CH 5

Translator: Nefarian    Editor: JackOFallTrades

I wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. I change my underwear and head to the dining room.

With my breakfast comprising of bread with bacon, salad and coffee, I was presented with tastes that was not inferior to my former world. When I inquired about them having a laundry service, they said that it was an amenity they offered so I gave them the undergarments I took off a few moments back. Other guests began leaving the inn so I also took my potion bag and left.

First, let’s head towards the merchant guild. I thought that it might not be open yet, but as expected, the merchant’s guild was already open for business. I immediately asked for the purchase prices of the potions I have in my possession.

「Welcome, can I help you? What kind of potions did you want to sell?」

It was a different person from yesterday. A young man whose build was on the thinner side with a receding hairline that made you worry about his future hair health. I took out my F rank potions from the bag whilst asking him.

「I have Cure: Injury, Cure: Disease and Cure: Status Abnormality potions, however…What ranks of potions are in high demand within this town? As a pharmacist, I want to know what kind of standard I should work towards as a point of reference.」

“I see”, the young staff member stated as he lightly tilts his head.

「As for Cure: Injury Potions, there is a wide demand from Rank F to E, but the suppliers also are also numerous.」

The staff member continues explaining.

「Although many adventurers want Cure: Status Abnormality potions, the residents of the town don’t really have a need for the product so the demand for that isn’t as high as you might think. Cure: Disease potions are as high in demand as the Cure: Injury potions but the few pharmacists who are able to concoct them cannot supply enough to mitigate the demand.」

I see. I don’t really have any trouble making the potions regardless of the type I produce, but other pharmacists without my cheat ability will naturally need to take the cost of the materials, the level of difficulty in brewing and the time to produce the potion into consideration.

「So most people would want the Rank F and E potions?」

The staff member hums.

「Hmm, not exactly. There are many who want D rank potions and in particular, Cure: Disease potions, but the fact of the matter is that most people would make a direct order to the pharmacist capable of making D rank potions and they are rarely delivered to the guild. If an adventurer manages to obtain an item drop, then it may come around via the adventurer’s guild.」

Oh ho.

「With how rare D rank potions are and how C rank potions are limited to the few who have the resources probably shows an accurate representation of how exceptional they are in this town. Even for me, I’ve only ever seen a Cure: Injury Potion Rank C once in my life.」

「Hahah, I see.」

I actually have 3 Rank C potions at hand but with how they are described, I absolutely should not show him. This may be the region’s central town, but if I display a product that this guy has only seen once in his life, it will create a big uproar.

I also better not sell my D Rank potions.

I put 15 Rank F potions and 15 Rank E potions on the desk.

Looking at the goods, a slight smile could be seen on the staff member.

「Oh, there are quite a few Rank E potions. I’m saved.」

I now have 18 gold coins in total.

This time, I made sure to put it all in my guild card account.

By the time I left the merchant guild, it was nearly noon. While thinking about where I was going to eat lunch, my feet already automatically moved itself towards the red-light district. Though it isn’t likely to be open in the morning, I may as well check on the place I was told about yesterday.

When I arrived to the red-light district, there were quite a lot of stalls on the street with people gathered around them to buy food. The people here were diverse, both males and females from young to old were going about their business with female customers having a somewhat more abundant number in terms of the ratio.

I felt it was just about the right time, so I decided to have lunch at one of the stalls.

In a nearby stall, I order for something with a lot of vegetables akin to yakisoba and a drink that is probably juice.

I don’t know the name of the dish.

I saw an auntie in the same stall ordering the food and she looked like she was enjoying it so all I said was, “I want the same thing as her” and placed my order. There were plenty of tables and seats on the street so I sit on one of the chairs and wait for my order to come.

Before long, a boy brings out the food.

Even if he is a boy, he doesn’t give off that feeling of some spoiled brat that a protective older sister would take care of. He was quite tall and looked like someone with more brawn than brains.

I wanted to pay the price at this time so I asked him for the bill.

「8 rai stone coins.」

An unknown unit of currency just came out. Since I didn’t have any rai coins, I took out 1 copper coin. After rustling around his pockets, the boy took out what looked like 2 rai coins. I showed him a stop gesture with my hand and told him “Keep it”. For the first time within this transaction, the boy showed a glad expression on his face.

「There are a lot of women customers here, are they people working around here?」

When I asked the question, the boy nodded.

What I learned after asking some questions is that the people who are eating at the food stalls were men and women who worked around this area. People who probably worked as cleaners and laundry workers, people who worked as bouncers and people who were doing receptionist duties as well make up the people taking their fill of food. The people working at the brothel started their preparations at noon and I hear that the shops will open around the time lunch ends.

Perhaps the reason they don’t open early is because not many customers would come, but when I carefully looked at my surroundings, I could tell that there were men with the same lascivious motivations as I.

There were four men eating around the table with their topics ranging from what shops they were planning to visit to the new cute girls making their debuts in their line of work. I love this kind of atmosphere.

After finishing the meal, I wanted to check the locations of Sea God, Shrimp Field and Loquat respectively within the red-light district.

After checking on Loquat, I returned to the front and found that Shrimp Field had opened up shop. It seems that it was time for the stores to start opening.

With high expectations, I trot along towards where Sea God was located.

Since this was my first time in this new world, I thought that even if it costs a bit higher than normal, I would go to a high class brothel for the best experience to start of my journey as I delve deeper into this world of pleasure. Seeing it from the opposite side of the street, the building was two storeys tall made out of white stone. A sign stating “Sea God” is written in gold letters and posted on the signboard.

My heart was beating really fast just before entering the store.

「Welcome!」

When I pushed the door open and entered, a good-looking lad spoke out towards me.

「Would you like something to drink?」

Tables and chairs were lined up in the lobby room. There was a menu put on the table. After hesitating at what I should do in this situation, I decided to sit.

Let’s look at the surroundings whilst having something to drink. When I looked at the menu, there was a selection of alcohol, juice and coffee. I decided to order coffee which costs 8 rai coins, same amount of money as the lunch I ate before.

「Then, I’ll take one cup of coffee.」

「Certainly!」

The lad bows and walks away. Before long, a girl who seemed to be too young to work at the brothel brought the coffee.

「Please enjoy.」

The girl goes down on one knee and places the coffee from the tray on to the table.

I thank her and gave her 1 copper coin.

When the girl receives the amount, she fishes her pockets for 2 Rai stones as change and presents it to me.

「…………..」

However, even though the girl was on the one knee she was looking at me with eyes filled with expectation. Because it rang a familiar bell, I told her to keep the change. She obviously wanted a tip.

The girl smiles and thanks me as she left.

Ah, as expected. This place has a culture to tip people. It was at this moment that I noticed it. I haven’t actually left any tips for the maids at the inn…

(That’s not good, if they expected to get a tip, it is probably necessary for me to leave some next to the pillows. I didn’t leave any valuables behind and I have the potion bag with me right now, so there shouldn’t be any problems. But no, it may be awkward when I return later today. What should I do if they didn’t clean my room…)

The Japanese man Satou Tarou, who is now going by the name of Tauro is not familiar with giving tips. He barely experienced this type of culture when he travelled abroad in the past.

(I will ask someone about the market price later. Furthermore, it’s probably a wise move to save up on these rai coins for tipping.)

Sorting out all this information in my mind, I continued to drink coffee whilst paying attention to my surroundings. Several customers came in.

In the interior of the lobby is a set of stairs near a platform where more than 10 girls are taking their seats.

The area where I, and the other customers, was sitting at is only slightly lighted, with most of the light focused on the women seated on the platform. It’s really easy to see the girls from our side, but it was hard for the girls to see us because of the disparity in light.

Each woman had a plate containing a number next to her chest.

Nobody is sitting on a chair and asking for drinks as I was. The other customers’ focus were all on the females on the platform whilst standing up.

Eventually, one of the customers called over the good-looking lad that was acting as a guide and whispered something into his ear. Then, the lad walked towards the tiered platform towards one of the ladies and called her over. The customer sees this and heads to the counter next to the platform with which seems to be the intent of paying.

The woman stood up from the platform and goes towards the customer, she links her arm together with him and leads him up the stairs.

「I see, I understand the general process.」

I talked to myself whilst finishing my coffee and stood up. I looked at the tiered platform with a blazing gaze. I decided on a slender woman with black hair hanging over her shoulders.

She looked kind and beautiful. I estimate her age to be 25 years old. I walked to the lad’s location and told him the number the lady was holding. The lad goes to the tiered platform and calls out to the lady whom I nominated and she stands up.

The lad looks at me with eyes as if to confirm (She’s the one you want?).

I nodded and I started walking towards the counter to make my payment.