Ten days after leaving Majolica, we reach Prekes.
Elsa and Alto leveled up and got more stamina after fighting in the Fors dungeon, but they still seem tired. But I don’t think that can be helped, after all, they insisted on keeping watch like everyone else on the way here.
For the first three days, they also did mock battles during breaks, but simply rested after that.
Still, they watched closely as everyone else did them, and asked Jin and the others to explain them.
Prekes lacks life compared to Majolica. We ask a gatekeeper about an inn where we can stay, and it’s so empty, that it can accommodate all of us.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Siphon’s party is going to Leila’s place, right?”
“That’s the idea. Are you guys going to look for a house, Sora?”
“We’ll see what vacant houses they have. And we’ll wait to see what Siphon and the others have to say before we decide to buy or rent.”
If they’re going into a dormitory, we don’t need a big house. If they aren’t, we need a reasonably big one.
We also need to know when classes are starting, and see what is more cost effective, a house or an inn.
I’d like a house to keep a Transfer magic item, but since having another Transfer base would be bad for my MP, I’d have to take the one in Majolica.
It’s ten days on foot, but I think I can cut it down to less than half by using a golem and a wagon.
“Hn, it doesn’t have a very good selection.”
“Vegetables are cheap, but meat is expensive.”
Before we go to the merchant guild to look for a house, we pass by stores that sell equipment, and stores that sell food, but the selection of equipment is poor, and I see empty shelves.
As for the food, there are plenty of vegetables, but meat is scarce, and about twice as expensive as it was in Majolica.
I ask about it, and I’m told that while there have been more adventurers going to the dungeon, few go to the lower floors, so the price of meat is going up.
“Not having meat is sad.”
Hikari says as she drops her shoulders.
We go around the stalls to have lunch, but only two serve meat. And there aren’t that many stalls to begin with.
In Majolica, there are a lot of adventurers around the guild close to the dungeon, but in Prekes, it’s empty.
“It was a lot more lively the last time we were here.”
Says Shun.
“And that stall we went to a lot isn’t here anymore.”
“Yes. And those bacon and vegetables sandwiches were good too…”
Say Kotori and Kaede, sounding disappointed.
Then we go to the merchant guild, and check out the few mansion types that can house several people.
“I would’ve never been able to afford something like this in our old world.”
“Yes, no way.”
Say Miharu, Kotori, and then Shun, but I don’t think average people can afford mansions in this world either.
This one seems to have been used by nobles before, and it has a kitchen and bath with plenty of magic items.
Said magic items use magic stones that need to be replaced periodically.
After checking out six houses shown to us by the guild, we decide to put this on hold and leave.
They were pushing us pretty hard to buy, so I assume they have a hard time finding buyers.
Then we pass by the adventurer guild, that is empty.
The quest board has a lot of quests about meat, like taking down wolves and tigerwolves, compared to other towns.
“Sandworm…”
I’ve heard about that from Chris. They’re big, troublesome monsters.
Siphon mentioned them too. Apparently they’re popular as a snack to have with wine.
“Sandworms appear on the desert floor. If it wasn’t for Shizune, I don’t think we could’ve gotten past it.”
Says Kotori, because apparently they move underground and suddenly attack.
They don’t have anyone who can fulfill the role of a scout, so they have a hard time dealing with sneak attacks.
They had to get through it with brute force. If they jumped out of the ground, they just had to make sure they couldn’t, so Shizune froze the ground.
“Froze a desert…”
Ah, Miharu is staring into the distance.
“It’s a good thing we had equipment to protect us against the cold. Deserts get cold at night, you know?”
Says Shun.
After checking out the quests, we head back to the inn.
We spent all day looking around houses and checking the adventurer guild, so it’s getting dark.
When we get to the inn, we see Siphon’s party is already here, so they tell us what they heard from Leila.
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Thanks for the treat.