Ch.65 Kaito with His Childhood Friend and Neighbor who Loves Stalls 1

Kaito's POV

(After the group disbanded, an hour before the meeting)

After parting ways with Mimia and the others, I heads to the weapon shop with Shuuto to ask for our weapon to be repaired.

While a weapon shop is a place where you can buy ready made weapons lined up in the store, a blacksmith handles repairs and making custom-made items.

This time, we're going to get our weapon repaired, so the blacksmith is the right choice, but weapon shops and blacksmiths usually come as a set. They're next to each other, or rather, the buildings themselves are attached, so you can go back and forth between them.

So it's fine if you just aim for one of them.

Our destination happens to be in the same direction as Takemaru-san's.

But he's nowhere to be seen.

This starting town is filled with people coming and going. Even if you look elsewhere for a few seconds and then immediately return your gaze, the player you had just seen is no longer visible. There are just that many.

With a wide variety of players, from beginners to mid-level players to veterans, it can be difficult to find a specific individual unless you decide on a meeting place or something.

Even though we only broke up a short time ago, it's no wonder I can't find him.

"Mimia's going to take a bath, huh? Let's go take a bath as well after we're done."

He talks with his hands on top of his head.

This gesture is to tell me that his hair is sticky, probably from sweat.

"Of course. It'll be bad if we leave it like this at the celebration."

"It still smells bad."

What's wafting in the air is not the good smell, it's the bad smell. I can tell even without sniffing it.

Shuuto looks at the clothes he is wearing underneath his armor and opens the shirt's neck, allowing air to get between his armor and his body.

"I'm sweating and it's disgusting."

After that battle, our body was stained with dirt, sweat, and blood, and I couldn't really call us clean.

It would be unhygienic to go out to eat in this state, so it would be better to take a bath first. We're so dirty that just washing our hands isn't enough.

"How's your stomach? Empty? I'm soooooooo hungry myself."

I don't have anything that tells me the current time, and there's nothing around me that tells me the time, but the sun is a little ahead of directly overhead, so it must be past midday.

"So you wanna eat somewhere and then go to the weapon shop?"

"Yeah. I'm hungry, do you want to eat something?"

I only ate 10 rolls for breakfast. Because bread is so easy to digest, it doesn't take long for me to get hungry.

In addition, we played two other events: a game of tag where participants had to run away from that turtle, which was similar to a middle-distance race, and a sumo wrestling with our weapons.

My stomach is growling, reminding me to hurry up and eat.

"Um... I'm also hungry, but we have a party in an hour. If we eat now, won't we be full before then?"

"No, it's still an hour away, you know? I'd like to have something in my stomach, even if it's just a little."

"That's true, but... hmm, as long as it's not too heavy, I guess?"

Shuuto is hungry too. After some deliberation, I nodded slightly in agreement with what he said.

"What would be the perfect thing to eat? What do you want to eat, Kaito?"

What's that question? Can I answer it seriously?

What I want to eat right now is something that fills my stomach, right? Something hearty like a katsudon.

Well, if we eat something like that now, then as I said earlier, we won't be able to eat any food at the party.

"Hmmm... Ah, what about food stalls? Those kind of places tend to be just for satisfying your hunger slightly."

After thinking about it, the first thing that came to mind is street food.

There are some dishes that aren't too large in portion, so it should be just right.

"Oh, that's a good one. Then let's stop by the food stall and then go get our weapons repaired."

"Yeah. What to eat, what to eat~"

We decided to satisfy our hunger with some food from a food stall.

The two of us walks down the street to where there were rows of food stalls.

This street stretches straight from the gate at the entrance to the town, and is like a shopping street, with stalls lined on both sides.

The food stalls are located a little further ahead, around the intersection.

It is a circular square with a large fountain in the middle, which is the symbol of the town.

There are several benches where they can be used as a resting place, and with a clock tower, it can also be used as a meeting place.

So the square is always crowded with people, and it's hard to find people.

That's why veteran players choose different meeting places.

Takemaru-san had also designated the Explorer's Guild as our meeting place.

"There aren't many food stalls today."

"Yeah."

When we arrived at the square and looked around, there seemed to be fewer food stalls than yesterday.

Since they're mobile, it's possible that they got the installation and sales permits to different places.

Well, it's not like there aren't any food stalls in the square, so it's not something to worry about too much.

No matter how little there is, we can only choose from what's being sold now.

"Obanyaki, yakisoba, taiyaki, salad, waffles..."

While looking at the food stalls, Shuuto calls out the names of the products on sale. He has his left hand holding up his right elbow and his right hand on his chin.

It's a habit he's had since he was a child.

Apparently, by saying things out loud, he organizes his thoughts. In other words, when he's talking to himself, it's time to organize his own thoughts. That's it.

Leaving behind my childhood friend, whose consciousness had flown to a faraway place, I walk alone to the takoyaki stand.

"Welcome."

There's a species I've seen for the first time. The shop assistant is an octopus.

Could it be the fishman I saw on the message board?

"Hello. I'd like one pack of these takoyaki, please."

"Comin' up. That'll be 28 Monies."

It's takoyaki, but the staff are octopus-like.

I guess this is the kind of thing that would lower people's favorability if they talked about how it's okay to cook members of the same species. "Don't lump them together!" Or something like that.

With that thought in mind, I took my magic sack off my waist, picked it up, and turned it around on the counter.

I put my hand inside the sack and imagine taking out exactly 28 Monies, and the money falls out from the bag with a jingling sound.

Meanwhile, the octopus attendant is packing a pack of 8 into a bag.

"Exact amount. Here you go."

After checking the money and it's confirmed that the payment has been made, the bag containing the takoyaki is handed over to me.

"Come again."

"Thank you."

Now that I've gotten the takoyaki, I'm heading back to where Shuuto is.

The sauce coming from the bag in my hand smells delicious. I can't wait to eat it.

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〘Stall〙

A mobile store. Unlike regular stores, it can be moved anywhere.

You can sell anything, even fireworks, as long as they don't cause any damage to the surrounding area.

Every time you want to sell something, you must get permission to set it up and permission to sell it from a guild.

Operating without a license is a crime. You won't get arrested, but you will be fined. They'll take a lot of your money.

If you don't line up in front of the guild early in the morning before it opens, the good selling spots will be taken.

Please note that the guild you apply to will vary depending on what you are selling. The sales location will also vary depending on the guild.

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