NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 27: Shopping
"R666! Your commission has been declared completed without penalties! And your picture has been rewarded with 100 points," R25B said gleefully the following day. I chose not to continue the recon last night. I was tired, and Alicia had been eyeing my bedroom. Did she think she was my mother? I couldn't comprehend her thought pattern sometimes.
"So, your points are now 175 Points. It will turn into 215 after you complete the forest recon. Congratulations! Wow! I am excited. Getting 100 points in a single stroke is a sign of veteran reapers, you know! By the way, the guild issued an assassination quest for those three. It was 1000 points! For each of them! Will you—"
"No," I answered flatly. "At least not now."
"Figures. I am simply telling you. Glad you have some common sense. They are too strong. Even R4 wouldn't take them by himself."
"Oh yeah! Now that you have points. Why don't you try to buy stuff? We sell everything that money can buy!" R25B now started to behave like a salesman. "I recommend either a reconnaissance set for mages or an assassin set for mages!"
"Recon sets consist of a flashbang, smoke grenade, and a cartographer tool that is compatible with your reaper card. It costs 130P. The Assassin set contains three types of poisons: the fast-acting poison spider, paralyzing moth paste, and a tasteless, colorless, and dilutable sleeping pill. Not only that, the assassin set also has crossbows and a standard knife. It costs 100P."
"I will run out of points if I buy them, right? How do I carry them anyway? Wouldn't it be weird for me to carry them around? People already give me glances when I carry daggers."
"Well, you can make custom adjustments for another 30 points. While flashbang and smoke grenades are okay to carry around, you will have problems with guards and justiciars for carrying any of the poisons."
I pondered at the option. I obviously couldn't buy everything, but I couldn't buy nothing either. The last ambush would have been much easier if I had the flashbang or smoke grenade. R25B explained that a cartographer tool was a map-making device. By carrying it, you won't get lost ever; it traces your footsteps. But that's just a minimum. By accessing it via the Reaper card, you could add legends to it. Then, it would become similar to medieval maps sold here. Moreover, the data was in 3D. So, you could explore a cave or winding mountain easily.
"I want the recon set and the sleeping pills. Just for confirmation, sleeping pills are harmless, right?"
"Of course. Even if you overdose, the most damage it could do is vomiting. There are no side effects. It needs to be ingested, though."
"No smearing types?"
"No. To induce sleep, one must be in a state of relaxation. You can't make your enemy sleep in the heat of battle. It works 5 to 10 minutes after ingestion. There is a more dangerous one, though. The inhalation type. Do you want it? It could make your opponent unconscious. "
"Dark magic could make people sleep in battle or knock them unconscious. You guys are getting realistic in weird places!" I tried to complain about this weird fantasy setting. But I accept the instructions.
"That would be 150P. Thank you for the purchase. Your points are now back at 25P with 40 more on the way. The goods might take a while to arrive. Around 2 or 3 days."
Now that the shopping was done with, I went on an outing with Alicia. Spring was almost over. Farmers started to plow their fields. Peddlers usually flocked here in autumn, but summer was also a busy season for merchants. The knife peddler I met a long time ago was here again.
"Greetings, young miss. Care to retake a look at my wares?"
"Yes! Do you have any other karambit versions?"
"I'm afraid not. But here, I have a rapier and an estoc. Or do daggers remain your favorites? These swords are certainly unwieldy. How about these stilettos?"
The peddler explained the weapons. I knew of them from games. A rapier was a thin sword. Many girls in our academy used them for a fun sport. An estoc is a blunt version of a rapier, but the tip is very sharp, perfect for stabbing. It is more durable, too. Stilettos were a short version of the estoc. I would buy it later. It was better than the European-style daggers I used. It was lighter.
"Look, Lady Eli. You like this, right? Rapiers are quite fashionable among nobles, instead of those weird knives or daggers. It's better if you have this!" Alicia was raving about it. She planned to buy one. Rapiers were undoubtedly fashionable. The blade also gleamed the way I liked it. However, it didn't quite pull at my heartstrings.
"Young miss wants more unique weapons, am I right? I don't have any karambits in stock, but I have this. This is a mithril-coated steel dagger from the east. The official name is the parrying dagger swordbreaker. However, people usually refer to them as The Swordsbane. The notches at the back of the dagger are used to catch swords swung in your way."
"What an ugly knife…" Alicia complained. However, my heart screamed to me that it wanted it!
"Well, that's why they aren't that popular. Hahaha. Here is another version of daggers. I heard sailors on the eastern shores call it the trident dagger. It is designed to mimic Poseidon's trident. Many sailors in the east use this."
"Deal! I will buy the Swordsbane and trident knives!"
"Ugh! Lady Eli is buying weird knives again!" Alicia moaned.
"Let's buy the rapier too. We are nobles from the military. It would not be weird to see us dressed in arms." I replied. Only then did Alicia finally smile.
Two days later, the aforementioned goods finally arrived. I wanted to complain that there were only 2 flashbangs, 2 grenades, and 6 sleeping pills in the container I bought, but R25B only replied wryly. The cartographer tool looked like a smartphone tablet. It had no screen and was merely a metal box with some enchantments inside. There was a slot on the side to insert my reaper card.
The woods were no longer dangerous. I didn't even encounter any monsters during my first walk after the antispy trio messed up with the jungle. With my camouflage and the sparse amount of monsters, it was a walk in the park. I finished cartographing the jungles in a week. There were no notable resources there except a swamp, trees, honey, and other plant life. I saw several bananas and spices. On the ground, This one looked like garlic and cinnamon. That one looked like pepper and nutmeg. It was often used on modern Earth. However, we already had these, and they were not popular in this world.
However, the true jewel was the citrus tree! If we could farm it, let alone getting rid of the debt, we could become a prosperous county or even be elevated to a duchy or earldom in one go! I will photograph this later. Fruits were expensive everywhere you go. There are several ways to preserve them, such as using a refrigerator or sugar. However, they were still expensive compared to meat, which could be preserved with methods such as salting, smoking, or vacuum packing. Bringing a box of fruit using a fridge for the whole way plus their feystone cost was quite pricey. Citrus was the most expensive of them all because it could not be preserved.
"Well, no gold mine, Mythril mine, or gems. I thought this forest was a treasure trove. But I guess I was wrong," R25B said. "Hey, at least you mapped the forest and found citrus. That's a good improvement."
"You're welcome," I said. This wasn't the overpowered reincarnation I read about in novels. I was supposed to discover a gold mine or salt or mythril. Yet, all I found was spice, bananas, oranges, and sugar. Life is hard. Fruit was expensive, but not that expensive. I even wondered if it was worth the effort.
"Ah, here's a tip for you. The Ministry of Defense was in an uproar due to your photos. The news might arrive to you as soon as you come to school next week."
"Do I have to recon there again?"
"There was a recon quest. However, that one is a designated quest. It means they assigned it to a specific reaper. Give it up. You are still new. Your trustworthiness isn't up there yet."
"Alright. I didn't have the courage to go there anymore. I was almost killed there."
"Either your luck is extremely bad, or your luck is extremely good."
News about the neighboring Elderan Empire came faster than expected. I got a dinner invitation from the second prince, and Duke Bron sped up my brother's wedding. A messenger brought the news the following day.
"Wow. I see you have made a connection to a royal family. Do you think you can become his wife?" Father laughed. He actually showed an expression for the first time! I thought he was as stoic as a stone person. His humor, however, was received with cold eyes from everyone.
"Father. Did you even care for Eli at all? If she were to marry Prince Ludwin, she would become a mistress. His first wife would not like her due to her looks," Zach said.
"Yeah! The second prince was already popular. Lady Eli was down when she got bullied by a duke's daughter the other day when Prince Ludwin asked her for a dance," Alicia nodded to Zach.
"Don't marry into nobility! They will only discard you like trash or even falsely accuse you! They will cage you inside their golden mansion!" Fiona, my only sister, reproached me. She turned into a total misandrist since the last time I saw her.
"So, will I go to the wedding banquet first before school? Skipping my brother's wedding isn't an option, huh?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Eli? Did you hate me that much?"
"I hate banquets. Not you."
"Ah, I see. We still haven't issued a complaint about your treatment during the ball, huh? Want me to do it during the banquet? Sorry, but I am just a count marrying a duke's second daughter. Duke Bron will be the one who holds power there."
"No. Dukes infighting will turn into a civil war," I replied.
"You are right. Thank you for thinking about us when you have been ridiculed."
"By the way, why would Duke Bron ask me to hasten the meeting?" Brother Zach and Father pondered. I wanted to answer but suddenly remembered that I wasn't supposed to know about it yet, so I shut my mouth.
"Huh, you know something, Eli?" Zach glanced at me.
"No. I didn't know anything." I turned my head sideways. Despite being an assassin, I was bad at lying.
The awkward supper finally ended, and we departed for the cathedral. By the way, I completed my quest the other day, bringing my points to 65P.