Chapter 39
The market was alive with energy.
Both sides of the street were crammed with stalls, merchants spreading their wares across tables or directly onto the ground as they shouted themselves hoarse to lure in customers.
“Fresh fish caught at dawn! Come take a look—!”
“Duck eggs for sale! Fifty Delin each!”
“Mushrooms! I’ve got medicinal ones too! I’ll give you a good price!”
This was a dungeon hub city.
It had originally been a small coastal town, but ever since a dungeon appeared nearby, the commercial population had swelled at a staggering pace.
I looked around, murmuring under my breath.
“It’s way more… than I expected.”
“Crowded, right?”
“Yeah.”
At my obedient answer, Lycian let out a quiet snort of laughter. He had been holding my hand tightly since earlier, clearly unwilling to let go for even a second.
“You can’t get lost, Muriel. Cities like this are dangerous.”
“Who are you calling a child…?”
I grumbled as if annoyed, but it was only half an act. It didn’t feel so bad, having someone look out for me.
“It’ll be evening soon. Want to look around the market first and then find an inn? We can start selling tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. You must be tired too, coming all this way….”
It had taken about two days to get from my farm to this city. Between walking and running, we’d arrived a little earlier than expected.
Of course, the one who’d been running was Lycian. I’d just been clinging to his back the whole time….
For reference, Ninabel was staying behind to watch the house.
There wasn’t much choice. With adventurers flooding in because of the dungeon’s appearance, we had no idea when someone might stumble upon the farm.
One of us had to guard it. I needed to sell our goods, and Lycian had to escort me. That left Ninabel as the only viable option.
—Masterrr… I miss you…. Waaah….
‘Hang in there a little longer, Nini. And take this chance to grow up a bit.’
—Master is sooo T~~!
I half-heartedly soothed Ninabel’s telepathic whining as I continued exploring the market.
True to its nature as a hub city that attracted all sorts of people, the items for sale were just as bizarre and varied.
Some of them made me think, Isn’t that a scam?
For example—
“A mystical stone that completely restores your fatigue if you sleep with it under your pillow! Only 27 Rubel!”
‘As if. There’s no way that’s real….’
And 27 Rubel at that. That was about thirty thousand won. The audacity—
“Is it really true? It actually restores your fatigue?”
“I’m telling you, it does! Better than most Recovery Potions!”
“I’ll take one.”
He’s buying it?
A brown-haired young man held out his money, and the middle-aged vendor—who looked exactly like a scammer—grinned as he took it.
The so-called “mystical stone” was just a round glass marble. Pale blue and faintly translucent. Pretty, sure, but—
‘That’s just a decorative trinket….’
The poor guy left beaming, completely unaware he’d been conned.
I narrowed my eyes like a Tibetan fox and shook my head.
“We’d better be careful not to get ripped off. The sales tactics here are no joke.”
“Seriously. Even the food they’re selling looks a little suspicious….”
“…Food?”
Apparently Lycian had been eyeing the food stalls too. I followed his gaze toward one of the stands.
Slosh, slosh—
A middle-aged man was stirring some unidentifiable liquid in a massive pot with a ladle.
“Come try some monster meat stew! Slow-boiled and aged for a whole week—deep, rich flavor!”
At that, I instinctively took a step back.
“They’re eating monster meat…? That’s edible?”
“Well… it’s not poisonous. I mean, some monsters are.”
“No, I mean—it’s not meant to be food!”
“To be fair, when humans are hungry enough, they’ll eat anything with four legs except the table.”
Though he wrinkled his nose in distaste, Lycian’s tone remained calm and matter-of-fact.
Seeing my entire worldview crumble, he added helpfully,
“I’ve heard some adventurers develop… unusual tastes. Probably people like that buy it.”
“So being an adventurer really is a dangerous job….”
I muttered it in complete seriousness, which made Lycian burst out laughing.
“Owner! Three bowls of stew!”
That was when someone insane enough to order three bowls of monster meat stew appeared.
And unexpectedly, she was stunning. Early thirties, maybe? Healthy skin, a long scar slashing across one cheek.
‘U-unnie… don’t eat that!’
I could only scream internally in horror. Th-that cool, amazing woman was about to eat monster meat?
My prejudice was shattering into pieces.
The cool unnie really did devour three bowls of the oddly colored stew. She even added two more.
I had been staring in a daze before I finally snapped out of it. Swallowing dryly, I turned to Lycian and stammered,
“Sh-should we try some too…?”
“…Are you serious?”
Needless to say, we did not eat the monster meat stew.
Instead, we bought something like a savory crepe and a sweet juice made from pears.
Afterward, we walked along the market street to help digestion when we noticed a crowd gathered in front of a shop.
‘What’s going on?’
Curious, I tugged Lycian along.
It turned out to be a stall where you shot toy arrows at prizes.
‘Oh, I know this. I’ve seen it at amusement parks.’
Apparently, this kind of entertainment existed no matter the world or country.
“Babe, I want that deer plush! I have to have it!”
“Aww, does my baby want the deer plushie? This big bro will totally win it for you~”
“Eek~ you’re so cool!”
The couple whose turn it was exchanged dialogue so cringeworthy my hands and feet threatened to shrivel up and disappear.
‘Ugh….’
Without thinking, I grabbed Lycian’s sleeve, my face twisted in horror. My limbs felt like they’d curled up like octopus tentacles.
The boyfriend picked up the toy bow. The arrow tips were blunt, completely harmless.
He struck a surprisingly cool pose and drew the string back. An impressed murmur rippled through the crowd.
‘Oh… maybe he’s good?’
I watched with genuine interest.
But—
Psheew!
Psheew!
Every arrow flew wide the moment it left his hand!
“Wow, he’s terrible!”
“Just give up!”
“Boo—!”
Criticism and jeers poured in from all sides. The crowd was merciless.
“Ugh…!”
The man clenched his fist and lowered his head, pride clearly wounded.
Then someone snatched the bow from his hand.
It was his girlfriend.
“Seriously? You can’t even hit that? Move. I’ll do it.”
The woman who’d been cooing ‘Babe~’ just moments ago now spoke like a street thug.
The crowd stared at her, eyes wide.
“Ha….”
She swept her bangs back with one hand, then drew the bowstring in perfect form.
Thwunk!
The blunt arrow struck the deer plush squarely.
A wave of awe erupted.
“She’s good!”
“Shoot more! Do it again!”
She fired about five more times and hit three. Pretty impressive.
“B-babe… you’re amazing….”
The man caught the deer plush she tossed to him, face flushed as he muttered.
She grabbed him and dragged him away, scolding all the while.
“Practice your archery! Aren’t you supposed to be an adventurer?!”
“I’m a swordsman, babe…!!”
I stared blankly after them.
‘What a weird couple….’
They both seemed like adventurers. Then again, there really were a lot of unusual people among adventurers.
“Muriel, is there anything there you want?”
At the sound of Lycian’s voice, I turned. Our eyes met, and he smiled softly.
I blinked. “You want to try shooting?”
“Not really. I was just wondering if there’s something you’d like. The prizes look pretty well made.”
“Hmm….”
Resting my chin on my hand, I scanned the display.
He was right. The prizes weren’t cheap-looking; they were fairly detailed. And there was quite a variety.
‘Must be at least thirty….’
Then something caught my eye.
A very cute fox plush, with platinum-colored fur.