"And here we are~! Your very own Goatkin egg! Milk and wool coming from the same Demi Human~! Unless... well, a futanari Goatkin produces a different kind of 'milk', but that isn't a problem for you, huh~?"
I blushed as the gorgeous Lady Von Goldiue winked at me, making her giggle as she closed and locked the chest before handing me the egg, which was about a foot or so tall and around eight inches at its widest.
That seemed small at first, but it needed to be properly incubated to grow larger and allow the Goatkin inside to mature rapidly and become ready for hatching, which would take a week; after that week, it would emerge as an adolescence with all the necessary memories on how to function, like talking, walking, eating and all of that.
Basic things through something that the Demi Human's all called 'imprinting', which was a difference between us and them; we needed to learn on our own, but they were born with a large amount of knowledge already inside their brains... though they also didn't live as long as we did, so the tradeoff is there...
Hugging the brown and grey egg to my chest, I smiled at Lady Von Goldiue as she said "Well, now that you have the egg, what are you thinking about buying? Seeds, more Demi Human's? Weapons? Armor?"
I turned back around and stared out at the large market, my mind whirring as the gears began to turn, going over everything I would need to get properly started at my new home.
I would need food, water, clothing, something to defend myself, and someone to help me with the work... I also needed to make sure I had the ability to provide for said person, so that needed to be taken into account as well...
The Ranch had a lot of land too, but for now I would only be working on the closest fields and clearing everything up, so I can't really plan for anything large at the moment since I don't know if I'll have useable space for it, so what should I prioritize..?
"Let's... go look at the other available eggs, Incubator Power Crystals, and some other Demi Humans. Then weapons... I can make do with wheat, corn, potatoes and tea for now. All of that is easily grown and harvested, and everyone needs flour, cornstarch, potatoes and tea..."
Lady Von Goldiue just nodded, leaving everything to me as I walked back into the market, my eyes scanning the various signs and stalls for the things I was looking for; seeing a giant wooden board engraved with the shape of an egg, I made my way there first, and I gave the merchant a smile when I arrived.
"Hello, hello~! New Rancher, hm~? Congratulations little Miss~! So, what can I do for ya? I got a lot of common and uncommon eggs, as well as some juice for your Incubator!"
A slightly portly woman rubbed her hands together and grinned at me, her sun kissed skin and dark fingers making me nod to myself unconsciously as I took note of how she seemed to do the work herself; I liked these sorts of people better, probably because I could relate to them more...
Looking over the various eggs, I nodded to myself again and asked "How much for that Cowkin egg there? Oh, and the Sheepkin egg? And I do need some juice..."
"Well~! I see you're new, and I know a determined woman when I see one! So let me tell ya something, hm? Just me to you... I'll cut you a deal for those eggs and a core, all for... whatcha say to 85 gold?"
Pursing my lips, I looked back at the white and black egg as well as the grey egg, studying their surfaces for a few seconds before saying "That's a grey Sheepkin though. Their smaller and skittish, and I'm going to be in a slightly cooler place... How about two Crystals and those two eggs for 75?"
Stroking her jaw, the merchant nodded too as she looked back at the eggs, before looking back at me, and then back at the eggs, all while she narrowed her eyes and did some mental calculations.
"Tell you what, little Miss. You say it's gonna get kinda cold where you're at? Swap the grey Sheepkin for that white one and I'll keep it at 85. Two Crystals, a Cowkin, and a white Sheepkin. All for 85 gold. Whatcha think?"
It was my turn to stroke my jaw, the weight of the Goatkin egg barely noticeable to me as I leaned on the counter and shifted my gaze between the other eggs and the merchant, who was still smiling at me.
"I'll do you one better. That smaller egg there, it's a black Sheepkin right? Usually sells for a fair bit on its own, but that size is... Add that on, and I'll pay a clean 100. Considering its off to the side and hidden behind the other eggs, I bet no one's been looking at it..."
"Hm... You are... You are crafty, little Miss... I like that. Name's Morani! Hope we can keep doing business like this in the future, little Miss Rancher~! 100 gold sounds like a deal to me!"
We grinned at one another as she reached over and shook my hand, before her eyes took on that all too familiar greedy light as I counted out the 100 gold for her, after which she handed me the three eggs and two fist sized reddish orange chunks of crystals.
"I'm Hildegarde, by the way. Oh, and Miss Morani, you wouldn't happen to know any good tool merchants around, would you? Or someone selling some grown Demi Human's"
Sliding the gold into her own pouch, the merchant looked around before pursing her lips, shrugging her shoulders as she replied "Not anyone fair like me, but if its tools you want, check out that stall there. It's good quality. As for grown Demi's... well, lemme know whatcha want, and I can cut another deal for ya~!"
Pursing my lips, I looked down at my current eggs before looking back at the merchant, getting my thoughts together.
I would need someone to work with me, someone to help keep the Ranch safe, and someone who was reliable at doing both of those things... loyal too, so what should I look for..?