Chapter 08 ….
After I had gathered the conches I brought into the bucket, I was just about to mutter a word about their ridiculous price.
At that moment, an older lady came up and spoke to the street vendor.
“Ben, can you pack 3 kilos of conches for me?”
So the vendor’s name must have been Ben.
The lady then, as if it were natural, pulled three silver coins from her wallet and handed them to Ben.
Three silver.
“…….”
Ben glanced at me, then coughed awkwardly as he took the money.
Ah, so he’s feeling guilty too, huh?
I glared at him with all my strength.
As Ben looked away and began placing conches into the scale’s basket, the lady spoke again.
“Oh my, these conches here look really good. Can you pack these instead?”
She was pointing at the conches I had brought. One of Ben’s eyebrows twitched.
“Oh, they’re all the same. They only look good because of the seawater I sprayed on them.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Got it. But the last conches I bought, two of them went bad.”
“Oh my! I’m so sorry. The weather’s been warm, so that happens sometimes. To make up for the ones you couldn’t eat before, I’ll add four more for you.”
Ben quickly added more conches into the scale’s basket.
“And because you’re a regular, I’ll throw in a particularly large one as well. See the weight?”
The lady checked the weight and smiled in satisfaction.
“Hohoho, well, seafood can be like that sometimes. That’s why I only come here. But if this keeps happening, it would be troublesome. Please be careful, okay?”
“Oh, of course. I made sure to check the condition thoroughly before packing them.”
With Ben’s cheerful promise, the lady nodded, picked up her basket, and left.
“Ugh, of all times…”
Ben muttered as if he had been caught off guard. I seized the opportunity and grabbed the bucket of conches.
“Goodbye.”
“Wait!”
Ben hurriedly caught up with me.
“20 copper per kilo. I’ll pay double just for you.”
“No thanks. I’ve changed my mind.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Ben.
“These were caught this morning, completely fresh. You can see how good the water is just by looking. And yet you say 20 copper?”
“Freshly caught is good, sure. But I can catch and sell that too.”
“Then you should skip drinking at night and go into the sea to catch them yourself. If you don’t drink, you’ll wake up early and can catch them in the morning too.”
“Aik! Morning’s fine, but going into the sea at night to catch conches? How dangerous is that? Are you trying to get yourself killed just to catch a few conches?”
So he’s a bit of a coward, huh.
Catching conches at night is indeed riskier than during the day, but it’s not impossible as long as you don’t go too deep.
Ben licked his lips as he looked at the conches we brought.
“So, how much do you want for them?”
“70 copper.”
“Ah, even if you sell them to a proper store, you’d barely get 60 copper. And that’s only if you sell in bulk over 100 kilos.”
“Then I’ll sell them myself. Around 90 copper, they’ll sell fine.”
“Huh, yourself? Who would buy them for 90 copper?”
“You sell them for 1 silver each, don’t you?”
“Well, I sell that way because I’m local. If a girl no one’s seen tries selling, no one will buy.”
“If the product is good and cheaper than yours, why wouldn’t anyone buy? They’d line up.”
“Line up? No one will buy, I’m telling you.”
“Then I’ll pay 10 copper per kilo for a stall fee. Just watch.”
Before Ben could even respond, I shouted loudly into the street.
“First-come, first-served special! King conches caught this morning, 90 copper per kilo! Limit 2 kilos per person! Only for four people!”
The result was immediate, and Ben’s eyes went wide.
It took just 5 minutes to sell all 8 kilos, of course.
After 5 minutes, Ben held 80 copper in stall fees and stammered to speak.
“If you loiter here, what will you do about the kid?”
“Didn’t you just see me sell? Just sell quickly. And my little brother is very smart. He can handle it alone. He can read well too and even knows currency units.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much Baron knew. But being born a noble, he must have learned to read and write no matter how young.
“That’s basic. 100 copper is 1 silver, 100 silver is 1 gold.”
Baron, quick to catch on, repeated the units and laughed, pleased with the praise.
Ben scratched his head looking at Baron and muttered.
“Well, he is clever. And this girl, I didn’t think she’d be so competent.”
I didn’t say anything, but Baron puffed his chest proudly.
‘Hehe, why is everything this kid does so cute?’
My little one is cute to me, of course, but Baron was objectively cute too.
Even Ben, grumbling earlier, couldn’t help but chuckle at Baron.
“Alright. If the conches are like this every day, I’ll pay 70 copper. Just don’t go elsewhere. I’ll pay well for other stuff too.”
Setting up a stall requires considering fees, local merchants’ grudges, tying up time, and other details. Considering all that, this purchase price wasn’t bad for me either.
“Got it. I’ll come again next time.”
As we left, Baron held my hand tightly and called to me.
“Sis.”
“Hm?”
His eyes sparkled.
“You’re really skilled.”
I felt good seeing the look of admiration in his eyes.
“Eh, it’s nothing.”
I patted Baron’s head and adjusted the bucket in my hands.
Alright, time to do the shopping!
I wandered around with Baron, buying various items: hygiene goods like soap and toothbrushes, sturdy nets, floating baskets, ropes, and round glass jars.
That night, after having seafood for dinner, Baron and I set up traps on the nearby white sand beach to catch the flash fireflies.
But something felt odd.
Although it was supposed to be a firefly trap, the setup using jars and baskets looked similar to the bird traps I used back on Earth.
I hid behind a flimsy fence, holding the string attached to the basket, and asked Baron quietly.
“Do you think this will really work?”
Baron smiled faintly.
“Yes. Trust me. You remember what to do after catching them, right?”
“Yes.”
You name them, keep them in the jar for a couple of days, and when released, they will follow the person who named them and obey them.
‘Are there insects like that in the world? Following the person who trapped them? Maybe it’s because this is a fantasy world with magical beasts?’
As I tilted my head, a flash lit up one side. It was a flash firefly.
Its light spread brilliantly in all directions, rivaling LED lights used for fishing boats.
‘Wow, that much light!’
It was bright enough to illuminate the sea at night.
We waited, hoping to catch it, and the flash firefly circled the basket and slipped into the jar.
“Now!”
At Baron’s signal, I quickly pulled the rope.
The basket toppled over, covering the jar. Baron grabbed the cork and rushed to the basket, lifting it and sealing the jar’s mouth.
“Sis! Here!”
The moment Baron lifted the jar, the light was so dazzling I could barely keep my eyes open.
The flash firefly’s brightness was truly overwhelming.
“Wow, wow! Amazing! What do we do!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim.
As I took the jar with the firefly from Baron, my feet fidgeted uncontrollably.
“Let’s name it first. You name it.”
Taking the jar, I said,
“From now on, your name is ‘Search’.”
I laughed, unable to believe it.
To get LED-level lighting in this world!
“Sis, are you happy?”
I immediately hugged Baron and kissed his cheek.
“Yes! Baron! Thanks to you! Really, thank you!”
Baron, eyes wide, lightly touched the cheek I kissed.
His face flushed, pupils dilating as if shocked, and only then did I realize…
I’d made a mistake. Baron is like a younger brother, but not my real sibling.
“Ah, sorry. Did I surprise you? I kissed you without asking.”
Baron shook his head hastily.
“No, it’s fine. I liked it…”
“Hm?”
Baron, who had been looking toward the sea, bit his lip lightly and then narrowed his eyes, as if bracing himself to say something.
