“Tell me when ya figure out how to grow miracle herbs, all right? I’ll compensate ya in turn. Oh, but before that, I gotta pay you for the info ya just told me...”
“Don’t be silly, you don’t have to do that.”
“But this is some real big news.”
“If I accept any sort of payment, it’ll be like I extorted you!”
I was the one who came over here and blabbed everything. Demanding compensation would be way too unfair. But Tagosack wouldn’t let it go, so we struck a deal—she would give me some of the herbal tea that she had served me today.
“First I’ll double-check with Olto that he can actually grow miracle herbs.”
Then, I would stock up on amber and have Sakura chisel out the plants. She was the one who’d obtained the miracle herb, so there was probably something special about the way she did it.
Once I was back on my own farm, I asked Olto about the miracle herbs.
“About this miracle herb, you are able to cultivate it, right?”
Based on the answer I got, it seemed so.
“Mmm-mm!” Olto said as he struck a confident pose. Well, the only way to know was to try, so I’d leave him to it.
Next, I headed to the island that had been the site of that grand adventure event. It was currently possible to teleport to the Bazaar, the island’s city. My goal was acquiring amber. Tagosack had told me that NPCs were now selling them there.
“Whoa, it’s summer!”
“Triii!”
“Kee-hee.”
“Neigh!”
I had brought with me the three monsters who hadn’t yet had a chance to visit the island. I wasn’t planning on fighting anything here, so I was fine without a full party.
Unlike the Town of Beginnings, where the climate was closer to springtime, here, the sunlight was strong and the air hot. Coupled with the more Western style of the Bazaar, I felt like I was in a European town in summertime. Somewhere like Andalusia. Not that I’d ever been there.
Accompanied by my monsters, I headed to my destination: a large market in the center of the Bazaar.
“Just like she said, they’re selling amber.”
“Kee-hee!”
“Triii!”
The lineup of stores was about the same as it had been during the event, but there was a lot more amber and ammonite for sale.
“Wow! Look at the size of that rhinoceros beetle!”
“N-Neigh?”
“There’s a killifish! Hmm, those fish bowls look pretty nice.”
There were pet bugs and fish put on display, as well as plenty of extra-large aquariums available for purchase. Dang it, I wanted it all! The youthful heart I was in danger of losing had healed to full health!
“Aha ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Triii.”
“Hmm?”
“Kee-hee!”
“Whoops, sorry. Guess I went a little overboard.”
Before I knew it, I had bought loads of different items. I suddenly had one million less gold than I had brought.
“Jeez, where did all my money go? Ha ha ha.”
“Neigh...”
“D-Don’t look at me like that. What do you expect?! I-It’s the city’s fault! Their products are just too good!”
“Trii...”
“Sorry.”
“Kee-hee.”
I’m being comforted by Lilith! By a mischief-loving demon, of all people!
“A-Anyway, let’s go buy amber. I think I see a shop selling some up ahead. C-Come on, let’s go!”
“Neigh...”
“Triii...”
“Kee-hee...”
“Don’t sigh at me!”
A trio of sighs! But at least Carro is fitting in just fine!
Accompanied by my monsters, now glaring at me, I headed for the shop selling amber. It wasn’t a proper shop in a building, but an ordinary stall, with piles of amber for sale.
“Welcome,” the seller greeted me. “Are you looking to buy some amber?”
“Do you have any with plants inside? Miracle herbs in particular.”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. In that case, these might be of interest to you.”
The seller had ten ambers for purchase that contained plants, and only one with a miracle herb... But I did see something amazing. Something I had never seen before—a ten-star quality amber.
“Whoa, now this is something...”
Name: Amber (Fossil)
Rarity: 4 / Quality: 10★
Effect: Ingredient. Decorative.
This was my first time seeing an amber with the highest quality. It was gigantic, the size of a balance ball, and inside it was the skull of a raptor.
I needed it. But it was priced at 15,000,000 G... Even the nine-star amber with a miracle herb inside was only 6,000,000 G. Did it have some sort of crazy good effect? As of now, the only ways that were known to use them were to make them into equipment or use as decoration.
But wait, could an amber that big even be used for accessories? No way, right? In that case, it really could only be used for decoration. Even if I took the fossil out, I didn’t know how to use that either. But it looked amazingly cool. Even if it couldn’t be used for anything, using it as decoration was reason enough to get it.
“I’ll hold back on that for now.”
After all, I felt like my monsters were staring at me with some exasperation now. I could be imagining things, but considering their reaction from before, well...
I bought all the ambers with plants and miracle herbs inside, and then I headed to the next shop. This wasn’t the only stall that was selling amber. I went around to five more stalls and ended up with forty ambers with plants and five ambers with miracle herbs. With this amount, I wouldn’t have to go mining for any.
“I splurged a bit, but...I can still afford it.”
Afford what, you ask? An amber-encased fossil! The other stalls had been selling amber with fossils too, and ones that had other bones besides skulls. There was one with a giant fang that looked like it’d come from a Tyrannosaurus rex or a Spinosaurus, and one with the right forearm of a raptor.
Honestly, I wanted all of them, but the one that would look coolest on the display was probably the raptor’s skull.
“H-Hey, guys?”
“Triii?”
“Neigh?”
“Kee-hee?”
“C-Can I buy this? It’s okay, right? I’m sure everyone will love to see it displayed. Probably. Plus, there might come a day where I can use it for something. So it’s probably best that I get it now while I can. I just know it! L-Look, I’ll buy you all whatever you want too! How about it?”
“...”
Glares! Such strong glares I’ve never endured before! The king of all glares!