Chapter 3: It’s just a peddler, Part 3

The items in the NPC shop changed constantly.

Sometimes they included regional specialties, or more expensive items appeared in later-game villages, depending on the player’s progress.

Event shops offered items exchangeable for limited-time currency.

There were even items you could exchange for the currency earned from gacha pulls.

Since this was reality, not a game—or so I believed—I thought I could sell anything, regardless of game progression or original item lists.

And my assumption was partially correct.

As I greeted our protagonist and opened the notebook, text appeared without any prompting from me.

[Recommended Items Lv. 5-10
Apprentice Health Potion: 5 Copper coins
…..]

Recommended items were, as the name suggested, just recommendations.

They were the same items I saw in the shop when I first started the game.

I wasn’t a memory savant, so I didn’t remember every item, but I knew these were perfect for beginners.

Of course, I also remembered not buying them as a beginner.

Why was my assumption only partially correct? Because I could still bring up other items in the notebook.

For example, the ‘Black Dragon’s Horn’ or the ‘Intact Mana Heart,’ items traded only in the very late game.

If it appeared in the notebook, it meant I could retrieve it from the pouch with the corresponding payment.

With enough money, I could make our protagonist overpowered!

Not that it was a particularly difficult game to begin with.

One thing I wondered about was how the items were always displayed on shelves in the game, regardless of money in the pouch.

In my case, I had to put money in the pouch first. Could I not replicate the original display?

As I pondered this, our protagonist spoke.

“W-what do you sell h-”

She stopped mid-sentence, gasping at something.

Just as she was about to ask, the characters on the notebook floated up and moved towards the counter.

They slowly expanded, transforming into the items they represented.

Ooh. So that’s how it works?

The interior was strangely clean.

Unlike the dilapidated exterior, the inside was tidy, as if taken from a different building.

The odd thing was, despite the shimmering window before Lucia’s eyes and the ‘Shop’ sign on the door, no merchandise was visible.

[Tutorial: Use the Shop!
At the shop, you can purchase items with money or exchange special currency for items!
Purchase Apprentice Health Potion 0/1]

The window kept flashing, urging her to buy a health potion, but nothing was displayed inside.

The girl who called herself a peddler simply looked at her notebook, making no attempt to retrieve any goods.

Should she ask something?

Lucia opened her mouth.

“W-what do you sell h-”

The girl’s eyes, perpetually smiling, locked onto Lucia.

Startled by the reddish glint within, similar to a monster’s, Lucia stuttered but pressed on.

However, as she was about to ask about buying something, she stopped, bewildered by the characters rising from the girl’s notebook.

The floating characters grew larger, then transformed into objects.

Red and blue liquids in round glass bottles.

Strange-looking flowers and what appeared to be herbs. Odd mechanical devices and what looked like monster parts lined the counter.

As Lucia stared in astonishment, the corners of the girl’s lips twitched slightly.

Was this the girl’s ability? Or was the floating window responsible for this bizarre phenomenon?

Either way, Lucia was certain the girl was connected to this window. Otherwise, there was no explanation for these strange occurrences.

So, the girl must be aware of what just happened.

Then, what did the slight twitch in her expression mean? Was she mocking her?

Overthinking, Lucia stared at the changing text in the window.

She had no objection to following the ‘tutorial’ and buying a health potion.

The problem was, she had no money.

Defeating monsters didn’t automatically grant her coins.

Monsters didn’t carry money.

Having been a country girl until recently, Lucia didn’t possess the five copper coins needed for an Apprentice Health Potion.

Did the floating window recognize this? Could it even comprehend such things?

[For your first purchase, the price is free!]

The message appeared.

The ‘5 Copper coins’ next to the potion flickered and changed to ‘0 coins.’

Lucia reached for the potion, and the girl, still smiling with that unsettling gaze, didn’t stop her. She lifted it, and still, no reaction.

“Ah, the Apprentice Health Potion~ It’s not very effective, being for apprentices, but for your current injuries-”

Without waiting for the girl to finish, Lucia grabbed the potion and ran.

It was free, so it wasn’t stealing. She wasn’t in a hurry, nor did she need anything else, but Lucia desperately wanted to escape.

The girl’s sly voice and eyes… she felt something terrible would happen if she stayed any longer.

Potion in one hand, glowing sword in the other, Lucia limped towards the exit.

The long sword slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

Her momentum carried her forward, and her exhausted body couldn’t recover its balance.

“Kyah?!”

With a cute yelp, she tumbled forward.

“Oof…”

Thankfully, the potion remained intact, but she scraped her knees.

“Are you alri-”

Ignoring the girl’s seemingly concerned voice, Lucia pushed herself up with her injured leg and stumbled towards the exit again.

Creak

The door closed behind her with another scream from the hinges, and Lucia collapsed outside.

“Haah…”

Finally free from the oppressive atmosphere, she sighed in relief.

As the tension drained, the pain in her previously numb limbs returned.

[Apprentice Health Potion purchased 1/1]

Looking at the window confirming her task completion, Lucia opened the bottle and drank.

The red liquid touched her dry, chapped lips.

“Ugh…”

A terrible taste and strange texture assaulted her tongue.

Yet, after a few swallows, a strange sensation spread through her wounds. An itchy, painful feeling.

Was this what healing felt like? She looked back, wondering if the girl was watching.

“Huh…?”

Smash

The potion slipped from her hand and shattered against the ground, the red liquid staining the rough earth.

Behind her were only trees. The shop she’d just been in had vanished.

“Are you alri-”

The outstretched hand went unheeded as our protagonist limped away.

As she left, the scenery outside the window changed back to the dark alleyway.

I was back.

“…I wanted to talk more.”

Was it my face again?

Even Ray, who was relatively friendly towards me, initially ran away at the sight of me.

It took two weeks of interaction for her to realize I was just someone with a suspicious face.

Maybe she was an exception. Most people kept their distance while trading with me.

This devilishly? charming face, which made even grown men flinch, must have been too much for a girl who’d just lost her family and fought monsters.

I kept smiling brightly, trying to appear less suspicious, but it wasn’t enough.

“Sigh…”

Disappointed by the brief encounter, I slumped onto the counter.

The displayed items had reverted to text and returned to the notebook as soon as the protagonist left.

“I wanted to at least get her name…”

Was she a player? Another transmigrator like me? Or a girl from this world who resembled the protagonist?

She wielded the holy sword ‘Amadeus,’ the namesake of the game, so she was definitely the protagonist… but whether she was Lucia, the default name, or someone else, I didn’t get a chance to ask.

It was a shame.

And I’d forgotten something else… to collect payment.

I could understand her not paying since the first purchase was free, but the pouch needed money to function.

I was curious how it worked in this case.

I pulled out my coin purse. Attached to the pouch, it automatically stored any remaining balance after an exchange.

After three weeks of trading, it should have been quite full…

“…?”

It should have been heavy… why was it so light?

Even if the cost of the protagonist’s potion was deducted from my funds, only five copper coins should be missing…

I opened the purse. Inside was a single Trade Silver coin.

My purse, which should have contained a mix of gold and silver, now held less than what I’d earned today.

I couldn’t have been robbed…?

As I puzzled over the missing money, I noticed the open notebook beside me. Untouched by me, glowing text remained.

[Transfer to another shop: 12 Silver coins]

One gold coin was worth twenty silver coins.

Twenty-four silver coins was one gold coin and four silver coins.

Hmm. It all made sense now.

So, the ‘transfer to another shop’ was how I moved to that dilapidated hut before the protagonist.

And it cost twelve silver coins each time?

A round trip. Twice the cost, so twenty-four silver coins.

Subtracting five copper coins and twenty-four silver coins from my original amount…

Oh my!

Exactly one silver coin remained.

Fantastic.

Kairin… were you also robbed blind like this…?