The next day. Maybe I was tired, but I slept past noon.
It wasn't Witch Day today, so I ate and then headed straight to the next room.
On the way, I glanced at the tower. Looks like Mineha wasn't there either.
A white-purple, square-shaped mass.
Not only could I not cut it — even Banish didn't work on it.
It was also heavy. I couldn't even lift it, let alone carry it.
Good thing Juicy was there. A gorilla had its uses after all.
Well, a dog. No, a wolf. Hmm. Eh, I'll just go with dog.
First, to confirm, I used the Wheel of Fortune.
The mass emitted a purple glow. Yep. No mistaking it.
No mistaking it, but… what the heck is this, really?
"I'll report to the Witch tomorrow. Hm? Looking closer, it's pretty dirty."
There was all sorts of grime on the surface — mold and whatnot. Hmm. I'd better wash it off first.
I went to the next room and brought back lye, soap, and purification water.
Purification water was a blend of potions, several types of herbs, and slime oil.
Slime oil was made by mixing a slime's mucus with aromatic oil.
This slime oil was diluted and used for cosmetics and such.
Purification water was what you got when you mixed that oil undiluted with herbs and potions.
It could remove all kinds of unusual stains.
This was handcrafted by the witch, so the effect was supposed to be outstanding.
I applied the lye to the scrub brush right away and scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed.
"...It's not coming off at all."
Next. I lathered it up with soap and scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed.
Scrubbed. Scrubbed.
"...Nothing's coming off."
What even is this stain? But with the purification water, surely!
I applied the purification water to the scrub brush and scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed.
Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed. Scrubbed.
"*Huff* *pant*...... *pant*—it hasn't come off even a single millimeter."
After scrubbing all that, there's not even a trace of change?
So much for the witch's prized purification water!? *Sigh.* Oh well. I'm stumped.
I set the scrub brush down. Even [Banish] hadn't worked on this thing.
Can't be helped. There's nothing to do but give up.
"...But, if I remember correctly......"
A faint whisper from my past life's memories. Free experiments with a child's flexible thinking. Just try whatever you can. There was a manga like that. I couldn't remember it well, but those words alone had stuck with me.
"A child's flexible... thinking..."
I snapped out of it and headed back to the room, gathering condiments and liquids one after another.
I set them all on top of the wooden crate. Now then, let's begin.
I grinned and picked up the jar of honey and the jar of tomato sauce.
"First up, honey."
I drizzled honey over it. Hmm. All it did was make it sticky.
"Tomato sauce."
Absolutely no change.
"Citrus tea."
Same story.
"Olive oil."
It got slippery.
I tried sunflower oil too.
Also slippery.
"Spices."
Since they were powdered, it ended up feeling like I was scrubbing them in.
"Garum."
The all-purpose seasoning. Fish sauce. Stronger flavor than soy sauce. Also, it smells fishy.
"Vinegar."
Something mixed together, and now it stinks!
"It stinks, it stinks. *Cough, cough* — this is bad, I messed up."
I managed to wash it off with water. Scum. Scum. Soap. Purified water. Purified water. A potion!
"Ahh... it's somewhat back to normal."
Back to square one. This thing is seriously tough. I can't make a dent in it.
But something with an effect — somewhere — ... ah, there is.
I've got my trump card, don't I? Without delay, I headed back to my room.
I pulled out the jar from under my bed.
"So the day has finally come to use this."
It came sooner than I expected, but it was a jar sealed tight — the kind you'd need both hands to hold.
There was nothing special about the jar itself.
I think I bought it for 500 oro at a clearance sale.
It was originally meant for pickling. I'd been planning to make beer-pickled cucumbers.
Well, I guess here it would be ale-pickled. From my past life.
When I mentioned I liked them, my grandmother in the countryside sent me a whole bunch bagged up in plastic.
A bag burst and made a mess of the fridge, but for nearly a month I got to enjoy them every single day.
Anyway, the real issue with the jar is what's inside... I'm getting nervous. What I'm about to do here is insane.
If Mineha ever found out about this, a beating would be the least of it.
Because this is the water of life that saved Mineha and her mother.
That's right — what's inside the jar is an elixir.
Every drop that was used in the demonstration is all in here.
The legendary miraculous water. A liquid treasure. A drinkable Legacy.
All over the world, there are countless people who would pay any amount of gold to get their hands on this.
And there are just as many who would steal it by any means necessary.
It wouldn't be strange if it sparked a world war. And I'm about to ruin it all.
I went back to the room with the block and immediately popped the lid off the jar.
Something like this called for momentum. Move first, think later. Just do it.
"God. Forgive me. From this moment on, I am about to commit a heinous act."
From this moment on, I am about to do something that would get me killed by every person on the planet.
Inside the jar, the elixir sloshed and swayed.
I poured it all over the white-and-purple square block.
The thick, faintly luminous liquid cascaded gloriously over the block and splattered, its droplets refracting rainbow colors.
The spilled liquid purified the floor until it was spotless. Amazing.
As the square block became drenched in elixir, the mold and grime on its surface vanished entirely.
"Whoa…"
Since it was being purified rather than getting sticky goop all over, there was no cleanup needed.
Even so, I still let out a "whoa."
I was oddly struck by how beautiful it had become.
The square block that had been marbled white and purple was now pure white.
The purple had gathered in one spot, forming an almond-shaped mass. It looked like a gemstone.
"So this was its true form?"
Even if it was, the difference was staggering. The corners had also smoothed out, making it somewhat rounded.
It was an entirely different object now.
"Phew. I actually did it."
I had gloriously splashed every last drop of elixir from the jar onto it.
Even in this wide world, I'm probably the only one who's done something like this.
"...Time to clean up, I guess."
Maybe it was because I'd gone overboard, but my mood had dipped strangely. I'd calmed down, though—in a good way.
I put the seasonings away and called it a day for now.
Tomorrow, I'd head to the witch's place and let her know.
"So, what should I do now?"
Right. There was that stuff I picked up yesterday. It was all rare, but I should go sell it.
I got ready and headed for Arifa's shop.
It had been a while since I'd visited Arifa's place.
"Hello there."
"Oh, welcome. Wof, it's been a while."
Red hair. Orange eyes. Black horns. A striking beauty.
Agaro's older sister, and a Third-Rank delver herself.
Arifa set down the box she'd been carrying.
Same as always—an outfit that left her shoulders bare and chest exposed. She wore a pair of pants that were torn in various places.
"The Junkyard's back open, so I came to sell right away."
"That's Wof for you. Let's see what you've got."
She moved to the counter. I lined up several of the rare items I'd found on the pouch.
A small bronze bell. An old copper key. A wooden-plate amulet with a hole through it. A small round mirror.
Red-and-blue hair ornaments. A tiny clay-figure-style doll amulet.
Arifa appraised them one by one.
"How is it?"
"They're all rare finds. Where in the Junkyard did you pick these up?"
"Ha ha, just somewhere pretty deep down."
"I heard that whole incident left all kinds of gaps and holes around."
"It really was quite different from before."
"Be careful, will you? There's no telling what might be in there. I mean, people already call it a junkyard, but what's in there really is just junk."
Arifa stepped away from the counter.
She turned her back to me, crouched down, and started rummaging around. She was getting the money out.
"............"
Over the counter, I could see that big, round, watermelon-like rear end of hers — the first time in a while.
And because she trained so hard, even through her pants it was clearly... It's rude to stare, honestly.
I quietly averted my eyes.
"That comes to 110,600 oro in total."
"That much!?"
"The small bronze bell is a Legacy. No matter how deep the sleep, ringing it will wake you up. It only works three times, though. 20,000 oro. The old copper key is also a Legacy. But this one's... a bit of a handful. It can only be used once, but it'll open any lock — any keyhole at all."
"Doesn't that, like... fall under crimes or something?"
"10,000 oro."
"...Arifa. You're going to sell that?"
And who would she even sell it to? At that, Arifa laughed.
"No. I'll submit it to the guild. They buy back Legacies that could be used for crime. This one has a buyback price of twenty thousand, so half of that."
"R-right. Understood."
Ahhh... thank goodness.
Arifa believed in me, but even so, this had been hard on my heart.
"A wooden charm with a hole punched through it. This one's rare. It's a disaster-warding charm from a tribe in a hidden region on the neighboring continent. The price is six hundred oro, though. A small round mirror — this is a fine piece of art. Sixty thousand oro. The red and blue hair ornament is also rare. Twenty thousand oro. And lastly, a small odd doll charm... zero oro."
This strange little doll was made of pottery and resembled a clay figurine.
"So it's free?"
"I couldn't identify a value for this one even with Appraisal. That happens once in a while. So I'll try pulling some strings on this one. Is that alright?"
"Yes, please."
"Once I figure out its value and a price, I'll hand over the amount minus the brokerage and referral fees."
With that, Arifa laid out one copper coin, one crude silver coin, ten silver coins, four crude gold coins.
Two gold coins. And one royal coin.
Let me see, the currency system.
Crude copper coin: 1 oro. Equivalent to 1 yen.
Small copper coin: 50 oro. Equivalent to 50 yen.
Copper coin: 100 oro. Equivalent to 100 yen.
Crude silver coin: 500 oro. Equivalent to 500 yen.
Silver coin: 1,000 oro. Equivalent to 1,000 yen.
Crude gold coin: 5,000 oro. Equivalent to 5,000 yen.
Gold coin: 10,000 oro. Equivalent to 10,000 yen.
Royal coin: 50,000 oro. Equivalent to 50,000 yen.
King's coin: 100,000 oro. Equivalent to 100,000 yen.
One copper coin and one crude silver coin. Ten silver coins. Four crude gold coins. Three gold coins. One royal coin.
So, one copper coin = 100 oro. One crude silver coin = 500 oro.
That's 600 oro to start.
Ten silver coins = 10,000 oro. Four crude gold coins = 20,000 oro.
That makes 30,000 oro.
Three gold coins = 30,000 oro. And one royal coin = 50,000 oro.
That brings it to 80,000 oro.
Grand total: 110,600 oro. Right.
"Um... excuse me, Arifa."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to buy about three knives for 50,000."
"Huh? Three for 50,000? You've got the knives Agaro gave you, don't you?"
"I want them for regular use and as spares."
"Spares, huh."
You never know when a knife might snap. Preparedness pays off in knives.
Arifa scratched her head and told me to hang on a sec. Then she disappeared into the back of the shop.
For now, I set aside the 50,000 and stuffed the rest into the cloth pouch I used as a wallet.
After a little while, Arifa came back.
She places three knives on the counter.
A simple-shaped knife.
A knife with a strange, single-edged blade curved upward.
A knife with a long handle and a perfectly straight blade.
"They're quite different, aren't they? What's the story with these three knives?"
"My fool of a younger brother looted them from a bandit hideout when he wiped out their gang a few years back. Apparently, they were the boss's personal favorites. He bought them for 50,000. Then he just stashed them away and forgot about them."
"50,000?"
No way that's right. What's her angle?
Then Arifa smiled.
"Wof. Will you buy them for 50,000?"
"But then the profit—"
"Let a kid worry about that. So, what'll it be?"
"...Can I check each one first?"
"Please do."
I picked them up one by one and drew each blade.
The shape of the blade. The quality of the steel. The temper line. The grip. The weight. The feel of the swing. Not bad.
Yep. None of them are bad. Alright, I've decided.
"I'll take them."
"Much obliged."
I obtained all three knives, courtesy of her generosity.
I left Arifa’s shop in high spirits. Time to head home.
Right. I should stop by the usual butcher. Grab some offal and maybe something a little nicer.
As I was thinking that.
“Hold it. Found you, this Wof fellow.”
Someone called out to me. A boy’s voice. Sounded vaguely familiar, but maybe not.
I turned around. A blond boy in a military-style uniform stood there.
He had horns on his head. Fawn, then.
He was giving me a nasty look. Seemed like a real piece of work.
Beside him… was a drunk man.
Hunched over, messy hair. A scruffy, bearded old guy.
He held a silver flask. Gave off the vibe of someone who’d given up on life.
He had round beast ears and a distinctive tail.
Could he be a squirrel?
“…Who are you?”
The two of them. I didn’t know either of them at all.