The picturesque rice cakes are delicious today

8 Stories: Swords and Gems * 3

Then we went out to town.

... I was worried, so I decided to go out with one capsule each of garnets, turkish stones and purple crystals. The garnet and turkish stone are the ones about 3cm in size because if you don't have enough money, you'll have trouble. Purple crystals have one big crystal about the size of my hand.

Put it in a bag of soft cloth I got Fay, then stick it in my pocket, and I'm Tenma, Fay and Laocles get on a fiery wolf and get out of town.

Faye's house is out of town. On a slightly higher hill. From there to town, I can walk enough... well, it's better to be fast, because if you don't hurry, the store closes.

Yeah. Because I was obsessed with drawing gems. I'm sorry.

When you get to the whole city, ask Tenma to stay at Faye's house. Let's get him picked up later.... No, because after all, horses with wings are rare, and I was really curious about the gaze of the people in town...

"Okay. Then you're a jeweler first. Let's go."

Faye laughs and pulls me off.

"Ah, Laocles. If you find what you want in town, tell me."

That's what I'm gonna say as I pull the laocles. I'm oblivious to living in this world, and Fay seems to have a different feeling than Laocles because he's a nobleman in Fay. So I just have to ask him to tell me what Raocles needs.

"... ok"

Although Laocles seemed puzzled, I've never done decent shopping in town before either. Trouble with each other, let's get along.

Enter the jeweler that Faye is being kind. There was a sign hung with some kind of mark on it. I asked Faye what she meant, and she said it was the mark of 'nobles'. Really? I mean, Faye's shop. Then don't worry. We go inside.

"Oh, Faye boy. What did you do? Looking for something?

"No, no. Buy it today, please. And then from me, not from my best friend."

Faye talked to the store and then invited me.

"All right, Togo, let's get one out. One."

I went next to Fay, and then, a little lost, I took the Turkish stone out of the bag. Robbins Egg Blue's jewels gleam in the light of the lamps in the store.

"Oh, this is...!

When I put the jewels in the store people's hands, the store people let their eyes shine... Then they went to the other side of the counter and started looking at things like looping out loupes and looking at them like little microscopes.

... And, uh, sigh.

"... wonderful"

When the store people squealed like that, they heard it with a serious face.

"Where did you get this gem?

Uh... I drew it out, I can't say. Yeah.

"Don't tell me."

So this is the only way I can answer. There's nothing but an answer, is there? But it's not suspicious. Really.

"Oh yeah...... well, you don't want to tell me where all this treasure balls come from. Yeah, that's okay."

That's what the store people said, and they decided not to ask me about the source of the gem for now. It helps.

"But it's a great treasure. When it comes to all this, even dragons will find it fascinating. Regardless, it may be slightly bigger or smaller, but there are many summoners who say that this is good because it can be slightly narrower..."

Yeah. You actually did. That's what the Red Dragon was trying so hard to stretch his neck toward Garnett's, apparently.

... Is this kind of gem like a property to a summoner? Was it also a kanji like 'I like the look of it because it's a little small but the scenery is nice and the facilities are good and I like the look of it, so I'll make it this house'? Though I don't know.

"So when it comes to buying... how about this one?"

The shopkeeper offered me a piece of paper.

...... yeah. I can't read.

"Faye, how's it going?

So I'll ask Faye.... Then.

"... quite a price, I'll give it to you"

Faye was solidified with a surprised face.

... What amount is this?

So I got a go sign from Faye, so I sold the jewels for the price.

And I have a solid bag in my hand.

… the contents of this are gold coins. It contains gold coins. Surprised.

Was this what Faye said about the gems he sells: 'Just one'? If I'd sold all three, I'd have had a hell of a lot more forehead. No, Faye also has a face like 'No way this much', though.

"... how much is this worth?

So, after I left the jeweler, I asked Faye to try. I still don't know how much the contents of this bag are and how much it's worth.

"Well... you can eat normally for a year, don't you? What do you say, Laocles?

"Two or two and a half years"

... Oh, yeah. Yeah, by people, because the money you need to live is different.

But right. Is there so much? The contents of this bag.

"Can I have that price on one grain of gem?

"Because it's a demonic stone of such quality that a summoning beast can be put in, this. If this isn't a magic stone, it's only about a week's worth of food."

Hmmm... even jewels are jewels, but jewels containing magic are expensive? Yeah. I get it.

"Well, it's hard to keep a subpoena."

"Oh. That's why the subpoena is a weapon of nobility. It costs money with a magic stone. Come on... so do I, but for lack of magical talent, I'll have a good magic stone. Um, the summoner won't even go out with me..."

Speaking of which, surely, Faye used to say, 'I'm buying ability with gold', but was that what this was all about? All right.

"... that? But speaking of which, though the Red Dragon missed Faye from within without the Demon Stone,"

Then I ask a little concerned, and Faye laughs bitterly.

"Uh, yeah. That's probably something special. Occasionally, the Red Dragon liked me."

Right. Well, you'll like it, I suppose.

The same goes for Faye's good character, but the colour flavor. Because it looks just like the Red Dragon. Maybe you'll learn intimacy.

"I'll draw a dragon, too."

Watching Faye and the Red Dragon makes me a little jealous. But when I draw out a dragon, I also feel like the horses are mad at me.

"... next time you run out of magic, you have to be there by three days, okay?

... Speaking of which, you had that problem. Yeah. I'll do good.

Then we headed to the grocery store. What to buy in the meantime...... one thing that is going to be sunny, for now. With hard-baked bread or chunks of cheese? And ham. I wonder if it's called raw ham, that kind of guy. Boned and very large. Wow. I've never seen that before.

"Oh, this is delicious."

"Yeah."

Then there's some food Faye would recommend. Something like jam in a bottle or something pasty. The point is, what you apply to bread and eat.

"This is food and stuff. Er, it's a loss!

And then there's the treat Faye would recommend. Because it sounds delicious. Well, I guess.

"And clothes! Thogo! You've always been that shirt! Get dressed!"

"I just have a bunch of the same ones."

"Were you!?

I don't need a shirt and trousers to replace me. Yeah.

... thus more and more shopping as Fay leads the way and walks through town.

To some extent, I have one too... but it's mainly Laocles who holds the baggage.

"Not heavy?

"Oh."

I'll ask, but his reply is like this. Well, he's the owner of muscles like Hercules and Raocorn. You may not need to worry too much.

But hey, I'm sorry. The chunks of bread, the chunks of cheese, the boned chunks of raw ham, then the bottle, whatever, will all be heavy...

"Um, if there's anything you want, I want you to say it. Because I'll buy it."

So at the very least, I would buy that if I had what he wanted. The money's been more lubricated than planned, and if there's anything Laocles wants, I'd love to buy it.

... That was the time.

Two, Laocles stopped his leg.

I didn't try to stop my leg, I just, I was deprived of consciousness and my leg stopped. It was like that.

... At the end of his gaze is an old store.

And in the show window of the store, there were a number of obsolete tools… there was a sword in them.

Raocles' face staring at the sword had a rare expression for him.

It's like being lost, like being in a hurry. It was a complicated look.

"... Laocles"

When I call him, he starts moving his legs again. [M] After all, it was only a matter of seconds before he was stopping. But that time felt strangely long.

Laocles looks at the show window again, hiraki... then his eyes are closed.

... when his eyes opened again, I saw no emotions in those eyes anymore.

As I walked, I wondered if I should call again.

I wonder if that sword he was looking at was what he wanted.

But Laocles didn't say anything. You didn't say anything, so maybe it's not something I should talk about.

... That being the case, something, it doesn't calm me down. That feeling runs through my chest, like I'm bothered by feelings. It's like a rush, it's like anxiety, and above all, I'm wondering if I can step in. That's all together, and in a flash it passes.

I'm walking along with Faye and Laocles. Behind me, that store keeps moving away... maybe a pawnshop.

That sword, if I didn't buy it now, it could be gone.

If I thought so, I really wanted to move.

"Oh, hey, Togo. Where are you going?

"Hey, that's it!

Faye called me, but I don't stop running.

The store was a long way away, but not that far away if you run. Turn the road, then I went to a few houses.

I headed to the store earlier and ran... so I opened the store door.

It was dim in the store. And the various items are cluttered and dusty. They haven't taken care of it. You're not even tidy.

And in such a store, there are three people. Two familiar guests and someone from the store across the counter.

Each of the three people in the store looked at me uncommonly. This store doesn't seem very popular when it looks like this, and I guess new customers are rare.

I was uncomfortable getting noticed, but I had no choice. I speak to the store. [M]

"Um, excuse me"

"You shopping? Or do you want to put it in?"

Moving on to the counter, the two guests who were talking at the counter cleared up a little bit. So I'm going to have a conversation with the store people there.

"Uh, shopping"

"Right. What do you want? One silver coin is fine around here. There's five silver coins at the desk. That's one gold coin on your shelf."

... I don't know what it feels like to have money in this world, but for now, I also know that it's very cluttered pricing.

"I want to buy the guy who was out there, not in the store."

"Heh. Which one? All the guys out there are expensive. Can you pay?"

"I have money"

When I said it, the shopkeeper looked at the bag in my hand and looked convinced.

"If I even pay you, I'll sell you. So, which one?"

Oh, good. It's not for sale or anything.

So I decided to relax and tell her what I wanted to buy.

"I want to buy that sword."

As soon as I said that, there was something wrong with the air in the store. [M]

The shopkeeper looked surprised, looked at me... and then looked surprised.

"... any thoughts on that sword?

Uh... I don't know how to answer that, this.

Because Laocles caught your eye? Because I'm worried about you? But that's not my idea.

"Uh... I don't have one, but... I really wanted to buy one."

I have no idea. [M] But for Laocles, maybe it's something thoughtful. Though I don't know.

Somehow, I didn't want to mention Laocles. Maybe because the people at the store reacted a little strangely.

"Cheng Cheng... Right"

Then the shopkeeper said so and looked at me, and then looked at me at hand and laughed.

"I don't know. Then I'll kill you for now."