I was walking through the royal capital of the small Kingdom of Blumund.
The streets had an old-fashioned look, but they gave off a solid, dependable impression.
The people going about their day wore bright expressions—there was none of that dark, gloomy atmosphere you might expect in a border town.
This was probably because the feared monster attacks had never materialized.
True to its frontier nature, even within the city limits, armed men and women walked the streets.
With my Appraisal, I could see that most of their weapons and armor were overwhelmingly inferior in quality on average. Their skill levels seemed to correspondingly unimpressive.
Still, the air of this town—something I hadn't felt in a long time—made my heart sing.
I bought a stick of grilled meat from a street stall and ate while walking.
I had no idea what kind of meat it was, but it was surprisingly delicious.
Well, I could Appraise it to find out, but I didn't. Instead, I Appraised something else.
The sauce. Research like this could prove useful too, even if it was a little cheaty—once I ate it, the Great Sage would analyze the recipe.
I jotted down the required ingredients in my mental notes.
Continuing through the streets, I followed my three guides toward a particular shop.
A magic item store.
The existence of regular goods shops for everyday items alongside dedicated magic item stores was a major difference from my previous world.
For adventurers, the magic item store was what people typically referred to as "the shop."
Magic item store—I'd call it just "the shop" from now on. Our purpose there was mainly one thing.
Market price research.
I was planning to sell mid-grade Recovery Potions starting at a minimum of fifteen silver coins, but I wanted to know what the lower-grade potions were going for.
There might also be products made from Phantom Blossoms, or related items.
If you delivered them to the Guild, they'd reportedly buy each plant for around ten silver coins.
It was a decently high price, but apparently no one bothered going into the forest specifically to search for Phantom Blossoms, because if you couldn't find any, you'd have wasted your effort entirely.
If you wanted to hire dedicated gatherers specifically for collection, you'd have to be prepared for a considerable expense.
Instead, gatherers who happened upon them during their travels would sell them in bulk to a go-between, who would then deliver them to the commissioning party.
So gathering commissions were posted year-round. A long game, indeed.
There were apparently many such herbs and flowers, and I wanted to look up the unit prices for those too.
We entered the shop I'd been guided to.
The interior was filled with a peculiar smell, giving off a distinctly unusual atmosphere.
Like the kind of place where a witch lived, that sort of feeling.
And sure enough, the shopkeeper was an old woman, exactly as you'd imagine.
I did a quick scan of the interior and swiftly ran Appraisal. Nothing particularly rare or eye-catching seemed to be in stock.
Lower-grade Recovery Potions were in short supply, and prices had risen.
The reason was simple. The neighboring Farmus Kingdom had apparently cut off trade flows from the Dwarven Kingdom.
"Cut off" was an exaggeration—they'd imposed steep tariffs on war-related goods to prevent them from crossing the border.
When high-quality potions from the Dwarven Kingdom stopped arriving, the only inventory was the low-quality stuff made by local apothecaries.
And even those were made from herbs gathered in the forest or caves, with only weak effects to show for it.
Wait a minute—wasn't this a golden opportunity?
Current Lower-grade Recovery Potions [Quality: Normal, restores 20% HP] were selling for two silver coins.
Degraded Potions [Quality: Low, restores 15% HP] were the mainstream product, priced at one silver coin.
So even a modest improvement in potency led to a massive jump in price. When your life was on the line, it made perfect sense not to skimp on medicine costs.
Adventurers out hunting who found herbs but couldn't deliver them to the Guild would sell them immediately, and they'd be snapped up in no time.
They were hot sellers.
Next, Phantom Blossoms.
From this flower, you could produce a hallucinogen and a bewitching perfume.
The effects: Hallucinogen... Used as a catalyst for 〈Hypnosis-type Magic〉. Consuming it raw induces hallucinogenic symptoms. Highly addictive.
Bewitching Perfume... Enhances the effects of 〈Hypnosis-type Magic〉 (power +30%). Increases resistance to 〈Hypnosis-type Magic〉 (resistance +30%).
Of course, the higher-quality version would boost those effects by 20%.
By "power increase," it apparently meant success rate,附加 effects, and duration all went up. For practitioners of that school, it must be a dream item.
But the addiction was a problem. It might as well be a narcotic. It wouldn't sell to ordinary people.
Incidentally, by analyzing the flower's toxins, I'd gained a slight boost in poison resistance. At this rate, I might eventually acquire it as a skill.
I wanted to collect a few random poisons and Appraise them. They'd have a toxic effect on my body, but if I stored them in my stomach, the poison wouldn't take effect.
That was why poison wouldn't work on me. Food poisoning was similarly nonexistent, so I'd been the designated taste-tester during our travels.
Anyway, back to the subject.
I'd refined this stuff pretty easily, but what would it fetch in terms of price?
"Oh my? Hallucinogens and bewitching perfume? We don't carry luxury items like that here.
You'd have to go to one of the major central kingdoms to get your hands on those!"
The old shopkeeper shot me a sharp glare as she said this.
She probably thought I was making fun of her or pulling some kind of prank.
But the fact that she knew about such drugs meant this old woman was a pretty accomplished apothecary.
The Recovery Potions in this shop appeared to be handmade by the old woman herself. She clearly had substantial knowledge.
"No, my apologies. I happened to come into possession of a certain item , and I wasn't sure if it was the real deal.
Besides, I'd received it as collateral for a gold coin. It's been bugging me!"
I made up some plausible story to smooth things over.
"What did you say? Let me take a look. I'll even do an Appraisal for you.
No charge, so don't worry!"
the old woman offered.
With no choice, I pulled out a small pouch containing the amount of hallucinogen I'd refined from a single plant.
I'd had a few small pouches made by a leatherworker and had some extras lying around. The hallucinogen was a powder like sugar, red in color.
The old woman peered at it closely and chanted an 〈Appraisal Spell〉.
"Well, I'll be! It's the real thing! You're one lucky fellow.
Just this pouch alone, I wouldn't take less than two gold coins, even at a bargain price.
But amateurs can't handle it, and selling it to unlicensed buyers is forbidden.
Only licensed illusionists are permitted to deal in it, so be careful!
If you ever need to dispose of it, I'd be more than happy to buy it for two gold coins."
I was surprised, but that's what she told me.
One plant delivered to the Guild for ten silver coins. Refined, it became two gold coins. A twenty-fold increase in value.
Furthermore, a single plant also yielded one bottle of bewitching perfume. It was simply extracted essence diluted with magicule water, but still.
This would also command a pretty good price. Collecting those had been the right call.
You always heard that magical items fetched high prices, but this was absurd! Then again, it was profit for me. No complaints there.
Since she'd gone to the trouble of Appraising it for me, I felt bad leaving without buying anything.
Was there anything else good in the shop?
I already knew there weren't any rare items, so I looked around for things that seemed useful.
What caught my eye was a magic textbook titled "Easy for Beginners! The Basics of 〈Elemental Magic〉 Explained!"
The title had that same over-the-top energy as those dubious magazines—I supposed they published them here too?
I could read it, and just looking at the text would be educational. I decided to buy it.
"What's this? Is the young lady here aspiring to be a mage too?
That book is a beginner's primer for apprentices.
People studying for the academy entrance exam use it for their prep.
Reading it won't make you a mage without actually studying at the academy, though—are you sure about that?"
A magic academy! Wonderful. I wanted to visit someday.
One day, I'd love to use the Great Sage to its fullest and learn every spell I could get my hands on.
"Yes, no problem. How much?"
"You've got a cute voice, young lady, but you talk like an old man...
Well, whatever. Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Magic is a rich person's hobby.
Without connections or a lineage, it's hard for commoners to learn magic.
That book will cost one gold coin—can you afford it?"
Ah, right. She called me "young lady" because of the mask—she couldn't tell I was a boy, but the voice gave it away.
I'd never really thought about it before. Should I tweak my voice to sound more mature?
I was already about 150 cm tall, so I'd just go with the "slightly small boy" persona.
My real age was either one or thirty-eight—I wasn't entirely sure how to count it—but my mind was forever young.
There was nothing wrong with looking like a boy.
A mysterious masked boy. No problem—in this world, there were plenty of Demon Lords and Heroes and other edgy types running around.
I wouldn't stand out at all. From now on, that was my official backstory.
Magic as a rich person's hobby, huh. I supposed there was no point in aspiring to be a mage without talent.
One gold coin—roughly the equivalent of 100,000 yen.
Since printing technology was apparently more developed than I'd expected, maybe the issue was simply that few copies were printed?
"No problem. I'll buy the book for one gold coin. But it's awfully expensive—what's the reason?"
"Ah, simple enough. Magic-related books basically have to be handwritten.
There's a duplication technique through Spirit Engineering, but magical texts and spell books would have their magic cancelled out by the process.
So all the magic-related books in circulation are entirely handwritten.
Incidentally, I copied that book when I was young. Take good care of it!"
"I see. I had no idea. Thank you very much. I'll cherish it."
I produced one gold coin and completed the payment.
"For someone who doesn't look it, you're quite wealthy... And you're still a child, aren't you?
What kind of parent lets their kid carry that kind of money around..."
She grumbled to herself as she handed over the merchandise.
So magic books had to be handwritten. That explained the high price.
If there were magic-related books in the magic academy or the royal capital, I'd Appraise every single one of them! I made that vow silently.
All three of my companions had done their own shopping and paid up. That said, they were just restocking Recovery Potions and Enhancement Potions, so it was quick—they were already waiting for me.
I thanked them, and we left the shop. It had been a worthwhile visit.
Just outside, I called the three of them to a stop.
"You three. You know what's up, right?"
"......"
Without a word, the three of them each handed over ten Phantom Blossoms.
I gave each of them one gold coin. That left me with sixteen gold coins—still plenty of room.
It was far more profitable to extract the Phantom Blossom essence myself. Delivering them to the Guild would be a waste.
I'd noticed during my conversation with the shopkeeper that the three had been looking over at me with something to say.
"Hey! Rimuru-san, when did you refine hallucinogens?!
And more importantly, refining Phantom Blossoms is extremely difficult!
Hallucinogenic gas can leak out—there have been rare cases where researchers died of poisoning!"
I see. So it really was dangerous magical merchandise. The high price made even more sense.
"Heh heh heh. For me, refining a little flower like this is nothing!"
"That's so unfair! I can't do that at all..."
"As expected of the boss. I'm not even surprised anymore—I just nod along."
"Yeah, with the boss, anything goes."
The three of them looked at me with envy.
But the other two besides Elen seemed to have already accepted it as just the way things were.
With the preliminary research on potion prices complete, we decided to head to the Guild.
We arrived at the Blumund branch of the Free Guild.
The magic item store had been on the main shopping street, but the Free Guild was located at the very end of that same road.
It was a heavy, imposing stone building. Uncommon for this world, it was five stories tall.
Or rather—this was the first time I'd seen a building over three stories.
Within the Dwarven Kingdom, they'd utilized vast underground spaces, so buildings rarely exceeded three floors.
Magical lighting windows had been installed at key points, giving the interior a brightness comparable to being outdoors—unlike the lizardman dwellings.
Still, I'd assumed that multi-story buildings simply didn't exist here. Well, five stories might not qualify as a skyscraper by any standard.
Upon entering, the air conditioning appeared to be regulated, maintaining a comfortable temperature.
Temperature didn't really affect me, but with Heat Source Detection I could sense the ambient temperature, so the difference from outside was immediately apparent.
This building apparently had a magical temperature regulation system. More cutting-edge than I'd expected.
I'd assumed the civilization level was low since this was another world, but it had apparently developed along entirely different lines from my previous one.
Without beings like Demon Lords and monsters, perhaps it would have progressed even further—development one might call a true magical civilization.
Conversely, that meant all such advancement had been directed toward combating monsters.
I'd heard that out of deference to the Demon Lords, humanity had ceded the most fertile lands. If the power balance ever shifted, a counter-invasion against monster territories wasn't out of the question.
I'd heard that line of thinking aligned with the doctrines of the Western Holy Church.
The monster side might be stronger now, but the future was anyone's guess. To protect the rights of our town, early policy decisions would be necessary.
I was glad I'd come.
Seeing a human town, understanding the people of this world—this would have an enormous impact on our future direction.
I wanted to observe everything I could.
Standing around wasn't going to accomplish anything, though.
Guided by the three, I proceeded inside. The interior looked like a municipal service counter.
There were some windows that resembled cargo pickup counters at airports, with signs reading "Purchase Reception."
Broadly speaking, there were three reception areas.
The purchase counter I'd just mentioned.
A general member counter.
And an adventurer member counter.
Three distinct sections.
Purchase was exactly what it sounded like—they'd receive and process gathered materials, Guild deliverables, and so on.
The general reception was for beginners and members who lived in the city. Joining or leaving the Guild was handled here.
The adventurer-only counter was restricted to those with adventurer certification.
Adventurers were members who belonged to the gathering, exploration, or subjugation divisions. You could hold membership in multiple Guilds simultaneously, but those primarily active outside the city walls were generally referred to as adventurers.
At minimum, adventurers were required to possess combat capability.
For example, there was a magic guild division. Only those who could use some form of magic could belong to it, but they could only use the general member counter.
Being able to cast magic alone wasn't enough. You had to belong to the gathering, exploration, or subjugation division and be active outside the city to be recognized as an adventurer.
So what were the benefits of adventurer certification?
Free Guild members were required to declare their home nation, but adventurers had the advantage of being able to freely change their country of affiliation.
Moving between towns and crossing borders was relatively straightforward. Naturally, wartime restrictions applied, but transiting through another nation made entry and exit simple.
In other words, compared to nation-bound Guild members, adventurers could choose their own country. Well, the practical difference was mainly which country you paid your taxes to.
The Free Guild had originally been named after these adventurers, who could freely move between nations.
In practice, though, very few people actually changed their countries that often.
The three showed me around the interior and explained each counter in turn.
After hearing all the explanations, we were guided to a room in the back.
"Hey, I'm taking this person to the back. Coming through."
"Oh, Kabal. You're back already. And the other party?"
"Yeah, they're a VIP of our Branch Director. Treat them with courtesy."
After this exchange, we proceeded down the corridor past the reception counters.
Behind us, I could hear: "Kabal, you're so cool!"
"Elen, how wonderful... You're beautiful today too!"
"You idiots! You'd never understand
"But who's that kid with them? Why are they being so polite about it?"
—I didn't quite follow that conversation.
Why were these three so popular? They'd been the same way in the first village, too. Real celebrities.
We stopped in front of a room at the end of the corridor. Two soldiers stood guard, and at Kabal's signal, they opened the door.
Inside, a Magic Circle was inscribed on the floor.
It looked similar to the one Vester had drawn. Probably the same type of system.
Following the magic circle, we teleported via magic.
The first four floors could be reached by stairs, but apparently the fifth floor was accessible only through this magic circle.
A precaution against spies and the like. Thorough.
Come to think of it, from the outside, I'd only been able to see windows up to the fourth floor. The fifth floor must have been designed to be inaccessible.
Beyond the magic circle on the fifth floor stood a door, and behind it was the Branch Director's office.
We entered the room.
"Welcome! One Who Commands Monsters.
I'm Fuse, Branch Director of the Blumund branch of the Free Guild."
A short but sharp-eyed man greeted me with those words.
As expected of a Branch Director—he certainly looked capable.
He seemed reasonably strong and combat-ready. But more than anything, his presence was airtight.
This was going to be a formidable negotiating partner.
"I'm
I serve as its leader. Pleased to meet you."
After exchanging introductions, we asked each other the questions we'd each been wanting to raise.
The meeting that day continued late into the night, and I ended up staying in the Free Guild's guest quarters.
I should note, unfortunately, that despite it being my first night in a human town in ages—and with plenty of war funds at my disposal—I was unable to embark on any new dream world exploration.
I was busy all day yesterday and didn't have time to write. On top of that, I went out for a New Year's party last night and couldn't even post a greeting. Sorry about that! Well, just think of it as field research on my own dime.