kscans

Chapter 254 - The Grand Spring Market ~Last Day of Bargains~ 3. Eating the Red Fruit

Thanks to the advice of his capable companions and, above all, the success of actually obtaining useful crops like asparagus, Yuri, who hadn't held much hope for the last day's bargains, suddenly started paying close attention. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, his companions couldn't suppress a twinge of anxiety.

"Ah..."

The agonizing wait came to an end when Yuri spoke up. Here it comes, what is it this time. The group braced themselves, but what Yuri had stopped in front of was...

"...They seem pretty damaged. Are these to be thrown away?"

"No! ...Well... I don't intend to throw 'em away..."

"But they hardly look like they're for sale."

"Yeah, I know... They're more damaged than I expected..."

"? What do you mean?"

Confused by the situation, the shopkeeper explained to the puzzled child with a wry smile. Perhaps he had grown tired of standing guard over his unsellable, disposable goods.

"I see... so when you opened the cargo, the preservation talisman was broken?"

"Yeah. Must've happened when we were transporting it by ship, probably got caught in a storm or something. Here, look at this mess."

They were in no condition to be sold, which was why he was selling them off on the last day. Saying so, the man casually picked up and showed Yuri what appeared to be a magic talisman that had been affixed to a wooden box. Yuri took it with a nonchalant expression and inspected it with a knowing look. The man watched with a wry smile, clearly thinking something like, 'Just a kid who knows nothing, acting like he understands.'

However! Yuri was a bona fide owner of the Magic Tool Creation and Enchantment skills! Even if it was his first time seeing such a magic talisman, he could at least decipher the magic formula inscribed on it.

(...Hmm... a quality preservation type of magic talisman... I have to get my hands on this, no matter what. Not to mention the 'fruit' here.)

While Yuri's expression still betrayed him when he was caught off guard, he could pull off a decent bit of subtle negotiation when he was aiming for something from the start. His age, counting from his past life, was forty-nine. Contrary to his twelve-year-old appearance, his mental age and experience were high, so he was well versed in the art of negotiation. Thus, while casually fiddling with the magic talisman to secure it, the words that came out of Yuri's mouth were,

"Would it be all right if I sampled a few?"

This proposal seemed to take the man by surprise.

"Sample? ...Well, I don't mind... but, and it's strange for me to say this... what are you gonna do with this stuff?"

Smiling wryly at a statement unbecoming of a seller, Yuri replied,

"For now, I just want to taste it. It might be possible to process it into something."

"Process, huh... Well, it's just gonna be thrown away as it is. Go ahead and taste as much as you like."

"Then I'll take you up on your offer."

Yuri picked up one of the smaller 'fruits' from the display. It was shriveled and looked thoroughly unappetizing, but...

(...Yeah... the pulp is thicker and less astringent than the ones I tried in my past life, and the sweetness and acidity are more distinct. With this, they might only be eating the pulp raw and not have gotten around to using the seeds. The pulp seems to have a decent amount of caffeine, too... and it looks like coffee isn't known in this country, at least.)

Yes, what Yuri had his eye on was the fruit of the coffee plant, the so-called coffee cherry.