I became a merchant!

Karina-chan here. I had nothing to stand on when I woke up in the morning and came out of my storage space.

I nearly died from falling! Talk about surprising!

 

 

Speaking of which, when I thought about what happened yesterday, it could've been, at best, a pick-up attempt, probably an attempted robbery, or at worst, a kidnapping.

Since I arrived in this world, I've only met decent people, so I completely forgot about such things. I didn't black out, but I guess I was drunk enough not to be able to make that judgement. I really need to be careful with alcohol.

"Besides, it's not normal for a girl to go to an alleyway alone in the middle of the night, is it."

Perhaps pre-modern Japan, where a woman could walk to the convenience store alone at night, had exceptionally good public safety. I used to be a man though.

"Ah, it's already noon. Did I oversleep…?"

As I floated about in the sky, I did a big stretch. The temperature and humidity in my storage space were adjustable, but I wondered if there was anything I could do to keep track of time. Maybe I'll ask the Goddess when I deliver socks to her next time?

That being said, I have plenty of money and don't really need to worry about time too much. No one's going to complain if I oversleep.

Isn't this what they call a slow and free life? That's great. This gotta be that good good parallel cheat life stuff.

"Alright then, off to the Merchant's Guild!"

It's fine to just keep on casually deciding my plans.

What freedom. It's wonderful.

I teleported from the sky down to a quiet alleyway, heading towards the Merchant's Guild.

 

*

 

"Here's my Adventurer's Guild ID."

"I'll take that… and I've confirmed it. Is it okay to withdraw 25 silver coins from your affiliate account?"

"Yes!"

Thus, I joined the Merchant's Guild. From today on, I'm also a merchant!

Now I can call myself Karina the Merchant! Yay!

"How would you like to register your goods?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. Anything people ask for, I guess? I want to travel as a peddler."

"Ah, the type who peddles while adventuring. Then miscellaneous goods, but some items are regulated, so please be careful."

"Regulated?"

It seemed that there were items that could not be handled, such as weapons and strategic materials like salt, slaves, rare creatures, dangerous creatures, etc.

You needed to contribute to the guild separately, take a course, and obtain a license.

Speaking of which, slaves are considered merchandise, huh. Interesting.

"Yes, for weapons, salt, alcohol, and the like, we can usually turn a blind eye if it's a small amount. However, if you exceed the level of personal transactions, various fines and penalties may be imposed, so please be careful."

It seemed they'd overlook if it's just for a set of equipment for an acquaintance's party, but if you started selling on a large scale, you could get caught. Reasonable.

Handling poisonous substances also seemed to be penalized if its effect was too strong.

If you unknowingly handled items that require permission or were prohibited, it could lead to arrest. So if you happened to procure unfamiliar or suspicious goods, it was advisable to confirm with the Merchant's Guild.

They may be confiscated, but it was a far better outcome than unknowingly trading the goods and being penalized for it.

"We recommend that you have a broad but shallow range."

"Yes, thank you! By the way, do you have any recommended goods or places for peddling?"

"How about exchanging information in the lounge over there? There are other peddlers gathered there."

The receptionist at the Merchant's Guild pointed to a lounge with a bar attached.

While the Adventurer's Guild seemed more like a bustling eatery, this place gave the impression of a stylish bar. There appeared to be some store-owning merchants here too, but most of them were peddlers.

It's nice to know that the Merchant's Guild provides a place to listen to senior merchants.

As I headeded towards the lounge, all eyes quietly gathered on me. Mostly on my chest.

Come on guys, that's just too obvious.

"Hey, I heard you're a peddler? I've got a recommendation, you want to hear it?"

Oh, a flashy looking guy!

The man, who was obviously weaker compared to adventurers, especially compared to Blade-senpai, started talking to me with a glass in his hand, occasionally glancing at my chest.

Huh, so they have glass cups here too. It was all wooden cups in the guild.

… Alright, let's try to act cute and coax information out of him!

"Eeeeh~, a recommendation~? Please tell me, Se~, N~, Pa~, I~?"

With that, I leaned forward and looked up! Emphasize that cleavage! Plead with those eyes!

Fufu, even I think this pose is shameless! It's giving me goosebumps!

"Ooooh… o-oh, the recommendation, right. I recommend magic stones. If you take them to the Alchemy Kingdom, they'll buy them at a high price. If you buy magic tools and potions there, you'll never sell for a loss."

"Oh yeah, right."

I heard that country was destroyed though~

Talk about outdated information. Well, I guess this is normal in this world. Let's check.

"Umm…? I heard a rumor that the Alchemy Kingdom was destroyed?"

"Hahaha, it's just a rumor, right? A country can't be destroyed that easily. Especially not the Alchemy Kingdom, ruled by the Chaos God."

"Oh~, yeah~, no way~"

Yep, this guy's useless! Change target!

Ideally there'd be some female merchant I could… ooh, cute girl drinking at the counter, target acquired!

She looked younger than me at first glance. The glass in her hand was definitely filled with alcohol though!

In other words, I was witnessing a legal loli—a dwarf! (Basic knowledge check)

I shook off the man to head over to the legal loli.

She had cute, curly hair and big green eyes.

She was drinking her alcohol by adorably holding her cup in both hands. Wine, maybe?

"Excuse me, could I have a moment?"

"Mm? What do you want? Don't interrupt my drinking."

She glared at me with a menacing look, but now was the time to stand firm. I started the conversation.

 

 

"I just became a merchant and thought I should greet you. I'd like to treat you to a drink."

"Oh! You've got good eyes! There are idiots who like to tell me children shouldn't drink alcohol. I'm a dwarf, you know?"

She became cheerful as soon as I mentioned treating her. As expected, dwarfs love alcohol.

"I'd love to learn from a senior female merchant like you."

"Yeah, yeah. I thought you were strange when you suddenly flirted with that man earlier, but you're a good person. Sure, sure, I'll teach you as much as the cost of the drink."

Alright, I took out one large copper coin and snapped it onto the counter.

Barkeep, one drink for my senior here!

"First, please tell me your name, senior. I'm Karina."

"Nice to meet you, Karina. I'm Sati. My real name is long, so you can use that nickname."

Saying that, Sati shook my hand. Ah, her hand's so small. It felt warm and soft.

Is she really an adult? She was basically a middle-schooler if you went by looks alone. She's seriously cute. I want to call her Sati-tan.

"I'm a merchant who buys and sells alcohol from all over, so if you want some, let me know."

"Heh, alcohol is a regulated item, isn't it?"

"That's right. I worked really hard for it."

A dwarf selling alcohol. Hmm, fitting!

"Well, Karina, you should drink too. I'll treat you."

"Ah, okay. But, if I get drunk, I'm a bit…"

"What, are you saying you can't drink my alcohol!?"

"I'll take it!"

Ah, I messed up. This is going to be another memory loss thing, isn't it.

By the time I thought that, Sati-tan was already pouring me a drink.

Alcohol harassment from a little girl. Is this a reward?