My Price is 30,000 G
*chomp-chomp-chomp*
Where did the girl who said she had no appetite go?
Seeing the girl devoured the freshly cooked hamburger steak, Margine started grilling more.
"I feel like the meat is about to come out of my mouth...."
That's what happens when you eat four servings of hamburger.
The girl is stroking her stomach. Her vacant eyes have returned to normal.
Looks like she'll be fine now.
"Then go to sleep. It's already late."
"Thank you very much...."
The girl stopped rubbing her stomach, looked at Margine's face, and thanked him.
"There's no need to thank me."
"M-My name is Iris."
The girl hesitantly introduced herself as Iris. Last time, Margine told her that there was no need to know each other's names.
"I'm Margine."
However, contrary to her expectation, Margine readily told her his name.
"You're feeling better now that you've had a bath and dinner, right? The bedroom is over here. This is mine, but don't say you don't want to sleep here."
"Um, well...."
"We can talk tomorrow."
Margine said this as he opened the door and showed the bed. Iris wondered what to do, but once she got into bed, she was enveloped in the incredibly soft and fluffy blankets, unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and fell asleep in no time.
~ Rikka's Diner, around the time Margin picked up Iris ~
Rikka was crying in her room alone. She overheard Margine telling her parents that he wasn't interested in her as a woman, but she didn't understand why she felt so sad.
I see. I like Margine....
Rikka realized, ironically, that her sadness stemmed from her love for Margine.
Just you wait, Margine. I'll make you regret saying you weren't interested in me!
But as expected of Millie's daughter, she recovered from her sadness in no time and switched to battle mode.
~ The next morning ~
"Good morning…."
Iris felt awkward being saved again by the man she had previously cursed at and called mean. Moreover, she had occupied his bed and slept soundly until morning. In addition, she realized that there was probably only one set of bedding since Margine was sleeping on the sofa without a blanket.
"Hmm? Is it morning already? Fuaah.... I stayed up late last night, so I'm still sleepy."
"I-I'm sorry...."
"I'm not blaming you. I guess I won't open the shop today."
"What kind of shop is this place?"
"Do you remember when I talked about magic yesterday? This place is a spellbook shop."
"Is it okay not to open the shop just because you're sleepy?"
"No one comes anyway, so it's fine. Now, let's have breakfast."
Breakfast was fried eggs, sausages, and toast. There was also instant soup.
"This is a luxurious breakfast. Yesterday's hamburger steak was also really delicious. This bread is very soft, too."
The bread was ordinary sliced bread. In this world, bread was mostly hard type, so toasted sliced bread was Iris's first experience
"Hamburger steak aside, I just fried the sausages and eggs. They taste the same no matter who makes them."
"But this is the first time I've eaten bread this soft."
"Hard bread is tasty in its own way, but eating it in the morning tires your jaw."
"Do they sell this kind of bread in the royal capital?"
"No, I made the bread myself. I've never seen sliced bread sold around here."
"You made the bread yourself?"
Iris couldn't imagine Margine, who woke up after her, making the bread.
"I just need to put the ingredients in and press the button. The rest will be done automatically."
"Huh?"
"I'm talking about a bread maker magic tool."
"Do they sell such magical tools in the royal capital?"
"No, they don't. I only have a license to sell magic books."
Iris was confused. Her question and Margine's explanation didn't make sense.
"Then, where did you buy it?"
"Oh, so that's what you meant. I didn't buy it. I made it myself. All the magic tools in this house are also made by me. The room's warm, isn't it?"
Iris just realized that the room was quite warm even though there was no fireplace.
"You heat the room with magic tools too?"
"Yeah. Gathering firewood for a fireplace is a pain. You have to be careful about fires, too."
"But using magic tools cost a lot of money because of the magic stones...."
The mention of magic stones reminded Iris of the magic flashlight. According to Vanessa, the magic crystal inside it was very valuable, so she wanted to return it if she ever met him again. Fortunately, she kept the magic flashlight inside her shoulder bag, not her stolen backpack
"That's right, I want to return this."
"Oh, that? You can keep it. You can't use light magic, right? I'm sure it'll come in handy."
"But I heard the magic crystal inside it is very valuable."
"It's fine. I don't really need it. You can even sell it in case of emergency. I heard it fetch a decent amount of money."
“I heard I could get enough money to live for three months if I sold it.”
“I can’t sell it anyway."
"Eh?"
"Look, I'm a foreigner. People will ask various questions like where do I get it and things can get complicated. You're from this country, right? Even if you sell the magic crystal, people will be less suspicious."
"But...."
"Just keep it. Besides, you don't have any money, do you?"
"I do have money."
Iris tried to show Margine the gold coins she had been given for her return trip. Unfortunately, it was inside the stolen backpack.
"Ah...."
"I'm sure you understand this, but your backpack won't return to you."
"Yes...."
"So, what are you going to do now? Your plan fell through, right?"
"Yes...."
"You'll need a change of clothes, too."
Margine thought for a moment. He could buy her some clothes as a parting gift, but he didn't know any stores that sold women's clothes.
I guess I'll have to ask Granny for a favor. There must be a lot of women's clothes in the brothel.
"Let's go somewhere after we finish eating."
❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎
The two finished their breakfast and headed to the red-light district.
"T-This is a brothel, right?"
"That's right."
Iris turned pale when she realized she'd been brought to a brothel.
"Granny, I have a favor to ask."
While Iris was panicking, thinking she was being sold to the brothel, Margine confidently led her inside the Night's Shangri-La.
"Oh, Margin. You've come to sell again? This time you've brought a rather scrawny girl."
The sharp madam immediately understood the situation upon seeing Iris's pale face.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Margin didn't understand what the madam was saying.
"That's awful! You were kind to me but planned to sell me to the brothel!"
Iris's face turned bright red with anger.
"What are you talking about? You don't have any money, so...."
Just as Margine was about to explain the situation, the madam cut in.
"Margine, that girl isn't an adult yet, right? She will have to start as an apprentice, so I will buy her for 30,000 G. If she's an adult, I can give you 300,000 G."
The madam put a price on Iris.
"I never said I wanted to work at a brothel!"
"Hahahaha. So, Margine, what brought you here?"
"Huh?"
"Your joke went too far, Granny. This girl had her belongings and money stolen. Do you have any spare clothes she can wear?"
Iris realized the previous exchange was a joke.
"You should have told me first!"
"Are you stupid? Do I look like the kind of guy who would sell women?"
Iris, unable to say ‘yes’, mumbled and fell silent.
"Clothes, huh. There are some, but I don't know if she will find something she likes."
"Umm, well...."
"There are only secondhand clothes, but they have been properly washed."
"Y-Yes...."
Margine and Iris were led further inside. After that, an apprentice courtesan brought the clothes as instructed by the madam, and then bowed to them before she left the room.
"If you find something you like, take it."
The madam pointed to the clothes and told Iris to choose freely.
"Th-thank you..."
The girl who had just brought the clothes was clearly younger than her. Iris was surprised that such a girl was already working in a brothel.
"Just pick some clothes."
Margine urged Iris who looked hesitant.
“Y-Yes!”
Urged, Iris started checking out the clothes. The fabric of each garment felt nice and of high quality. Buying them would surely be quite expensive, but.…
"What's wrong?"
“Umm, the size is....”
The height fit all right, but every piece was loose around the chest. The madam chuckled seeing that.
"Margine, these clothes won't fit the girl's body."
"Is that true?"
"Umm, they're too big and just hang loose..."
"That's the point. I only showed them to you so you wouldn't think I'm stingy. She's the girl you picked up, right? Be generous and buy her some new clothes."
"Why do I have to be generous? Tch, whatever. So, where can I buy women's clothes around here?"
"You've been living here for three years and don't even know that? You should go out more and interact with people.... Hey, Sicily, take these two to a clothing store. Go eat something delicious while you're at it."
Sicily was a former courtesan who retired early.
"Hi, Margine. It's rare to see you with a girl."
"I just ended up in this situation somehow. I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
"Sometimes wandering the city during the day isn't so bad. I know a good restaurant, so let's have lunch there."
Any place that Sicily recommends was bound to be expensive.
"Margine, sell me three magic crystals before you go."
The madam figured that if Sicily chose the place, they'd eat somewhere expensive. Margine would need to bring a lot of cash with him.
"Do you really need that many?"
"The air conditioner you made consumes a ridiculous amount of magic power. No matter how many magic stones we have, it's never enough."
But that shouldn't be the case. It's an energy-saving air conditioner that I've painstakingly developed, after all.
In the end, Margine sold three magic crystals for 500,000 G and left the brothel.