"Well then, I'll go buy a carriage, what will you girls do?"
"Oh? Where are you going to do?"
"If you're tired, you can rest in your room."
It would be strange to go to the commercial guild in a large group.
"I'm fine, but what about Lulu?"
"I-I'm fine too!"
Although Lulu says that, she seems exhausted from the continuous troubles since last night.
"Both of you, this is an order: Rest until I return. I'll leave a bag with food and water here, so eat if you get hungry."
Arisa seemed fine, but I felt like her battery was about to run out, so I said that and left the room by myself.
"--Master!"
When I went to the stables to check on her, Lisa, who had been dozing with a stick in her arms, jumped up.
At her feet, Pochi and Tama were curled up asleep on the bedstraw.
It's cute to see the straw getting stuck in his nose as their noses and them scratching it.
"You must be tired, so you don't need to get up."
I tell Liza that I'm going out for a bit, and leave food and water bags with them.
"Oh, please wait!"
Liza tried to follow me, but she looked tired, so I ordered her to "protect Pochi and Tama" and forced her to rest.
Well, I'm tired too, but I can endure it because I've experienced a death march where working two or three nights in a row was the norm.
"--That is it."
As I followed the path I was told about, I came across a splendid building just before the noble district.
I'm entered the merchant guild.
The inside was overflowing with energy, with experienced merchants negotiating business deals with glazed eyes.
I looked around and saw a counter that looked like the reception desk of a bank or city hall.
Follow the information board hanging above the counter and line up for new registrations.
The line was short, but it took longer than expected.
"What can I help you with today?"
The lady at the reception desk who asked this also looked tired.
"I would like to purchase a carriage and horses. Could the merchant's guild help me out?"
When I told her what I wanted, the lady's eyes lit up.
"Yes, please! Great! There is a seller looking for a buyer! Chief! There is a customer who wants to buy Stiffern-san's carriage!"
The carriage selling seems to be a purview of the chief of the commerce guild, and after receiving a letter of introduction from him, we head for the chamber of commerce where the seller is located.
"You're quite young... Well, I guess it's fine if it's an introduction from the commercial guild."
Saying this, Stiffern-san showed me an old covered wagon. The inside was quite spacious.
"10 gold coins. If you have a young or strong horse, you can pull it with just one, but if you're going to travel long distances, it's better to have two."
"Can I pay with jewels?"
I don't have much cash on me.
"I do not enough liquidity for jewels. Sell them to the guy at the company and get some cash. If you don't mind old horses, I can sell you the two that were pulling this carriage. What do you think?"
Horses cost five gold coins each.
That was more than the price of a human slave.
Before making my decision, I was shown the horses, and since they seemed to have a gentle temperament, I decided to purchase them along with the carriage.
"Do you wish to take the carriage immediately?"
"I can't drive it, so can I come and get it later?"
"Do you have anyone who can drive it?"
"Yes, that's right."
Since Lulu has experience as a wagon driver, I think I'll leave it to her.
"I'm not busy today, so I'll drive you back.This way I 'll have one final drive with these guys, too."
Thanks to Stiffern-san's kindness, the carriage and horses were transported to the inn.
Stiffern-san also taught me how to put on the harness and how to take care of the horses.
I would teach Lulu and the others tomorrow. Well, she has previous experience, so she might already know.
"Satou, do you have any work after this?"
"No, I'm just going to eat dinner and go to bed today."
"Well then, let's go for a drink! I'll teach you about the habits of horses and the art of traveling!"
--So, I decided to go out for drinks with Stiffern-san.
I went back to my room and left a note for Arisa explaining that I'd be late, along with a small amount of money in case she wanted to eat dinner out.
The beast girls were fast asleep so I didn't call out to them. The those three couldn't read, so I couldn't leave them a letter. If Arisa was going out to eat, she'd probably invite Liza and the others too.
We left the inn, met up with Stiffern-san, and headed to our favorite bar.
"Hey!Here is a new customer! Two especially delicious ales and a heaping serving of stewed lamb offal!"
"Oh, you're Uncle Sniffern's grandson? What a handsome man!"
Sniffern-san places his order in a relaxed manner from a waitress whose charm point is her freckles.
Both the bust and waist seem voluminous.
"Here goes, a special delicious ale."
The waitress placed a wooden mug of what looked like beer on the table.
The force of the mug was so strong that the contents spilled out. Stiffern-san said, "What a waste," and sipped from the mug, putting his mouth to the mug to prevent spilling. He seems to be quite a heavy drinker.
"Well then, here is to wishing you for a safe journey, Satou!"
We toast with Sniffern-san and the other guests join in and raise their glasses.
The regular customers seem to know him well, and many of them ask Sniffern-san if I am his grandson.
While watching the locals, I try my first ale.
--Ugh.
It's not only that it's lukewarm, but the ale from another world just doesn't taste good.
It has a low alcohol content and a slightly bitter and sour taste. It also has a strong flavor. It doesn't have a bad aftertaste, but the initial moldy smell is very strange.
I put the contents straight into the storage and pretended to drink it all while calling the waitress.
"Another ale?"
"I've had my fill of ale, do you have anything else to drink?"
"Anything else? Wine or cider."
When you say cider, does that mean apple wine?
"Which one would you recommend?"
"Well, wine."
"That's expensive."
Sniffen-san interrupted the waitress who immediately answered, "Well, it's more expensive."
I see, that's the price difference. If you don't like the wine, try the cider.
"Aren't you going to recommend your famous mead today?"
"The manager said they're out of mead."
Is mead a honey wine?
I've never had it before, so I wanted to give it a try.
Well, there's nothing to be done about it.
I order wine.
The conclusion is that wine from another world is sour.
The cider I ordered on a whim was delicious, so I don't think all of them are bad.
We left the bar as it started to get crowded and went to another bar while Sniffen-san told us many travel tips and anecdotes.
"Oops, excuse me."
As I was leaving the second bar, I nearly bumped into someone.
"Hey, Yahel. Thanks to you, we were able to sell the carriage."
"Sniffen-san and you must be our daytime customer, I see. Congratulations on the deal."
The person named Yahel that Sniffen-san is talking with seems to be the head of the commercial guild.
I can barely remember his face, but I vaguely remember his voice.
"Yahel, are you going to the bar now?"
"No, no, I'm heading towards the red light district."
"You're getting old, so it's time to stop playing around and start a family."
Sniffen-san, you wound me too.
No, my body is now 15 years old. I'm not yet at a "good age."
"Hahaha, that's for another time."
"What a troublesome guy. So, which store are you going to?"
"--Waht?"
When Stiffen-san asked the manager, he looked shocked.
"Anyway, I need to teach young Satou about women."
No, I know.
"Otherwise, you'll end up being taken advantage of by women in villages you stop in who just want to go to the city."
Sniffen-san also said that when he was young, he was often targeted with honey-traps in order for them to get money and transportation to the city.
Yeah, let's be careful.
"I see, that's not good."
The manager's eyes lit up.
That's the face of someone trying to drag you into the swamp.
With the manager and Sniffen-san on either side, I felt like Gray being escorted by men in black suits, as I headed towards the shop where the night ladies worked.
Rather than enjoying conversation, this was a shop where we talked using erotic physical language, so we chose girls at random and each went to a private room.
Thanks to the dedicated service of the ladies from another world, I was able to spend a very fulfilling evening.
◇
The day after that adult day...
"Unbelievable! It's almost morning, You did not come home until the morning!"
When I returned to the inn, Arisa, who was standing in front of the inn, scolded me.
"Ah, Arisa. If you talk to master like that--"
Lulu is there too, but she seems to be trying to stop Arisa who is furious.
"It's fine."
Arisa grabbed me by the collar, sniffed me, and grimaced.
"Guilty!"
I don't know why, but I was judged guilty.
"Ugh, you're smelling like perfume! Which woman did this?!"
I see, it seems she was checking for lingering scents on clothes and body.
I'm afraid that if a young girl confronts me, I might develop some strange sexual fetish.
Let's seal that door tightly and banish it to the other side of the event horizon.
"Come on! If that's what you want to do, there's always me or Lulu!"
She shouts angrily, with a face that sounds like you can hear the onomatopoeia.
"I'm not going to lay a hand on the kids."
"Just Lulu?"
"I have no intention of laying a hand on Lulu either."
No matter how beautiful Lulu is, I would not have the bad taste to make a move on a middle school girl.
Lulu, who was listening next to me, seemed relieved.
It's no wonder that she would be nervous about being sold as a slave and traveling with a man she didn't know.
"The carriage seller invited me and I couldn't refuse."
"Did you get a carriage?"
It was a rough excuse, but it seemed to get through to Arisa.
"Oh, it's in the courtyard. Do you want to go and see it?"
"Yeah! I'll look at it! Lulu, let's go too!"
I take Arisa and the others to the courtyard where the carriage is parked.
"Masta~"
"It's master,nanodesu!"
"Welcome back, master"
The beast girls who were cleaning in front of the stables spotted me and came running over.
Liza must have heard from Arisa, but she also seems to know that I didn't come home last night.
"Which is our carriage? That white box one?"
"No. The one on the other side. It's the wagon over here."
"Wow, that's a pretty old carriage..."
Arisa doesn't seem to like it, but the other girls look interested and check it out.
"It's a nice carriage. It looks like the previous owner took good care of it."
Liza said after checking the covered wagon.
"Do you know about those things?"
"A little bit. I have helped my fellow slaves with maintenance and repairs on a carriage."
That's reassuring.
"Is the horse in the stable?"
"Yes, two gray horses."
"What did you name them?"
"Now that I think of it, I'm not choose yet."
What should we name it?
Speaking of horses, maybe Haru Urara or Tokai Teio?
No, it's hard to throw away the legendary Mejiro McQueen and Haiseiko.
No, maybe using such real name is bad even in another world.
"Then Migi and Hidari." (TR:Right and Left)
"No! No way!"
When I gave it a suitable name, Arisa immediately rejected it.
"At least make it as good as Miggy and Darry!"
"Well then."
We'll go with Arisa's names.
"Wait, seriously?"
"You suggested it, right? That's how the horses' names are decided."
"Well, I guess that can't be helped. I was the one who brought it up."
Once Arisa was convinced, I told her about today's plans.
"Let's go get breakfast and then do some shopping."
The main point of the shopping was for Arisa and Lulu's daily necessities.
Currently, they were only wearing the single tunic that they had been wearing since they were with Nidoren, and they weren't even wearing shoes.
You'll need shoes, a change of clothes, and a change of underwear.
When I tried to eat breakfast at a restaurant, I was refused entry due to discrimination against demi-humans, just like at the inn, so I went around the stalls and bought some skewers of meat, soup, and bread to eat.
Since the beast girls didn't seem to be satisfied with the initial amount, I bought some more meat skewers and bread.
I would like to feed them vegetables, but vegetable dishes at the street stalls seem to be quite rare, with hardly any salads or even potato dishes to be seen.
"I'll leave the money with Liza, so Arisa, she will make the payment."
"Eh? Isn't master with coming with us?"
"I have other things to buy so I'll go my own way."
"Well, I was thinking of asking Master to help me pick out some underwear or something."
I would rather not go shopping with women as it takes a long time.
"What about Tama~?"
"Pochi would like to be with master,nanodesu!"
I'm glad that they said that, but I feel like I wouldn't be allowed into the store in this country where discrimination against beastmen is so severe.
If I make them wait outside, they'll probably get harassed by passersby, so I'm not sure what to do.
"You two, don't cause any trouble for our master."
"Let's go shopping together, Pochi and Tama! I'll help you pick out some ribbons! Is that okay, master?"
Liza and Arisa came to my rescue, so I decided to join them.
"Of course. If you have any money left over, please buy some more groceries."
"Can I buy some snacks too?"
"You can only have one large copper coin per person, alright?"
Liza said, "That's too much," so the amount was reduced to three copper coins per person.
After breakfast, I parted ways with everyone and headed alone to the magic shop.
I wanted scrolls and introductory books on magic.
◇
"You sold out?!"
As I arrived at the magic shop, I heard a husky female voice yelling from inside.
It seems like she's busy.
It's a little hard to get in.
※Miggy and Darry have joined us! (Although they were not named in the web version.)