episode_0007

Love, all that stuff is money in the end. You can make money without love, but you can’t love without money. Even without love, people lend you money, but without money, you can’t even borrow love. I couldn’t hold on to even a handful of love with the thin illusion of success. After those who I once considered more precious than anything else in the world left me without mercy, I decided to make money. I decided to make it very tenaciously.

Get up faster than anyone else and put on the shirt and pants you washed last night. Move diligently, never be fooled by the speed of the sun in the sky. That’s the first thing. In other words, other people are paying me for sleeping in. Stupid things.

I leave the exact amount of money for one night on the table of the innkeeper who has fallen asleep. Since the sun has not yet risen, I put my hat on my side, tie my hair back, and go outside. I take out the key to the lock that I had hidden in my underwear, open the shabby storage room, and check the contents first.

You should not trust anyone. You should know that trusting others will only bring you harm. That is the second. After confirming that there is nothing missing, just as I had confirmed just before closing the warehouse yesterday, I am finally ready to leave.

” …What are you doing here? ”

As I was pulling my cart out of town, a boy suddenly blocked my way. He had a pretty face, and eventually, he would chase money while talking about true love. That’s human nature. Men say that if you have a pretty face, money will roll in. Tsk.

” Hi, my name is Ray. I also want to see the city. Are you going to Frauen? I have someone to meet there. ”

” Do whatever you want, can you please get out of the way? ”

I thought the annoying guy was going to get out of the way, but he just put his luggage on top of my cart.

” …What is it? ”

” Didn’t I tell you to do whatever you want? ”

” I told you to follow me as you wish, if you’re going to bother me, then go away! Or pay me. ”

Look at that stiff expression. People only take off their annoying masks when you talk about money.

“Phew… , phew.”

After walking along the mountain path for a while, I reached the top of the hill and stopped for a moment. Judging by the horizon in the distance, I guess I have left the mountain. I have to arrive at the port city of Julep before the sun fully rises.

“There’s a road like this too. This is my first time coming this far.”

When I look back, it’s the same guy from before. He took out a water bottle and tried to quench his thirst.

“Did you chase me all the way here? It looks like you’re going to bother me if you do something, and I have no intention of helping you for free or anything, so just go home.”

“Do you have a lot of family to feed, Sister?”

“No, it’s the opposite. You have to save money to start a family.”

He replied, taking another step forward.

“Oh my, money, money. Have you ever been in a car because of money?”

A single word that flies like a knife to the center of my heart,

“Yeah! That’s why I’m working so hard to earn money right now. Can’t you see?”

“If you keep doing this, you’ll only end up with people who love your money more than you. Since you have no charm other than money, you might end up just giving money to someone even after you get married.”

“Are you following me around to get on my nerves? What do you know?”

“Well, I just thought it wasn’t someone else’s story… and I didn’t come here to get on your nerves.”

“Then why are you following me? Who are you going to see? Do you know how big Fraua is?”

“That’s true, but the side wheel of the cart was on the verge of coming off earlier.”

When I looked back in surprise, the left wheel was really loose and barely hanging on. I tried to tilt the cart, but since it was going downhill, I was afraid that if I let go of the handle to get it right, the cart would fall down. Before I could get back up to level ground, the wheel came off.

“I’ll be leaning over… So hurry up and push the wheel there with all your might.”

“How much will you give me?”

This guy is real.

The sight of the sun rising over the distant horizon was as famous as it was. The port city of Julep is also famous for this view, and I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of having spent money on just one view. Or maybe it was because this guy had been climbing onto my cart for a while and I was running out of energy.

“I don’t think my older sister has a good sense of business.”

” What? ”

“Aren’t you trying to sell expensive luxury goods to people in the countryside? You have to sell what people want to make a business. ”

“Shut up. All of my items are valuable items that I personally selected and collected. Someday, someone who knows their worth will appear. ”

He lifts the tent covering the cart and looks inside.

“But despite being annoying, you explain everything well. Sister, it must have been a bit lonely to go around alone, right?”

“Be quiet!”

“Ah, this is… .”

When I look back, I see him holding a pile of documents in his hand and looking through them.

“That’s my ledger. How did I find it? Put it back where it was.”

He was probably just a guy who kept a journal and kept accounts behind his back, doing farm work in a remote corner of the country. He pretended to know something.

“Do they teach you how to write like this in school?”

“Go to school on the 100th day, I’m the only one who uses it like this.”

“… Sister, you were an amazing person.”

I was watching closely to see if I could be told to come down soon.

“Don’t spill crumbs on my cart.”

Entering Julep Street, I rummage through my baggage to get a map. I notice a boy sitting on the very top, eating the food he brought.

This place is a stronghold on the way to Fraua, but it is also a trading post where all sorts of rare goods flow into the port. Judging from the ships waiting to dock at the port as expected, it will not be long before the market opens.

It is absolutely essential to get a spot early to see if there is anything worth salvaging before the greedy merchants sweep it away. It will take some time to unload the cargo after the ship docks, so let’s start selling to the sailors who have already disembarked. I stop the cart at the dock and put my hat down.

“Come down now, I’m going to open the stall.”

“Weren’t you going straight to Praua?”

The boy jumps down and asks.

“Who said you were going right away? I’ll be here for two days. I need to hire a horse to go to Frauah, and I’ve made a reservation for tomorrow. Don’t bother with business and go see the town.”

After waving his hand towards the boy and making him move away, he removes the tent that was covering the cart and sets up a simple stall by tilting a wooden plank. He takes out his red vest, dusts it off, removes any loose fluff, and puts it on neatly. Now he is ready to really start his business. Shall we start today?

The salty smell of the sea breeze is carried. Really, it’s been years since I’ve seen a seaside town! Ray walked around the streets of Julep with an excited step. The floors were paved with smooth stones, and the buildings in the shopping district were crowded together, each with their windows open and signs hanging, preparing for opening, bustling with activity.

Ray, who was looking around intently to see the city for the first time since coming to this world, so as not to miss even a single thing, was looking around. As expected, most of the sailors who got off the ship were tall and thin women, and it seemed that in this world, sailing the sea was mainly women’s work. The sailors, who all showed their solid muscles and wore underwear-like tops made of bandage-like cloth and wide-legged pants, were busily walking around the dock.

“There, there are three of us. Please guide me to the store.”

“Huh?”

A long shadow fell behind his back, and when he looked back, a woman with long hair that had turned yellow from the sea water and was tied to one side spoke down to Ray. The loud earrings on both ears sparkled in the sunlight, and behind her were two women of similar height.

“Shop… What? What… .”

“You’re a guest, you’ve made a lot of money.”

Then, a woman sticks out her right buttocks and shows the sack on her waist, and the sack shakes and makes a rattling sound. Ray is a little surprised by the gesture that seems to suddenly show off her volume, but he takes a step back after seeing the scar covering her right arm. It’s a little different from the village accent, so he barely understands because he keeps his tongue twisted at the end of every word, but he makes a face of not knowing what’s going on.

“… I don’t think so?”

The hooded woman tapped the earring-wearing woman on the shoulder from behind.

“Really? Isn’t this it?”

The woman with the earring asks Ray while pretending to put her thumb in her mouth. As expected, Ray shakes his head with a bewildered expression.

“Ugh… What a shame, I don’t usually open it in the morning. Your face is perfect though… If you ever get to work later, please let me be your help.”

The woman with the earrings made a regretful expression, then smiled and said. Then the three women brushed Ray’s head and passed by. Ray rubbed his nose at the smell of alcohol, which was different from the fruit wine his mother used to drink, and the pungent body odor that seemed to still linger on the tip of his nose as if he had been on the ship for a long time. Even though he was the second child with the daggers on his back and waist, he thought that it must be quite scary when women from this world flock to him because of the difference in size.

As Ray walked further into the street, he realized that there were quite a variety of people in this place. When he saw only country people in the countryside, he thought that his race did not gain weight easily, but the man carrying the wooden barrel was quite plump, and the sailors also varied from very thin to plump.

I even wondered if there were women from the old world who weren’t that tall, like the dark-skinned, black-haired woman at the end of that street.

The woman, who had a sleeveless top and hooded outerwear draped over her shoulders, a necklace so extravagant that it made the sailor’s earrings seem tame, and a ring on each finger, was arguing loudly with a shopkeeper for some reason. Ray was leaning in between the people who had gathered to see what was going on, standing in a line.

“Okay, let’s finish talking next time. It’s a bit urgent right now.”

Then she walks towards the dock where Ray is standing. Ray, who was pushed aside by onlookers, loses his balance and almost falls, but at that moment, a dark-skinned hand grabs Ray’s hand and pulls him up. That woman, no, upon closer inspection, this person is a man. It’s so fancy that I thought it was just some fancy decoration, but Ray also has a cloth wrapped around her knees, as if she were wearing it.

“Be careful.”

And as he passes by, he stops walking, turns his head back to this side, rests his chin on it, and looks Ray up and down. Ray’s face is reflected in his green eyes.

“… Are you working here? Is there another store like that in my area?”

A man looking around with his hands on his sides and a serious expression on his face.

“Oh, no. I came with my companions. This is my first time in this city.”

“Hmm, I guess they came from over that mountain. Be careful not to get lost.”

As expected, Ray guessed his origin from his accent, and he left with a confident stride and disappeared toward the dock. People carrying luggage followed him, and Ray thought that he must be quite wealthy. Although the work here was mostly done by women, it seemed that there were cases where the opposite sex took the lead in commerce or finance, similar to the world of his previous life.

In addition, as I thought about his skin color and appearance, which could definitely be called exotic, my interest in the world I was living in deepened. Well, it was a bit bothersome that he kept asking if I worked at a store like that. Ray, who was on tiptoe, looked at his face reflected in the glass window of the dark building inside.

‘Am I meant to do that?