I got up early today! After all, it’s my first time going to Carlton Town.
Yesterday I went to bed without even washing myself, so I gotta heat some water and give myself a quick wash.
“But first, I need to take care of Merry and Ben!”
Before, I could just let them out of the goat shed and leave them to graze in the yard, but now they’ve gotten spoiled and demand medicinal herbs. They’re getting older and don’t like the tough grass anymore.
“Maybe this is why I can’t save any money...”
I picked herbs this morning, but they’ll just become feed for Merry and the others.
But if Selina heard me complaining like this, she’d probably say, “We’re better off turning them into meat,” so I have to keep it to myself.
Fact is, I might’ve died of loneliness without these two.
The water boiled, so I poured it into a tub, diluted it with cold water, and wiped my body with a cloth. I washed my hair too.
Really, I shoulda done this last night.
Drying is no problem since I have wind magic. My clothes, though... Selina’s been teaching me utility magic, but I’m still not good at it.
I’d like to ask Selina for help, but she wasn’t exactly in favor of me going to Carlton in the first place, so I’ll do my best!
Standing in my undies, holding a girl’s dress in my hands, I chant “Purification♪”
Hmm? It feels a little cleaner, I guess. Really, I should have washed it properly, but there’s no time.
After combing my hair and getting dressed, Selina finally got up.
“Hmph, so that’s all you can manage even when you put that much effort into it?”
That stung… But then, Selina casts “Purification!” on me.
Oh yeah, now that feels squeaky clean!
Huh? Maybe I didn’t need to wipe myself down or wash my hair after all?
No, no, it ain’t right for a girl to be unclean!
“Whatever you do, don’t use magic!” Selina says.
With that warning, I leave the cabin. In my backpack are medicinal herbs Selina gave me and Almiraj fur. In the pochette I sewed during winter are the Almiraj magic stone, hard bread, and a water bottle.
I bought this water bottle at the general store during winter too. Once I can use water magic, the water bottle will become unnecessary.
Right now I only know a little air magic, storage magic, and utility magic. I know I need to train more, but my teacher Selina isn’t exactly enthusiastic about it, and I don’t feel much motivation either.
I’d be keener to learn if it was a bit easier, but when it took a whole month just to learn Air Cutter? Yeah…
After teleporting to Lang Village, I found Maggie’s father hitching a horse to the cart.
“Good morning!”
Greetings are important! Plus, today he’s taking me to Carlton.
“Ah, Zoe! You’re early. Maggie’s in the shop.”
The cart bed is loaded with lumber. What are the goods Maggie plans to sell in Carlton?
“Ah, Zoe! Good morning!” Maggie greets.
Sure enough, there are three baskets inside the general store.
“I’ll help!”
Since Maggie’s carrying two, I take one. Ugh, it’s heavy! I want to use storage magic, but that would stand out too much.
The cart bed is full of lumber, but they tied the baskets with rope and loaded them on top.
“Um, where do we sit?”
I’ve seen people riding in carts before, but the driver sits in the driver’s seat while other people sit in the cart bed.
“It’s cramped, but sit in the driver’s seat! You can ride in the back on the way home,” Maggie’s father says. He sits in the middle, with Maggie and me on either side.
I really wanted us to sit side by side, but having the driver in the middle seems safer.
“Maggie! Make sure you negotiate the prices properly!”
Wow, the shopkeeper’s wife’s intensity is formidable.
“I know!”
So this is how Maggie begins her training at the general store.
“Good luck, Maggie!” I encourage her.
“More importantly, did you bring money, Zoe?”
Ah, that’s important.
“I got medicinal herbs and Almiraj fur in my basket, plus this!” I pull out the magic stone from my pochette to show her.
“Oh, Selina gave it to you.”
Oof. For a moment I almost said I defeated the Almiraj myself, but I gotta keep my magic a secret.
Even adult mages get recruited by nobles or face other troubles, while children get exploited. It’s scary!
So I reply, “Well, yeah. I should be able to afford a meal with this, right?”
Maggie looks at my basket loaded in the back and laughs. “That should be plenty!”
“Magic stones fetch good money,” Maggie’s father agrees. That’s a relief.
I’d been selling medicinal herbs during winter, but I heard they get cheaper in spring, so I was a little worried.
With my worries gone, I enjoy the scenery around us. Though it’s just countryside landscape.
“You can see the Great Forest the whole way.”
Lang Village is close to the Great Forest, but it’s also close to the road.
“Yeah, Carlton is near these woods as well.”
Hmm. I knew the Great Forest was big, but turns out it’s seriously huge.
“Hey, what are you planning to buy, Zoe?”
We gotta talk around her big father, but Maggie and I still chat away.
“What about you, Maggie?”
You ask me? I ask you!
I dunno what they sell in Carlton.
“Well, I want to buy ribbons and candy.”
“Eh, candy?”
In my past life there were plenty of sweets to be found, but here Killer Bee honey is the finest sweetener. That or tree sugar squeezed from Treants.
“Maggie, sweetie. You’ll get in trouble, spending money on things like that!” Her father sounds worried. He really is under his wife’s thumb.
“It’s fine! It’s my money from helping at the shop!”
Personally? I think she deserves that much freedom. But then again, in this world, it’s normal for commoners not to indulge in luxuries.
“Candy is so incredibly sweet, you know! I had some once before.” Maggie pouts as she says this. Whether she’ll buy it depends on the price, I guess.
We chat like this around her father, traveling the bumpy country road toward Carlton.