Chapter 10: Shopping In Another World

After picking up the necessary armor and weapons from Uncle Jin’s shop, we made our way to Elira’s local food market to stock up on provisions for the journey to the Dragon Graveyard.

“We should buy some cured meat first,” Reimei suggested.

Bacon was the first thing that came to mind.

“And let’s get a few loaves of fresh bread and some biscuits too,” Lily added.

“Wait, are we really going to live off cured meat and biscuits the entire trip?” I asked, a bit skeptical.

Both Lily and Reimei turned to look at me.

“That was the plan,” Reimei replied plainly.

So basically, no hot meals for a few days… great.

Flogas, the town closest to the Dragon’s Graveyard, was a three-day walk from Elira.

The route cut straight through the Great Forest of Estir, which spanned nearly a third of the Seres region.

In other words, there were no markets or cooked meals until we reached Flogas.

“We could always cook along the way,” Reimei suggested after catching my expression.

“But you’ll be the one carrying the cooking utensils and ingredients”, Reimei added

“Fair enough, I can handle that,” I agreed.

We headed over to the meat seller and bought several slabs of cured meat, which honestly looked a lot like bacon.

Lily also picked up some dried cuts, similar to jerky.

“Do you have any fresh wild boar meat as well?” Reimei asked.

The vendor handed over a few kilograms of belly cuts.

“That’ll be twenty-two silver and ten copper coins,” the meat seller said.

Reimei paid quickly with a single gold coin.

“Guildmaster Rion gave us a gold coin for travel expenses,” Lily whispered.

After paying for the meat, I took charge of carrying it.

Despite the bulk, it felt surprisingly light, probably five to seven kilos’ worth.

Yet I barely noticed the weight.

A reminder that my stats had already doubled without even using the Dice of Potential.

I really needed to be more mindful of my strength.

“Do they have magical bags or pouches in this world?” I asked.

“They do, but they’re pretty pricey,” Lily explained.

“The magical pouches Reimei and I use cost thirty silver each, and they can only hold about ten items.”

“I see… that’s not cheap,” I muttered.

“We saved up for quite a while to afford them,” Lily added as we followed Reimei toward a vegetable stall.

I didn’t want to splurge on storage items anyway.

Better to save what I had for something truly important.

Besides, I remembered that the Divine Gacha’s inventory can store some of my belongings.

Maybe it can also hold our provisions and supplies, I thought while following Reimei.

“Raki, what kind of food do you want to eat during our journey?” Reimei suddenly asked.

For a moment, I didn’t get what she meant, then it clicked.

She was asking what dish I wanted so we’d know which vegetables to buy.

It had been a long time since I’d had curry, and I honestly craved it.

Still, I didn’t want to sound too picky.

“I’d like some stew… but I kind of want to cook something myself too,” I admitted.

“You can cook?” Lily said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, a little,” I replied with a small smile.

“Alright then, pick out the vegetables you need,” Reimei said, handing me a wooden basket as Lily and I arrived at the stall.

“I’ll take those for now,” Lily offered, lifting the bundles of cured and fresh cuts we’d bought earlier.

Reimei wandered off to the opposite corner with her own basket.

While I lingered by the shelves, carefully inspecting the vegetables and trying to match them with the ones I remembered from my old world.

For curry, I’d need the basics: potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes… mushrooms would be nice, and maybe a few bell peppers.

Mixed in among the familiar produce were vegetables I couldn’t recognize, strange shapes and colors I’d never seen before.

But judging from the stew we had last night, many of them were close enough to what I knew.

I reached down to the bottom shelf and picked up a few potato-like tubers.

The nearby crates held other root crops: sweet potatoes, taro, some kind of radish and an orange, crooked thing that had to be a carrot, even if its shape was odd.

They all seemed a bit distorted compared to the ones back home, but still unmistakable.

I dropped a couple of potatoes and carrots into my basket.

Onions should be root crops too, right? I scanned the shelves again and spotted bulbs resembling garlic and ginger.

Just above them sat a purplish root vegetable.

I plucked one and it gave off a sharp, pungent scent just like an onion.

I added a few bulbs into my basket.

With these, I could definitely put together some curry later.

Perfect chance to use the item I’d gotten this morning since I decided to roll on the food gacha instead of the weapon gacha for emergency provisions.

When I rolled my free spin on the food gacha, I’d been hoping for a cooked meal from my old world just like the Hamburger Steak (SR).

Instead, I got a pack of curry roux blocks (N).

Not exactly what I expected, but honestly, I couldn’t complain.

Reimei returned to the potato shelf and picked out a few for herself, glancing curiously at the growing collection in my basket.

Not far from where she stood, a familiar splash of color caught my eye, a purple vegetable that could only be an eggplant.

Below it were plump, red tomatoes, and above them, bright green bell peppers.

On the shelf beside them sat a cluster of mushrooms.

One by one, I gathered them all.

The stall carried an impressive variety of vegetables, most clearly gathered from the bounty of the Great Forest Estir.

Reimei was already waiting for me, her basket filled to the brim with ingredients perfect for stew.

The vendor smiled warmly as we set both baskets on the counter.

“That’ll be five silver coins,” she said.

“That cheap? For this much?” Lily asked, surprised.

“I gave you a little discount,” the vendor explained, her gaze flicking toward Janbo, who stood loyally by Lily’s side like her silent guardian. “

My husband was one of the patients healed thanks to the Solaria herbs you four brought back.

He isn’t here right now, he went to trade for some rare vegetables with a merchant but he wanted me to show our gratitude, even if it’s only a small favor.”

Her smile softened.

“Make sure you come back safely, alright?” Somehow, she already seemed to know we were heading beyond Elira.

“We will,” I replied as I hefted one of the baskets.

After leaving the stall, we rested for a short while on a bench.

Reimei and Lily went over the remaining items on our shopping list.

“Next is camping gear,” Reimei said.

Following her lead, we walked for several minutes until we came across a shop packed with all sorts of camping equipment.

“What can I help you with, young lady?” the shopkeeper asked as we entered.

“Do you have a medium-sized tent?” Reimei inquired.

“Of course,” the man replied with a grin, leading us to one displayed near the counter.

I didn’t pay much attention after all, I could always just sleep outside with Janbo.

“This one’s big enough to fit at least five people,” the shopkeeper explained.

“It even comes with a smaller tent for… private business.

And as a bonus, a magical bag to store it all. Not bad, right?”

“So how much is it?” Reimei asked.

“That’ll be fifty silver,” the shopkeeper said.

“Include a set of cookware and utensils for four people, and we’ll take it,” Reimei bargained.

“Deal.” The shopkeeper grinned.

The tent came with a couple of thick blankets and a few pillows.

Along with it, the shopkeeper handed Reimei a small pouch.

“That pouch has four wooden plates, four sets of utensils, an iron pot, a kettle, and four wooden cups,” he explained.

“This is at least ten silver worth,” Reimei remarked.

“Consider it a small token of thanks,” the man replied warmly.

“My friend told me about a party with a gray spirit wolf delivering Solaria herbs that saved him from becoming undead.” the shop owner added.

We left the store, our arms completely filled with supplies.

“Maybe we really should buy a magical bag,” Lily muttered, juggling her load.

“But the cheapest one costs a whole gold coin,” Reimei sighed.

I sat down on a nearby bench, an idea sparking in my head.

“I think I can handle this,” I said, catching both girls’ attention.

“Phone,” I commanded.

Pulling it up, I navigated to the Divine Gacha’s inventory.

Holding the sack of fresh meat we’d bought in one hand, I tapped the “store” option with my finger.

In an instant, the bulk vanished into thin air.

Lily’s eyes widened. “What… what did you just do?”

“Stored it in a kind of magical bag,” I answered casually.

“Sack of fresh meat,” I said aloud, and just as easily, the bundle of meat reappeared in front of us.

“I think we can skip buying a magical bag,” I added.

Reimei and Lily froze, dumbfounded, then quickly shoved the rest of our purchases at me.

Within minutes, everything was neatly tucked away in the Divine Gacha inventory.

“I wish I had something like that… it’s way too convenient,” Lily muttered, clearly envious.

Even though they’d seen me use my phone multiple times now, neither of them ever asked about it.

“At least Raki has one,” Reimei said, smiling.

“Anyway, let’s get lunch. I’m starving after all that shopping… and Janbo looks hungry too.”

“Bau! Bau!” Janbo barked, wagging his tail in agreement.