Let's Go to the Port Town Véraldo!

The road to getting myself a cute slave girl was long and treacherous…

And now even making money by chopping wood is off the table… In that case, I'll just have to take a different job.

Hmm, are there any subjugation requests? Kobolds, wolves, slimes… a rampaging fire horse? The horse is on fire? That's a thing?

"Come to think of it, Karina-chan, didn't Harumikazuchi-oneesan ask you to do some shopping?"

"Ah. Right, she did."

Yikes, I almost forgot. How could I!

In that case, including some peddling, I'd like to accept a delivery job headed toward the port town Véraldo—the place where I can stock up on that lotion Sati-tan told me about.

"With that huge backpack on top of your camping gear, you still have room to haul anything? I'm not worried about the weight, though."

"Uh, um… Right—could I buy one of those handcarts we used for lumberjacking?"

"Give me one large copper coin and I'll negotiate it for you. Should run about a mid silver, and even at the high end it won't reach a large silver."

Much appreciated. I'll get it while I'm still flush with lumberjack money.

Strictly speaking, I don't need it thanks to storage magic, but it'd be hard to answer if someone asked, 'Then how did you move all this?' There's no downside to me having a cart.

So I paid one mid silver, plus a large copper as Blade-senpai's fee, and bought a handcart. Thanks to his negotiation, they threw in rope and a rain cover to boot—score.

With this, I can say "I used this to carry it" for most things.

Also, just that cloth alone looks like it'd cost two silver coins… Is that okay?

"I told him you're a young lady destined to become a big-name merchant, so it's smart to earn your favor now. He'd heard about the lumberjacking too, so he agreed readily."

As expected of senpai—smooth negotiator.

I'll have to earn a ton so I don't make a liar out of him!

"Ah. You'll be camping on the road, right? Better prepare a scavenger slime too."

"Yeah, I need to round up all the small stuff like that."

"While we're at it, I'll help. Buy a bunch. Need clothes?"

"Ah, that's fine. I've got spares."

Clothes I can handle with duplication.

Ever since Harumikazuchi-oneesan stripped me bare that first time, I've been keeping the originals and wearing copies. When they wear out, I just make another copy!

"Then it's small items and food. Véraldo's climate is about the same as here… Alright. Come on, I know a good shop."

And so, the ever-helpful Blade-senpai took me around for a shopping spree.

I splurged my lumberjack earnings and bought a personal scavenger slime, a tent, monster-repelling incense (it's mostly a placebo, but better than nothing), and cooking gear too.

"Hey, Karina, how about I trade this for a bottle of booze?"

"Sure. Helps free up space in my backpack… Wait, just one bottle for that!? That's a frying pan!"

"Okay, two bottles then. And if we throw in this and this, that evens it out, right?"

"Whoa, you're adding oil too? Seriously? Th-thank you so much!"

We even bartered like that, and somehow we got everything at a bargain while also making more room in my pack. Senpai's amazing—such a savvy shopper.

"Normally you wouldn't buy this much unless you had a wagon. But you can use that magic to make logs lighter, so you'll manage, right?"

"Yup. Heheh, this is going to massively upgrade my quality of life… Also, senpai, aren't you more suited to being a merchant than an adventurer?"

"Don't be stupid. I just have a lot of acquaintances. My face only carries weight in this town."

He flicked me. True, he's probably too nice to be a merchant.

If Sati-tan got to him, she'd strip him down to his last butt hair by the next day.

"Your pretty face is one reason you got good deals, you know."

"My! Being pretty really pays! Ufufufu."

"So is this beauty going to post an escort request? I could take it."

Hmm. I could request it from senpai and the others with peace of mind, but…

"Tempting, but I'll try going alone this time. There's something I want to do."

"I see. Normally I'd stop you, but it's you. Come back safe."

"Yessir, thanks for everything! Much appreciated!"

And so, I loaded the delivery cargo and a big backpack stuffed with booze onto the handcart and left my first town, Solasidore.

I used my Merchants' Guild card for the first time! Yay!

 

*

 

"This Solasidore departure record is for noon today. Way too fast; must be a fake."

"Ahhn…!?"

I'm Karina-chan! I'm at the gate of the port town Véraldo right now!

Nobody told me! I didn't know the Merchants' Guild card logs town entries and exits with dates!

"It's a Merchants' Guild card, you know? As if it could be forged."

"It's literally right in front of us… The cargo matches what's on the card. The counts check out."

"It's a delivery for the Adventurers' Guild, right? Are they in on it too?"

"Either way, this is a serious problem. We can't judge this. Hey, contact the higher-ups and the guild—"

"E-everyone! Please, look over here!"

I held up my five-yen-coin counterfeit hypnosis ID. The soldiers who had me surrounded all softened their eyes.

"… Ah, I see. If you'd shown that from the start. Alright, we'll grant entry as well."

"W-wait, wait! Save that for later. I'm heading back for now!"

"Hm? But that's our job…"

"A-tten-tion! In deference to this ID—pretty please!"

"Very well. Understood."

That was close! Way too close. Man, that scared me. I was panicking.

So, I teleport into the sky, right? From up there I find the port town Véraldo, head over, try to walk in through the gate all proper, show my guild card—and this happens.

Also, apparently the card even had records related to the cargo.

Wow, talk about high-spec! That Merchants' Guild card is crazy! Is it for tax control or what!?

I'm so glad I kept that fake ID. Good thing I didn't return it to the Goddess. You really should hold onto key items.

"Ugh, what do I even do… I didn't do anything wrong…"

As things stand, I can't enter the town. Well, I could slip in if I felt like it, but since entries and exits get logged, I wouldn't be able to use my guild card or ID inside.

No, let's look at it the other way. I'm glad I didn't sneak in and use the card inside, only to have them cry, "Illegal entry!"

"… Can't be helped. I'll kill, say, five days."

Basically, the problem was that I arrived too fast. If I just wait until the timing looks natural, there won't be any problem.

Alright, I'll treat it like a vacation and take it easy.