Chapter 2-2: Strolling the Capital Together with Librarian-san
After leaving the Adventurer’s Guild we walked for a short while. We found ourselves before what could be said as the symbol of the capital; A monumental building, the Fredoll Clocktower.
For the purposes of cleaning I have visited here before, but it really is huge, huh.
If you aren’t looking at it from a distance, I doubt you could see the clock face.
This building, I wonder if commoners need this kind of thing in their lives.
「Fredoll-san was, I wonder if she was just one big show-off. She made such a gigantic clock tower after all, and she even built it right in the middle of the city too」(Ayame)
「As for the Artisan Fredoll, she was said to be quite an eccentric person who disliked going outside, at least that is what has been written in various publications. Back in the day, royalty and aristocrats would commission craftsman such as engineers and artisans to create various works according to their specifications. Considered a fatal flaw for an artisan, it seems that Fredoll would not produce any works of art without first adding in her own personal tastes…… When she was requested by a n.o.ble to manufacture “a big clock that stands out”, Fredoll decided to go out of her way and create a clock so large that it could not be used with just a single person, and so this clock tower was made」(Primevère)
She’s well-informed huh. For those in the capital, maybe this is just common knowledge for your everyday person.
There’s so much for me to learn, how difficult.
「There are various publications within the library that detail the legacy and ideology of the Artisan Fredoll, so if you are interested, how about giving them a read later on」(Primevère)
While brushing the hair next to her ear, a delighted Primevère looked over to me.
Casually recommended a book from the library. As expected of a Librarian-san.
Well, I certainly am interested. If I have some free time then I should give them a read.
I’ve roughly skimmed over a few history books already, but I haven’t researched anything about occupations like artisans or engineers.
After all, at the time I was in desperate need of financial stability, so I was solely focused on skimming books that summarized essential information.
Pa.s.sing by the clock tower, we walked down the side streets with various inns and residential homes lining them.
The inn I’m staying at is farther down this way; a remote area.
In a place secluded from homes and other inns, a building standing by its lonesome.
「Speaking of which, was Kenja-sama not born in the royal capital?」(Primevère)
「No, I traveled to the capital on foot just a few days ago」(Ayame)
“I see……” Primevère placed her finger on her chin. It looks like she’s deep in thought.
If I was knowledgeable about the capital, perhaps she wanted to ask me a question about it.
「Oh, that’s not it, Eim-san said… she said that Kenja-sama does not know too much about the capital, so perhaps I should teach you about various things, or something like that」(Primevère)
「Eim-san, she said something like that huh」(Ayame)
The gossip loving Onee-san with fox ears, an image of her wholehearted smile showed up in my mind.
As to why Eim knew that I wasn’t too knowledge about the capital, I figured it out right away.
Not knowing that issuing an identification card requires money, and spending every last bit of my money on the travel expensive just to get here, she must’ve reached that conclusion from those factors.
Well, it isn’t necessarily wrong to say that I am not well-acquainted with the capital.
Speaking more precisely, I am completely ignorant about this world’s common sense as a whole though.
「Eim-san is a really caring person, so I am sure that she was worried about Kenja-sama」(Primevère)
In my mind, Eim had her eyes half open, and she playfully stuck out her tongue.
A caring person… huh. That’s true. Even when she was lending me those 3 silver coins, instead of saying it was part of her job, she looked at me with worried eyes. I felt like she was genuinely trying to help me out.
She’s always smiling too, I wonder if she’s just a kind person.
「Since it might be an inconvenience for you since you haven’t been staying here for long and may not know the area, and since the day is about half over now, shall I guide Kenja-sama around the capital?」
Lightly clapping her hands together, my figure was being seized by those crimson eyes.
Firmly gazing at me, this time I did not look away, and I silently stared back.
Although I’ve seen them many times, those eyes are still really beautiful.
A translucent shade of red, big and round.
「Is that really all right? To be wasting your precious day off on me」(Ayame)
「Although I do enjoy spending my time alone with a good book…… I also want to spend more time talking with Kenja-sama」(Primevère)
Her cheeks grew faintly red, she played with her hair to hide her embarra.s.sment.
My G.o.d, this person is too cute.
That reminds me, Primevère has always admired「Kenja」.
On top of that, I said that I wanted to be a Kenja related to Magic studies.
If this were some manga, then this would be like walking alongside a Senpai you look up to. I wonder if the feeling is similar to that.
Well, it doesn’t matter to me what her true intent is.
Because I also feel the same way.
It’s painful not being able to spend my time reading books, but this is a rare invitation from Primevère to go sightseeing in the capital.
Kazami Ayame: for these past 5 years, not to mention from girls, he has never once been invited out by anyone whatsoever.
Having arrived in a different world, to have my first invitation to go sightseeing (on a date) come from such a lovely Librarian-san.
Aren’t I quite the winner in life, Yay for me.
「In that case, shall we head out」(Ayame)
I casually offered her my hand.
Since it will be just the two of us on our stroll (date), you’d expect us to at least hold hands right?
Primevère looked at my hand and then at my face in turn, as her intellectual eyes narrowed, her cheeks grew slightly lax.
「Oh geez, you really cannot be helped huh」(Primevère)
Along with a sweet voice that sounded like a bell, a warm sensation tightly wrapped around my right hand.
So warm, and so soft. Intertwining fingers, oh, how do I begin to describe the feeling.
Using her free hand to fix the hair by her ear, Primevère slightly tilted her head to the side.
Every single one of her actions are charming, just too cute.
「Now then, like this you definitely won’t get lost, so we should be fine like this」(Primevère)
Letting out a slight chuckle, Primevère began walking forward as she gripped my hand.
It seems like my gesture, which I desperately summoned up the courage to do, its intent did not reach Primevère’s heart in any way whatsoever.
Me… getting lost. What am I, a child!?
While saying that to myself, I didn’t really have to time to be absorbed in delusions.
Regardless of the reason, I really am holding hands with Primevère.
For now, let’s just enjoy that feeling.
From the inn district where we just were, we did a prompt about-face and headed down a detour.
According to Primevere, it’s because if you made one wrong turn and went down the wrong alleyway then you could end up on a dangerous street.
When I timidly asked what terrifying thing lay there beyond, it turned out to not be much. It was simply because over there was where brothels lined the streets, the red-light district.
“Then would it not be more suitable for entering alone?” is what I wanted to ask, but apparently there are frightening Mazoku there―― Succubi and Incubi regularly gather in that place.
In other words, even if you went alone or with a 2nd person, or even if you were a pair of men and women, your body would be encroached upon and treated like a “thing”.
It is said that the only ones who can overcome the charm of a succubus or incubus who is going all-out, would be the ever so straitlaced High Elves, or a higher cla.s.s Mazoku.
By the way, as for Primevere, in complete disregard of her own blood lineage, she has a personal reason why she holds prejudice towards succubi.
Since she spoke of them with such an abnormal level of contempt, I was extremely interested in hearing her reason.
The moment we had successfully escaped the underbelly of the red-light district, I flat-out asked my question.
「That’s because, those people, always behind our backs, all year long, from morning till night, they enjoy their meals in the corners of the library without any reserve. And to make matters even worse, they leave without cleaning up after themselves」(Primevere)
Is what I was told.
Being straight to the point, she hates them for polluting her beloved library with various liquids. It was rather quite a simple reason.
Perhaps because she didn’t want to directly say those words, she used indirect expressions to talk about the subject, but this only further enhanced the clean and proper aura about her, so it was excessively charming.
After exiting the side street, we gradually began to see more residential homes.
In a garden there were trees with wires attached to them, and on those wires were laundry hung out to dry.
There weren’t convenient items such as clothes-pins, so the wire was strung through their sleeves instead.
It was a rather rough method that looked like it could cause a bunch of wrinkles.
There is not a single piece of trash on the road either.
Soldiers are often patrolling around after all, maybe their mentality are well in-tuned with cleanliness.
As for domestic wastewater, there is a pipe running along the roadside that collects and processes it.
I don’t think the capital has a river or an ocean in its surrounding though, I wonder where exactly that pipe leads.
If it was dumped somewhere underground then the soil would become loose and the stench would leak out, but I highly doubt that to be the case.
The place which lies beyond that pipe, let’s leave that question for another time.
Leaving the residential area, we next pa.s.sed through the shopping district.
The atmosphere that was once filled with a homely feel, was all of a sudden transformed into one of lively bartering and haggling.
「Since we are here, how about we go shopping for a bit」(Primevere)
Primevere seemed like she was having fun as she pulled me by the hand; I was brought to a number of street stalls.
We were only having a look, but we went to jewelry shops, and other stores that sold cheap accessories.
At the shop that sold dried jerky for 1 silver coin a piece, Primevere joined her hands together and pet.i.tioned to have the price lowered to 8 copper coins.
I heard about this afterwards, but it appears to be common knowledge in the capital that you should first haggle for merchandise before you buy them.
Incidentally, Primevere was able to bargain the price down to a final 8 copper coins and 20 iron coins.
Now then, the things I need to research has increased once again.
A new currency: Iron Coins.
As the name implies, it is a type of currency that is manufactured from iron.
It doesn’t really look that st.u.r.dy, but I can’t find any signs of rust or degrade on it.
I find it hard to imagine that each individual coin is manufactured by using some special means, but……
Compared to the iron of my original world, perhaps its properties are slightly different.
When she paid for it with 9 copper coins she was given 80 iron coins in exchange. Because of that, I can probably a.s.sume that 100 iron coins have the same value as 1 copper coin.
Iron coins have a square shaped hole right in the center. Apparently this was so that you could run something like a string through them and collect them in sets of 10.
If that is the case then why not just make a Large Iron coin to use as a bigger denomination. I thought that at first, but if the currency in this world is all handmade then it might rather difficult to put into practice.
「Maybe I should buy something too」(Ayame)
If it was in the past, then I would never say such a line due to having to be economically conservative. But, the me right now has money.
Just in case I had a usable portion of it tucked away in my jersey pocket, so there was no need to go through the ha.s.sle of opening up the cloth bag just to bring out the chest of money.
If it costs around 5 gold coins, then I can pay for it immediately.
「Is that soo…… How about some clothing then? If you are to use fire magics, then it is to be expected that your clothing might get scorched or have soot stuck to it. You might burn a hole in it as well, and in addition……」(Primevere)
In a somewhat embarra.s.sing manner she turned her head away, while fidgeting with her hair, she hesitated as she said.
「You are always, wearing the same clothes, aren’t you……」(Primevere)
「Yeah… I do wash and dry them every day though」(Ayame)
It’s the truth that I wash them.
Every single night, I take a washbin you normally use to rinse yourself in the bath and fill it with water, and I wash my clothes, underwear and all.
Because of that I don’t smell like sweat. I don’t think I seem dirty either, but……
「If we are to take walk like this together again in the future, then it will be somewhat saddening if you wore the same clothes every day」(Primevere)
Looking disheartened, she placed a closed hand on her lips.
Surely, it is about time that I am need of a change of clothes.
Although they are washed, I wouldn’t want to wear the same top and bottom + jersey day in and day out.
Since Primevere’s outfit is somewhat like work clothes, I doubt she would feel uncomfortable with wearing the same clothes every day.
Or maybe, ‘I have multiple pairs of the exact same outfit’――
…I don’t think she would believe that.
As we pa.s.sed by a variety of shops that handled jerky and other dried goods, there were stores that sold robes and other items of clothing for magicians and Kenja.
These were not street stalls, they were stores with proper buildings.
Set slightly away from the Blue Sky Shopping District, other store buildings were all lined up.
Is this really all right? This place, It won’t be really expensive right?
Since I’m carrying gold coins, I doubt it will be beyond my budget though.
For the me who thinks ‘a jersey is fit for any occa.s.sion’ it is quite the hurdle going to these stores, but for now let’s go inside and have a look.
Now that I think about it I’ve had uniforms for middle school and high school, so I didn’t own a proper set of outdoor clothes.
Going to a clothing store to buy something other than a jersey, when’s the last time that happened?
「Yo, come on in」
When we went inside, there was a red haired woman putting clothes on a mannequin.
The clothes she put on the mannequin, it was a flashy smock with vibrant colors that resembled that of a clown.
As for the person herself, she had on a thin cardigan with a midi skirt, and also jet black socks.
Other than the color of her socks, the rest of her outfit was a color of spring colors.
「Are you looking for something? Would this person be your girlfriend? In any case the clothes you wear are really strange material, what are they made of? They look like they’ve gone through some washing, so would you like them repaired a bit? Is your occupation a magician? If that’s the case then how about trying this out? It’s something we just got back in stock, a gray robe. There are many covered pockets sown into it, so you can put a knife or a illumination orb or a fire bomb or anything you want in it you know.
If you’re looking for clothes to go on a date, then how about this one. Considering the color of Mr. Customer’s hair, I think even a monochrome themed outfit would fit well with your girlfriend-san.
Or perhaps you were looking for something more bold and s.e.xy? This, how about this? The breast area is tied together with string, so if you pull it just a little it will look nice and loose, the sleeves are also very lax, so if you hold her arms up they will slide right on off and reveal those alluring slender arms and――」
「Ummm」(Ayame)
The awfully talkative red headed woman quickly fell silent. Lightly scratching her cheek, she playfully stuck out her tongue.
Although it was a gesture fully loaded with shrewdness, strangely enough it didn’t cause any unpleasant feelings.
Rather yet, between this straight trimmed redhead and that ‘gap’, I feel somewhat charmed by it.
「Please excuse me. It’s just one of my bad habits. When I see a plain-looking person who I feel would look good after a makeover, I always end up getting carried away and always give them a ton of advice.
Without concern for Mr. Customer’s preferences, to tell you to go with monochrome and s.e.xy is somewhat bothersome isn’t it」
“Nya-ha-ha,” with a rather peculiar laugh, the red haired woman returned to dressing up the mannequin.
It seems to me that she was trying to say, “Sorry for b.u.t.ting in.”
Did clothing stores always have this kind of atmosphere?
「Well then, Kenja-sama. Kenja-sama’s outfit, will it be all right for me to choose it?」(Primevere)
Before I realized Primevere was in front of me, crouching down she had everything down to my feet fixed within her gaze.
If she were to look slightly above that area, she would likely see a protrusion around the waist brought forth by impulse though.
While staving off those worldly desires, I obediently consented.
Either way, if I were to be the one choosing then I would no doubt end up with more pitch black clothes to fill my wardrobe.
In the first place, what color would match my looks, I have never thought about such a thing.
「Hmm let’s see……, I wonder what color clothing would best fit Kenja-sama」(Primevere)
I don’t know when, but Primevere already had a variety of clothes hanging on her arm. She seems to be br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence as she pridefully puffed out her chest.
From a glance I think there were more than 10 pieces of clothing for me try on……
「Uhmmm……?」(Ayame)
「The changing room is over there, so please try them on so I can see how they look」(Primevere)
「Uhh, isn’t this a bit…?」(Ayame)
As I said that, Primevere once again went back and started searching for more clothes.
Haa? You’re making me try out more?
I appreciate that you are choosing an outfit for me, but at this point I can only think of myself as some sort of dress up doll.
Now that I think about it, back in elementary school there was a girl who wore weird colored clothes every day.
Even though no one said anything about it, a transfer student who couldn’t read the mood said something out of line, and that girl ended up crying.
Apparently that girl had an older sister in middle school, and said sister had a bit of fun while dressing the younger one up in hand-me-downs.
For the person subject to that, it had become a matter of inconvenience.
At the time I didn’t think much of it……, I simply looked on as a bystander, but now I sorta get how she felt.
For a child who does not know much about fashion, her mentality after being forced to try on a variety of clothes, I sort of understand it.
Perhaps she had misunderstood the reason behind the turmoil in my heart, Primevere’s face grew slightly red, and with upturned eyes she looked towards me.
「You don’t have to worry. While you are changing, I definitely won’t take a peek」(Primevere)
Yup, I can’t refuse now.
I was planning on being compliant in the first place, but now I cannot decline.
While being looked upon by glittering eyes filled with expectation, I reluctantly went into the dressing room.
Once I exited the room, my appearance was met with rave reviews from Primevere.
Stuff like “Kenja-sama looks so cool” and “It fits so well with your slender build”, I was showered with compliments.
With this I let out a sigh of relief thinking that it would be over; but I was naive.
「Please try on this one next. More than the last one, I am sure it will fit you perfectly」(Primevere)
I was once again pelted by that sparkling stare from before.
This continued on for more than 20 times.
In conclusion we only ended up buying 3 outfits, but the redhead shopkeeper didn’t say anything about it in particular, and saw us off with a refreshing merchant-like smile.
Although I can’t find a real downside to trying on so many clothes, what happened just now, perhaps it is just the norm.
At the very least, based on my personal experience of picking clothes for myself, something like that would never had happened.
Maybe I should have went to more clothing stores when I was in j.a.pan, is what I thought.