kscans

Chapter 97 - The North Market 1. To the Market

Yuri's shopping, which had been put on hold, though not quite derailed, by the discovery of the sisters Saya and Sena, was set to resume. He had already finished purchasing miscellaneous goods and clothing, and the rest was foodstuffs, particularly vegetables and fruits. When Adon heard this, he provided a guide. Of course, Old Man Audel and Yuri secretly suspected he was also a chaperone. Looking back, he had beaten some ruffians half to death and picked up refugee girls. He caused some kind of incident every time he went out. It was only natural that Adon would be cautious. Since Yuri understood this, he accepted without a word.

"Lads, I'm having this one guide you through the North Market today. He’s an apprentice cook, after a fashion, so I think he’ll be of some help with the ingredients. Don’t hesitate to work him hard. ...Come on, Eto, say hello."

The person the head chef, Mand, brought with him was a young boy who was still just a child. He was apparently one year younger than Yuri and one year older than Saya, the former refugee and current apprentice housemaid. He was a nimble-looking boy with curly brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles.

"Yuri-sama, Audel-sama, Dona-ojousama, it is a pleasure to be of service today."

Even when scolded by Mand, he greeted them with a nonchalant expression, which could be called reliable in a way.

"No... Yuri-sama... I’m not that important, so could you just talk to me normally?"

In the background, Dona was muttering, "ojousama..." in an emotional voice, but Yuri pretended not to hear and requested a correction. However,

"The master has instructed me to be sure not to be rude."

Cheerfully and politely, yet firmly, the boy named Eto shot down Yuri’s request. From Eto’s perspective, Yuri was a "guest," while Adon was his "master." It was obvious whose wishes he would respect. Yuri let out a small sigh, then changed his focus and turned to Eto.

"I understand. Well then, I’ll be counting on you for the tour today, Eto."

"Yes. Please leave it to me."

*

Just as Adon and Mand had vouched for him, Eto was an excellent guide. He was thoroughly familiar with every corner of the produce market, and seemed to be on friendly terms with the shopkeepers, being called out to everywhere they went. ...For some reason, wherever they went, there were people who would jump at the sight of Yuri and scurry away... but it was best not to worry about it.

Yuri was in high spirits, having managed to acquire a variety of foodstuffs, and at a discount, thanks to Eto’s connections. But it was also true that there were surprisingly few things that made him want to try cultivating them in his "village."

(Well... I’ve got most of the major grains besides rice and corn, and the vegetables are pretty well-stocked too...)

He had been hoping to find some good fruits, but most of them were either already being cultivated in End Village, or similar varieties were growing wild in the mountains, so there was almost nothing new. Yuri, a former Japanese person, had forgotten, but when it comes to exotic fruits, which means fruits from distant lands, transportation in a fresh state is almost impossible due to the number of days required, unless one uses a magic tool like a magic bag. Inevitably, they are transported as dried fruit. It might be possible to plant the seeds if they remain and get them to germinate, but from what he heard about their places of origin, many of them would be difficult to cultivate in this country’s climate.

(I mean, this country seems to be at a pretty high latitude... If it’s at a similar latitude to Europe, that’s like Tohoku or Hokkaido in Japan. Tropical fruits are probably difficult.)

Yuri was not the type to entertain the noble thought that the star-studded array of tropical fruits like bananas, pineapples, papayas, mangoes, durians, mangosteens, star fruits... which were common in his former Japan, were now a distant dream to be given up on. He harbored the ambition that if the temperature was low, he could just build a greenhouse. However, for now, he had no prospect of obtaining glass, so that plan was on ice.

Putting tropical crops on the back burner for the time being, Yuri was wandering around looking for something else interesting when it caught his eye, or rather, his Appraisal skill.