Magic Tool Shopping

The weather that day was nice.

Nayuta and Setsuna had a request for Rokuko and me, so we were having a brief meeting.

I was using [Super Transformation] while meeting with these two just in case. I admit I'm being quite the coward, but it can't be helped. Safety first. I can't sleep anymore if I die. I don't acknowledge eternal rest as sleep.

Rokuko was defenseless, so if it comes down to it, I'll be the meat shield. I have an extra life thanks to [Super Transformation] after all.

"Rokuko-sama, Village Chief-san. It's our day off from work, but would it be okay if we sold stuff to the adventurers in the dining hall!?"

Setsuna spoke in an energetic voice. Since it wasn't her work hours right now, she was in casual gym clothes. Bounce.

"Hm? I don't mind, right Kehma?"

"Hold on, Rokuko. Let's see what we're dealing with first. What are you selling?"

"Stuff that Nayuta made through alchemy. We were thinking about what to use for the Hero's information fee, so we wanted to earn some extra money."

Nayuta's alchemy, huh. In this world, alchemy means carving magic formations into tools to make magic tools. Selling magic tools directly is pretty profitable.

"I'll buy that gun from before for a gold coin, if you want."

"Hm? That? What should we do Nayuta, sell it?"

"That would just break even… Hmm, I don't really want to sell an unfinished product though."

"Isn't it good enough as a toy?"

"… Let me think about it. I'll sell it if we don't sell much this time."

I don't really need to buy it, and even if I did it would just be a toy anyway. Offering a gold coin for it is pure indulgence. But hey, why not. I've got more gold coins than I know what to do with anyway.

"More importantly, what specifically are you selling? Show me, show me."

"Various things, Owner. For example, this Smoke Ball. When struck against the ground, smoke billows up and blocks vision. A so-called smokescreen. The price is a reasonable silver coin!"

Oh, a disposable smokescreen for 10,000 Yen. It's ping pong ball sized, which seems good for carrying.

Oh, you can speak that politely, Nayuta? Wait, is that it? Polite speech reserved for employers only? Maybe she doesn't recognize me as an employer?

"One silver for a disposable item is a bit expensive, no?"

"… Well, the mixture to get the smokescreen to work just right is quite finicky. When Onee-chan makes them, it's good if one out of ten turns out okay. The wind magic formation that creates the smokescreen is difficult. But this is useful when you need to escape from an enemy—buying your life for just one silver is cheap, right?"

Well, if you can buy your life for one silver, that is indeed cheap.

"So, does it work against Golems?"

"It's effective. To deal with monsters that use magic to see, like Golems, this Smoke Ball has bone powder containing magical power mixed in. There's also a deodorizing effect to deal with smells, so it works in most cases."

So it works like chaff. I see, if it's useful in so many situations, it seems convenient.

"There's also this Water Ball. Well, it's similar to a water pitcher magic tool. Water comes out of the hole when you press this button. You can put it in a cup or just drink from it directly."

"Hey, what about the price?"

"Yes… It's a whopping five silver coins!"

By the way, a water pitcher magic tool is about three silver. And yep, she's back to that super polite speech for Rokuko again.

"That's pretty expensive."

"The smaller it is, the harder it is to make. But being this small is convenient since it won't get in the way of your other luggage. We also have a flask-type for four silver."

This one is also ping pong ball sized. It is pretty compact, I suppose. The flask-type would also be convenient depending on the situation.

"There's also this Fire Ball for offensive use. Three seconds after pressing the button, it becomes a ball of fire. These are three for one silver. Since it's magical fire, it's effective against ghost-types too."

A timed incendiary device… That's really convenient. It could be a trump card for warrior-types who can't use magic.

It's meaningless to me since I can use magic, but maybe I should buy some?

"There's also this Quiver Ball for massages. When you press this button, it vibrates, so you can press it against your shoulders and it feels great. I was inspired by the massage chair here and made it."

"Heeh, the pink color is cute!"

"I'm delighted you like it, Owner. Ah, this one is three silver coins."

This one is also ping pong ball sized. Actually, why is everything ping pong ball sized?

As I was wondering about that, Nayuta grinned happily.

"Fufu, did you notice? This is the concept of standardization—by fixing them to the same size, usability is improved. You can attach five of your preferred balls to this Ball Holder, sold separately! The different colors make them easy to distinguish. If you buy ten balls now, I'll throw in one holder as a bonus!"

"Hoh. You've thought this through."

It's just like those TV shopping bonus deals.

"And there's more! This Sand Ball can produce white and black colored sand. It's good for taking notes on the floor when you need to think through a puzzle. This Breath Ball can be used for breathing underwater. You could even use it in places with thin air like high mountains. And this Sweet Ball tastes sweet when you lick it. Though it won't fill your stomach, so at most it's for supplementing the taste of emergency rations, or maybe it's like a mouth's best friend for aristocrats who want something sweet but don't want to get fat? I'm quite confident in this one."

Saying that, she rolled out various balls of different colors.

They were interesting, so I decided to buy one of each. I'm earning enough to indulge in this level of shopping. I also got two holder bonuses.

"Well, they look like they'll sell decently. Especially the Sweet Ball—it'd be interesting if it came in other flavors too."

"This one is an original I stumbled upon while researching magic formations. When Onee-chan was licking the plate I'd carved a magic formation into, I thought she'd finally lost her mind…"

"How rude! It was thanks to me that you made that big discovery!"

"True, this one has the best sales. Thanks, Onee-chan."

When I tried licking it, it was faint, but definitely sweet.

In this world where sweetness is precious, I can see why it sells well.

"Kehma, let me try that."

"Sure, here."

I tossed the Sweet Ball I'd been licking to her… Ah, Rokuko's face turned bright red. Right, indirect kiss.

"Alright, let me wipe it off first, so give it back."

"No! This is mine now."

"But I'm the one who bought it…"

"You bought it with the inn's money, so obviously it's mine."

So that's how she's playing it… Well, she seems happy for some reason, so whatever.

"Fufu, Owner really is on such good terms with Village Chief-san. Now then, there's a product I'd like to show only to Owner in private…"

"Oh… Let's see it then."

"Hey, don't go see it alone."

"It's fine, I can trust Nayuta. So Kehma, you can leave now."

Somehow Rokuko's been completely won over. When did that happen…

"But still, I'm also supposed to be Rokuko's guard. I can't very well leave Rokuko defenseless."

"If our employer says she trusts us, that should be enough… Besides, I'm also an adventurer employed by Owner. So it's fine since I'll be there, right?"

"Employees and guards are different roles."

"Hmhmm, I understand you're worried about your partner, but women have women's talk. Could you give us some privacy? Now then, in this case here…"

"Th-this is…! Yeah, Kehma, it's fine. Just call Ichika or someone?"

"… Fine then."

I called Ichika and asked her to guard Rokuko.

"… Ichika. Don't let them win you over, alright?"

"Goshujin-sama. Is that supposed to be a flag?"

"It's an order, an order."

Later, it seems the magic tools Nayuta sold did quite well.

… But what was the product they showed only to Rokuko? She ended up buying something. For three gold coins, at that.

"Goshujin-sama. Make sure ya tell Rokuko-sama 'you've gotten prettier' or somethin', 'kay?"

Ah, it was a beauty product. Got it.