MV – Chapter 10: Minor Villain Shopping

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Krita General Store is a store that is thriving decently. It also buys from others, so it has a variety of products.

There’s no consistency in the products it has, so at the side of the rulers and notebooks, you can see potions you would normally find in a drug store and small arms and spirit armor that you would find in gun stores.

It is not a drug store, so the quality of the potions is questionable, and the guns can’t be called well maintained and new. As for the spirit armor, you can’t tell whether it will work as intended.

But that also made it several times cheaper, so there were a good amount of customers.

The potions recover a low amount, but they properly do recover you, and you can just maintain the guns. And even if the performance of the spirit armor is questionable, it is better than nothing, so there’s a lot of people who would buy them.

A store that’s kind to the poor; that’s the Krita General Store. It is questionable whether it truly is kind though.

An older than 40 scruffy beard and skinny old man was yawning as if he had nothing to do inside the disorderly store, and watched the portable television since there were no customers showing up.

It has been boring lately. For Krita, boredom means that there’s no opportunities for profit.

The ones who explore in the Spirit Ward, which has an increased difficulty in winter, are the skilled ones. The other riff raff and normal explorers would get requests from the church to hunt monsters from the slums or the sewers to survive the winter.

Basically, there aren’t many people who come to the store of Krita.

Explorers with skill would go buy weapons and medicine from proper stores after all.

That’s why he was just watching boring comedy skits, but the doorbell rang.

He raised his head and greeted the customer that came in with a smile.

“Ei, Welcome.”

But the smile visibly disappeared as he saw the customer and changed into an apathetic one.

The one who came in was a man. He must be an explorer. His weak eyes had slyness in them, and his mouth was bent slightly upwards. A man with a body like that of a bean sprout that moved suspiciously.

He was looking around the store in curiosity with a grin on his face, but he looked like a criminal that would steal anything of worth.

(He has a G1 Assault Rifle that just barely has any effect on monsters, and the bare minimum defensive clothes. A failed explorer or a newbie explorer; whichever the case, it is someone from the slums. I smell no money.) (Krita)

He immediately lost interest in the man and looked back at the television.

The expensive potions and weapons are just for display and not the real ones, so there’s no worry about them being stolen. There’s no worry of notebooks and pens being stolen by someone from the slums that’s illiterate, and Krita is wearing a Spriggan Bracelet that can notice thefts, so he can notice at least that much.

He figured that he would be buying cheap stuff at best, so he yawned and watched the TV and…

“I have something I would like to sell.” (Lanpeach)

The man was unexpectedly standing in front of him.

“Y-Yeah, I will buy anything. What are you selling?” (Krita)

“It is this. Can I sell it?” (Lanpeach)

What the man took out was a Wooden Gun, Wooden Gun, Wooden Gun, and a dirty Feather Ornament. All trash. It is all stuff that you can obtain if you wander around the slums.

“What’s this? Did you pilfer this from a goblin that was defeated by an explorer? Sorry, but I can’t buy it. Throw it in the trash or something.” (Krita)

(What. I thought he would be selling stolen stuff, but he is actually a hyena? There’s no way I would buy this stuff.) (Krita)

Krita spit out insults internally and the man stared at him with an awfully shocked expression. The man being Lanpeach.

“Agh. Isn’t the Krita General Store the place that buys even trash?” (Lanpeach)

“What, are you picking a fight?! Who told you that nonsense? There’s no way that’s true!” (Krita)

Krita thought about punching him, but he noticed the shock in the face of Lanpeach was real, so he calmed his anger and pitied him.

He must have been deceived by his comrades. It must have been teasing between criminals.

Lanpeach was shocked by the fact that it was different from the game.

[Soldier, there’s no store that would buy trash like this!] (Libra)

(The Krita General Store would even buy pebbles and banana peels for 1 Ele.) (Lanpeach)

[What kind of store is that?!] (Libra)

Libra directed a baffled expression and smacked his head a few times.

Lanpeach was disappointed that he won’t buy pebbles and banana peels in real life.

Krita was now certain this man was a stupid hoodlum. He must have walked around the slums in this cold winter after being deceived that he could earn money.

“Come on, leave already. Leave. You’ve got no business here anymore, right?” (Krita)

“Aah, no, this was trash. My real objective is this.” (Lanpeach)

He was going to shout at him about how he knew he was peddling trash to him…but he saw what was placed on the table and closed his mouth.

“T-This is…an Ice Candy?” (Krita)

Candies were being brought out one after the other.

But he could tell at one glance that they are not normal candies. That’s thanks to the Spriggan Bracelet that Krita is wearing.

The bracelet of a Spirit that protects treasures, a Spriggan, has the skills Theft Prevention and Appraisal imbued in it.

That’s how he could tell that the candies in front of his eyes have ice spirit power residing in them, and that they are magic goods.

[Ice Candy: High Quality. Ice Resistance +10%. Nullify persistent damage in frigid zones. Duration: 6 hours.]

Moreover, they all have the same effect.

Magic food that can only be handmade has varied qualities. And yet, they are all showing High Quality, and their effects are all outstanding.

He gulped his breath.

“There’s 120. How about that? Can you buy it?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach asked somewhat hesitantly. Krita could tell with this that this is not something that he made.

He doesn’t know where he stole them from, but there’s no doubt he can’t even tell whether this can be sold.

“Aah~, you have that much? It might be a bit rough~, with that much~.” (Krita)

But Krita didn’t show his shock and leaned on his chair with a troubled face.

(This sells like hot cake with the guys that head to the Asahikawa Spirit Ward. It blocks blizzard after all!) (Krita)

The Asahikawa Spirit Ward is the Snow Spirit Ward. Blizzard is always raging, and it is a dangerous place where you can earn big.

Your body heat is sapped away from you and your stamina is drained. But it is worth investing in these candies for everyone that doesn’t have spirit armor that can nullify blizzards.

For the ones who have no choice but to wear other spirit armor aside from the blizzard nullifying one, their choices increase.

Krita was calculating the cash in his head, and he was getting dizzy from the massive profits. Moreover, it is food, so once it is eaten, you won’t be able to trace it even if it is stolen goods.

“Ooh, it must have been rough making this much.” (Krita)

“Yeah, it took me half a day. Please buy a bit of them.” (Lanpeach)

(Don’t lie! You stole them! But it doesn’t seem like he knows their worth.) (Krita)

Alchemy is different from using normal magic. You need proper knowledge. You can’t use alchemy unless you properly learn in a specialized academy.

There’s few alchemists even in the market district, and even fewer when it comes to skilled ones.

There’s no way a hoodlum like this one can make them.

Krita thought internally that this hoodlum must not know even that and sneered at him in disbelief.

“Can’t be helped… I normally would refuse buying this, but let’s see… How’s 3,000 Ele for each one?” (Krita)

He tried saying 3,000 Ele for these candies that could be sold for 20,000 Ele if they are packed prettily.

That said, Lanpeach heard this and made a happy face.

“Ooh, that’s higher than I thought. Please!” (Lanpeach)

“I see. Higher than you thought, huh. My place is an ethical one after all. Well then, we have a deal!” (Krita)

It is an item that’s sold for 1,000 Ele in Lanpeach’s knowledge. And so, he was dancing internally about how he earned big here, and then there’s Krita who was doing samba in his brain as he thought he scammed him.

The Krita General Store is an ethical store that always thinks about the customers.

◇◇

“Here’s your cash. Uh, what’s your name?” (Krita)

“Lanpeach.”

“Looking forward to your patronage, Lanpeach. Gahaha, come sell me any unusual items you’ve got from here on. I will buy anything aside from trash.” (Krita)

Krita placed the bills before Lanpeach changed his mind.

Lanpeach took that pretty thick stack and carefully placed it inside his rucksack.

He got money now, so he wandered around the store.

“My store is kind to people like you, so buy something. It is cheaper than other stores.” (Krita)

“Thanks.” (Lanpeach)

The plan was 120,000 Ele, but it turned into 360,000 Ele. Lanpeach smiled at the unexpected development, and stopped in front of the goods that have the tag [Bargains].

There’s close to 30 items there, and they were all priced at 50,000 Ele.

“What’s the quality of these goods?” (Lanpeach)

“Hah? Bargains are bargains. They can’t be appraised, but have spirit energy. They are such items, so there’s no telling what effects they have. It is like a lottery where you can obtain stuff that’s worth more than its price if you are lucky.” (Krita)

Krita answered half-heartedly while he was calling a pharmacist he knew.

Lanpeach curled up his lips in a way that Krita won’t notice.

(Just as I thought. I am glad this works like in the game.) (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach grabbed two of the bargains and placed them on the counter.

One was a copper bracelet with what was clearly a blue glass ball embedded in it, and the other was a rusty ring with no ornaments.

If Krita wasn’t so engrossed in his call, he would have felt something strange in that decisive attitude of his, and would have hesitated in selling them. That’s how much attention he had directed at the bargains.

He would come up with some random reason to not sell the goods that are bought without hesitation, and would later carefully check them by using money. A really underhanded merchant.

But his attention was directed at the Ice Candies this time around, and he thought of Lanpeach as just a hoodlum, so that careful methodology of his didn’t come into place.

He just finished the transaction thinking he must have bought them like they were lottery tickets, and was engrossed in his negotiation with the pharmacist.

“Thanks for buying 2 of them! Come again!” (Krita)

“Yeah, thanks for buying the candies. I will come when I find something good to sell.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach waved his hand and endured the happiness showing in his face as he left the store hurriedly as if he were running away.

[Hey hey, Soldier. What are you going to do with that trash?] (Libra)

(It is not trash. I will tell you later. Nufufufu.) (Lanpeach)

He responded to the question of Libra with his thoughts and was about to open the door—

“Oh, excuse me.” (Lanpeach)

“No, I am at fault too.”

He was on the verge of crashing with a hooded girl that’s around half his height, but he hurriedly evaded and apologized.

That’s how Lanpeach exited the Krita General Store with light steps.

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