After leaving the settlement of feline beastkin, I’ve continued my leisurely journey as a traveling merchant.
It’s far easier to interact with people as a merchant than as an adventurer.
Merchants are less likely to arouse suspicion, and in many cases, they’re even welcomed by the residents.
In particular, settlements located in the shallow regions of the Great Forest seem to have chronic shortages of goods, so they gladly invited me in.
And so, today as well, I spread out my wares across a table and diligently went about my work.
“Give me that shaving knife. I’d also like a pair of scissors.”
“Bladed tools cost one silver coin each. Two will be two silver coins, then.”
Business as a traveling merchant has been going well, and I’ve been steadily accumulating wealth.
The most popular items, unsurprisingly, are bladed tools. Razors, scissors, and nail sharpening tools sell particularly well.
Seasonings like salt and sugar are essentials, making them top sellers too. For the women, items like needles, thread, and cloth remain consistently popular.
This settlement belonged to fox beastkin, but their desired goods weren’t much different from those in the feline beastkin settlements.
“That’s a beautiful jar. I’ve never seen such well-made glass before. Are you serious about selling it for five copper coins?”
“Ah… yes. I’ll give you a special discount just for today.”
One surprising discovery was that the glass jars from the 100-yen shop, after removing the Japanese labels, drew more attention than the jam inside them.
Of course, the sweet and delicious jam itself was popular, but many customers seemed more interested in the glass jars, eagerly purchasing them.
(This is probably going to get resold later. Did I make a mistake?)
Even though it was just a 100-yen shop product, it seems its quality was far superior to similar items in this world.
The jam sold out in no time. When I explained that I had no more stock, I received a chorus of clearly disappointed sighs.
The fox beastkin seemed quite sharp, as they purchased not only items for themselves but also additional goods, likely with reselling in mind.
(To avoid resale issues, I’ll price the glass jars higher in the next settlement.)
It’s all part of the learning experience.
Since I source items for 100 points and sell them, I’m not incurring losses.
While I’ve spent a fair amount of points, thanks to the dungeons and the golden dragon Rei, my balance still sits at 60 million points. One golden dragon scale fetching 30 million points was particularly significant.
That said, I don’t want to waste resources, so I actively hunt and forage during my travels.
My companion beast, Ketsue, helps by hunting prey and gathering herbs, which I can exchange for points. This support has been a quiet but significant help.
Ketsue always looks delighted to assist.
Though, truth be told, his primary motivation is the cat treats he gets as a reward. He’s nothing if not sly.
“Alright, everything’s sold out. Today’s work is done.”
“Meow!”
“Yeah, yeah, food. I know. But let’s greet the village elder first.”
I’ve also been fulfilling the task assigned by the golden dragon Rei: introducing new plant seeds to this world.
All I do is sell vegetable and fruit seeds to the village elder at low prices, but they’re surprisingly well-received.
Fruit tree seeds, in particular, were met with so much gratitude that they practically worshipped me.
Apparently, in this settlement, you’d need to venture deep into the Great Forest to find fruit.
The only fruit they can gather nearby are berries.
Feeling a bit sorry for them, I gifted them apples and oranges from a convenience store.
“Enjoy them, and make good use of the seeds inside.”
“Oh, thank you so much! We’ll cherish them. Would you like to stay with us tonight?”
“No, I’m sorry, but I need to press on.”
Behind the elder of the silver fox tribe, a young girl gazed up at me with an upward glance. Her meaningful look prompted me to avert my eyes. Nope, can’t do it. That’s an obvious honey trap!
While it’d be nice to build genuine connections, blatant attempts to seduce me for ulterior motives are more off-putting than anything else.
A merchant with a high-capacity storage skill, carrying a wealth of rare and valuable goods.
It’s no surprise they’d want to tie me to their village, even using their daughters if necessary.
I’ve grown tired of these overt advances, so I’ve taken to firmly declining offers to stay in settlements.
(Mei and August were such good kids…)
Thinking back to the children who genuinely adored me, I felt a pang of nostalgia.
It’s only been five days since then, but I’m already exhausted by the blatant desires of the adults.
Dodging the outstretched hand of the silver-haired girl trying to cling to me, I hurriedly left the fox tribe’s settlement.
Foxes may be quick, but no one can keep up with a high-level high elf.
Shaking them off in no time, I sighed in relief alongside my feline companion.
◆◇◆
Five days had passed since I began traveling around the shallow settlements of the Great Forest as a traveling merchant.
I had been able to see settlements of various races.
Many beastkin lived in the forest, often forming their own communities based on their race. Some of the rarer races, like the feline beastkin, lived in close-knit groups.
So far, I had not encountered any elves.
When I secretly asked an elder who seemed knowledgeable, I learned that elves tend to live deeper in the forest.
Curious or scholarly young elves become adventurers or researchers, and it seems they live in human settlements.
“I guess I’ll head toward a city with more people and register with the Adventurer’s Guild. I could also register with the Merchant’s Guild as a traveling merchant…”
So far, I’ve only visited small settlements, so I haven’t needed any kind of identification. But it seems that in larger cities, such documents are required.
Once you become a guild member, you get an ID, and it seems you won’t have to pay any tax to enter or leave the city.
“Meow!”
“Oh, sorry. I kept you waiting. Now that we’re far enough away, they won’t be able to catch up, so let’s have dinner.”
I hurriedly began preparing dinner for Ketsue, who was complaining about being hungry.
I found an open area and decided to use it as a temporary base, setting up my cooking tools.
“I’m hungry too, so I’ll make something quick.”
“Meow!”
I took out a chunk of High Orc meat and began slicing it thinly.
Since cooking rice would be a hassle, I decided to heat up some pre-packaged rice I bought from the 100-yen shop. I had Ketsue use his spirit magic as a microwave to heat it up.
While that was happening, I stir-fried the High Orc meat and sliced onions in a frying pan and simmered them with Sukiyaki sauce.
Once the rice was heated by Ketsue, I served it in a bowl and topped it with the contents of the frying pan—pork donburi was ready.
“Ah, I almost forgot the soft-boiled egg. Ketsue, do you want one?”
“Meow!”
“Okay then, pork with soft-boiled egg on top. Sorry, the miso soup is instant.”
“Meow!”
It wasn’t all pre-packaged food, so that’s something to be proud of.
Since no one else will praise me, I give myself a little self-praise.
I was a bit concerned about the lack of vegetables, so I planned to have a vegetable-filled breakfast tomorrow.
The High Orc meat donburi was as delicious as always. The fattier cuts of meat, richer than regular orc meat, really hit the spot when I was hungry.
Ketsue seemed satisfied as well and was happily washing his face—so cute.
Once I finished cleaning up, I checked the surroundings.
I asked Ketsue to move any obstructing trees, creating enough space for what I needed.
“I’ve been camping in tents for a while, but it’s getting to the point where people are starting to notice, so I think I’ll buy a new house.”
“What? That’s too extravagant?”
“Well, that tent stands out a bit too much in this world.”
It was a simple, earth-toned tent, so it blended in with the forest, but…
It was still a Japanese-made tent.
To the people of this world, it probably looked like a tent made of some mysterious material, so there’s a chance it could attract attention.
While the tent has some barrier functions and a slight disorienting effect, high-level adventurers or those with keen perception might be able to see through it.
“I’ve got a decent amount of points left, so I’d like to buy it now. So, I’m going to get some real estate in this world! This is the one I want!”
I tapped the house I had my eye on from the product list.
Price: 1.5 million points!
With the option for a divine barrier function added, the total came to 2.5 million points, and I confirmed the purchase.
I placed it right in the open area.
The wooden building, simple in appearance, was—
“A three-meter square tiny house! It’s smaller than I thought!?”
