Buying ingredients in the different world

Episode 84: Buying ingredients in the different world

「Ooooh! Amazing! A market in the imperial capital would be huge after all!」

Two hours later Yuuto and Ririna went to the Expein market. Seeing food stalls lined with fresh ingredients in front of her, Ririna's eyes shined.

「Ah! Are those furufuru mushroom!」

Seeing something valuable, Ririna charged towards a stall without giving anything else a second look.

「Oji-san, that mushroom! Can I have one?」

「Oh, its a cute young lady!」

「Eeeh? There's no way I'm cute.」

「No way, it’s pretty rare to see such a cute young lady in this town. This oji-san will give you a special service.」

「Wow! Really? I'm extremely glad.」

「Ehe, if the young lady is glad, then so is this oji-san.」

It was a complete change from Ririna's boyish attitude that she had before, and was now behaving like a docile cat. She had even changed the way she addressed herself from 『Ore』 to 『Watashi』.

「Kukuku. I was lucky to buy furufuru mushroom so cheaply.」

Ririna smiled wickedly as she muttered 「just as I planned」 under her breath. The reason why Ririna had changed to a girlish mannerism might be to take advantage of the shopkeepers as they might end up giving a discount. It seemed that her skill in housekeeping also extended to haggling as well.

「This is the first time I'm seeing this mushroom. Is it delicious?」

「Yes, it is an exquisite delicacy that isn't readily available in the Cait Sith village. It's Sanya's favorite food.」

「Ririna is really close to your younger sister.」

「Ahaha. Well, my younger sister is the only family that I have.」

Ririna gave a carefree smile when the topic switched to her sister.

「Come to think of it, does Yuuto have any siblings?」

「Me? Well,」 Even I……have a younger sister.」

Yuuto replied in an awkward tone.

「Really!? Then, what kind of person is Yuuto's younger sister!?」

「In one word, she is an unreasonable person.」

「……Unreasonable person?」

「Ah, un. Let's change the topic. To tell you the truth, I don't want to remember the existence of my younger sister.」

「I-is that so. I'm sorry. I asked a strange thing.」

「No, don't mind it. Anyway, hey! Look at that strange meat! Let's go look at it.」

「Ah!」

After successfully diverting the topic, Yuuto lead Ririna towards the direction he pointed at. Konoe Aina, Yuuto's younger sister, was his natural enemy. She was attractive and had excellent grades. Additionally, she had a superior talent in martial arts. At a glance, she was the perfect girl. However, she was different under the surface. Her existence had caused many traumas to Yuuto.

(……Well, its fortunate that I'm in a different world. I'll never have to meet that fellow unless I went back to Japan.) 〈TL note: Flag kita!〉

Yuuto concluded that he should rather enjoy shopping with Ririna.

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While walking around the market, he discovered that the prices differed between Expein and modern Japan. Vegetables, fruits and grains were sold cheaply in Expein, but meat was quite expensive. According to Ririna, in Trywide, ingredients like beef and pork are regarded as luxury items that is difficult for the general public to acquire. That's because in order to produce 1 kg of meat, grains weighing several times more is needed. In comparison to modern Japan, Trywide was less civilized, and thus meat was regarded as a luxury good.

「Hey, Ririna? I can understand meat, but why is fish so expensive?」

「Ah, isn't Expein quite far from the port city? It’s difficult transporting fresh fish to the town. There are also cases where they might get attacked by monsters on the way.」

「……I see. It was because of that.」

In Japan, one could buy popular fish such as mackerels and sardines for less than 100 yen each, but in Trywide, they were sold at over 10 times the price.

「Then there's no choice but to give up on fish.」

「No, even so, salt water fish may be high quality, but couldn't we buy fresh water fish cheaply?」

「Ah, but fresh water fish……」

Fresh water fish would definitely be cheaper as the transportation cost would be lower, however as Yuuto had eaten them several times at the inn, Yuuto realized that fresh water fish was not human food in this world. The muddy taste and the raw smell of the fish combined almost made him throw up the fish the moment he ate it.

「Well, many people don't like the taste of fresh water fish. Leave the cooking to me. Even if its a difficult person, I'll make them say that the food is delicious.」

「Is that so. If Ririna says so, I'll be expecting a delicious meal.」

「Oh! You can rely on me!」

And thus, Yuuto and Ririna bought meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and various seasonings. They had obtained a large amount of food.

(After a long time, I'm looking forward to the meal………)

Since being summoned to Trywide, he had been extremely busy, and thus Yuuto could not get himself a good meal. However since he had been summoned to this world with great effort, he intended to enjoy the cuisine of this world from now on. Standing in the market that was alive with people and smelled of food, Yuuto made a resolution.

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