85 - one of the following preparations

It was early in the morning of the fourth day after their departure when Thor and his friends returned to the city after being rocked by a horse-drawn carriage that had been running all night.

They arrived at the site in the early afternoon of the first day.

From there, they took the central route and stayed overnight at Oomaruwa.

In the mid-afternoon of the second day, we arrived at the second campsite, Oochoiwa.

We checked out a group of blue crown grass, or a dense area of rock lizards, and returned to the campsite for the night.

On the third day, we departed early in the morning, retraced our original route, and returned to the wagon stop just as the sun was setting.

The third day we left early in the morning and returned to the original route, returning to the carriage stop just as the sun was setting.

Even though it was early in the morning, the town was already lively.

Here and there in the square, white smoke was rising from food stalls, and voices could be heard advertising their freshly made products.

Craftsmen and cooks, who seem to have finished their morning purchases at the auction market, can be seen hurriedly passing each other on the street.

"Wow, I'm here at last! Mmmm, smells so good. I'm so hungry.

"It's a relief to be back in a familiar place, isn't it?

Yuril smiles lovingly at the girl who gets out of the carriage first and yawns widely.

Sola is generally a good sleeper, but she did not seem to be able to sleep well after her first experience of sleeping in a moving vehicle.

On the other hand, Moo, who sleeps peacefully anywhere, is still slumbering in his dreams.

On Thor's back in his arms, the child was drooling and breathing peacefully.

"Mr. Yuril, shall I buy you something for breakfast?

"Yes, we only have cat food. Oh, there's a little place I want to stop by afterwards.

Yuril, who was carefully fixing the mess on Sola's clothes, raises his eyebrows faintly at the falling sand.

He had been very persistent in brushing it off before getting into the carriage, but it still seemed to be hidden in the sand.

"Sola, could you help me?"

"Yes, Moo-chan, you're still sound asleep. Are you a little heavy?"

"He's growing up, you know."

Thor receives the luggage unloaded from the wagon, hands the driver a small gratuity, and shakes his hand in farewell.

He had already paid his fare, but he took Garudo's advice that it would not hurt to make a good impression if he was going to use the carriage many times in the future.

Two tents and other goods, plus a bundle of rock lizard skins and a leather bag full of tail tips.

With our rather large luggage, we cross the plaza to the assessment office.　

It was early in the morning, so no one was waiting in line, and when I rang the bell, a red-haired man emerged from the back.

It was Mr. Siecka, the section chief who had taken care of me before I left.

"Good morning. How was the wilderness?

"That's about right. Is the receptionist off today?"

Not many people are willing to come in at this time of the day.

"...... I see. I mean, that's a lot of work.

No, it's nothing compared to how hard you guys work. Is that all?

Thor nods and Siecka quickly begins counting the tails on the counter.

She did not seem to hide her surprise and exclaimed about the number of tails.

"That's quite an accomplishment, isn't it? It's more than I expected. ...... No, it's really wonderful. I didn't expect you to beat us like this. I think we can manage for a while now.

"Thanks to the excellent guides. Still, there were a lot of lizards. Could it be a sign of danger?

"No, they say that the area is too big for such an outbreak to occur. And the rock lizard's territory is pretty small."

Thor nodded his head in agreement as he recalled the dense blue-crowned grass in the landscape.

While presenting the reward for the kill, Siecka asked what was next on the agenda.

"The next carriage, I can hold it for the beginning of next week, how would you like it?

"Another three days. ......"

I glanced at Thora and Yuri, who were looking at Thor with expectant eyes.

The itinerary was quite busy, but they didn't seem to mind at all.

"Well, then, please make the reservation for me."

"Yes, sir."

Forty percent of the reward is handed over to Sora and Yuril.

Thor will keep the rest and use it to pay necessary expenses.

Thor goes directly to the purchase place, while Sora and the others go shopping for food.

After that, they are going to the public bath to clean the sand.

After handing over the rock lizard skins, Thor does not go to the baths, but instead goes to a familiar store in a back alley.

There were a few customers in the morning, and the owner, Ramo, and his son, who looked just like his father, were waiting for him.

I sat down on a chair at the end of the room and waited. The owner, who seemed to be free, approached me.

"Hey, aren't you getting a tan?　Yeah, what's that?"

"I'm the only one here today."

Ramow's face turns blatantly disappointed at these words.

"You don't look happy, old man."

"Of course, I'd be more pleased to be in the company of elegant ladies than a boorish bastard. Well, the boy's a little young to be called a lady.

Ramow burst out laughing happily, and Thor presented him with a rock lizard skin tag that he had just received.

The owner of the store received it and smiled even more.

"Yes, yes, it's good that you work so fast. It takes a week for the leather to be finished and another week from there.

"About two weeks. Do you think you'll have enough?

"Yeah, I think I can make it in plenty of time."

As a side note, the hides brought to the buying station are processed into leather material there.

If the skins are not sold off to make equipment, they are handed back to the buyer as tags, but the amount of the tags is reduced because the processing fees are deducted.

Therefore, if you do not bring in a large amount of goods in anticipation of this, you may be charged more than you expected for the missing amount.

"Also, there is one more thing I want to ask you.

Saying this, Thor took out the back ankle of a rock lizard that had been cut off.

Ramo took it in his hand and looked at it with great interest.

"This is an unusual souvenir. I've worked with leather a lot, but this may be the first time I've seen a raw foot.

Can you look at the soles of his feet?

"Hmm, interesting texture."

"Yeah, I was thinking that if you put that part on the sole of your boots, it would make it easier to walk. What do you think?　Oh, boy."

The shopkeeper frowns thoughtfully at Thor's question.

Then he opened his mouth with a difficult look on his face.

"Hmmm. If we process it into hard leather, we can keep the shape, but the softness will be lost. On the other hand, tanned leather would be too soft for the soles.

"It's for walking on sand, so I don't think you need to worry so much about durability."

"I see. Hmm, that sounds interesting. I'll make a pair to try them out.

"Oh, you'll do it. Thank you very much, sir."

"Don't get your hopes up. It's a test. It's a test.

To the craftsman, whose lips lift slightly, Thor hands him the rest of the feet he has brought with him.

"Well, I'll drop by again when it's ready."

"Hmph, next time, make sure you bring your friends."

"All right. All right then, buddy.

After saying goodbye, Thor leaves the restaurant and continues on North Street.

As he passes the bridge over the moat and approaches a place where he can clearly see the outer walls, the sound of metal clapping begins to echo noisily from behind the rows of stores.

This area was called Armor Street.

Among the rows and rows of large stores, small stores seem to be tucked into the gaps.

Thor's next destination was a workshop that seemed to be poorly frequented.