Chapter 3-7 : Southern Region’s Specialty Products (part 1)
「Now let’s get back to the shopping district!」(Kako)
After selling my fresh fruits to the wealthy merchant named Elren at the harbor, we returned to the shopping district to continue our research on the market prices of the products in this city.
I still have eastern dried fruits, potions, medical herbs, and some weapons to sell. Unlike fresh food products, they will last for a while, so I don’t have to sell them right away. I can stroll around the market without worrying.
「Hmm… They mostly sell seafood and foreign goods from other countries, I see.」(Kako)
Since this is a port city, naturally, most people here are selling sea products and unique goods from foreign countries across the sea.
「Kako ojou-sama, some traders also sell southern specialty fruits that can only be grown around here.」(Thea)
As she said that, Thea pointed at a line of fruit stalls by the road. They seemed to be selling local fruits.
The southern region is much warmer than the other regions in this country, and because of that, they have fruits resembling those found in tropical areas.
In the fruit stalls, there were fruits that looked similar to the ones on Earth, such as pineapples, dragon fruits, bananas, passion fruits, and mangos, but since this is another world, they might taste totally different.
「Hmm, I wonder if I can sell those fruits in the eastern capital when we get home. I’m afraid they rot quickly.」(Kako)
「They might, but how about we buy them for ourselves? We can eat them for dinner.」(Thea)
「Nice idea.」(Kako)
I’m still not sure if I will buy them to sell at home, but as Thea said, I might want to taste them first. Also, I can use them to experiment with my Synthesis Skill.
Deciding to buy some local fruits, I approached one of the fruit stalls.
「Welcome, young lady!」(fruit vendor)
「Excuse me, Sir, I want to buy five of each kind of fruit you have here.」(Kako)
「Alright. It will be 3 gold coins and 25 silver coins, but since you’re my youngest customer for today, I will give you a 25 silver coins discount. You only have to pay 3 gold coins!」(fruit vendor)
「Really? Thank you!」(Kako)
Three gold coins for this many fruits. That’s surprisingly cheap.
Well, these fruits grow in this area, so it’s only natural that they’re cheap, unlike the fruits distributed from other regions.
The vendor packed my fruits in paper bags while I took the money, but when I handed over the money, he smiled warmly at me for some reason.
Don’t tell me… I think I know what he’s going to say…
「Thank you, young lady. By the way, are you running errands for your parents today? You’re such a good girl!」(fruit vendor)
I knew it!
Judging from his smile, he obviously thought I was a child!
「Umm, you might be thinking I’m a child running errands for her parents, but I’m a full-fledged merchant, you know?」(Kako)
「Eh? You? A merchant? Really?」(fruit vendor)
Doubting what I said, the vendor looked at Thea, who was standing behind me. Thea then nodded silently to confirm.
「Hahaha! You’re with a maid, so I thought you were from a noble family who was currently on vacation in this city. Sorry about that. Here, take this as my apology.」(fruit vendor)
Apologizing to me, the vendor gave me one more fruit for free.
「That’s very kind of you. Thank you, Sir!」(Kako)
「You’re welcome!」(fruit vendor)
Lucky me!
He’s such a good vendor. I’ll forgive him for treating me like a child.
After I finished putting all the fruits in my magic bag, we left the fruit stall and continued strolling around the market.
Next to the line of fruit stalls, some people are selling local vegetables and local food ingredients, but I don’t think I will buy any of that today.
First, I want to taste the local dishes and learn how to make them. Every region in this country has its own unique dishes, after all. The southern region is not an exception. I will buy local vegetables and other food ingredients after I learn how to cook Southern food.
After leaving the street full of fruit and vegetable stalls, I found a drug store on the next street. I decided to pay it a visit to check the price of the potions.
「Hmm… The price is not much different from the east.」(Kako)
「It’s probably because the way potions are made is basically the same regardless of the region. They might use some wild herbs that only grow here, but the effect of the potion itself is not that different from other potions made in other regions. 」(Thea)
「Yeah, you’re right.」(Kako)
The regular potions sold here are pretty much the same as the ones in the eastern region, and the price is almost the same too.
The only difference between the drug stores in this city and the ones in the east is that the ones in this city mostly sell potions for seasickness. Well, I think the reason is obvious. There are so many foreigners coming to this city by ship, and this city has a lot of fishermen too.
Other than that, I also notice that this drug store doesn’t sell any poisonous herbs.
Poisonous herbs are dangerous, but some of them can be used as ingredients to make potions, so most drug stores sell them. However, these products are under the supervision of the Alchemist Guild and the Apothecary Guild, so only professional alchemists and pharmacists can buy them.
「It’s rare to see a drug store that doesn’t sell any poisonous herbs. The herbs here are all the safe ones.」(Kako)
「I think I know the reason. Kako ojou-sama, do you remember what I said at the inn.」(Thea)
When we got to the inn, I remember Thea talked about crimes in this city. She said that most cheap inns here are not safe because of thieves. Sometimes, even the inn owners are connected with the thieves, or they themselves are the thieves.
「Those criminals tend to use poisonous herbs to poison the unfortunate guests in cheap inns and steal their belongings. Even though the trades of poisonous herbs are under the supervision of the Alchemist Guild and the Apothecary Guild, some greedy, cunning herb sellers somehow managed to sell them secretly to criminals for profit, and because of that, the government decided to completely stop its distribution in this city to reduce the crime rate as much as possible starting from forbidding drug stores to sell them.」(Thea)
「I see. You’re well informed as usual. But… Even though those thieves can’t get poisonous herbs from stores, they still can get them from the forest, right?」(Kako)
「Yes. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to completely stop people from smuggling those dangerous herbs into this city.」(Thea)
「Then doesn’t that mean that the government’s regulation prohibiting drug stores from selling those herbs is all for nothing?」(Kako)
「Not really. At least it made it harder for those criminals to get themselves poisonous herbs. Unless you’re a professional herb collector, looking for poisonous herbs in the forest by yourself is not easy.」(Thea)
「I see.」(Kako)
The regulation doesn’t mean much, but at least the government is trying to reduce the crime rate.
Before leaving the store, I bought some local herbal plants that only grow in the south, and then continued walking down the street.
「Kako ojou-sama, where are we going next?」(Thea)
「Let’s see some weapons!」(Kako)
If I want to sell weapons in this city, first I need to learn what kind of weapons are popular in this area.
Our next stop is the long-awaited weapon shop!
You can gain access to [Early Access] page and read up to ten chapters ahead by supporting me on [Patreon]