"Thank you, come again!"
"Thanks!"
After Jordie hashed out an agreement to travel with Marianne, he was still in need of some cash. Thankfully, Marianne directed him to a pharmacy that was away from the bazaar that would be willing to buy the random stuff he picked up.
As Jordie left the pharmacy, he once again counted up the coins that he just earned, while keeping track of the trade values of the plants he traded in just in case.
"So I made a total of nine gold pieces, six silver pieces, 4 copper pieces and eight lead pieces...Soothing Azaleas went for 2 silver...Coagulating Mushrooms went for 3 coppers and 5 leads...Silver Garlic went for a single silver, hah..."
[You know that if you use Analyze skill now, it will reveal the monetary value of goods, right?,] the System interjected while Jordie was muttering to himself.
"It will?," Jordie asked as he paused his counting.
[Yeah, try it out.]
Jordie put the coins away into his inventory, causing a little number tracker to appear in his mind's eye, and swapped it out for a sample of one of the medical plants he had just traded.
The plant he grabbed was a plant called "Ivory Aloe". Apparently it's quite good in treating burns and quite tasty when used in desserts.
{Analyze}
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Name: Ivory Aloe
Rarity: Two Stars
Usage: Treats burns, soothes itches, culinary ingredient (sweet)
Value: 4 silver
Description: Ivory Aloe is a type of aloe plant known for its bone white coloration and shockingly cool internal jelly-like structure. Unlike it's more mundane cousin that grows in tropical to arid climates, Ivory Aloe prefers cold to temperate climates. When served with Ebony Star fruit and Ruby Mangoes, it makes for a refreshing dessert that can help beat the heat.
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"Huh...that last bit your thing or a collective knowledge of this world thing?"
[The System is unable to taste.]
"Right..."
Jordie placed the Ivory Aloe back into his backpack and began to make his way back to the inn in order to settle up his bill and pay for an additional night.
Minos had another plan in mind.
"Mooowah! Mooowah!"
"Hmm? What's wrong baby?"
Jordie found a small bench to rest his stuff and extracted Minos from his holding place to see what was wrong and comfort.
Just as Jordie was about to bring Minos closer to himself, a rather pungent smell greeted his nostrils. He immediately had to hold back a gag as he realized that Minos just went...boom boom...in his diaper.
"Oh dear, gonna have to change that. Don't think there's any place I can wash you up in town though...not without causing a fuss..."
[The System would like to remind the host he does have access to the Shop function now.]
"Oh right."
Jordie looked to his left and right to make sure no one was in the area before calling up the System's interface. He didn't know if others could see it, but sitting around while pawing at thin air would probably be a bad look.
Jordie navigated his way to the Shop feature to see what the System was willing to sell him. The layout looked surprisingly familiar to him.
"Huh...System...you...you sure you won't get sued for this?"
[The System has no idea what you're talking about, it is a transcendent entity separate from the laws of reality.]
"It's just this Shop looks a lot like Ama-"
[Argonaut is a legally distinct entity and is allowed under Fair Use and copyright laws regardless of the reality.]
"Okay...," Jordie agreed hesitantly, "So is it like a touch screen or-"
[The Shop can be navigated with the host's mind.]
"Sweet."
Under the System's guidance, Jordie proceeded to use his mind to navigate the "Argonauts shop tab" until he managed to get to the baby care section. Once he looked over the prices though, he couldn't help but gripe a bit.
"Fifty silver for a pack of diapers? That's, oh wait... one hundred and ninety-eight count? Ok that's not too bad...still expensive though... thirty-six pack for two gold? That'll work..."
[The System would like to remind the host that he will also need baby wipes and baby powder if he wants to maintain proper care for Minos.]
"Right...," Jordie muttered as he added baby powder and baby wipes to his shopping cart. In total, all of this diaper stuff costed Jordie about three gold pieces and five silver. Doing some quick math, Jordie calculated the baby stuff to be about thirty-five USD...give or take inflation.
"Christ, no wonder people try to stick to only one to two kids max...so how does checkout work?"
[Just hit the button, and the money will be automatically deducted from your wallet. The items will be automatically added to your backpack's inventory.]
"Useful."
The moment Jordie confirmed the purchase, the little money counter in his head immediately went down from nine gold and six silver to six gold and one silver. Little icons for a package of diapers, a bottle of baby powder and a packet of baby wipes appeared in Jordie's mental Inventory.
"Alright that was easy enough," Jordie said to himself as he began to dig through his backpack and pull out his newly acquired goodies, "Now it's time for the...gross part."
"Mooowah!"
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The following scene has been removed from this chapter due to the sheer amount of stink, incompetence on Jordie's part and surprising amount of pain involved.
For a very quick summary of the events...magic milk equals magic stool, who knew baby minotaurs could kick like that and Jordie had to buy a pair of goggles about half way through.
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[Well...that was violent.]
Jordie coughed up a small cloud of smoke as he examined his handiwork on Minos' diaper. It looked a bit askew, but that might've been due to Minos rolling about.
"Well that was mortifying," Jordie said as he wiped his brow, "Wait...do I still got enough to pay for my room?"