071: Everyday in the Shopping District

“Welcome, welcome! Prices are super low today! I recommend this plump radish! How about you, beautiful madam! This radish is as beautiful as your lovely thighs, right?” Vegetable Seller

Daring voices are heard from the shopping area on the south boulevard. It sounds like the muscled vegetable seller I had previously seen was trying to attract a female shopper. Why is he using ‘plump’ as a descriptor for a radish? He didn’t put a sock on one today, but instead he’s trying to compare them to thighs.

“Well, it does look beautiful… Hey, are you insulting me? My thighs are thinner and supple. Are you saying my thighs are fat like a radish?” Woman

She looked like a prim, meek woman, but she brought out the sass when she was felt she was being insulted. She seems proud of her legs, as she displayed them using a slitted dress.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Bystanders

It seems she’s become popular with some bystanders, she’s got confidence in herself.

“No, but aren’t they similar to this radish?” Vegetable Seller

Now the shopkeeper is offering a different radish for inspection.

“That’s not similar! Are you trying to say my legs are think and distorted?” Woman

Maybe the shopkeeper was angling at a chance to see the woman’s legs?

“Oh, yeah. This supple and fresh radish would suit you.” Other Vegetable Seller

The slender vegetable seller breaks into the conversation.

“Oh, someone who is better… What’s with the hair? I don’t let my leg hair grow like that!” Woman

“Oof!” Other Vegetable Seller

The slender seller has been blown away in an interesting way, I wonder how this will go. The first seller look to show off some guts and keep working on a sale. He’s a professional businessman.

“My legs are smooth!” Woman

“I’ve been here once before, is it really like this everyday?” Al

“Well, that’s how it is. If you get involved, it could get ugly, so let’s keep moving.” Eric

After we pass through the vegetable market, Eric and I buy some sweets for walking around. It looks like bread sprinkled with sugar, crispy and delicious. Many shops have lines in front of them, but the lines don’t interrupt normal street traffic. The streets are orderly, wide and beautiful, the city must put in a lot of work to keep them beautiful.

I was looking around for something I haven’t seen before when I saw a big thorny green thing. The thorns are more ferocious than a pineapple or durian.

“What is that?” Al

“Uh, I don’t know what is is.” Eric

“Why not?” Al

“Shut it. It’s impossible for me to know all possible ingredients that show up in the royal capital. I don’t live here, just a frequent visitor.” Eric

I tried to ask the seller what it was, but he was busy with other customers.

“I’ve been out of it lately. I dropped my wallet, my house burned down, and when my husband landed a great new job, the business collapsed, it’s all terrible.” Woman

“It’s so unlucky, I can only say that you’ve run out of luck.” Vendor

“Isn’t it? What else could it be?” Woman

“I actually have something for people in your situation.” Vendor

“What is it?” Woman

“A Lucky Jar! If you have it, your luck will turn to good! You’d find your wallet, and even get a new home. Perhaps an aristocrat found the wallet and was moved by your story… Maybe the aristocrat would hire your husband as well!” Vendor

“Really?! How much is it? I really need it!” Woman

“I’d normally sell this jar for nothing less than a gold coin.” Vendor

“That’s seems fair, but that’s too expensive for me.” Woman

“But for an unlucky wife, I’d let it go for only three silver coins!” Vendor

“Oh, I have to have it! Ah!” Woman

That is ridiculous, isn’t it obviously a scam? The unlucky woman takes out silver coins from her coin purse and is given the “lucky” jar.

“This will turn my luck around!” Woman

The woman smiles and holds the jar, ignoring the fact it may be a fraud. When Eric and I look at the vendor with nasty looks, he looks at us with a slightly guilty face.

“So how is that not a scam?” Al

“No, but a lucky jar… for that price…” Vendor

“So even if it wasn’t lucky, it’d be worth three silver coins?” Al

“Isn’t that so? You’re lying right?” Eric

When Eric and I voiced our suspicions, the vendor shyly gestures and scratches the back of his head.

“Generally, for a scam item, you’ll ask for more. For three silver coins, it’s kind of worth it to get a positive attitude. You’d never make enough selling scam jars for only three silvers.” Vendor

Ah, so that’s the way it works. If you cheat, you need to make plenty of money per item, since you would get arrested before long. When you figure in the costs of needing to flee and setup in a new town, the profit level is too little to make sense. Even though it’s a lie, the placebo effect may help the woman. People who wallow in negative thoughts can fail to take advantage of opportunities. If you don’t believe someone would offer you assistance, you wouldn’t be ready when someone offered you help.

“Hmm, so are you interested in the woman?” Al

“Hey, she’s a married woman, right?” Eric

“Ugh, you’re too noisy. If you aren’t buying, go somewhere else!” Vendor

The shopkeeper has turned bright red and is trying to drive us away.

“Oh, do you want your favorite customer to be happy?” Al

The woman is running with a light gait, as if she has no worries in the world. You wouldn’t believe she was the downtrodden woman from a few minutes ago.

“Wow! Hahah! I’ve got a lucky jar! Hahaha!” Woman

The jar pops out of the woman when she trips on a stone and loses her balance. It falls to the hard streets and makes a explosive sound that echoes through the shopping district.

A silence descends…

The woman shift back to the ‘world is ending’ face, from her happy face. A jar of good luck has been shattered, she tries to scape together the broken pieces as if that would prevent the luck from escaping. She might really be out of luck, has she been cursed?

“Look Mr. Shopkeeper, she’ll cut herself at the rate she’s going.” Al

The shopkeeper rushes off to help her, I wonder how he’ll try to cheer her up?

I’m thirsty, so I purchased a glass of juice to drink. There are many people around since we’re surrounded by butchers, vegetable shops, and a few fishmongers. Seafood is normally served in high-end restaurants for royalty and aristocrats, but there’s enough demand that fishmongers can operate in the royal capital. I heard that it’s due to the magic tools made by the Ice Princess. Can she make a cooler for me?

Well, the countryside never gets sweltering, and I can always cool of my room with Ice and Wind Magic. My mother will get angry if I overdo things.

To attract the housewives away from the fishmongers, other shopkeepers are throwing bargains like crazy. Angry voices echo back and forth as the shopkeepers compete for the buyers.

Between a butcher shop and a vegetable shop, I noticed two girls around my age, they must be twins since they look so similar.

“Oh, my mother is sick, I need to feed her something easy to eat.” Twin

She makes her voice tremble and make large puppy-dog eyes, like she’s about to cry. When you look at her, she looks pale. What happened to her father? Well, she must have lost her father already.

“But we… don’t have much money” Twin A

“Our Mom can’t work, and we don’t have a dad” Twin B

“So, can someone give us nutritious ingredients for our one silver coin we were able to earn!” Twin A

“Your story is… so sad. You must have it so hard, young ladies.” Butcher

“You’re working hard for your mother. I’m so impressed.” Vegetable Seller

A butcher and vegetable seller shed tears from the sad story. They cooperate and give them a large basket of food.

“Here, take it with you.” Butcher

“Huh? But we don’t have money to pay for all this.” Twin A

“It’s fine young lady. I don’t need money for this, eat it with your sickly mother.” Butcher

The butcher forces the basket on the twins.

“See, there’s some nutritious vegetables and fruits as well. Eat them since they’ll help you grow up strong, don’t worry about paying me either.” Vegetable Seller

“Eh, but!” Twin B

“Children should accept charity. When you have a problem, rely on your uncles here.” Butcher

“Yes! Thank you!” Twins

“It’s best for children to be wearing smiles” Vegetable Seller

The twins bowed and ran off with the basket of food.

“So that’s the humanity of the royal capital.” Al

“That’s right” Eric

Eric and I watched the twins run off energetically.

“It would be nice if they’re as kind to their mother.” Eric

After that, we walked down the street with Eric a bit, but when we turned a corner we heard some voices.

“Ran, Rin, did you get plenty of food?” Woman

“Yes, mom” Twins

“Huh?” Al & Eric

The two girls hugged the woman, while calling her mom.

“Mom! Today, we got a bunch of meat for free!” Twin A

“I got a bunch of vegetables and fruits! Free as well!” Twin B

So they’re twin girls who lie so convincingly wearing innocent smiles. How do they act so convincingly? How do you cry like that while knowing you’re lying to the shopkeepers?

“Huh, wasn’t she supposed to be sick?” Eric

“Oh, then let’s make a steak with vegetables today. Dad should be coming back tonight as well.” Woman

“Yay, we did it!” Twins

The twins and their mother walk off happily.

“Wasn’t the father dead?” Eric

Eric still can’t believe that those twins were telling a fake sob story. I’m impressed that he’s not run into anything like it before. Personally? I’ve seen it often enough that it doesn’t affect me. Is this the daily competition between the customers and the sellers in the capital? It’s horrible.

Translation

Good Job!

Do Better!

Chapter

Love It!

What?

FFS!

Really?