CH 73

Episode 73- Ka-re? 

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (2/3)

As I tagged along with the two, we passed through to the middle of the market and arrived at a somewhat shady-looking shop front. The building itself was decrepit and worn-out to such a degree that it rivaled the rundown inn that I always stayed at.

“…This is the shop that deals with spices?” (Lewin)

“Yup! The exterior looks a bit dirty, but the ingredients they sell are outstanding, so you can rest assured.” (Lyra)

“…Yeah. It’s just as Lyra said. They sell various other things aside from spices, but everything they sell is nice and fresh.” (Nina)

Lyra and Nina both assured me with brimming confidence about the shop’s quality. If it was these two who said so, it was probably true that the ingredients they sold were all really good. After all, I had already experienced their cooking skills firsthand on Mount Cornello.

When Lyra opened the door, leading us into the store, a pleasant aromatic fragrance tickled my nose followed by the smells of meat and vegetables. There was also a somewhat fishy smell wafting from one corner. Sure enough, this place was packed to the brim with the smells of food.

“Clive-san! We’re coming in!” (Lyra)

A male shopkeeper looked up when Lyra called out to him. He was a man in his thirties, dressed from head to toe entirely in black. To top it all off, he was wearing a black eyepatch and a black hat. It wasn’t just the store front… this shopkeeper was also really shady.

“Oh, if it ain’t Lyra and Nina. Came to buy some things today?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

His voice was deep and gruff. It was a little hard to tell from where I was standing, but he was tall and slender, with dark skin and a tidy appearance even though one eye was obscured by the eyepatch. Perhaps he had been an adventurer or some other occupation that involved combat.

“I will be doing some shopping today, but I also came to sell some things too! You do buy spices, don’t you?” (Lyra)

“Hm? What, you’ve been picking spices? Of course I’ll buy your spices if I can use them.” (Shady Shopkeeper)

“You heard him! C’mon, Lewin. Go ahead and show him what you have.” (Lyra)

I was hiding behind the two of them, but Lyra encouragingly pushed me forward. When I was suddenly thrust to the front, I was met with a sharp glance.

“M-My name is Lewin. I wanted to sell some spices, so Lyra and Nina introduced me to this store–” (Lewin)

“Pepper, Ginger, Cumin and Laurel. They’re all great spices! Lewin, would you be willing to sell all of these to me?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

“Yes, that’s what I had in mind.” (Lewin)

“I see, I see! I was thinking at the start that you were a damn bastard, but what the hell you turned out to be a cool dude after all! Alright, how does a total sum of 5 gold coins for all of these sound?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

……Huh? Did he just say 5 gold coins…?

“F-Five gold coins?” (Lewin)

“Hm? Are you unsatisfied? …Then how about 5 gold coins and 5 silver coins? If you’re still not satisfied with that, I’m going to take back what I said about you being a cool dude, ya know?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

“N-No, not at all! It’s the opposite! You’re really willing to buy plants like these for five gold coins… is that okay?” (Lewin)

“Plants like these…? Each and every one of these spices is excellent. Plus, the quantity is plenty, so I would say that the price of 5 gold coins is about right.” (Shady Shopkeeper)

It really is 5 gold coins… Lyra did say that I would be able to sell these spices for a high price, but I didn’t really think I would actually be able to get such a high price for these plants that didn’t even taste good to me…

“Then by all means, let’s go with 5 gold coins!” (Lewin)

“Alrightie, it’s a deal then!” (Shady Shopkeeper)

I shook hands with the shady shopkeeper to settle the deal. As Lyra told me when I had asked about the details regarding the prices for the spices, Peppercorns were the most expensive, followed by Ginger. The cheapest ones were the leaves of Laurel, which sold for 1 copper coin each. Almost all of the spices were more expensive than Medical Herbs, which honestly surprised me. It was true that, compared to Medical Herbs and Magical Grass, the spices were more difficult to find, but… honestly I had no idea how to use these spices still.

Hmm. Now was probably a good time to ask about the dish that I heard about from the grandma.

“Excuse me, could I have a moment? I’d like to ask about a dish that uses various spices…” (Lewin)

The shady shopkeeper was still grinning, delighted by the transaction, so I decided to ask him a question. He managed to identify the spices just by looking at them and smelling them, so I was guessing that he would probably know.

“About a dish that uses spices? What dish are you looking for?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

“I don’t know the name of the dish since I only happened to hear about it from someone. Apparently it’s a dish that uses multiple spices… Do you happen to know anything about it?” (Lewin)

“A dish with multiple spices? I know of a lot of dishes like that, so… have you got any more details?” (Shady Shopkeeper)

“Ummm… I heard that it’s a dish capable of counteracting bitter foods, and it also has a strong spiciness to it.” (Lewin)

When I spoke up to that point, Nina, who was behind me, clapped her hands as she thought of something.

“Clive-san, isn’t that curry?” (Nina)

‘Ka-re’? What the hell is a ‘ka-re’?

(TL: When Nina says curry, in Japanese it’s pronounced “ka-re”. Since Lewin is unfamiliar with the term, I decided to translate it as the phonetic sounds.)