NOVEL NEXT 7: Time-Limited Shopping
“I hope there are many shops handling medicinal herbs today~.”
Humming happily, I gaze at the shops. Today, there are more shops selling vegetables. Perhaps because it’s getting close to evening, some shops are already closing. There are also shops dealing with medicinal herbs, but one shop in particular catches my eye.
“Excuse me. Is this a Gonyan fruit?”
“You figured it out well. Young lady, are you an herbalist?”
“My relative is an herbalist. Please give me three cups.”
“Alright.”
The Gonyan fruit is a rare fruit that can only be produced in areas with an annual rainfall of less than 300mm. It needs to be grown in desert climates or regions with very low rainfall without being exposed to rain.
By limiting the amount of water given, the fruit becomes sweet enough to make your cheeks melt. I have eaten it once before, and it was by far the sweetest of all fruits.
If you make it into juice and let it sit for a few days, it ferments and becomes like an alcoholic drink. The unique taste, mixing sweetness and tartness, makes the juice a divisive choice.
I liked the taste, but the Prince and his male attendants did not.
But this is not the only characteristic of the Gonyan fruit. While fresh, it is red, but when exposed to air, its skin gradually turns black.
The one in front of me is the latter and is also shriveled. It is essentially a dried fruit, but it doesn’t look appetizing at all.
In fact, I don’t recommend eating it as is in this state. It’s not that it isn’t tasty, but the concentrated sweetness can overwhelm your mouth.
Therefore, it is widely known among herbalists only as a medicinal ingredient.
However, if used in making snacks or brewed with tea, it can be quite delicious. The dried fruit given as a gift left a strong impression both as a medicinal ingredient and a snack ingredient.
Thinking about it makes me crave a Gonyan fruit cake. I’ll buy a deep frying pan and other ingredients on my way home. Also, I’m running out of the fire magic stones I use to make medicine, so I need to buy those too…
Just planning all this is making me drool.
“By the way, how did you manage to stock so much?”
“We harvested them before the heavy rain last month and quickly turned them into dried fruits. When we first got them, there were more than ten times this amount.”
“That much!?”
“Thanks to that, I can do business in this country where I usually don’t.”
“I see. Then I was lucky to come at the right time.”
“Exactly.”
I had anticipated the heavy rain, but not to this extent. Eighty percent of that country’s imports are foodstuffs, with several types of fruit, including the Gonyan fruit, making up a significant portion.
In that country, too, there is a saint specialized in food like me, skilled at predicting the weather. However, to avoid damage from misreading the weather, they probably harvested everything they could.
I think they must have sold it all at once to avoid severe price cuts, but as a consumer, I’m simply glad to have gotten it cheaper.
I received the paper bag with the Gonyan fruit and paid the money. Already, a man who looked like an herbalist was standing behind me. To avoid being a hindrance, I left the spot and visited several shops displaying medicinal herbs.
Compared to the last time I was here, overall prices have increased. There are fewer leaves, and some are worm-eaten, highlighting the poor quality. Judging from the types of herbs on display, it seems these merchants came from the western region.
I could roughly predict the damage. The continuous high temperatures likely caused more insects to breed than usual. Judging by the state of the leaves, the culprits were fairly standard caterpillars. They even infiltrated the garden of the Herbalist Saint. Since they’re medicinal herbs, using pesticides would affect their quality, so they have to be removed by hand.
In a sense, these worm-eaten leaves are a sign that no pesticides were used.
Additionally, the high prices are likely due to the significant drop in temperature following a rainfall six months ago. The herbs on display are all sensitive to temperature fluctuations.
The limited harvest led to the price increase, which seems reasonable considering the damage I had anticipated.
“Five bundles each of the herbs with the red, blue, and purple strings. And three cups each of the fruits in the burlap sack, please.”
“Alright.”
If I could check the market every day, I wouldn’t need to buy so much at high prices, but as a hostage, I can’t sneak out that frequently. I have to accept that.
I continue walking through the market, purchasing a frying pan, baking ingredients, and fire magic stones. Both my hands are full of bags.
Carrying a large amount of materials, I hurry to the second-hand clothing store.
I had been looking around the market, so I’m behind schedule. I need to head back when the wind changes.
I rush into the second-hand clothing store, grab the scraps of fabric that match the coat I had my eye on, and take them to the register. After paying, I leave the store and make my way through the maze of alleys.
When I have time, I usually return to the back of the pharmacy, but today I can’t help it. I proceed down the path, only concerned with avoiding being seen.
Walking through the alleys reveals the safety of the area, but I haven’t seen a single orphan yet. I knew the former king had focused on establishing orphanages, but the view as a customer is entirely different from the view otherwise. The fact that the policies remain intact after his death is proof that they are ingrained in the country.
Moreover, the trash bins behind the shops are not overflowing; their lids are securely closed. This seems more like a characteristic of a country where beastmen with keen noses live rather than an indicator of good public safety. Thanks to this, the alleys don’t reek of garbage.
Not that I plan to stay long, though.
After confirming there are no people around, I put my bags into a magic bag and don a stealth robe. Just like before, I use wind magic to fly into the sky.
“Tomorrow, Gonyan fruit cake~”
Humming happily, I float over the castle gates. And then, an incident occurs.