It was a holiday for the Crimson Vow.
It's not a rest day like the rest of the world... it's the equivalent of Sunday on Earth... but a day off that Crimson Vow arbitrarily decided. In other words, it had nothing to do with rest days on the calendar, but it was a day off to be taken after a long day of work or when a big job was finished.
Sometimes these days happened to coincide with holiday days on the calendar, but they were usually taken on weekdays, so the stores they wanted to go to wouldn't be closed and the tourist spots wouldn't be crowded.
No one around here would think, "There will be a lot of customers on holidays, so let's close on another day."
A rest day was a day that God had decided to be a day for people to rest. Therefore, the only people who didn't rest on that day were those who didn't have fixed days off, such as hunters, those who work shifts such as gatekeepers and guards, and those who work all year round such as inns.
On rest days, doctors and pharmacists also took the day off, so if someone was seriously injured on that day, the mortality rate was higher. Therefore, it was natural for people in dangerous jobs to take time off.
...Excluding hunters, mercenaries, and soldiers...
That's why.
"Mile, what are you planning to do today?" (Reina)
"Oh, yes, I was thinking of touring the market and the shops...
This is a port town, so I think there are a lot of different products on sale. That's why I was wondering if there were any rare ingredients, seasonings, or interesting tools..." (Mile)
Mile replied to Reina while having breakfast in the inn's dining room.
"I see! ...Or rather, that's why you chose this town as our temporary base, right...?" (Pauline)
"Well, a lot of things happened, huh, like the monsters, the storage magic, the fishing village..." (Mavis)
Pauline and Mavis said, looking as if they had forgotten.
"Well, that's why I'm planning to quickly go around and check the market prices of things I've got my eye on, then make a bulk purchase on my second visit." (Mile)
For those with infinite storage and time-stopping item boxes, there was no resistance or hesitation to buying in bulk when buying. Even if they bought too much, they could always sell it someday or donate it to an orphanage.
And buying in a port town was bound to be cheaper than buying in another town where the goods would be shipped from.
...As long as you didn't get scammed by the seller.
Furthermore, she had no intention of buying any more monster meat or fish than she already had in stock.
She knew that in a few months they'd be needing large fish in large quantities again, and she could buy seafood and seaweed that weren't caught in the open ocean cheaper and fresher if she went to the fishing village rather than in town.
Besides, the people in the fishing village would likely make more money this way than if they sold it to a merchant in town...
"Sounds fun. I'll join in... No, I think I'll pass after all." (Reina)
Reina was about to say that she would come along, but then seemed to change her mind.
"I'm sure Mile would love to take a closer look at things we don't really understand, right? I'll go to the library." (Reina)
This port town actually had something that resembles a library, albeit small.
Of course, it wasn't as grand as the one in the royal capital, but even though the number of services was low, there were still ships carrying cargo from all over the country, and it seemed that more books were collected there than in an ordinary town.
…Was it perhaps because many people bought books to pass the time on board the ship and then sold or donate them after reading them, or was it because wat is a port town that there was a high demand for books for research purposes?
Anyway, it seemed that Reina had decided that it would be more meaningful to go to a fake library than to spend the day with Mile.
"I think I'll go read at a cafe..." (Mavis)
Unlike Reina, who prefers novels, Mavis read poetry collections and other books that deepen her education as a noble.
And Pauline...
"I'm counting money." (Pauline)
"I knew it..." (Other 3)
And that's why Mile was touring the shops by herself...
"They don't really sell anything outlandish..." (Mile)
It's obvious.
If something doesn't sell well, it won't be profitable, and if it sells well, then it's not "out of the ordinary."
Furthermore, Mile and her party had high expectations because this was a port town, but there were many types of marine monsters in the open seas around here, so it was impossible to go out to sea in a small wooden ship of a few tons made with current shipbuilding technology to trade with other continents—they could only transport cargo along the coast.
...So, it's not like there were rare items from faraway countries outside of this continent.
Of course, transporting goods by ship was much cheaper than transporting them over land by horse-drawn cart.
There were no roads that became muddy due to rain, no broken axles or damaged wheels, no steep mountainous areas or rocky areas, and no thieves.
...The number of ships was not yet large enough for pirates to make a living, and attacking ships along the coast was too risky.
So, it's true that there were some things that weren't widely available in this country, but those were usually things that were transported overland and weren't that rare.
And what's most deadly of all...
"No good. I only know this port town and fishing villages on this continent, so I don’t know what things are cheap here but expensive inland…" (Mile)
Seafood was definitely cheaper here.
However, on the other hand, agricultural products might be more expensive than in inland areas due to exposure to sea breezes and salt damage from wave spray.
Animal meats too...
Also, crafts, art, clothing, and industrial products might be cheaper in the royal capital or nearby large cities...
In the old continent, Mile and her party lived in the royal capital, which was why they were able to judge things like, "Oh, this is cheap!" when they went to the provinces or other countries. However, here, they only knew the market prices in small provincial cities, and especially in special places like port towns.
...Apart from seafood, what else should she buy?
And there was already plenty of seafood available, and what was not available could be procured from the fishing village at a later date.
"...I wish there was at least something rare from another continent..." (Mile)
Mile hoped so, but the world was not that kind.
"Hmm, I guess it was a miss…
We've already stocked up on plenty of seafood from the open ocean, so if we go to the fishing village and buy some seafood from the shore, there's no reason for us to stay in town any longer...
I've learned the common sense of this continent to the point where I can pass for naive since I came from the countryside, but I guess there aren't many interesting requests unless I go to the royal capital, huh...
I guess I'll talk to everyone about it..." (Mile)
[Administrator-sama, Administrator-sama!]"Uhyaa!" (Mile)
Even though there was no one within a two-meter radius, Mile was surprised by the voice that was clearly directed at her.
Moreover, it called her "Administrator-sama".
...This couldn't be anything other than something directed at her.
And of course, speaking of the one who called her by that name…
She looked around restlessly and...
"Ah……" (Mile)
There was something at her feet.
…The shape did look a bit like a dog.
Aside from the fact that it had an exposed metallic skin, a blocky shape that lacked the slightest hint of life, and the eerie feeling that it's impossible to tell where each of its right and left eyes were looking...
"Um, is this the same pattern as a little bird Chika? Why give up on trying to make it as close to the real thing as possible in the first place! And how it managed to get this far without being subjugated as a monster is the biggest mystery, you know!!" (Mile)