In the morning I walked around the streets of Ribek.
It wasn"t like I had a destination in mind, I was just strolling around.
I stopped in front of one of the street stalls.
The shopkeeper was roasting meat skewers over a bed of coals. I didn"t know what kind of meat it was, but it smelled delicious.
「Hey lad, you want one?」
The shopkeeper called out casually.
「This is a specialty from Bisk, it"s Kurakadir skewers. It"s delicious and can help relieve tension in your body.」
「Kurakadir?」
I didn"t know what that was, but it looked pretty good.
Actually……I had been smelling it cooking for a while and it was starting to make me drool.
「Ok, I"ll have one.」
「Here ya go, 500 yen.」
「——」
「What"s wrong lad?」
The shopkeeper said looking at me.
Hmm…..he has been calling me 「lad」 this entire time.
I took out the currency that I"d created ——and handed him 500 yen. He gave me the skewer.
I took it before continuing on my way.
As I thought about it again…it seemed like he didn"t know who I was.
I walked around the market place while eating the skewer.
Now that I looked around I could see many unknown faces.
I knew most of the people that I"d freed from Marato by sight.
Right now though, I couldn"t see many familiar faces.
These people kept calling out to me trying to sell things.
It was fun so I walked from stall to stall sampling goods.
It was almost like a little festival.
I stopped in front of a stand with few customers.
「How much is this?」
「One is 1,500 yen.」
「That"s a bit expensive.」
Is that why there weren"t too many customers?
「Well the cost guarantees the taste.」
「I see…..then give me one.」
I paid and got the food.
I took a bite………..and it was terrible.
It was so bad that I doubted it was even food….almost on the same level as pushinee.
It wasn"t because it was expensive….there weren"t any customers because it was expensive and disgusting.
I walked away and looked back for a while.
No customers approached the shop.
「Huh……..it looks like it"ll close before long.」
I muttered and continued walking.
I left the marketplace and walked downtown.
「Huh?」
I stopped in front of a private home.
It was a home that I"d made using the DORECA, but for some reason the door was broken.
I saw a citizen repairing it.
「Yo」
「Ah, Your Highness.」
This time it was someone who knew me.
「What happened?」
「Umm…….well……」
The man scratched the back of his head smiling wryly.
「My wife got angry with me and….」
「This was the result of the fight?」
「Yes…」
「It can"t be helped.」
I took out my DORECA, but the man shook his head and hands quickly.
「No no, it"s ok Your Highness. I can fix this much myself.」
「Fix it yourself?」
「Yes. Actually, I"m almost finished with the repair.」
I looked at the door once again.
It was truly almost finished.
「Is that ok?」
「Absolutely, we can"t have the King doing such minor things.」
「……..I see. Then good luck.」
I waved goodbye and walked away.
Until the sun was almost set, I walked through the streets of Ribek.
The town was bustling and lively.
Many stores had been opened and trade was going well.
The townspeople were now making things and repairing things without needing to rely on me and my slaves.
This was the first day that I truly didn"t have to do anything.
I didn"t have to make anything, repair anything, or defeat anything.
I didn"t do anything. I just went around spending some cash.
Even so, the townspeople were smiling.
They all seemed happy.
After the entire day of doing nothing….my DORECA began to shine and change.
It transformed from golden to black.
End of Chapter 8: Small Country