Volume 1 Chapter 12 Shopping
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
When I got back to the village, it was already deep into autumn, and the fields that had escaped goblin damage were in the middle of harvest. I hurried back to the Barua house, but wait, are they not home? No, the door seems to be open. I walked into the main house and was shocked.
There was nothing inside! What happened?
Did they kick my family out of the village while I was gone? I rushed outside and saw Sodon walking by.
”Hey, Yuuta! You’re back. How’s it going?”
”How’s it going? What do you mean? Sodon, what’s going on? What did the village do to my family while I was away?”
I was so angry I almost grabbed Sodon, but he calmly dodged me.
”Calm down, Yuuta. The Barua family just moved.”
”Huh? Moved?”
Sodon explained that this house, the fields, and the farming tools were all owned by the village, and the villagers borrowed them to live. They paid rent by giving the village some of the crops or money they earned.
The Barua house was one of the bigger ones in the village, and the rent was pretty high, but it wasn’t a big deal when Barua was alive. Oh, so that’s why…
”But isn’t it terrible? Barua fought for the village. To treat his family like this over money…”
”No, no. It was Puruun’s idea. The village head and the elders said they would give some money to Barua’s family and told them they could stay until they felt better, but they wanted to save that money for the future.”
I see. I had been living in this village for 2 years and didn’t know about this system at all. The reason we had been living in the barn was probably because of the rent situation.
I felt so embarrassed thinking we were treated like pets. I asked Sodon where Puruun and the others moved to and rushed over there.
It was on the edge of the village, on a little slope, and there was a smaller hut than the barn we had been in. Ms. Akari was outside hanging up laundry.
”Akari! I’m back!”
”Huh? Yuuta? Oh, everyone! Yuuta is back!”
In the next moment, Puruun and Melon came flying out of the house and jumped on me.
”Yuuta! Welcome back! I’m so glad you’re safe!”
”Ah, Puruun, Melon. You’re squishing me! I’m fine, I finished my errands and came back! But I was shocked to find out you moved…”
”Ah, we’ll explain that later. For now, let’s recharge Yuuta! Mmm, Yuuta’s smell… the best!”
Saying that, Puruun hugged me tightly.
”Hey, big sister. That’s not fair!”
”Don’t hog my Yuuta!”
While saying that, Melon and Ms. Akari hugged me too, and I ended up standing there like a charger for a while.
Inside the hut, it felt a bit cramped, but there was a stove, and the straw bed was almost the same size as before. In the old house, there was a well in the garden, but here, they had to go to a shared well a little distance away to get water, so there was a big water jar.
”Hehe, starting today, Yuuta will sleep here with us!”
Melon pointed happily at the straw bed.
”Isn’t it a bit cramped for 4 people?”
”It’s fine! It’s going to get cold, so we’ll all cuddle up to sleep!”
Melon insisted.
”So, why did you move? I heard most of it from Sodon, but I can work too now. I might not be as good as Barua, but I can earn something. It’s not bad to save money for our future.”
I asked Puruun.
”Yeah, exactly. Right now, we need to save money. Because, Yuuta, you’re going to the royal capital someday, right? You said you finished your errands, so that means you can see a way to the royal capital, right?”
”That’s true, but it’s not happening right away, so we don’t need to rush to save up…”
”What are you talking about, Yuuta? I don’t know all the details, but it’s probably going to cost a lot of money. Plus, if Yuuta and Mama Akari are going to the capital, we’re going too!”
”Oh! You were thinking that far ahead? Puruun, thank you! Mr. Goetec also said it would cost money, so he told me to talk to the village head.”
”Well, I can’t just keep worrying forever, Mama Akari. I plan to start doing what I can and work hard. If that means I can send Melon to school in the capital in the future, that would be amazing!”
”Ah, that’s a lovely dream! I want to work hard too and help PurPur and MelMel make their debut in the capital!”
I totally agree with Ms. Akari. With dreams like that, we can all work harder together.
That night, we got excited talking about what it would be like if we went to the capital, and the 4 of us cuddled together on the narrow straw floor, chatting until late.
* * *
The next day, I went to see the village head and told him what Mr. Goetec had said.
”Oh, the priest said it’s okay to go to the capital? Then there’s no problem. It’s a good idea to start preparing for that.”
”About that, the village head. I was told it would be good to volunteer for the military, but is there any procedure I need to follow…?”
”Ah, I just need to write a recommendation letter.”
”Really? Mr. Goetec said it would cost money.”
”Well, it’s not completely free. There are some fees for documents and applications set by law, but it’s not a huge amount. The real cost is getting to the capital.”
”Ah, he mentioned something about traveling merchants.”
”Haha, traveling merchants, huh? We do that, but officially, they’re called border patrol tax collectors, and they’re government officials.”
Village Head spoke up, “That’s right. The Kingdom of Zelrant is ruled by an elf king, and near the capital, there are many estates owned by royalty and nobles.”
”But this village and the border settlements are directly controlled by the royal family,” Village Head continued. “Once a year, the tax collector comes to this village to collect taxes.”
”They don’t come empty-handed; they also sell products from the capital here,” Village Head said with a smile. “They buy local goods like cloth, thread, and dye to take back to the capital.”
”I see, so that’s why it’s called traveling merchants… so asking to go with them costs money too.”
”Exactly. It takes at least 4 months to get to the capital, and there are many dangerous places along the way. The tax collector hires mercenaries and adventurers to travel in a pretty big caravan, so it costs money.”
”So, how much does that cost, roughly? And can you tell me when the tax collector will come to our village next?”
”Well, I’m not sure what the current rates are… When I was young and went to the capital, I think it cost about a million pon one way. The tax collector comes to this village every spring. So, we’ll have to wait until next year.”
”By the way, Yuuta,” said the village head, “there’s a reward from the country for defeating the Goblin King, so you can use that for your trip to the capital.”
”Oh, but that’s not just my achievement… How much is it, anyway?”
”It’s 5 million pon. With that, you could move your whole family!”
Wow, that’s an amazing amount of money! But it feels wrong to keep it all to myself, and besides, we’re not going right away.
After thinking it over, I decided to take 2 million pon for my and Ms. Akari’s travel expenses and told the chief to use the rest for the village’s recovery.
I’ll probably need their help in the future, and it’s not a bad thing to keep the chief’s face saved.
* * *
”Two million pon? The rent here is 2,000 pon!”
Puruun jumped up in surprise.
”Yeah, I got it as a reward for defeating the Goblin King. Well, they originally said it was 5 million pon, but if I took it all, others might resent me, so I only took this much.”
”Five million pon! Well, if we let one get away, the damage next year could be huge. But it was a good idea to put more than half back into the village. I think we’ll be able to get help in the future.”
It seems my thinking was right.
Puruun started counting the money I brought and began calculating something seriously.
She looks like she’s going to be a responsible wife.
”Hey, Yuuta. You’re suddenly rich now!”
Ms. Akari comes closer to me.
”Um, Ms. Akari? Do you want something?”
”Yeah, Yuuta!”
”Huh?”
”Just kidding! Well, not really… but I don’t need money for that. So, you know, I was thinking PurPur and the others want new clothes, underwear, shoes, and accessories.”
That’s true. I think Barua made a decent amount of money, but maybe because of his personality, the stuff Puruun’s sibling wears is pretty old and plain compared to the other kids in the village.
”Then, how about we go buy some clothes tomorrow?”
”Wait, Yuuta. You don’t have to waste money!”
”Come on, Puruun. It’s about time you both got a fresh start. I want to give you a gift to cheer you up. I haven’t been able to repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”
”That’s not necessary… you don’t have to repay anything…”
Even though she says that, Puruun seems a bit happy and keeps glancing at Melon.
”I want clothes too!”
Melon’s one comment made it clear we were going shopping.
The next day, I followed Puruun into the village’s general store for the first time. It wasn’t a big shop, but it had food, daily necessities, clothes, accessories, tools, weapons, toys, and all sorts of materials piled up everywhere, kind of like a D〇nki from my world.
The girls were happily looking through clothes and accessories, chatting about this and that. I was a bit interested in the weapons, but Okia had said he would lend me that awesome sword, and it seemed like there weren’t any Japanese swords in the store, so I decided not to waste money.
With nothing else to do, I chatted with the shopkeeper, and it turns out the products in this store were brought in by tax collectors from the capital.
Apparently, you can only place orders when the tax collectors come to the village, and they bring the items a year later. It’s a pretty slow business, but in this remote place, I guess it’s still appreciated.
Still, it’s taking a while. Is shopping with girls like this everywhere?
”Yuuta, Yuuta. Can I talk to you for a sec?”
When I went over to Ms. Akari, the 3 of them were huddled together at the accessory section.
”Yuuta. I think this necklace would look amazing on PurPur… but the price is kind of high…”
Wow, 200,000 pon! Even I can tell it’s a really nice item. The shopkeeper chimed in.
”Customer, you have a good eye. This was supposed to be a cheaper order, but the tax collector brought the wrong one, so we had to take it.”
”It’s a special item blessed by spirits,” he continued, “and only people of a certain status in the capital can wear it. In this countryside, no one wants to buy it, so it’s practically a steal!”
”What does ‘blessed by spirits’ mean?”
Ms. Akari asked, and the shopkeeper explained.
”This one boosts defense and speed abilities, and it also increases charm to attract the opposite s*x.”
Wow, it really does seem like it would suit Puruun.
”Puruun, what do you think?”
”I do think it’s nice… but it’s like a hundred months’ rent.”
”Come on. The help we’ve received from you and Barua is worth way more than this. Shopkeeper, I’ll take it. Please adjust it to fit her.”
”Thank you very much!”
The shopkeeper started adjusting the chain length.
”Yuuta. Are you sure?”
”Yeah, no problem. Just show it to me later.”
”Okay… got it. Thank you…”
As Puruun said this, she touched her neck and looked down shyly.
Wow, when did Puruun start acting so femi9? Just then, Melon, who was next to me, said,
”Yuuta! I bought cute panties! I’ll show you later!”
”No, you really don’t have to show me that.”
Overall, I spent quite a bit, but after what happened with Barua, it was the first time I saw everyone so happy and excited, and I felt really satisfied.
At night, after changing into her pajamas, Puruun showed off that necklace. She unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her top so the necklace would show better, and it looked really fancy.
Oh right, it has that charm that gives her extra girl power. It feels like her charm level just doubled.
”How do I look?”
”Wow, big sister! It’s beautiful!”
”Yeah, PurPur. It’s super pretty. Yuuta can’t take his eyes off you!”
Hearing Ms. Akari’s words, I quickly tried to act serious.
”Puruun, I’m glad you bought that. With that on, you could totally compete with the girls in the capital when we go there in the future.”
”Haha, if Yuuta says that, it makes me want to try even harder… So, Yuuta! I have an idea.”
What is it? What is she suddenly planning? Puruun looked straight at me as she said it.
”Yuuta, how about you join to the capital next year when the tax collector goes?”
”Huh? What?!”
Puruun’s sudden suggestion made not just me, but also Ms. Akari and Melon, shout out loud.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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