CH 37

I went to the adventurer’s guild to split up yesterday’s rewards, checked the requests on the bulletin board, and took a look around before leaving the guild.

I didn’t go to the archives this time because everyone was there, but I’ll take a look when I come back alone.

I left the adventurer’s guild and walked to the blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith they recommended was in the central district, near the south. I had come all the way to the center of the city to get to the guild, but I took the road back to the south.

“So what kind of store is that blacksmith’s?”

As we were walking, I asked Dan just for some small talk.

“… What? It’s an ordinary blacksmith’s.” (Dan)

“Huh? You didn’t tell him. You know, that store is Dan’s parents’ house.” (Mel)

Mel supplements what Dan is having difficulty in saying.

I see. I don’t know why Dan’s words become clipped when he talks about the blacksmith shop since yesterday, maybe it’s because it’s his parents’ house? I somehow understood the meaning of yesterday’s exchange between Dan and Rocky.

“… Well, I don’t think their skills are bad.” (Dan)

“It’s not bad, it’s definitely good.” (Mel)

I see. They are good.

But does Dan have a problem with his family? If so, it’s hard to ask!

No, but then he wouldn’t have introduced them to me, would he?

Well, maybe there’s a lot to be said about family relationships.

As we walked along, we came across an open space that looked like a plaza. Stalls and food stalls were selling all sorts of things.

Some people were grilling some kind of meat on skewers, others were selling something that looked like vegetables. Some were selling used armor. Some people were selling wooden statues that looked like they would be cursed if displayed in a house.

It was kind of interesting, and I walked around observing things.

I love this kind of atmosphere. I’ve always loved looking at street stalls and food stands, but there’s a different kind of fun to be had when you see things you’ve never seen before, such as armor that you wouldn’t find in a street stall in modern Japan, items whose uses you can’t imagine at all, and new ingredients you’ve never seen before.

“Come on, it’s an item from a dungeon in a neighboring country! If you don’t get them here today, you’ll never see them again. It’s free to look, just stop and take a look!” (Peddler)

As I walked along, I heard a call from the stall in front of me, and I looked at it with sudden interest.

There was a middle-aged man who looked like a merchant. He seemed to be doing business with a variety of goods laid out on a cloth on the ground. If what he said was true, then all of the items he was selling were probably from the dungeon.

I looked at his figure and the large basket on his back and thought that he looked like a peddler.

I shifted my eyes downward to observe the items he was selling.

A knife with no particular characteristics. A piece of paper rolled up in a circle. A round stone with some kind of symbol carved into it. A leather shield that could be found anywhere. Something in a ceramic-looking jar. A grimoire with a dark blue cover with the word [Purification] written on it.

“—!!”

I wanted to praise myself for not screaming at that moment.

For a moment, I was startled and went rigid, but I hurriedly tried to keep my composure.

It’s not a good idea to show any suspicious movements here.

After taking a deep breath, I approached the peddler, bent down, and picked up the [Purification] grimoire.

At that moment, I felt as if I was somehow connected to the book.

My heart skipped a beat at the nostalgic sensation, and my face almost broke into a grin.

After all, this grimoire is real. And I’m sure it’s the same type of grimoire as [Holy Light]. The appearance is similar to that of the [Holy Light] grimoire, and more importantly, the moment I saw it, it popped into my head that this was a [Purification] grimoire. This was the same feeling I had when I saw the [Holy Light] grimoire before, and the same phenomenon had never happened to me before. This would be the second time.

“Excuse me, how much is this?”

Suppressing my excitement, I pointed out the purification grimoire to the peddler and asked the price.

I wonder if I’m smiling naturally now. Do I have an awkward expression on my face? To be honest, I’m not sure.

But I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. I don’t plan on buying into the peddler’s sales talk, but if it’s true that if I don’t get it today, I’ll never see it again, then if I don’t get it now, I’ll never see it again. That’s just sales talk, and there may be another chance, but I’m not willing to bet on it and ignore the opportunity in front of me.

There is a saying, “The Goddess of Luck only knocks once.” The Goddess of Luck who passes by so quickly only has bangs. So even if you chase after her, you only have a single place to grab, else she cannot be caught. So if you notice the Goddess of Luck, you have to catch her quickly. [T/N: The author is doing a word play on 前髪 which can mean “a fringe” or “bangs”. And if the kanji is with this group 幸運の女神には前髪しかない it is similar to the phrase “Opportunity only knocks once.”]

In other words, if you don’t notice the good fortune in front of you, and then later notice it and chase after it, it will already be too late. Therefore, if you feel that there is a fortune in front of you, you should grab it immediately.

I believe that the opportunity that is right in front of me is this moment.

“You’re right! You have a good eye, young man! That’s an advanced magic grimoire from a dungeon in a neighboring country. An adventurer who brought it back and wanted to exchange it for cash right away sold it to me. It’s not something you’d normally find on the market! And now it’s worth 200 gold coins! Aaah! So cheap! No, if I look closely, I see that the customer is quite a handsome man! No, no, no, I don’t need to tell you that! If you are such a customer, you need something! Okay! I will cut you a deal and offer it for 100 gold coins!” (Peddler)

After saying all that, the vendor looked at me with a bright smile.

For a moment, I was overwhelmed by the thought of a Grimoire Trade-in with free shipping, no installation work costs, and no hidden fees.

—Well, I can’t trade in the grimoire I’ve used because it disappeared.

I was about to take out my wallet, but I stopped at the end.

No, I don’t have 100 gold coins in the first place, so it’s not enough.

Somehow, I managed to regain composure in my mind, remembered the merchant’s words, and thought it over.

This merchant mixed surprising information in his sales talk like some television shopping show. In other words, he called this [Purification] grimoire an advanced magic grimoire.

I’m pretty sure that this [Purification] grimoire is in the same family as the [Holy Light] grimoire. However, this merchant called the [Purification] grimoire an advanced grimoire. If he was right, then my prediction that the [Holy Light] was a different type of magic from the Six Attributes might be wrong. In other words, the theory that [Holy Light] is simply a higher level of magic within the six attribute magic – in this case, it would be a higher level of light because I only have the aptitude for light – has come up.

In any case, there is a possibility that this type of magic, such as [Holy Light], may be more well-known than I expected.

It’s getting a bit complicated. I’m not sure what to make of this, but it’s too much work for me to make predictions and verify them one by one.

As I was thinking about it like that, everyone came to look for me, maybe they noticed that I wasn’t following them.

“Uncle. That’s a lost item that comes out in the dungeon. As expected, 100 gold coins is too much of a rip-off. At best, it should be three silver coins.” (Mel)

Mel, who seems to have heard the conversation from earlier, said so from behind me.

Lost Items in the dungeon? Three silver coins? Rip-off? The conversation is moving too quickly for me to keep up.

“Young lady. Three silver coins is too little. I’m carrying this from a neighboring country to here. If I don’t have at least ten gold coins, I’ll go bankrupt.” (Peddler)

Indeed, if you are transporting from another country, there are various transportation costs… Now it just went down to one-tenth! What is happening!?

“What are you talking about? It’s an item that comes out in the dungeon and has no particular use. It’s not worth it. Four silver coins.” (Mel)

An item that has no particular use? Isn’t it a grimoire?

It’s too new to see what’s going on, and I have no choice but to obediently watch on the sidelines.

“That’s unreasonable, young lady… I’m searching for a lot of Lost Items just by bringing them to this point. If I don’t have at least one gold coin, I’ll be unable to have money for tomorrow!” (Peddler)

I feel sorry for not him being able to live… and it has dropped to a tenth again! Did I just feel like I was about to be rip-off!? It’s even more surprising that you’ve moved here!

“In other words, you do admit that those are Lost Items?” (Mel)

“Ugh…” (Peddler)

Uncle, you’ve dug your grave! That beautiful grave looks cozy! I’ll support you, so try to fill it up soon!

Mel’s tirade continues.

“And if you look closely, this knife has too many dents to be of use, and this scroll is torn, so it’s worthless. This round stone is… just a stone. Can it be used for anything but stone-throwing? Then this is–” (Mel)

“Ahhhhh! I see! I see! All the items here are good for one gold coin! One gold coin! No more business! Take it or…” (Peddler)

With that said, the merchant looked at Mel with tears in his eyes. [T/N: Wow top-notch haggling skills.]

And Mel looks at me with an innocent face.

Ah… yeah. I wonder if that’s all right… I’ve got a lot of things I don’t need, but I don’t feel like I need anything else to say.

The HP of the peddler uncle is already zero and he’s turned to a zombie, but my HP is also low too. I want to rest at the inn early.

…… No, I’m going to the blacksmith for now.

It seems that my day is still long.