among the villagers. What do you intend to do with this situation? If you're planning to disturb a place like this village... I hope you're prepared."
Fez gave me a powerful smile, baring his sharp canines.
"But of course."
A situation in which the villagers got the seasoning bug and wanted money. Well, if I was a merchant, I would also be skeptical about this kind of thing. Money lending and high risk, high reward seed-selling were not to be taken lightly.
"I have no endgame. This situation itself is it. Don't you think it's better to see them all filled with energy like this?"
"...Huh?"
His expression was rather comical now.
"See, while the village was always calm and serene, I wanted it to be more lively, you know? Today's market was so bustling it looked like a real town."
"Hold it right there. You're telling me that all of this was just to make the village look more lively?"
I wondered why Fez looked so surprised. Then again, we were in an environment where it was easy to do bad things, should you desire.
&n
bsp; "Yeah. Is that so bad?"
"What in the world are you trying to get out of this!?"
I see. That was a concern fitting for a merchant.
"Nothing at all. It's not interesting just to think about loss or gain, is it...? Oh, maybe you want to protect this simple village from my evil influence?"
"I'm the fool here for thinking about it seriously!"
Fez's almost tearful response could have made it all the way to the sky. Perhaps I had hit the bullseye just now.
"So, do you have anything else up your sleeve, hermit? I'm pretty beat myself, if it ain't obvious already."
Fez went into full sulking mode, and his eyes looked incredibly tired.
"I wanted to ask you something. The housewives looked really happy, but none of the men seemed into it at all. The whole mood was kinda heavy for some reason. Did something happen?"
"You're quite sharp when it comes to these sorts of things, aren't you? Something did happen---it was the day after the last market. About two or three days of travel west from here, a village was attacked by the human clan. They made a pretty mean mess out of the whole place."
The human clan... Did he mean the human-only country that opposed Daemon?
"West... Wasn't there a fortress or something in that direction? Didn't they suppress the invasion?"
"The fortress has a tight grip on the land, that's why those rats snuck in small troops via boat. The feudal lord and the Demon Lord's navy did their best, but the damage was done already... And, well..."
Now that he mentioned it, I heard something like that from the mayor as well.
"What happened to that village, then?"
"The villagers ran away and somehow made it all the way to the city. It seems the feudal lord's troops made it to the village after they made their escape. Thanks to that, I'm wary wherever I am. I hired an escort and everything to accompany me for about a week as well and all."
Corsairs that arrived from the shores... Were they authorized to do that by their country, or were they paid to do so?
"I don't think they'll come all the way to my house, but I'll be more careful from now on as well. Thanks for telling me, it really helps."
"This is just service for a good money-paying customer. Do me a favor and buy something off me, would you?"
"If I find something nice, sure."
It was nice to have someone to make some small talk and exchange jokes with. I would say that Fez was the closest thing to a friend I'd made since I came to this world. I window-shopped a little while chatting with him, although I ended up going home without buying anything.
◇
After the seasoning sampling and market rush, life didn't change all that much.
"Lunch's ready!"
"Okay~ I'm coming!"
"Oh, yes~ I was getting hungry~"
I announced lunch time with the frying pan in one hand and both of them answered in kind.
One was the ever cheerful and cute Ann, and the other was a relaxed adult woman.
"Whoa! It looks positively tasty today as well~"
I placed the meat and potato stew-like dishes on top of the wooden table that had ranked up from the pile of rocks I lined up from before. Ann was quick to display her joy with an "Awoo!" The woman besides her had impossibly long, droopy ears and locks of bright green hair that swayed as she walked. You couldn't get hair like that in Japan unless you used a lot of dye. She had a sculpture-like appearance and a relaxed air about her, which was apparent enough by the relaxed tone in her voice.
Once every few days, she would come to deliver food from the village according to my contract with the mayor. Her name was Deneb, and she was apparently around the same age as me, and she joined Ann and I at the table.
She was supposedly a blood relative of the mayor, but I would have never imagined that imposing cow-faced mayor could even be related to a pretty elf like Deneb. Interspecies relations truly were complex.
"Good morning to you, Mister Aoi~"
"Good morning, Miss Deneb. Thank you for the delivery."
As usual, she arrived around the time I was preparing breakfast with a basket full of food. We hadn't really agreed on a set time to deliver the food, but she always arrived early in the morning.
"Uncle Hopper---I mean, the mayor---sends his regards~ Someone got hurt from falling off a tree while they were working to chop it down, you see, and he got better right away thanks to your medicine~"
"The fact it's useful is more important than anything else. I'll go refill it next time I come through the village."
"Thank you very much~ Ah, that smells wonderful~"
Deneb usually got so close that it felt like we would end up touching if she moved even a little bit. It seemed she wasn't just trying to flatter me when she said something smelled nice; if her enraptured face was anything to go by, that is. It was pretty erotic when she was like that, to be honest...
"I'm preparing breakfast, after all."
"It smells heavenly~"
She moved in so close that our shoulders and hips started touching. The soft feeling made the hand I was holding the frying pan with shiver.
"Yeah, well..."
"It smells sooooooo good~"
She was literally glued to me by this point.
---No wait, this is all messed up! I can't explain why, but this is too much...!
"........."
"It smells absolutely... delicious~"
Deneb placed her head on my shoulder and traced circles with her fingertip on my side. I wanted someone to praise me for hanging on so desperately. No doubt I would lose it the moment I opened my mouth.
"W-Would... you like to have breakfast with us?"
"Whoa, are you sure~?"
She suddenly separated from me, put her hands together, and faced me with a smile stronger than a thousand suns.
In the end, I just ended up smiling back in defeat before the pretty---and strangely erotic---lady.
Although she may have been a pretty good trickster, her sex appeal status was on a different level from the usual extreme cuteness I got from Ann on a daily basis. From that day henceforth, Deneb ate with us every time she came around to bring food. I got a little curious, so I asked Ann about what she thought of Deneb...
"Pretty relaxed, but she's a really kind lady."
Were her impressions. The desire to eat tasty food sure was terrifying. It turned a laid-back lady into a weapon of sexualized destruction...
"Mister Aoi, when will you be cooking the meat I brought today~?"
"Oh... That's the one I asked you for before, right? I was thinking of skewering and roasting it today."
"Huh? A spit-roast? Whoa!"
Ann was positively ecstatic about it. She was just so lovely all the time. Deneb felt kinda closer than usual. There was so much body contact it was kind of overwhelming. But, it did have its side benefits, so it was kinda complicated.
"So you're having a spit-roast tonight~ I'm so glad I procured a lamp just in case~"
"Wha...!?"
I unintentionally gulped down air when I saw Deneb take an oil lamp from the basket.
---Don't tell me... She came prepared to have dinner here as well!?
"Say, Mister Aoi~ It's been a while since the last time I spoke with Ann. Do you mind if I do~?"
She asked while sticking as close as a wet shirt to me.
"A-Ah... Y-Yeah. Sure."
"Hmm?"
---Ann, would you please notice how I'm suffering here instead of looking confused!? I might be able to get away from her if you forced your way in between...! Please!
"Whoa, it's positively delicious~ Meat with sauce is so tasty~"
In the end, Deneb ended up staying all the way until dinner. I don't know if there was a god in this world or not, but: God, can I let loose and give in to the temptation already...?
Chapter 4
The ever dwindling days left of training slowly passed by.
Since there were so few days left,
I didn't really bother doing something hasty. If I did anything else and it went poorly, then at worse I'd leave something half-baked behind. I didn't know what would become of the labyrinth, but it would still be good to have a budget. I made something of a treasury for all the DL coins under the cabin, and collected all the materials that might be overabundant, along with the potions and lamps I'd made, and sold them all to Tundra.
Ann diligently polished the stone before placing it in the delivery box.
We wouldn't get any cash until the inventory cleared out with the normal stone, but the polished stone was listed separately so it didn't count alongside the typical variant. Though, it was kind of a shame that the amount of work didn't change the price that much.
Some time ago, one of the dolls we'd made out of stone and metal to play tabletop games with fell apart, and so we decided to start making palm-sized stone figurines that day instead. We went at it for about two or three days and managed to create something worthy of selling, despite being complete amateurs. Even if Ann was only a half-kobold, she was really skilled at it. I thought all those laid-back days of minimal work would slowly diminish my tempered body from carving out the stairs, but...
Aoi Kousaka
Vitality : 128/128 Stamina : 882/882 Willpower : 152/152
Skill(s) :
I checked the translucent window just to make sure, but it didn't seem like my Vitality or Stamina decreased after being raised. I found it a little strange that my body didn't get even a little bit muscular despite my stats going up. Since bodybuilding every day wasn't really my hobby, I guess it was convenient enough still, all things considered. I wondered if my Willpower going up was thanks to the potion making... That would be good news to me since I was kinda self-conscious about min-maxing in Stamina.
The moss, which was a highly valuable material for potion making, fortunately spread around and grew about as fast as normal vegetation. It only took about three days to come back after I had harvested some of it. I took my time to make potions, and made sure to store them properly. I also tried to create new potions with the guide book in hand from time to time. I really enjoyed the easygoing slow life of an alchemist and a doctor.
Strongest Gamer; Let's Play in Another World Volume 1 Page 16