kscans

Chapter 226 - # The Spring Grand Market ~A Ladies First First Day~ 2. Fancy Goods

Faced with the reality that most of the clothing stalls dealt in bolts of cloth rather than secondhand clothes, Dona seemed to have designated the fancy goods shops as her new hunting ground. The goods handled by these shops varied widely. Some displayed only high-end jewelry, while others dealt in what were clearly old tools, making it quite enjoyable just to look around. At one such shop, Dona stopped and was staring intently at something.

"...A hair ornament... right?"

"Yeah... It's damaged, but the quality looks good..."

The decorative bead, which appeared to be made of glass, was partially cracked, but it was a hair ornament that would have fetched a good price otherwise. The fact that it was made of translucent colored glass made it impossible to hide the crack. It was being sold at a ridiculously low price because it was damaged, but it seemed no eccentric was willing to wear a broken item in their hair, so it was gathering dust in a corner.

"...Hey Yuri-kun, can you fix this somehow?"

Dona had her eye on this damaged item because she knew that Yuri could use Earth Magic and was dabbling in something like alchemy. ...In reality, it was far more than dabbling, but Yuri hadn't revealed that much. ...Well, the adults seemed to have a vague suspicion.

Yuri took a look at the hair ornament she was talking about...

(Hmm... I have the glass materials and tools back at the 'village'... and if Alchemy doesn't work, I can probably manage something like this with Earth Magic...)

Secretly using his Alchemy (Strange) skill to assess the extent of the damage, Yuri said,

"I don't know if it'll work out, okay? Will you promise not to complain even if I fail?"

"Hmm..."

Dona mulled it over for a while, but she seemed to have decided it wasn't a bad bet. It was being sold for next to nothing anyway. There was no harm in giving it a try, though Yuri was the one doing the trying. With that thought, Dona accepted Yuri's condition.

"...Are you sure about this, Yuri-kun?"

"It's about fifty-fifty. Oh, but it will have to be after I get back to the 'village,' okay?"

"I understand that much."

Of course, the "village" he was referring to was not End Village, but the abandoned village where Yuri lived. Because of the village's location, even if he succeeded, he wouldn't be able to give it to Dona right away. That was what he meant, but Dona understood and accepted that. At worst, she was of the stance that as long as she knew the result by the end of the year, it would be fine.

At any rate, just as Dona was about to purchase the hair ornament under these circumstances...

"Hey sonny, if you can do something about that, how about you take this off my hands too?"

The old man from the shop joined the fray.

"...It's completely broken... Was it originally a statue of a rabbit? ...It's very transparent."

The shopkeeper had brought out a broken glasswork statue. It must have been quite a masterpiece in its original state, but now that it was shattered, it was a shadow of its former self.

"...What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Well... I don't know if it's you, sonny, or your master... but can't you do something with it?"

"Are you asking me to repair it? This?"

"No... I was hoping you'd take it. Even just as material would be fine."

Huh? Yuri tilted his head in confusion. If he was going to sell it off cheap as material, wouldn't it be better to take it to a proper artisan?

"Well... you see..."

He had bought it thinking that at worst, he could melt it down for glass material, but because it was so transparent, the artisans apparently refused to take it, saying it was "a waste to melt it down."

"It's shattered like this, so it's not sellable, and yet, it feels like a waste to just throw it away..."

It wouldn't sell, but it was a shame to throw it away, and it was quite bulky and heavy, so at present, it was just taking up space. It seemed he was at a loss as to what to do with it.

"...With it being so completely broken... are all the pieces even here in the first place?"

"That's the thing... I tried laying them out, but it seems like a few parts are missing..."

"So at present, it's only good for material. ...But... it does seem like a waste to melt it down, doesn't it..."

"The craftsmanship is just too good, you know..."

.........

In the end, Yuri decided to take the "glasswork." The price was next to nothing, he thought it could be used for practice with his Alchemy (Strange) skill, and above all, it looked like a fun jigsaw puzzle.