Collecting medicinal herbs was a mundane task. With an illustrated guide in hand, Mash harvested the same plants repeatedly. He'd returned to the scene of yesterday's attack, expecting that the herbs would be left behind by the attacked collectors—and he was right. They could be picked in abundance.
However, the squatting position required to cut herbs was difficult for an older man used to desk work.
"My back hurts," he said, pressing the painful area, when a violent impact was delivered to it.
Before he knew what was happening, he was pushed away and dove headfirst into the bushes.
"Hmm?"
As he stood up, a jelly-like object lunged at him, so he quickly dodged. Then he drew his sword and faced it.
It was a slime—a semi-transparent spherical monster about fifty centimeters in size. The slime started charging again. He swung his sword down at it.
The impact was greater than he'd imagined, and the sword was knocked away. He stumbled backwards.
"Damn it!"
He supported the hilt with his free hand and stabbed the slime with his sword. With that blow, the slime disappeared.
"With my strength, a one-handed sword is difficult," he muttered to himself.
Should he use a two-handed sword, or slowly whittle enemies down while protecting himself with a shield? He'd stop by the weapon shop today.
While he was thinking about this, he found a magic seed lying where the vanished slime had been. He made sure there was no one around.
"Yes, I did it! I got it!"
There was a roar of joy.
Afterwards, he encountered another slime, which dropped another magic seed when he defeated it. He was so absorbed in slime hunting that he forgot about the steady collection of medicinal herbs he'd planned.
In the end, he hunted about fifteen slimes and obtained twelve magic seeds. His level went up to 7.
With a beaming smile on his face, he returned to town and headed to the guild.
"The herbs for the quest."
He handed the herbs he'd collected to the same receptionist as yesterday and exchanged them for fifteen silver coins.
"Can I cash this in?"
For now, he handed over one magic seed.
"Th-This is a magic seed from a slime! It's rare!"
"Do you know what monster it's from?"
"Yes, the light is light blue. Slimes drop magic seeds of this color near town. It's said that light blue magic seeds increase stamina."
"I see."
"Here, it costs five gold coins, but if you take it to a trading company, they'll buy it for more than ten gold coins. Why don't you give it a try?"
The guild girl whispered to him. A gold coin was worth one hundred silver coins, and a large gold coin was worth one thousand silver coins. He couldn't stop grinning.
"If you can secretly give me one gold coin from the sale proceeds, I'll introduce you to a good merchant."
"Haha, you're also a bad girl. But if you introduce me to a woman, I'll give you two gold coins... no, three."
He asked casually.
"Hmm, unfortunately, there's no one cuter than the one you were with yesterday."
"Is that so? That's unfortunate."
"That's right," she nodded.
He went to Mateo Trading Company and said that he'd been introduced by the receptionist at the Adventurer's Guild. A man calling himself Mateo came out to greet him.
Mateo was an old man about his age, though he looked younger because he was so lively.
Mateo led him to a small room, where they sat on comfortable sofas around a fancy-looking desk.
"I've never seen you before."
Mateo, the innkeeper, the clothing store clerk, and no one else treated customers with the same politeness as in their original world. The guild receptionist was an exception. They'd probably treat nobles differently, but this was better because you didn't have to be so careful.
"Oh, I arrived in this city yesterday."
"Hmm? Are you the stranger adventurer who recently defeated a horde of rampaging goblins?"
Like a merchant, he seemed to be keeping track of information.
"Oh, maybe that stranger."
"I see, you seem like an excellent adventurer."
"I'm F rank though."
"No, your rank will rise quickly. An F rank can't defeat ten goblins."
Rather than talking about that, Mash wanted to ask about his relationship with the guild receptionist, but he didn't know how to bring up the conversation.
The old man wasn't interested in small talk, so they cut it short. Mash showed him one of the magic seeds and moved on to business negotiations.
Mateo held his hand over the magic seed and used identification magic.
"Now, fifteen gold coins," he said simply.
"Can I get cash immediately?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"There's one more thing."
He took out another magic seed. Mateo looked surprised for a moment, but then quickly returned to his normal expression.
"I'll take it for fifteen gold coins."
It didn't seem like having multiple copies increased the value.
"Then let's exchange them for cash."
It would be difficult to use if all the coins were gold, so he had some of them changed to silver and copper coins.
"By the way, does Mateo Company deal in slaves?"
He asked, remembering the warrior slave Reid had with him.
"No, it's outside my jurisdiction. But I'll act as an intermediary."
Mateo leaned forward and grinned.
"There are many different types. What kind of person are you looking for? There are three slaves working as servants in this company."
"I just asked around. I don't know anything about slaves. I wanted to know the going rate and how to buy them. For example, how about female warriors? Up to their twenties would be good."
He knew Mateo would be amused if he asked what he really thought, but he'd ask anyway. He'd like the type where a monster played naughty pranks on him while he screamed, "Damn, kill me!"
"A combat slave? A twenty-year-old female warrior was bought at the auction the other day for one hundred gold coins."
"Is there an auction?"
"Yes, slaves are generally bought from slave traders, but there's also an auction every quarter that's open to the public, and they're sometimes put up for sale there as well. That female warrior was bought with quite a bit of interest. If you don't care about age or gender, you could buy one for around seventy gold coins, but that would be pointless, wouldn't it?"
Mateo smiled meaningfully. Damn, he saw right through him.
"One hundred gold coins is expensive. If they escape, it'll be over."
"We carve a slave crest onto their arm. Using the slave crest, you can give orders and inflict pain. If you give orders such as 'If you run away, commit suicide' or 'If you betray me, commit suicide,' the slave will not be able to run away or betray you."
Wasn't it enough to simply say, "Follow me obediently?" There seemed to be a lot of restrictions.
Come to think of it, Reid's slave also had a crest on his arm. He'd thought it was a fashionable tattoo.
"I see. How about a wizard? A girl type who shows her strength would be good."
Since Mateo had already read his mind, he'd also share his honest hopes.
"The profession of wizard is not something that just anyone can become, so it's valuable. It would be impossible for the slave traders in this city to find one. There's a large city east of here that was founded by adventurers. They bought one there for two hundred fifty gold coins. It was a man, though."
"That's out of reach."
After saying it, he realized he'd let it slip. If it was one hundred gold coins, it would be obvious that he had money ready. He didn't want to reveal his financial situation.
"Oh, by the way, a platoon arrived in this town a few days ago and is selling some dog-eared slaves. I don't have any connections so I can't act as an intermediary, but if you're interested, you can take a look."
"I understand. Thank you very much."
He couldn't make friends through communication like Mizuki could. Once he got used to this world a bit more and his adventurer level increased, he might be able to make a contract with a slave and increase the size of his party.
He cut the conversation short and stood up.
"Yes, if there's anything you want to sell, please bring it to me anytime. If you want any special weapons or armor, just let me know. Even if we don't have it in stock, we'll order it for you."
They shook hands.
When he returned to the inn, Mizuki and the other members of Wind Blade had also returned after completing their dungeon exploration. She was eating on the first floor. He called out to her and went back to his room.
He wanted to eat right away, but didn't know how to interact with Mizuki and the others.
After some time had passed, he headed to the restaurant.
"You're still here?"
Only Mizuki remained.
"Is that bad?"
She seemed to be in a bad mood. It was uncomfortable, but avoiding it would only make it more uncomfortable. He sat at the same table as Mizuki and ate. It was just as bland as expected.
"This..."
"Hmm, what is it?"
He received a cloth bag from Mizuki. When he roughly tried to check the contents, she firmly stopped him, saying "No!"
"An apology for yesterday. For hitting you the second time."
"The second time was because I cornered you with sexual harassment. Don't worry about it."
"I do care, and this really makes up for it."
Mizuki's face was bright red. He was very curious about what was in the bag.
"Can I check inside?"
"...Make sure no one else sees."
He nodded and took a sneak peek. There was a pair of light blue panties along with a light blue bra. They were definitely the ones she'd been wearing yesterday. He felt the essence of obtaining a rare item.
"Oh, oh, oh, ohhhh!"
"Stop groaning and put it away quickly!"
"Mizuki..." Just like with the sailor uniform yesterday, he wondered if she knew what it would be used for before giving it to him.
"Wh-what?"
"Let's let go of everything that's happened up until now. This will become my family heirloom. When we return to our world, I will donate it to an art museum like the Louvre and make it a global treasure. And let's promise to be friends from now on."
"I get it, so don't give me that creepy look."
He was slightly dissed, but it didn't bother him at all.
"And I'll give you this too."
It was a small pouch that fit in his hand, the opening sewn shut so you couldn't see what was inside.
"What is this?"
"A charm. I don't know if it works though."
"Is that what a woman gives to a man going off to war?"
"...I see," Mizuki nodded at what he'd said casually.
"Hey, why go to such lengths? Of course, this will also become a family heirloom. Even if you ask me to give it back, I won't."
"Mmhmm."
"That's too generous. I didn't ask for that much. I'll never give it back."
Mizuki looked down, as if it was difficult to speak. He needed to hurry back to his room and appreciate the family heirloom, but he'd just said they'd be friends so he'd wait.
"Mr. Beers died today."
"Who's that?"
"Wind Blade's warrior."
"Ah, that slave."
Mizuki nodded. That was definitely his name. He was dead?
"I have no idea what the circumstances of his death were, but that's the world we live in. Don't worry too much about it."
"Yeah."
That was honest. But she smelled a bit like alcohol.
"You're a high school student, but you're drinking alcohol."
"Uh, what's wrong? I don't think I've had that much to drink, and here it's okay for sixteen-year-olds to drink."
Mizuki replied with an embarrassed look on her face.
He wondered if he was able to get the panties and the charm because she was drunk. He was sure she'd ask for them back when she sobered up.
If the gift was given under the influence of alcohol, it was best not to let her drink too much.
"I really want to stop you, but you can drink. Do as you like. But please don't drink to soothe your depressed mood. If you're drinking to have fun, I'll join you. I'll get you totally drunk and take you home."
"Pervert!"
Mizuki laughed weakly.
"But I understand. I'll only drink alcohol when I'm having fun."