kscans

Chapter 225 - # The Spring Grand Market ~A Ladies First First Day~ 1. Clothing

On the first day of the Spring Grand Market in Laurenzen, Yuri, who was about to head to the market with a light heart, full of excitement and anticipation, was greeted by a familiar face.

"Fray-san is our guard for today?"

It was the beastman Fray, who served as the scout for the C-class party "Lucky Footsteps."

"Yep. The boss said we can't be parading around in a big group when it's so crowded because of the grand market."

That matter should have already been settled. What was the reason for bringing it up again now? Fray was thinking this with a bit of suspicion when Yuri spoke.

"Well then, for today... Dona, if there's a place you want to go, let's head there first."

"Eh!? Really!?"

"Yup. It's proper to prioritize a lady's wishes in these situations."

Yuri declared this with a virtuous look on his face, but first Old Man Audel and Adon, and then a moment later Fray, realized what was happening.

He intended to get the shopping for the girls out of the way before the female members of the party, Katra and Dalia, arrived.

(I see... Dona alone will prolong the shopping, so to have two half-elf girls join in would be unbearable, is that it...) (As always, he's more considerate than any child I've ever met...) (My personal preference would be to go straight to the shady shops... but if I don't placate Dona first, it will be difficult to look around in peace.)

Although his age in this world was twelve, in his previous life he had died at the age of thirty-seven. And though he had been hospitalized for a long time, he had accumulated a certain amount of knowledge. ...Mostly in the form of complaints from patients and their visitors. Eto, who was accompanying them as a chaperone, also seemed to have a vague idea. The only one who hadn't noticed was Dona.

"Ah, well, then! First, clothes! And then... um... accessories! And then, and then... ummm..."

"Well, we have plenty of time, so let's start by touring the district where those kinds of things are gathered."

.........

It might be difficult to properly explain the "Spring Grand Market" in this world. If forced to describe it, it is an interesting thing that is like a jumble of an exhibition, a flea market, a caravan, and a festival fair.

From all over the country and abroad, merchants proud of their skills and goods gather for the grand market. Greeting them are the local merchants.

"Ah, there, there, Dona... I'm sorry, Yuri-kun."

Seeing Dona charge into a shop with a cheer, Old Man Audel apologized to Yuri with a pathetic-sounding voice.

"Haha, it's alright. It's good practice for me, too."

"Practice? ...I see..."

"Ah... so that's what it is..."

The matter of Yuri having received a blessing from the goddess Anatea, which was appreciated but had its quirks, had already been conveyed to the "Lucky Footsteps." The matter of him having purchased a special magic tool as a countermeasure for the side effects of the blessing was also known to them.

The magic tool that Yuri relied on as his trump card required the timing of meeting someone's eyes and the activation of the magic tool to coincide. In the case of this grand market, it was explainable that he would be looking down while examining the goods. When someone spoke to him, or when it became necessary to speak face-to-face, he could activate the said magic tool. There would naturally be others who would just glance at him from a distance, but they would likely just conclude that he had a feminine face.

Yuri kept his eyes slightly downcast as a countermeasure against witnesses, and while receiving a report from Fray about the usability of the magic bone tools, he kept an eye on Dona, but...

(...Huh? Dona looks kind of disappointed, doesn't she...?)

It was no wonder that Dona was knitting her brows. The items in that shop were not secondhand clothes, but bolts of cloth. They were goods beyond what Dona's purse could afford. Old Man Audel, who noticed this with a sharp eye, said,

"With secondhand clothes, the cost of transport probably doesn't make it worthwhile. I'd guess they brought things they couldn't sell in the capital as a sort of greeting."

(I see... so it's a way to combine advertising with inventory clearance, I guess?)

But if it was bolts of cloth, then in a way, it was rather convenient for Yuri. With his Rural Life Guide skill, Yuri could manage simple sewing on his own. If he could get new cloth even a little bit cheaper, it might be worth taking a peek. He needed to buy materials for bedding and things anyway.

"Hey, Yuri-kun, are you seriously thinking of buying fabric of that color?"

"Eh? But the weave is tight and it looks sturdy, and it's clearly a bargain, don't you think? This one."

"Well, it might be sturdy, but isn't the color a bit drab?"

"Well... but look..."

Yuri lived alone on the untrodden Salt-Sour Mountain. His selection criteria were, first, sturdiness; second, texture; three and four were nothing, and fifth was color and pattern. He had a poor sense of fashion to begin with, but even if he cared about his appearance...

"No matter how much effort I put into my clothes, only birds and beasts will see me, you know? In that case, I'd rather prioritize sturdiness and texture over color or pattern, wouldn't you?"

To Yuri's assertion, even Dona had no choice but to agree.