Appraiser 10

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Shopping At The Commoners' Market

After finishing the hectic breakfast rush, Yuuri, along with Yak, went shopping. After all, their ingredients were in dire straits. They needed to restock. At that moment, Yuuri conveyed just one selfish request to Ali, who had given them the money.

It was to buy seasoning ingredients.

Ali frowned for a moment, but perhaps understanding that the seasoning ingredients currently in the kitchen were essential, he nodded. Instead of Yuuri, who probably didn't understand basic prices, Ali implied that Yak should judge where to buy. It seemed they had labeled Yuuri as "ignorant" due to his overly laid-back nature. Not entirely wrong. Common sense in this world was elusive.

Thus, it was Yak who received and decided where to shop. Yuuri had no objections. With a shoulder bag handed to him, Yuuri walked alongside Yak, who led the way. The bag was given for shopping purposes—a magic bag. Simply put, it could hold various items, even if it clearly exceeded its capacity, a magical bag.

Although valuable, adventurers mostly had one. Their performances varied, all crafted by alchemists or dropped in dungeons. Yuuri initially thought of this world as a fantasy with magic, but it turned out not to be. Neither humans nor monsters could use magic. It was all about skills.

That fact disappointed Yuuri a little, but various magical tools and items made using attribute-bearing magic stones existed. Things like baths with hot water or stoves in kitchens fell under this category. Alchemists and blacksmiths produced such various tools. Calling them magic was no different from fairy tales featuring magic in this world, where magic couldn't be used. Perhaps that's why there were magic users in folktales.

Well, it was similar to modern Japan, where science had advanced, just with magic stones as raw materials. Yuuri brushed it off casually. Complicated matters were irrelevant to him. Knowing that convenient items existed was sufficient.

Furthermore, Yuuri, a Seeker with the [God's Eye], could create such tools at will, but he was unaware of this.

Now, the two were heading to a location in the capital situated between the lower and middle tiers, not due to location but because of the socioeconomic class—the class of life's infrastructure. While walking beside Yak, who seemed accustomed, Yuuri asked various questions. Without a single grimace, Yak explained, perhaps happy to have a new recruit than himself.

In the capital of Draheln, the neighborhood where adventurers lived was closest to the castle gate. It served defense purposes in emergencies and kept dubious characters away from civilians and city buildings. Currently, however, the adventurers of Draheln have a friendly relationship with the residents of the capital. In some countries, there seemed to be an annoying perception that adventurers equaled rogues.

Yak brought Yuuri to a market that favored the common folk for shopping. The lively scene bustling with people reminded Yuuri of a shopping district. There were shops housed in buildings as well as tents and stalls. Nevertheless, everyone energetically promoted their goods, resembling a nostalgic shopping street.

"Shopping is best done in this market."

"Is that so? Didn't you say there are plenty of shops over there too?"

"...There are, but prices are higher. They always have everything in stock, though."

"I see. It's for the wealthy or business-oriented, a bit pricier, right?"

"Exactly."

Neither option was necessarily bad. Yak's philosophy was that for Treasure Hunter Lance Scarlet Lynx, who wasn't particularly wealthy or had a refined palate, there was no need to go to expensive shops for routine ingredient shopping. Well, it was a common understanding among everyone except the troubled senior apprentice.

Hence, Yak frequented this market for the common folk. Therefore.

"Hey, it's the boy from Ali's place! Are you shopping again today? We've got delicious meat!"

"Oh, Yak, fancy seeing you here. We got some cheese today. Want some butter?"

"Yak, it's been a while. Just got some fresh veggies, wanna take a look?"

"Yak, long time no see. Just got back from purchasing. How about some fish?"

Voices came from all around. Yak was quietly popular. This was because people knew he was earnestly apprenticing at Scarlet Lynx. People were watching. Moreover, if you got along well with such a market that supported the common folk, it was highly beneficial. Freebies, discounts, it was all advantageous.

So, while visiting various shops, Yak introduced Yuuri each time. Saying he was a newcomer at Scarlet Lynx who just joined yesterday. Unlike himself, Yuuri was very skilled at cooking, so he believed Yuuri would use the ingredients properly. Yuuri's denial seemed humble, and everyone welcomed him warmly.

Also, upon hearing that Yuuri was good at cooking and using ingredients properly, everyone's eyes lit up.

Indeed, as merchants, they wanted their sold products to be handled properly. However, Yuuri, unaware of the surrounding attention, chose what to buy while looking at the goods and prices. Moreover, since Yuuri had no understanding of this world's price standards, he chose the better quality items from products of the same price.

The reason he could do that was thanks to his skill, [God's Eye]. Appraisal was a skill that could be put to work. Therefore, there was no reason for the highest-tier skill, [God's Eye], not to be overpowered. He could understand the condition of the goods just by looking at them. Therefore, although Yuuri initially chose only the highest quality, sellers were astonished.

I repeat, Yuuri didn't care at all.

After repeating such shopping several times, Yak suddenly asked, seeming to have thought of something. At that moment, Yuuri was earnestly examining two cabbages of similar size.

"Yuuri, are you really good at picking stuff?"

"Huh?"

"Well, in any shop, you're picking such good stuff that even the shopkeepers are surprised."

"Oh, I'm an appraiser. Sorry, can I have this cabbage?"

"Eeh?"

With a casual remark, Yuuri pointed towards the cabbage on the right. "Ohh," the young shopkeeper chuckled, amused. The two cabbages appeared almost identical at first glance. However, the one Yuuri chose had a slightly better color and sheen, a subtle difference not easily discernible even to a professional.

Meanwhile, Yak stood frozen beside Yuuri. "An appraiser?" he muttered, his voice somewhat stilted. It seemed to be quite a shock. Not unreasonable, though.

In this world, the skill of appraisal was said to be highly rare. Not only because of the low percentage of people possessing it but also because of its exceptional capabilities. Of course, at low levels, it was almost useless. However, as it advanced, one could discern various things. It wasn't just about detecting traps or appraising treasures. For example, suppose one found an unknown poison. With a high-level appraisal skill, one could know its effects and analyze its components. And if one could know the components, one could devise something to neutralize it. Those with skills related to appraisal were always valued.

Those with lower-level appraisal skills were called Appraisers.

Those with higher-level appraisal skills were called Master Appraisers.

And those who possessed the skill of [Magic Eye], which surpassed appraisal, were called Authenticators.

There might only be three types, but their influence was immeasurable. And the possibility of an appraiser becoming a verifier was exceedingly rare. [Magic Eye] was a skill that could be acquired later in life. However, even after honing their appraisal skills and leveling up, only a handful ever reached that level. It's said that ninety percent of the Authenticators currently known possessed the skill of [Magic Eye] from birth, illustrating its rarity.

Now, while Yuuri nonchalantly dropped that bomb, he moved on to inspecting other vegetables without paying attention to Yak's reaction. Unwaveringly.

Selecting various vegetables one after another, when it came time to pay, Yuuri called Yak. Since Yak held the wallet, Yuuri only made choices. Until now, that had been the ordinary procedure, but unfortunately, Yak was frozen at the moment. Unable to help it, Yuuri received the wallet from Yak and checked its contents.

Inside were copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins. In addition to these, there were also gold coins and platinum coins in this world's currency. However, ordinary people rarely saw gold coins, and only the very wealthy or nobles used platinum coins. Therefore, the wallet handed to Yuuri by Ali contained only silver coins.

A copper coin was worth one gold coin. A silver coin was worth ten gold coins. And a gold coin was worth a thousand gold coins. The unit of currency in this world was called a gold coin, with the unit symbol being G. Currency was universal across the world, and upon hearing that the language was also universal, Yuuri genuinely thought how convenient this world was. He didn't know whether this other world was larger or smaller than Earth, but if the language and currency were the same, it's convenient.

Paying the agreed-upon price, Yuuri glanced curiously at the copper coin. Then, his skill activated, and an explanatory text appeared before his eyes, much like a status screen.

――

Copper Coin

Currency. One coin is worth one gold coin. A familiar copper coin to the common folk.

Circular. Engraved on the front is the emblem of the god of commerce, Rude (a line penetrating a shape in the center of a diamond).

Note: When converted to Japanese yen, 1 gold coin = 10 yen. The size is that of a ten yen coin.

"...Huh?"

There seemed to be a somewhat inconsequential sentence added at the end. However, Yuuri didn't care about the minor details. In passing, he also somewhat understood the price difference between here and in Japan. He had imagined the prices mentioned here without any discomfort, but when converted to Japanese yen, it felt like they were ten times higher. Because, for example, the cabbage he had just bought was 150 gold coins each. In terms of Japanese yen, that was 1500 yen per cabbage. Scary.

Nevertheless, this was here, and Japan was Japan. Since Yuuri would be shopping with this currency anyway, he decided not to worry about the minor details. Thinking about such complicated matters wasn't his responsibility.

"Yak, shall we go to the next shop?"

Stuffing vegetables into the magic bag, Yuuri shook the still-frozen Yak to bring him back to reality. Yak had finally regained consciousness, blinking at Yuuri while opening and closing his mouth. Then, with a sigh of resignation, he took Yuuri and headed to the next shop.