I am currently in a horse-drawn carriage, heading to the bazaar for our monthly shopping.
Inside the carriage, I sat on a plush sofa facing the opposite direction of travel. With my back to the front of the carriage, I gazed toward the rear, while the Head Butler faced forward. The carriage looks luxurious from the inside. The blend of dominant white and gold accents enhances the sense of luxury.
I gaze to the right, directly out the open window. The sound of spinning wheels and the horse's neighing is characteristic of this vehicle. I look at the road. The road, initially filled only with passing nobles and seemingly quiet, now feels noisy with various open stalls—people getting angry when their goods are offered too cheaply, and narrow alleys filled with beggars digging through piles of trash.
The Commercial District.
...Before I knew it, I'm back in this place.
I look up at the sky. Sunlight falls directly on my face. The clouds move slowly. The sunlight has risen high—before I know it, midday has arrived. As my eyes remain fixed on the sky, memories of the book's contents begin to haunt me again. I feel that something is strange in those notes. Behind the notes filled with various longings, I realize something.
...So, My Lady has a side like that, huh?
The person I once considered an evil entity not worthy of pity.
I clench my fist tightly. My eyes narrow as the street wind gently whispers in my ear.
...I should have realized. Everyone has a story. Some are told through their appearance, and some are hidden in their fragile hearts.
My gaze falls downward. My grip tightens even more. I shouldn't judge people by their outward appearance alone. I... I am a foolish human who pretends to know about other people's lives.
My gaze returns upward. My eyes widen for a moment. ...Is this the reason fate brought me here? To make this foolish human realize the various meanings of life that I didn't realize in my old world?
My eyes narrow. A faint smile appears at the corner of my lips. Oh... great figure, ruler of the universe, God. I thank you for sending me to this world. A world that teaches me various life lessons that I never got in my old world.
After offering my gratitude, the carriage stops slowly. The thud of the two horses' hooves in front begins to cease. The wheels, which had been moving quickly on the cobblestone road, have come to a complete stop. I feel a slight jolt from the front as the driver climbs down from his seat. He walks toward us and opens the small door beside me. Not much light enters the carriage—the sun being directly overhead leaves little room for shadows to fall inside.
The horse driver bows while extending his hand outward—politely inviting us to exit. I look at the Head Butler in front of me. He nods once before exiting the carriage. I follow him after he exits. The carriage sways slightly, lighter now that we have stepped out.
I see the butler in front of me immediately cover his nose with a white cloth. My head tilts slightly, looking at him like that. I puff out my chest, trying to inhale the air here. Before I finish inhaling, I suddenly choke. The air around here feels suffocating. I cough a few times before covering my nose with my index finger and thumb pinching together.
I look towards the small alley, observing the people whose basic needs are not met. They stare at me with narrowed eyes, as if telling me not to approach their place.
I swallow my saliva. My gaze returns to the Head Butler, who is looking around before starting to move. Seeing him, I try to follow him from behind. Our steps move simultaneously, heading towards the place where people are busy offering their wares.
We begin to approach one of the merchants. He seems to be selling various kinds of flour, as seen from the identical merchandise—displayed in front of us. The Head Butler begins to put the white cloth back into his pocket. I, who am watching him, begin to lower my hand as well.
I take another cautious breath. The air no longer smells as pungent as before.
...Could it be that the smell came from those people in the alley?
I just realized how people looked at me when I was in the old slave carriage. That pungent smell was probably even stronger when I had just come out of the slave market.
So, it's clear why people could act that way towards me back then.
I look back at their merchandise. There, various kinds of flour are available. The Head Butler begins selecting the flour we need and reaches for his pouch, ready to pay.
"..."
In the middle of the Head Butler wanting to give his money, I stop him.
"Wait a moment, Sir."
I point to one of the flours chosen by the Head Butler before looking at the old male merchant in front. "...How much was the price per wooden box, Sir?"
The merchant in front strokes the back of his neck. "Ah... If-if it's per wooden box, the price is fifty gold coins, Little One."
I put my fingers on my chin, looking at his merchandise for a moment before looking back in front. The Head Butler seems to sigh. He tries to hold my shoulder, stopping what I am doing now. However, before he manages to do so, without further ado, I immediately throw a question at the old merchant in front of me.
"...Are you trying to cheat us, sir?"
His eyes widen. The Head Butler stops his hand movement.
The old merchant bows slightly forward, a stiff smile forming on his face.
"What do-do you mean, Little One? It's impossible for me to lie about the quality of my merchandise." He spreads his hand towards the merchandise in front. "You can see, right, that there's not a single flaw in the merchandise in front of me?"
My gaze stares deeper into his merchandise. Well, what he said about the quality of his merchandise is indeed true. However...
I look at the old merchant, tilting my head slightly to match his height.
My eyes narrow. "I'm not talking about the quality of your merchandise, Sir."
His eyes widen. "Eh?"
My hand rises, my index finger and thumb rounding, forming something resembling a coin. "I'm talking about the price. Your price is too expensive, Sir."
The Head Butler, who hears this, immediately widens his eyes, looking at me. The merchant in front of me makes an even stranger smile with cold sweat coming out of his face.
"Ahaha... It's impossible for me to put a high price on my merchandise. It's impossible for me to lie to—"
"Maybe. Maybe you're lying to your customers, especially like us, to rake in more profit."
Because it's impossible for one wooden box of flour to cost fifty gold coins.
I look at the wooden boxes containing one kilo of flour stacked on top of each other. If accumulated, maybe the flour inside is about twenty kilos. Because we plan to buy five wooden boxes, it should be about a hundred kilos. But, because one box only contains twenty kilos, and he puts the price at fifty gold coins—isn't that too much? How many horse-drawn carriages does he want to buy with that money? And also, the price per box of flour in my old world wasn't that expensive.
Memories of me always helping my mother shop, before she passed away, flash back in my mind. At that time, every time I had school holidays, I always helped my mother to buy ingredients for making her cakes. Because those cakes were how we survived after my father passed away.
If I'm not mistaken, at that time the price of twenty kilos of flour was about two thousand one hundred and forty Yen. And if it's converted to dollars, maybe about thirteen dollars. One bronze coin is about ninety-one Yen. One silver coin is equal to ten bronze coins. And one gold coin is the same as one hundred silver coins! Even though the price in this world is a bit expensive, is he crazy wanting to put it at fifty gold coins?!
I take a long breath, then my gaze returns to the old merchant in front. That rotten old cheat. I have to find a good price to offer.
For a moment, my hand touches my chin. The person in front of me tilts his head, looking confused by what I am doing.
A few minutes pass before a small smile appears at the corner of my lips. "...Hey, sir. We want to take one box of this for the price of one gold coin."
His molars clench. "Are you kidding, Little One? Even if you want to bargain the price of my merchandise with me, it's impossible to go that far—"
"I will report you to my superior. My superior is a Duke. And you also know that the Duke has a special relationship with the kingdom, right?"
His body jolts.
My smile widens. "If I report you to my superior, you know where this will lead, right?"
His stiff smile is already ruined. The Head Butler, who has been watching my bargaining game since earlier, is unable to divert his gaze from me. The merchant in front of me seems to freeze for a moment before a short sigh emerges afterward.
He crosses his arms, then averts his gaze to the side. "Alright, alright. You can take it for that price, you sneaky brat."
I am still smiling at him before changing my gaze to the Head Butler beside me. "Sir. You can pay now."
The Head Butler jolts before he takes out the money from his leather pouch—paying the person in front for the price per wooden box of five gold coins. After the Head Butler pays him, he requests direct delivery to the Duke's residence. Because it's impossible to bring it into the narrow carriage.
We return to buying the next food ingredients. Several times I also find merchants who are almost as cunning and maybe even more cunning than the first merchant, but I solve the problem with my bargaining skills.
Before I know it, everything on our list is bought. The Head Butler's nod confirms that all that remains is for us to return home. On the way back to our carriage, I suddenly spot two people—my eyes widening at once.
"They..."