Four days after fighting the ninja-wannabes.
I'd decided to go to Heizen, but various things had worn me out and I still hadn't gone.
Losing two knives and the Wooden Flash didn't help either.
Losing the Wooden Flash quietly hurt. But finding a replacement spear was a dilemma.
Maybe I'll check out Arifa's shop later.
Anyway, morning.
After finishing breakfast with Mineha.
As usual, I used the water flask "Crescent Vessel" to brew tea.
This flask was a legendary item I'd received as a reward from a witch.
One of the legendary water flasks from the Moon Water series.
It had functions for keeping things warm, keeping them cool, and blending.
Every day, I brew tea.
Today it was black bean tea. A blend of several kinds of black beans and dried tea leaves.
"Phew. Good."
Tea is nice.
Mellow, calming, centering.
"Delicious."
I muttered to myself. Mineha wasn't there.
I ate, cleaned up, got ready, and headed out.
Today I'm going to explore the fire dungeon with Kaede-san and Randia-san.
Seriously, those two really get along. For the record, Mineha-san's partner is away visiting family.
The distance is pretty far, so even a round trip takes over a month, apparently.
"I think I'll head to Arifa-san's shop today, then decide what to do from there."
Zero plans. But that's how I like it.
That's just fine.
"Long live the slow life."
"I'm butting in!"
"If you're gonna butt in, then leave!"
I answered reflexively. The rabbit showed up. What a nuisance.
"I'm butting in."
"...What are you here for?"
Hyarn just waltzed into my room uninvited.
"About that... drink."
"Oh, the energy drink?"
"Kindura and I talked it over and decided to make a prototype."
"Oh, nice."
"So here's the thing. I want you to make a few samples."
"Oh, nice... huh?"
"Three or five. Something like that would be enough."
"No, no, why would I be the one to do it?"
"Of course. I'll pay."
"Just make it in the lab. Can you not do that?"
Is food-type stuff impossible or something?
"No, we can. There were a few in the archives... but they're terrible. The taste is completely dead. Plus some of them are military-grade, so they're not exactly common."
"Ah..."
"Also, energy drinks are something neither I nor the Akindura really understand. What's supposed to be something that's like a potion but isn't a potion?"
"Ah..."
Right. They don't have the concept of energy drinks. They have potions, after all.
Well, to be honest, potions are probably enough... but still.
Come to think of it, this world.
Especially the environment around me — when it comes to stimulating drinks, there's only alcohol.
And even that alcohol isn't exactly stimulating in terms of taste.
"...Fine. I'll try putting together some samples."
Thinking about it that way, he actually found it a little interesting.
"Oh, you'll do it?"
"I'll try a few different things."
Ideally, carbonation would be nice.
But how would he even go about carbonation?
Maybe he should ask the witch.
Before getting to that, though, there were plenty of other things to try.
First, why not gather some stimulating spices and try brewing them into tea?
He'd gone into it with a casual attitude, but quickly came to regret that.
"GAH-hck-hck-hck-hck-hck-hck-HCK!!!"
He coughed violently. In the back, Haiyan — who had volunteered to help with the trial — was doubled over in agony.
He drank some water. Exhaled. Calm now. His mouth still stung, though.
"I just mixed some basic pepper and spices together, but... I didn't expect it to hit quite this hard..."
For a moment he thought he'd actually die. A completely different kind of death.
The rabbit was still dead... well, whatever.
But here was the problem —
He'd tried several combinations, and every single one nearly killed him.
This wasn't something he could pull off with mere tea-blending knowledge.
The sweet ones, though — those had worked fine. He was handling the crescent moon vessel properly now, too.
He'd gotten overconfident, thinking he could make all sorts of tea just because he'd had a little success.
"I really do need the witch, huh..."
There was just no other way.
Alright. Decision made — he'd go to the witch's house.
There was a gate connecting his place to hers, so he'd arrive in no time.
"Witch?"
Huh. She wasn't there.
I poked my head into the second-floor workshop too, but she wasn't there either.
"Wof, ma'am. The witch is out."
"Munieka."
Neatly trimmed golden short hair. Clear blue eyes. A doll-like beauty with flawless features.
A perfect maid with impeccable style who wore a black-and-white maid's uniform without a single crease.
She was also an 'Auto Doll,' a first-class delver.
All of her Relics were automated-type.
Her race was Eda, and her real eyes were purple. But she kept that hidden.
"What can I do for you? If you'd like, I can help."
"Ah, thank you."
"Of course. You are my master, after all."
Munieka delivered this catechized line without so much as a change in expression.
Apparently, that was just how she was.
"Th-Then, actually, the thing is..."
I gave her a condensed rundown of the energy drink situation.
"I understand the circumstances. A drink with stimulant properties. That's an interesting endeavor."
"Yes. I tried all sorts of things, but none of it worked out..."
"The witch would indeed be the right person for this."
"Do you know when the witch will be back?"
"I'm sorry. The witch has gone to the royal capital, so I don't know when she'll return."
"The royal capital… ah, the Outsider."
If I could use that, getting to the royal capital would take no time at all.
In fact, Narcissus and the others had come here the same way.
"Yes, that's right. As for anyone else knowledgeable about pharmacology…"
"I can't think of anyone on my end."
It was the witch, then. That was the only option.
"There is one person I know of, but I have no way of reaching them and no idea where they might be."
"Who would that be?"
"She's a first-class 'Green Guardian' named Zelena."
"I see…"
I'd heard about her from the witch before.
If I remembered right, she was the owner of the "Half-Moon Vessel" from the same Moon Water series as my canteen.
I had the crescent moon. The witch had the full moon. And she had the half moon.
It suddenly occurred to me — was there a new moon?
Oh well. It would have to wait until the witch got back.
I told Muneika I was heading out and made my way back, only to find the rabbit was still dead.
It was still twitching, so it seemed fine left alone.
Right. I decided to head to Arifa's shop after all.
I left the house and set off.
Arifa's shop was open today, thank goodness.
"Arifa."
"Oh, Wof. Welcome."
Her voice came from behind the counter, but I couldn't see her.
I snuck a peek, and there it was — a big, round, magnificent rear end staring right at me.
O-oh, yep. No doubt about it.
This enormous, plump, bouncy-looking butt could only belong to Arifa.
"Sorry about this. Just about done."
"Y-yeah."
She said that while effortlessly lifting a heavy-looking wooden crate.
She carried it to the back and came right back.
"Sorry for the wait. Welcome again."
Arifa smiled brightly and took her place behind the counter.
Flaming red hair tied in three braids.
A small black horn growing from her forehead.
Bright orange eyes, sharp and clear.
Her features were striking and well-proportioned, yet somehow cute in an endearing way.
She always wore that thin, loose-fitting top with both shoulders exposed and a wide-open neckline.
On the bottom, she had on a pair of tattered, beat-up jeans.
You could call it casual attire, but honestly, it was kind of a problem.
That was because Arifa was tall and had an incredibly voluptuous figure.
Parts were toned, but what stuck out really stuck out.
With such an attractively feminine figure, that level of exposure was a problem. You couldn't help but see things you probably shouldn't.
And on top of that, she was Agaro's older sister.
Which meant she could drink anyone under the table.
"Your shop's been closed for a while, huh?"
"I was away on a bit of a trip."
"A commission?"
Arifa was the owner of the antique shop, but she was also active as a Class III delver.
In truth, she wanted to quit the delving life and just run the antique shop.
But the antique shop itself wasn't exactly raking it in.
There was the harsh reality that she had to work two jobs just to get by.
"No. Wof, do you know about the robbers' market?"
What kind of dangerous-sounding market was that?
Could it be Arifa was mixed up with some kind of illegal bazaar?
I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
"N-no... I don't know about it."
Arifa laughed.
"Wof. As expected, you've got the wrong idea. It's not a thieves' market — it's a robbers' market. A caravan market where items that have lost their ownership — stolen goods from bandit gangs that got wiped out — are bought and sold. It especially pops up when a big bandit gang gets taken down."
"Huh... so something like that exists."
That was the first I'd ever heard of it.
"That's why there are so many buried gems. I heard about one being held on the frontier, so I went and checked it out. Either way, Wof — your goal was knives, right?"
"Y-yes. I've been wanting a new one."
Arifa let out a faint, wry smile.
"I figured as much, so I stocked up on a whole bunch of knives too."
As she said that, three wooden crates were set down with a heavy thud.
"T-this... wait, these are all knives!?"
"That's right. Stolen knives I bought at the bandit market."
This many... I was overwhelmed, a shiver of excitement running through me.
I never thought I'd get this kind of selection!
"Hey... hoo... Cap'n... you... doin'... fine?"
The one who'd slipped in with that sudden, oden-cart-shop-owner cadence was Riv.
Noticing me, she gave a light little wave in greeting.