Shop 67

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Chapter 67. New Type Aerial Tools In The Wilderness

As usual, I head straight to Veliero's cafeteria in the morning.

Today, head chef Hugo-san was waiting with a smile as always. Of course, Cherina and Melvin are also on standby.

Today's breakfast is a bit of a curveball. It's more like an issue that should have been dealt with sooner.

I need to approve a certain food item.

Cassava Roots (2 kg) = 1000 yen

Yes, I sold Cassava branches to Cherina without question, but I haven't let her eat the crucial root part. I forgot about it, but Cherina, who bought them without checking, is also Cherina.

So, this morning's menu is all about Cassava.

I left the labor-intensive menus to Hugo-san with instructions and only made the relatively easy ones to eat.

Oh yes, Cassava actually contains a bit of poison. But I managed to get approval by requesting "Cassava without poison, preferably something that thrives well in this area" for both the branches and the roots without confirming it, so it might be a bit different from the Cassava I know.

In other words, it became a perfect plant extracting only the good parts of Cassava. The shop is amazing. It's the ability of a god, even if it's rotten. I had Yaralai check for poison, and he gave it a clean bill of health.

So, without worrying about detoxifying, I cooked with gusto.

Since Cassava roots don't have much flavor, treating them strictly as starch is best. It feels like it can disrupt the situation where this country pays a fortune to import flour from afar.

I made tasteless Cassava okonomiyaki and a potato soup cooked with vegetables. Seasoning was done separately according to taste.

As for the taste evaluation.

"Hmm... well, it's okay."

"Yes, it's neither good nor bad."

"It's light, I like it."

"It's much better than the inferior potatoes spreading in the market. I'd be happy if we could produce this locally."

Hagg's and Cherina's evaluations were noncommittal. Yaralai seemed to like it. Hugo's evaluation was as sharp and fair as ever. Truly befitting a top-notch chef and merchant.

"Well, in terms of calorie-based thinking, it's very cost-effective and suitable for this area."

"Calorie-based?"

"Yeah, it's like the minimum food necessary for humans to live... I mean, it's nutritionally imbalanced, but."

"I understand. Can we consider it as a substitute for bread?"

"Yeah."

As Cherina mentioned before, the price of bread seems to be rising day by day, so if this becomes popular, it might be a little helpful. But since I pushed it onto Cherina, I really hope it goes well.

Let's go with corn dishes for tomorrow's breakfast.

After finishing today's breakfast like this, I treated everyone to instant coffee. Since we ran out of beans halfway through, I bought some new ones.

My remaining fund is 9,883,880 yen.

There was already a visitor when I entered the usual small meeting room.

It was Halogen from the Aerial Tool Shop. Despite wearing simple ethnic clothing again today, he exuded a strong butler vibe. Maybe he should just call himself Sebastian?

"Good morning, Cherina-sama, Akira-sama."

"Yes, good morning. You're quite early."

"After finally completing the item we discussed, I couldn't sleep due to excitement."

Despite that, there wasn't a single dark circle under his eyes.

"I see, then please show us the fruit of your labor."

"With pleasure. Here it is."

Seeing the arrayed aerial tools, I involuntarily exclaimed, "Oh."

They were about the size of slightly larger playing cards, with a thickness about twice that of a card. They had a plastic-like texture.

They were leaps and bounds better than the box-type aerial tools from before.

Furthermore, whereas the previous ones had the name of the aerial tool written in characters, they were simplistically illustrated.

The lighting aerial tool was a candle, cleaning was a broom, the wind got depicted with swirling leaves, fire with a bonfire, and the light sword was drawn exactly as a glowing sword.

"These are well made. You've illustrated them this time?"

"I used decorative characters, but I thought it was a bit lonely, so I asked a signboard illustrator to create illustrations."

"That's good. I like it. Can we try activating them?"

"Of course."

I picked up the lighting aerial tool and touched it to an ink bottle (ceramic) on the table, imagining it to glow slightly brighter than a candle.

But it didn't brighten at all.

"Akira-sama, the lighting aerial tool doesn't react unless it touches metal."

"Ah, right."

How embarrassing! I searched for something metallic in the room to cheat with. Since a metal paperweight held down the parchment, I activated the aerial tool on it, and this time, it started emitting a warm-colored light as I imagined.

"Oh, Halogen-san, this is perfect."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Halogen smiled more than his age would suggest.

I proceeded to activate the cleaning aerial tool. Of course, it worked without any issues. As for wind, fire, and the light sword, I decided not to activate them in this cramped room.

"It would be better to test the rest outside."

"Yes, especially if Akira-sama is going to use them, we can't have them used openly in this city."

"...Hey."

"Hehe. You two seem to get along well."

"Of course, as fellow merchants, we have a very good relationship."

"Which mouth is saying that?"

"Hehe."

Damn, Halogen laughed at me.

"As promised, I will give all these prototypes to Akira-sama."

"Huh? That was our agreement, but these are the first prototypes, right? Are you sure?"

"Yes. Actually, the wind, fire, and light sword aerial tools don't have their core power stones."

"The power stones make the aerial tools, like their cores, right?"

"That's correct."

I remembered seeing a transparent stone the size of a grain of rice.

"I don't quite understand. Aren't the abilities of the power stones determined by how you arrange the spell circles?"

"Ah, did you misunderstand it that way? No, that's not it. Power stones already got imbued with specific abilities tailored to individual purposes. The circles are needed to fully draw out those abilities of the stone."

"I see... Halogen-san, can't you create these power stones?"

"Unfortunately, that's impossible. Refining power stones is a state and religious secret. There are very few workshops that can make them."

Halogen theatrically shook his head. It seemed deliberate.

"Wait, what about the stones in these aerial tools?"

"They originally got dismantled from aerial tools sold as fire aerial tools, and then the power stones were extracted. General aerial tool shops do this for reprocessing, repairs, and sales."

"I see. So, wouldn't this make them more valuable?"

"We've already finished testing them. We don't know when they'll be back in stock. Also, Akira-sama, I heard you won't be staying in this country for long. Therefore, it's only fitting to give these to you."

"I see... Cherina, what do you think I should do?"

"You should accept them graciously."

"I see... Then I gratefully accept these."

"Yes, please make use of them on your journey."

I took out the cleaning aerial tool from my pocket. It was not the card type I just received, but the candy-shaped one.

"Alright, I'll return this to you."

"Is it okay for you to have it?"

"No, this is enough."

"I understand. You're not greedy, huh?"

"A week ago, you would have pretended to forget."

The three laughed together, "Hahaha."

"Oh right, I've been meaning to ask for a while now. You mentioned that the only shape for an aerial tool is this stick candy shape, but item bags are also aerial tools, right?"

"Well, you see, those are items that only the Space God Kazumusu Church can create. It's a complete mystery how they are made without using Ririryoku stones. The Kazumusu Church sells these tools with 'storage' space embodied in them as miracles of the Kazumusu god. Since no one understands their mechanism and can't make or repair them, from the perspective of an empty aerial tool, they are not technically aerial tools."

"Putting that aside, they are aerial tools, right?"

"Yes, if you can acquire them, the empty aerial tools will sell them."

"I see. But don't they handle these at the Kazumusu Church?"

"Well, the thing is, the Kazumusu Church doesn't generally have churches. There is a place called the main temple where they produce item boxes and bags, and even create Shift Rooms on a large scale."

"Shift Rooms?"

"Yes, it's the greatest secret technique of the Kazumusu Church, an incredible technique that instantly swaps the contents of two large rooms."

"Huh? Isn't that teleportation?"

"Instant... movement... yes, that's correct. As expected, Akira-sama, you understand quickly. Most people don't grasp this concept even after explanations. To summarize it in just two words..."

"Oh no... teleportation is amazing, isn't it!? Are there any around here?"

Getting excited about an ultra-technology that can't be seen on Earth.

"No, only a few installations connecting major countries have been completed. It requires a considerable offering for installation."

"Well, that makes sense... But even if it's expensive, it would pay for itself in no time..."

While talking with Halogen, Cherina interrupts.

"Akira-sama, no one understands that Shift Rooms can create wealth just from that story. About a dozen years ago, the first large-scale Shift Room was created and connected between the Makishi Empire Atlantia and the Carman Empire, resulting in immense wealth from tolls and trade. Since then, large nations are in a hurry to install them."

"Of course, if it's that convenient, everyone would want one."

"However, besides the high cost, the limited number of priests who can install them is slowing down widespread adoption. Even so, the south side of the Middar Mountains is decent, but only Lakeleil beyond the Middar Mountains to the north has a Shift Room."

"I keep hearing about the Middar Mountains. What kind of mountains are they?"

"Well, to put it simply, they're the mountains that diagonally traverse the Great Middar Continent from northeast to southwest. They're referred to as the North Middar Mountains from the central part to the north, and the South Middar Mountains to the south. Quite straightforward."

"That's easy to understand."

"Indeed."

They chuckled.

"The Middar Mountains are not just one mountain, but a collection of mountains, extremely steep, long, and high, except for some parts, it's practically impossible to cross them properly."

"Hmm, should I imagine the Himalayas then? If there are such rugged mountains like that, even on Earth with cars, it's not easy to cross mountains. It wouldn't be feasible by carriage or on foot. It's frustrating that they lie horizontally, dividing the continent in two."

"So, can't trade happen on the south side of the Middar Mountains?"

"Currently, it's hardly happening. There are some roads threading through valleys, but there are significant restrictions on what goods can be transported. Goods from the south side of the Middar Mountains become quite expensive."

"Speaking of which, are potatoes a southern product?"

"They were originally, but successful cultivation began just north of the southern Middar Mountains. It spread from there, but the further from the mountains, the more difficult cultivation becomes."

"North of the south is a bit confusing..."

"Sorry. I got off track. Besides this stick candy type aerial tool, are there other aerial tools?"

"There are."

"Oh?"

"But aerial tools made with techniques other than current Ririryoku techniques are no longer considered aerial tools."

"What do you mean?"

"Aerial tools made with lost techniques are powerful and are not equated with legendary weapons, artifacts, or lost technology."

"Oh, I see... there are things like that..."

Uh-oh, that suddenly sounded so chuunibyou.

"Are there any famous ones?"

"Ah yes, the Radiant Sword Ekkazakusu is quite famous. They say it never dulls no matter how intense the battle."

"Wow, it's durable."

"However, no one has seen it used in actual combat..."

That makes sense. It's a national treasure, and only kings can wield it, so using that sword means the king is engaging in serious combat.

"It exists?"

"As for the Radiant Sword Eckesachs, it's sometimes displayed at national events, but its authenticity is unclear."

"I see."

"I've seen some artifacts myself."

"Now that's interesting."

If there are artifacts that common people can see, it's evidence that various legendary items exist.

"There's a Bottle of Infinite Water, used in the central plaza fountain of the independent city Sevites. It hangs from a chain high up and cascades water down with a thunderous sound, quite spectacular."

"Wow, I'd love to see that. But isn't it at risk of being stolen outside?"

"It's suspended in a high place, guarded by soldiers above. There are many soldiers in the central square, and the water reservoir below is deep and wide, so we can't approach it from below. Plus, they bring it back to the fortress at night."

"I see. But carrying around a constantly flowing bottle sounds challenging."

"It seems we can stop the water flow?"

"Ah, I see. But if there's infinite water, it's a highly coveted item in this city."

"Yes, but it's not something you can buy even with money."

"True."

Since it's Cherina saying it, it's probably not a lie, making it an incredible tool if not a scam. Truly a magical item.

"And the storage aerial tool... only Kazumusu believers can make item bag-related storage aerial tools."

"Oh right, those are completely different in shape."

"Yes, the manufacturing method is top secret, and it's a rule for Kazumusu believers to wander. They don't settle down but travel around to make storage aerial tools and make a living by selling them. Except for the high priests of the main temple, wandering is mandatory for believers. So, when they reach a town, they are often treated well."

"That's quite informative."

"You're welcome."

Many of my vague questions have now been clarified, making things much clearer.

"Oh, Cherina."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Could you make a small leather box-shaped container to store these empty cards?"

"If there's a container, I can store them all in one container, making storage easier."

"I can make that happen. Shall we proceed?"

"Yes, please do."

"That's a relief."

With just that, Melvin understood, he's quite competent.

"It'll have elaborate embroidery, so it should be ready by evening. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, please."

"Understood."

Decorations and more decorations. I don't understand the point.

"Shall we head to the usual place?"

"Yes."

Storing the provisional empty cards in a container, I absentmindedly check the list.

Aerial Tool (Cleaning) = ¥39,800

Aerial Card (Lighting) = ¥16,000

Aerial Card (Wind) = ¥150,000

Aerial Card (Fire) = ¥195,000

Aerial Card (Light Sword) = ¥600,000

The name has changed from "provisional" to "temporary." Also, the prices seem strangely high... Well, let's not dwell on it.

I stepped outside as is, about to casually climb into the carriage, but I was greeted with a cheerful grip around my neck by Hagg.

"You're running."

".... Yes."