When I’d invested in that towel this morning, I’d prepared myself for the worst-case scenario of having to sleep outside tonight. However, thanks to the new regulars Meryl had brought me, I’d made over 3,000 rims. That meant I could afford another night at the good ol’ Swindoll Con Inn.
“Night’s stay? A break?” the innkeeper asked me. Since this wasn’t my first showdown with the innkeeper and her curt attitude, I was unfazed this time.
“I’ll be staying the night, please,” I told her.
“Your room from before is unoccupied, so use that. And don’t forget, keep it down.”
It appeared the innkeeper remembered my face. That was probably only natural, since I’d stayed here just last night. Although, I might’ve simply stood out because of how Japanese my face looked. If I had to describe the typical look of the people here, many of them had more finely chiseled and defined features than I did.
Huh? The counter is stained on one corner. That wasn’t here yesterday.
“There’s a stain here...” I said hesitantly. The innkeeper let out an especially heavy sigh.
“There was a fistfight just a second ago, all right?” she said, exasperated. “Jeez. You try keeping this place clean and see how you do!”
Yeah, I’d had a feeling this was practically a den of thieves. Unfortunately, I still hadn’t made enough money to go to a better hotel. No matter how much I wanted it, my current situation didn’t allow it. Doing my best not to make a sound, I tiptoed up the stairs.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, I once again woke up bright and early to head to the dungeon plaza. I was going to earn a little more money this time around so I could afford a slightly safer hotel.
I secured a spot closer to the dungeon’s entrance than usual and mentally recited the words, “Store, open.”
“Whoa!” I exclaimed. “Did I get an upgrade?”
What had appeared before me was my usual carrying pole, but it had some more goods now. Not only that, but the pineapple-flavored Powdered Drink Mix had also been restocked, and there was a large piece of cardstock hanging from my pole. When I turned it around, I was greeted with Rocket Bombs that took me back to my childhood.
Rocket Bombs were also called Jump Bullets. They were plastic toys. If you inserted the paper ammunition and threw the rocket, the gunpowder inside would burst upon impact, making a loud noise. It featured a lottery system, which let you win a big Rocket Bomb or three small ones.
Yet, these Rocket Bombs were a bit different from what was sold back in Japan.
Product name: Rocket Bomb (Lottery item)
Description: Will violently detonate with Explosion Magic once thrown at a monster. Consumable item. The bigger the rocket, the stronger the impact.
Price: Fifty rims per try
No way! You gotta be kidding me... Is this really the kind of thing that a dagashi-ya should be selling?
I was considering not putting them up for sale since they were dangerous, but then I thought of Meryl and Mira. They made a living battling monsters. If these Rocket Bombs could make them even a little safer, then...
“Whoa, the pineapple drinks are back! They’re all mine!”
As lively as ever, Meryl and Mira appeared.
“You’re really gonna buy them again?” I asked.
“Uh, duh! Of course!” Meryl then caught sight of the Rocket Bombs. “What’s this?”
I did my best to explain the Rocket Bombs to them, but my knowledge of the magic they used was spotty. I should ask the specialist here.
“Hey, Mira,” I said, “is Explosion Magic strong?”
“Let’s see... It likely depends on the wielder, but it is quite effective as offensive magic. I can’t use it myself, however.”
In other words, you can’t be sure until you actually try it.
“How about trying your hand at the lottery, Meryl?” I suggested.
“Whaaat?” she whined, “but I only wanted the pineapple drink.”
She pushed three one-hundred-rim coins into my hand and swiftly pocketed all the packets.
“I’d like to try,” Mira smiled, raising her hand. She really did have a calming presence.
“Well then, have a go at it.” I presented her with a bunch of small paper pieces.
“Which one should I choose...?” she pondered aloud before her face lit up. “This one!”
She wound up pulling a ticket that had the number three on it. A number one ticket won you a large Rocket Bomb, two gave you a medium-sized Rocket Bomb, three gave you three small Rocket Bombs, four gave you two small Rocket Bombs, and five gave you one.
“Congratulations,” I said, handing Mira her prizes. “Here are three small Rocket Bombs for you. You really have some crazy luck with this stuff.”
Mira giggled, and while her smile was cute, her hands held deadly weapons.
“Handle those with care.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m used to handling magical items like this,” she assured me. “Also, these have locks on them to prevent them from exploding on their own. It seems you must channel magic into them to release the locks before you can use them.”
I had no idea!
Mira’s words lifted a weight off my shoulders. That meant the Rocket Bombs hanging off of my carrying pole wouldn’t just explode on me. With that, I was able to rest easy and continue selling them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hey, Misteeer!”
It was early evening when Meryl returned from the dungeon and pounced on me.
“Whoa! Wh-What’s with you?” Her sudden grip on me threw me off.
“Today was totally awesome thanks to that pineapple drink mix! I think I earned like one thousand more rims than usual? Also, those Rocket Bombs were crazy!”
“How so?”
“One of them blew up a Poison Lizard in a single shot!” she exclaimed. “Those things usually put up a pretty tough fight, but the Rocket Bomb one-shotted it! Now I’m definitely gonna try that lottery! Hurry, hurry!”
Mira arrived just as Meryl was taking a stab at the lottery.
“I have returned.” She then noticed Meryl. “I see she wasted no time trying out the lottery for herself.”
“She seems pretty pumped about it.”
“That’s because anyone can use those Rocket Bombs. They’re not as powerful as the magic some veteran adventurers might use, but they’re perfectly useful.”
I see. At a mere fifty rims, it gives a pretty good bang for a newbie adventurer’s buck.
Meryl took her time choosing before she pulled her lottery ticket.
“No!” she despaired, “I got number five!”
Down on her gambling luck as always...
“Hello,” greeted one of my other regulars as they came over, “I heard you got new items in stock.” A small boy followed in their wake.
“Welcome,” I said. “It seems to be your first time here.”
“That’s right,” the boy said. “My name is Rigal. I work as a porter. I don’t have much pocket money, but I heard I could buy things here for as little as ten rims.”
“You’ve heard correctly. There’re ten-rim snacks around here.”
Dagashi-ya existed precisely for little kids like him. The shop grew lively with a crowd of customers, and even as the sky grew darker, they didn’t let me close up shop for quite a while.