It took a good half day to get from the wind fairy village to the road where wagons traveled.
The coachman’s worried words circled in my head.
-It’s still another day by wagon to the city.
On top of that, I had no idea when a wagon would come, or whether one would come at all.
It was a system where you sat on the roadside and waited, then flagged one down if you saw it.
For someone used to subways and buses that departed and arrived on schedule, it was enough to make one’s insides burst.
‘There’s definitely a fairy with the power to distort space.’
I recalled the veils installed in the forest near the village.
Those who touched those veils were moved to another space.
Through a magic path created by connecting veil to veil.
If the fairy who had set up that art in the forest moved me to the place I wanted?
I might be able to shorten the time needed to reach the city, even if only a little.
“Yes. There is a path connected to a human city.”
The forest surrounding the village, the transparent membrane blocking the path.
The veil that protected the village so outsiders could not set foot inside was none other than the Elder fairy’s power.
‘A path connected to the city still remains!’
Since they hated humans, I had thought they would not even want to go near one.
Had they left at least a connection behind?
Thanks to that, I had essentially obtained an instant-movement ticket.
“I shall guide you. This way.”
The Elder fairy bowed once more, then led the way.
“Please wait a moment!”
“Neras? Blocking the path so suddenly—what rudeness is this?”
“There is something I was asked to bring. I thought it would be best to deliver it before he leaves for the city......!”
“Even so, to behave so improperly.”
When the Elder fairy frowned, Neras’s eyes darted around in confusion.
I slipped my palm between the two of them.
One deep line increased between the Elder fairy’s brows.
‘......Surely they won’t scold me too?’
Still, just in case, I decided to finish my business quickly.
I looked back at Neras.
“You brought the Four-Tail Grass powder I asked for, right?”
“Y-yes......! I gathered as much powder as I could, including what the neighbors had, but......”
Neras held out the pouch they had been embracing with both arms.
It was large enough that a fairy had to spread their arms wide to carry it, but for me, it was light.
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
The pouch was about the size of one joint of my thumb.
If the powder inside had been packed in tightly, I thought it might be around 20 grams.
It was enough to make one or two Elixirs of Luck.
Neras looked back and forth between the pouch of powder and my palm, then slumped their shoulders.
“Th-there really is too little, isn’t there?”
“Hm? No.”
If anything, it was more than I had expected.
How large could a fairy’s teacup possibly be?
My expectation that there would be no powder I could use right away had been pleasantly wrong.
“Well, if it’s not enough, I can use Four-Tail Grass raw.”
Though it would become a Low-Grade Elixir of Luck, something was still better than nothing.
Even so, Neras seemed to keep worrying about it.
“Um, Lord Ritak. How long will you be staying in the city?”
“Let’s see...... I think I’ll be there at least a week.”
It had only been three days since I defeated the first calamity.
There was plenty of leeway before the next calamity germinated.
And the time to leave the city would likely be after I defeated the second calamity.
Neras clenched both fists tightly.
“In that case, I will go to the city ten days from now!”
“You’ll come find me?”
“In a week, I can dry the Four-Tail Grass and turn it into powder.”
They were full of motivation.
For me, there was no reason to refuse.
If anything, it was something to spread my arms and cheer over.
However......
“There’ll be a lot of humans in the city, you know?”
“Of course I know.”
I glanced at the Elder fairy.
They had their arms crossed before their chest and let out a small sigh.
“......Do as you wish.”
The village’s leader had given permission too.
Then there was no need for me to step in and stop Neras.
“All right. See you later.”
“Yes!”
Neras nodded deeply once more.
The Elder fairy cleared their throat softly.
“If your conversation is over, let us be on our way.”
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“Not at all.”
When the Elder fairy turned sharply, their long hem fluttered in the air.
I followed them across the village.
The fairy village, where every door had been locked and silent last night.
Now, it was rather bustling.
I saw fairies busily going out while carrying young fairies on their backs.
“It seems they are going to cure the illness.”
Wer’s voice was gentle.
Normally, half of what he said was grumbling and the other half was indifferent.
It seemed he had been quite worried about the sick fairies.
“If we do as Neras told us, our child can recover soon too!”
“Let us hurry to the Four-Tail Grass habitat.”
“I heard that person taught us the treatment method?”
Groups of fairies passing us each bowed their heads.
At that, Wer opened his mouth and smiled.
Was he that happy?
‘Not that I dislike it either.’
I lightly waved my hand at the fairies.
***
“We have arrived.”
The scene spread before me was half clearing.
I could see trees lined up at regular intervals.
The Elder fairy pointed between the trees.
“If you walk this way, you will reach near the City of Traders.”
Wer’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, they are all connected to different paths. If we pass through the tree beside it, can we go to Root Village?”
As expected of a guide, he saw through the veils at once.
The Elder fairy nodded reluctantly.
“Conversely, can I return to this village from the city?”
“That is possible.”
If I could use these veils from now on, they would be a great help to me.
It would be best to open a path here while I had the chance.
‘They don’t exactly look willing, but......’
There was nothing to lose by asking.
“Then may I come to the village by following this path next time?”
“Pardon?”
“I want to check whether the village children have recovered.”
It was not empty talk.
Only after quite some time did the Elder fairy nod with an ambiguous expression.
“Good. Then I’ll see you again.”
After giving the fairy a grin, I walked between the trees they had indicated.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of fresh grass being pressed beneath my feet.
The moment I wondered whether the sound of my footsteps had changed, the scenery around me distorted.
Crunch, crunch.
Before I knew it, my surroundings had changed to a sandy field.
A wasteland no one would have any reason to visit.
A hot desert region.
Not far away, I could see rows of gray-white buildings.
“Let us go this way!”
Wer chose a direction without hesitation.
He flew while twisting this way and that between invisible obstacles.
‘Without a guide, I would have had to run into the veils myself.’
The path was two-way, and the area around the city’s entrance was also guarded by veils.
Without a guide, one could only circle around and around the surroundings.
‘Thanks to this, I can come and go easily.’
With Wer’s guidance, I passed through the veils and arrived at the City of Traders.
It was noisy from the entrance onward.
Because it was full of people each raising their voices.
“Cool fruit juice for sale! Very sweet!”
“How much is this necklace?”
“Do you have a place to stay tonight? We will hold your luggage for free!”
I saw many people wearing hoods or robes over their heads.
Each and every one of them had a booming voice.
Not to be outdone, Wer shouted even louder.
“Ritak! There is a great deal of delicious food over there!”
They said that the day one went out was market day, and as luck would have it, a market seemed to have opened in the city.
Temporary stalls stretched out in a long row.
Sweet, salty, and spicy smells surged over the road and stabbed at my nose.
BANG, BANG!
Someone pounded a temporary wall with their fist.
“You’re asking this much? Give me a bit of a discount.”
“What am I supposed to live on? At your credit rating, this price is the lowest, the lowest!”
Everywhere I looked, people were packed together.
The popular stalls had lines stretched out so long they barely seemed to shrink.
Wer’s eyes widened.
“Ritak, Ritak! We must eat that meat.”
Point!
The food Wer indicated with his claws was glossy roast meat.
Its golden-brown color looked appetizing.
My stomach immediately growled loudly too.
“It’s about lunchtime.”
Wer had worked hard too, so I should feed him a meal.
Rubbing my stomach, I stood in front of the stall.
There were many foods besides roast meat.
But there was no menu.
‘......That means there’s no fixed price.’
It also meant the price was whatever the seller called.
The merchant watching the stall rubbed his palms together.
“Welcome! What can I get you?”
“I’d like to buy roast meat.”
“Let’s see, that’s a face I haven’t seen before! Credit plate?”
“......I don’t have one yet.”
“Haah. Is that so?”
His narrowed eyes swept over my face.
The merchant tapped his palm as though it were an abacus, then nodded.
“That’ll be 60 vanus.”
Are you insane?!
I blocked the words that almost burst out on their own with my palm.
Wer urged me on, unable to read the room.
“Ritak? He says it is 60 vanus.”
Sorry, but I could not just hand over dozens of vanus.
Because 100 copper equaled 1 vanus.
One silver coin held the value of one hundred dark coins.
‘You want me to burn 60 vanus on a snack?’
In Root Village, 50 copper was enough to enjoy a proper meal.
But the city was different.
If 60 vanus was calculated in copper, it came to 6,000.
Prices were nearly a hundred times higher.
‘That’s an absurd market price.’
Of course, it was a fact I had known.
I had experienced it in the game until I was sick of it.
But experiencing it in person made my breath catch.
“You’d best go to the administrative office and get a credit plate issued.”
The City of Traders was, just as its name suggested, a region where transactions ran rampant.
If you registered your identity at the administrative office, they began assigning a credit rating.
The grade of a first-time registrant was F.
The method of raising the grade was simple.
The more you traded and built up performance, the higher it rose.
“If I cut everything off, I won’t have anything left either.”
It was efficient to purchase expensive goods after raising your credit rating sufficiently.
If you tried to buy goods before then, you would get ripped off like this.
However, it was not as though the merchant was arbitrarily overcharging me.
The problem was the tax collected by the administrative office under the pretext of transaction protection.
The difference in fees paid depended on one’s credit rating.
No-credit transactions especially came with an insane amount of tax.
“Staring at me with that blank face won’t help. If you’re not buying, move along.”
The merchant waved his hand.
‘Who made this system...... This is enough to twist a person’s insides.’
To think the same item had a different market price depending on the person.
On top of that, the money went into the administrative office and the city’s powerful figures.
Since the idea had come from my own head, it was embarrassing to curse at length.
‘Since I’ve come to Rome, I suppose I have to follow Rome’s laws.’
In the City of Traders, I had no choice but to follow the city’s laws.
‘I could slowly raise my grade while selling junk items, but......’
At this point in the game, the only items I would buy were Health Recovery Potions at most.
Thanks to that, I could steadily raise my credit rating while farming near the city.
But things were different now.
There was a limit to how many meals I could skip just to save money.
‘I’m not a game character.’
Once again, my stomach growled, announcing mealtime.
Wer lightly tugged at the hem of my clothes.
“Ritak, come to think of it, this body is not particularly hungry.”
He turned his head away with his eyes squeezed shut.
The sight of him gulping down saliva was terribly pitiful.
‘I can’t keep starving.’
Even if I tried to get an inn, they would certainly demand a ridiculous amount.
If I starved for days and even slept outdoors?
Calamity or not, I would die first.
“......Let’s go.”
“Wh-where are we going? To the administrative office the merchant mentioned?”
I shook my head.
Getting a credit plate issued was not the priority.
Because raising my grade would ultimately take time.
Right now, I needed an immediate solution.
“We’re going to the guild building.”
Fortunately, there was a simple way to solve food and lodging.