“What? The Black Market? I want to go too!”
“We’re not just going for fun. Plus, you still have homework, right? Have you finished it all?”
“Um…”
Since Karina gives homework every day, there must still be some left. Millia glanced at Karina, then opened her neglected notebook. Is she trying to finish it quickly? I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Millia scribbling away with her pen.
How cute.
“I’ll be done soon, so wait!”
“If you do it carelessly, will you get scolded?”
“I, I’ll do it properly!”
It’s pretty evident that she’s just scratching down whatever, but out of curiosity, I leaned closer to see what she was writing and spotted some unfamiliar equations. Wait, is this the game where I claimed not to remember anything? Since true boned matter of fact, I’ve forgotten all math. Now, I can hardly recall anything except the four basic operations.
By the way, they also use Arabic numerals here.
Thinking about it, it’s not that strange. This world has quite a few things taken from reality. They casually use the metric system, after all. So it’s easier to adapt.
If it were yards and pounds, I would have gritted my teeth and spread the metric system here!
“The Black Market opens at night, so don’t rush.”
“Isn’t the Black Market dangerous?”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be there with you.”
“That’s true, but…”
Karina looked at Millia with a worried expression. Concerned that the reckless Millia might cause a scene. I felt a strange nostalgia seeing that. I must have been worried like that when I was younger. Although I can’t remember it clearly.
With over 10 years of distance, it’s no wonder I can’t remember everything. It feels a bit bitter. While I was pondering over my hazy past, Karina’s gaze turned to my face.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Your face looks gloomy. Is there something bothering you?”
“No, I just can’t recall old memories.”
“Old memories?”
“Now, I can hardly remember anything.”
It’s something I’ve thought about for quite a while. It’s strangely not resurfacing about my past before I was reincarnated. And oddly enough, knowledge from the game is super clear. What could it be?
I couldn’t shake off the suspicion that something was interfering with my memory, or rather just the sensation itself. I have no clues, just a gut feeling…
“Is it possible I have memory loss?”
“Maybe so.”
“If you remember anything, let me know. I’ll help you find Johann’s past!”
“Thanks.”
“Me too! I want to help!”
Millia slyly raised her hand to join in. Her puppy-like appearance wanting to be included made both Karina and I chuckle.
“Okay, but for now, finish your homework.”
“Ugh…”
[Ugh, how cringe-worthy…]
What the heck are you doing.
————————————–
“It’s a cat!”
“I have a name, it’s Sif!”
“Can I touch your ears?”
“No!”
“Tch.”
Millia, wanting to touch ears, and Sif, who didn’t want to be touched, were at a stalemate with me in the middle. More like, Sif was all on her own on alert, so I handed Millia Rue and said.
[Wait! Don’t! Stop that!]
“Don’t touch a person’s ears recklessly. Play with Rue instead.”
“Really? Yay!”
At my words, Millia jumped in joy and hugged Rue. Rue seemed to realize that resisting was futile and quietly accepted being held while whining.
[I’m not a doll to be carried around…]
“Don’t tie her up with a leash.”
If I did that here, all eyes would be on us. Given that I’d rather not attract attention, being noisy wouldn’t be a good choice. It’s already suspicious enough with these guys.
“Uh, ugh…”
“Elisa, relax.”
Maybe it’s because it’s her first time at the Black Market, or maybe it’s because there are too many people. Elisa was clinging to my sleeve and trembling like a frightened puppy. If this continued, we’d end up leaving without even entering, so I held her hand and made her look at me.
“If you get in trouble, I’ll break everything.”
“What about me?”
“You too.”
“What? That’s unfair!”
[Wow, what a playboy!]
What’s with that? I sighed inwardly at Millia puffing up her cheeks. I’m not their father; why am I in this situation? Is this how it feels to have a daughter? I felt a strange sensation while watching Sif chat with the guards at the entrance of the Black Market.
“Oh, you’re here. What’s the password?”
“The price of Euphras today is three silver coins.”
“Okay. Go in. Don’t cause any trouble, the atmosphere has been tense lately.”
At his words, Sif’s hand sparkled with gold coins. The guard, looking pleased, smiled and shared some information with us.
“The leech gang caused a big ruckus this time. They’ve hidden in the Black Market and have had quite a battle with the black market guards. Because of that, it’s good not to cause any trouble. That applies to your buddy as well…”
“I just plan on going in and out.”
“Everyone says that and ends up causing trouble. And I’ll get scolded by the old man and my pay will be cut. Ugh, I need to get promoted soon…”
Typical talking. Who would admit to causing trouble before they caused it?
“Can we go in already? I want to buy something quickly—”
“Sure, sure. Go on in. Have fun shopping.”
Finally, the Black Market. I clenched my hands tightly as we stepped inside. It was a place in the game where rare items were sold periodically. I wondered how it would be in reality. Since it was where I got mithril, rare items must surely be here…
As long as the items I want are there.
“Alright, this is the Black Market. Don’t ever stray from Johann! It’s a place where criminals casually roam, so if you let your guard down, you’ll be in for a rough time!”
“You seem to be wandering around just fine.”
“I have my own tricks.”
“Johann, look at that! It’s gigantic! Whose horn could it be?”
I turned to look where Millia was pointing and saw a simple stall with a mat laid out. Though it was a basic street vendor, the items on the mat seemed quite intriguing.
“…It’s a Minotaur’s horn.”
“Oh, wow. You seem pretty experienced, don’t you, recognizing that?”
“Sort of.”
I played along with the old man sporting a goat beard while examining the horn, which was as big as my forearm. There weren’t any big scratches, and it seemed like it hadn’t lost color since it was recently obtained. It’s impressive that he brought it here.
“How did you bring it here?”
“There are ways.”
Is that a trade secret? The material is quite tempting, but… should I buy one? It could come in handy for various uses if processed well.
“What’s the price?”
“Fifty gold coins.”
That’s expensive. I don’t know the market price, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable. I’ll just hold off for now. After all, I’ll have to come back when I leave.
“It’s a price that gives me pause.”
“Haha, where else could you find such good quality?”
“I’ll take a look around and decide. Shopping should be wise, after all.”
“You better hurry back!”
We left the goat-bearded seller behind and started walking down the street. There were still a lot of stalls we needed to check out. I didn’t want to waste money until I got some materials I wanted and the items Elisa was looking for.
“Today, there are fewer people~ I wonder if some rare items came up at the auction house?”
Sif suddenly mentioned while walking ahead. Since this was our first time at the Black Market, we couldn’t tell if it was typically crowded or sparse. But since Sif wouldn’t lie, I quickly asked her.
“Are there really fewer people?”
“Normally, there would at least be a few people at each stall, but today it seems less? Usually, that means either there are no valuable items or the gangs are having rough conditions with each other, or a really rare item is up for auction and everyone’s gone there. It could be one of three.”
Rare items.
That piqued my interest. I was quite curious about what sort of items are considered rare here.
“Sif, when does the auction usually start?”
“Hmm, about an hour after the Black Market opens? It usually starts around that time, so take your time looking around as you head there?”
“A-Auction… It seems like there will be a lot of people… But still, I want to go see it…”
“Johann, can’t we go to the auction? It sounds so fun~”
Millia was showing significant interest in the word auction, urging me. It seemed her curiosity was piqued. Elisa also seemed to want to check it out.
With nobody opposing, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to head to the auction house.
“Then let’s take our time looking at the stalls as we head to the auction house.”
“Um, in that case, I have somewhere else we should stop by first.”
At the guide’s money-loving words, I looked over at her.
Sif playfully pretended to put something on her head and gave a cat-like smirk.
“You gotta hide your identity before we go, okay?”
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