The request from the Ash Hawk Knights for a new type of winter gear was left to the experts, Noir and Alexia, for now.

　As a store manager, I can't just leave it up to the two of them, but this isn't a situation where my 【Restoration】 skill is useful.

　If that's the case, what I can do is still--

'Is this to counteract the cold in the Eastern Continent?'

　One day during work hours, I casually ask Sakura, who asked me to help Noir and Alexia while they were focused on product development, such a question.

　The only thing I can be useful for other than [Restoration] is relying on the connections I've built up with various guys in my fifteen years as an adventurer and in the year since I started my weapon shop.

　In that sense, Sakura, who was born and raised in a culture that was radically different from the Westland Kingdom, would be the first person to turn to.

''Wouldn't it be necessary in the country where Sakura was born?　If there's something else going on besides wearing thicker clothes, I'd like you to tell me about it for your reference.
It's not that I don't like it. But it's a good way to protect yourself from the cold except by putting on clothes: ......

　After thinking about it for a bit, Sakura said a word she didn't recognize.

''Speaking of things to carry around, I guess it would have to be Onjaku.
A musical note?
These are stones heated by heating fires. The stone is wrapped in a cloth or bag and placed in a bosom to keep it warm.
I see. ...... So that's one way to go.

　If you carry a heat source with you, it will keep you warm.
　It's a simple, but such a surefire way to do it.

'But it's hard to warm your whole body, and if you want it to last longer, you'll have to make the stone bigger, and that's the downside of having to carry it around.
'It's a stone, so I guess we'll have to do something about that. Thanks, that'll help me in the future.
I've heard of a tool that burns charcoal in small containers to keep you warm.

　The second half of the statement is not that of a cherry.
　It wasn't even a woman's voice to begin with, but clearly the voice of a young man.

　When I turned my head in the direction of the voice, I saw Mark, dressed in plain clothes, walking towards me with a cloth bag in his hand.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

　The Purple Joint Knights, of which Mark is an official member, is tasked with guarding the eastern continent and guarding the eastern trade.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''Oh, come to think of it, there was such a thing. It wasn't used much in my hometown, though.''
I heard they had just started selling them in the city.

　He looked bareheaded, but Mark's attention was clearly going to Sakura next to him, not me.

'By the way, it doesn't look like you're here to shop, what's going on?　You're not going to tell me you're just here to see the cherry blossoms, are you?
I won't say. It's not Chandler. I just wanted to return this.

　Immediately after Mark placed the bag he was holding on the checkout counter, there was a high-pitched sound of glass touching each other.

　Inside were multiple glass potion containers.
　All of them are from our store.

　As I was convinced that this was the case, Erika, the person in charge, returned to the counter to finish the display.

Oh, you brought it back. Thank you. Well, you can return a bottle for a refund of a small copper ...... Yes, here. Thank you.
Hi. I didn't know glass bottles were so expensive.
The price has dropped dramatically compared to a long time ago. But it's not worth it if you buy a lot of them, so if you can reuse them, I'd like to.

　We're exchanging unimportant chit-chat with each other in a different manner than when dealing with me and the ...... store manager and the leader of the group.

　The reason why Mark brought the bottle to me is just as it was in our conversation.

　Before the Westland Kingdom unified the continent, glass was a specialty product that was manufactured and sold exclusively by certain regions.

　And with the unification of the continent, it became as widespread and pricey as any other luxury product, and was widely used in the windows of houses and some containers.

　But even so, they were still pricey compared to the traditional wooden and ceramic containers.

　So the potion containers Erica sells in her shop are not only new ones bought from other sources, but also reused bottles collected from buyers for a fee.

Luke, sir. It seems that Mark-dono has come to see Erica and not me.
Could you please stop misleading me at ......?

　The one word Sakura released with a smile and no malice or any other intention, Mark returned the word with an indescribable expression of confusion.

　Then he tried to turn on his heel as if his business was done, and turned around with a face that reminded him of something.

'I don't know what's going on, but if you're looking into cold weather gear, why don't you ask Sir Hild, too? I heard that man is from the north.
'Yeah, ...... certainly is.'

　I remembered that there were other people close to me who seemed to know about it.

　It wasn't that he was ever disappointed in Hild's existence, it was simply that the fact that she fit into the category of being from the North had inadvertently slipped from his consciousness.

　Even though she was from the north, she was from the dungeon 'Chalk Fairyland'.

　Just as the environment of the nearby dungeon, the Ark of the Elements, was far removed from that of Green Hollow, that dungeon could be far removed from the climate on the ground in the northern part of the continent.

　In fact, as a rule of thumb, the odds of it being different from the ground would be much higher.

　Of course, the fact that Hild is an elf from 'Chalk Fairyland' is a fact that only me and Garnett in Green Hollow know about.

　I'm sure that people around Mark only think of him as a mere northern native, and it was probably a statement that arose from the discrepancy in perceptions in that area, but it's quite a good timing.

It's a good time to ask Hildy about it after work. It's the least I can do.