In the evening, Marina returned with a dejected look on her face.
　After all, she probably didn't get the desired item afterwards. She was as empty-handed as when she went out (though she did have her halberd with her).
　According to Rebecca's story, lace is a defunct item, and it's not surprising that we can't find it in the range of Marina's activities. It shouldn't be impossible to find it by looking all over Elishe, so I'm sure it's there somewhere: .......
　Well, let's just ask Marina what she was looking for, shall we?

'So, what were you looking for?　I saw you talking to Orica this morning about presents. You were looking for a gift for Orica, weren't you?
　Is that a bit deliberate?
Did you know, Lord? Actually, I was looking for a lace handkerchief. I found a store that sold them, but for some reason they weren't sold at ....... I looked around elsewhere, but couldn't find them anywhere: ....... So I went back to the first store I found, but when I returned, the store was gone: ......

　Marina easily confessed. Is it strange that she fessed up? It's not like it was a secret, right?

　Well, what do I do now?
　Now I'm going to say "Hahaha!　I've got it for you, just in case that happens! It's easy to hand over the lace that you got from a bogus supplier to Marina as it is, but it's awkward to hand over a delicate quality product for something that will be used as a gift to Orica.
　I don't mind if it's because I got it from a bogus supplier, but it's better to have a good one anyway. If it's an important birthday present, it's even better.

　However, Orica's birthday is next week. There's no need to rush yet.

'Did you know, Rebecca?　A place that seems to sell lace handkerchiefs at Elishe. At this point, I don't mind if it's used or new. It means it's out of date, so a new one would be tough indeed.

'Well, yeah, ....... I don't actually know of any place that sells them, but I have an idea where they might sell them!　I could show you around tomorrow if you'd like.

　That's Rebecca-sama in a time of need.
　I've looked around to some extent, but I'm just a man who specializes in the main street. The suspicious shops in the back streets have yet to be explored, and many of the type of shops that don't have signs on them probably don't even know they exist.
　The first slave trading house I went to in the first place, if I hadn't heard about the location and what kind of building it was in at the guild, I'm sure I still wouldn't have noticed its existence.

　The next day, me and Rebecca-san went out in the afternoon to find a store that sold lace.
　Marina was away.
　And Marina, of course!　He wanted to follow me, but I didn't want to spoil him too much because he had a full day off yesterday, so I took heart.
　...... is just an excuse, I didn't bring the lace with me because if it cost more than a silver coin when I sold it to Marina after I got it, there's a good chance he won't accept it.
　And I'm told that it was a pretty expensive item to begin with.

　Deanna said, "I'm also going to prepare a birthday present for Orica," and then she disappeared without a trace. I'm still a free spirit, but I think it's safe to leave her alone. I'm also slightly curious to see what you have in store for Orica.

'Well, let's go. It's been a long time since I've walked alone with Jiro.

'Come to think of it, yes. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. Well, I feel that my training has progressed and I've become much stronger, and if I'm in town, I may not need a guard anymore.

Well, you can't be too careful.　If you're dealing with someone who has mastered a warrior-type vocation, you're still not going to be able to do much with Jirou, are you?

Then I'll run away as fast as I can. I'll get a makibishi for my getaway: ......

　I don't actually have to worry about being attacked by someone who has mastered the warrior type in the city. What Rebecca-san is talking about is just a matter of preparedness.

　While talking about this, we walked the streets of Elisheh, ransacked the streets lined with shops selling luxury goods, went to second-hand clothing stores, and Rebecca asked a few people she knew about ----.

It seems this is where they sell them, Jiro. The atmosphere is somewhat uncomfortable.

...... Right.

　It is a clothing store for prostitutes.
　The shop is located in a rather underground corner of Elishe, which is called Brothel Street.
　Originally, it seems that prostitutes and brothels themselves are commonplace in this world. Well, there is a famous story that the world's first profession was a prostitute, so it's natural.
　However, Elishe was developed by the power of a female mayor named Ms. Milky Pearl. It has no particular history. It seems that in such a city with such a background, this kind of customs often does not develop so much, and in fact, the number of brothels in Elishe is fewer than in other imperial cities.
　It's not like Mr. Milkpearl doesn't approve of brothels, or that they're mugger operations or anything like that: .......

　Anyway, the clothing store in question was located at the corner of the brothel street.
I'm sure you'll be able to find it in the middle of the day, but the so-called "stand-up" girls dressed in s*xy outfits are looking at you unreservedly, and the men who come to the brothel are also looking at you curiously and curiously, and it's hard to bear.

　---- After all, this is the kind of place you should come alone.
　I think you should pay some tuition to experience the culture of another world. ......
　If you're dealing with professionals, it's a no-brainer: ....... Tomorrow is my day off.

"No, Jiro.

　Rebecca, who just stared at me and said no.

"What, what?
Just no.

　Ha, no way, Esper!　
　You've discovered that I've always been attracted to whorehouses?　Because the lady of the standing room is unexpectedly beautiful. Her business is doing reasonably well, and she can easily raise money for a bit of fun.
　Rebecca doesn't have the authority to prohibit it. In this case, I'm going to go through with it.

Hi, Jiro?　Yes?　Oh, no?

　I'm scared!
　You're smiling, but your eyes aren't smiling!

Oh, yes!　Howmeny good face!

　I was crisply defeated and sucked in to run away to the store in question.
　Yes, I mustn't lose sight of my original purpose.
　I came to find the race.
　I never came to book a ticket to a man's amusement park.

　The store was dimly lit like any other thrift store.
　Well, lights in this world are based on candles. Most shops are dimly lit, even if they are not thrift stores.
　If you want to make it really bright, you need to take in the sunlight well, but if you do that in a second-hand clothing store, the UV light will deteriorate the products.
　That's why it's so dimly lit even in the daytime.
　It's very difficult to inspect the merchandise, but from the store's point of view, it's a two birds with one stone solution: the merchandise doesn't deteriorate and it's hard to see the imperfections.
　From the customer's point of view, though, it's a problem because they can't see it well.

　The size of the store is probably about half the size of a school classroom. It is larger than I had imagined. A business for prostitutes seems to be on a small scale, but there seems to be a good number of products.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than a few of these items, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than a few of these items, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than a few of these items. --as it should be.

'Rebecca, can I ask you a question?　Is this the general preference over here?

'Wow, if you ask me: ....... This is a maid's outfit, right?　Why do they sell work clothes here? They have nursing uniforms over here, too: ....... Oh, it's not a shop for hookers, it's a shop for work clothes. Wow.

　Rebecca, who has a convincing face all by herself that it must be so, it must be so.

　No, it's not ...... at all. ......
　This is definitely a shop for prostitutes. ......
　Not only do they have uniforms for work, but they also have extravagant dresses like those worn by noblemen, headdresses for slaves, and even the traditional Canaanite dress (sailor's uniform). ......

　Well, you're making progress, Elishe!
No, I don't think Elishe is advancing, but the Imperials are advancing. Or if this whole world is like this, it's the other way around.

　I can't believe it's based on image play!





　◇◆◆◆◇





　The lace was lined up hissing in the far back corner of the store.
　I guess there is no demand for this other than to use it for image play. There was no sense of motivation in the display.
　Perhaps back in the days when aristocrats still wore lace, there must have been a demand for a lace-wearing aristocratic young lady looking down on the common people and an incompetent gardener, but the lace itself has been forgotten, and I'm not sure if there is a demand for it. -- so to speak, in these days of being a relic, the store will have become one of those items that they can't have.

　Well, that makes it a mystery why Marina would want a lace handkerchief with pinpoint accuracy: .......

　Nevertheless, lace is mainly something you wear on your clothes, but there were various types and quantities of lace as well.
　I also found a lace handkerchief, which is what I was after. Compared to the lace that the bogus vendor in question had, they were more delicate and precise, and more elaborate to look at.
　For now, we'll buy all these things.
　Considering that you have to go all the way to Teito to buy them, they're a little more expensive, but they're still umami (...) .......

　Now, we've decided to buy the lace, but now the question is how to buy it.
　In this world, most stores don't put price tags on them. In most cases, the price is decided by negotiation with the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper himself does not set a fixed price.
Of course, they know how much money they have to spend to make a profit, but in other words, sometimes they only have a fixed price.

　Shopping in this shop this time is away from home.
　Because the store here is the one that it is not too much to say that it is only for prostitutes. I was a merchant who came there to stock up.
　Of course, if I only bought a few handkerchiefs, if I pretended to be a good citizen and said "There is a girl who wants it" or something like that, I might be able to get it for a market price or a little higher.
　But if they think you're a merchant who came to stock up, you'll be blown off your feet, that's what this transient life is all about.
　Because if the merchant wants it, it's like saying it's a commercial product: .......

　Now, what to do, really.
The owner's father is also a skinny, balding to the top of his head and has a blue streak on his forehead under normal conditions, which is the most annoying type. No, I'm sorry to judge him by his appearance, but I actually think that many of these types are hard to do with a fast thinking person .............

'Rebecca, if I could just give you a rough estimate, how much do you think the clothes and lace here are worth, roughly?

　Lower your voice and listen.
　There are still many situations where Rebecca-san is more familiar with the market.

'Well, hmm. If you look closely at the clothes, they aren't very beautiful, and they probably won't cost you a silver coin. The most expensive would be 5 bronzes.　Besides, if work clothes were that expensive, they wouldn't sell.　Even races have been out of style for a long time now, so I guess it's only a white copper coin.

　Oh. I know I'm fundamentally mistaken, but it's not work clothes, Rebecca.
　No, if you mean hooker's work clothes, then it's definitely work clothes: .......
　So, if that's the case, are you sure it's work clothes?
　I don't know what's going on here!

'I see, I'm thinking a bit more expensive, but even with the intervals, I'd say about eight white copper coins and three white copper coins for the race.

Hmm?　Do you buy clothes too?

You're right. The maid's uniform that Orica wears is a Kokkiri, so I thought I'd buy the one from here. And I'm also interested in some of them: ......

　I can't just buy a few things, put them on Deanna and Marina, and tell them straight up that I want to take a picture of them. I've already figured out the sizes, so I can get by without him. ......

　Once again, I observe the owner of the store.
　A glass cluttered on the table, and a bottle of liquor.
　Hmm?　Have you been drinking in the daytime?　Well, he's a guy who runs a shop for prostitutes in a place like this, so why not drink in the afternoon?
　If you think of it in the Japanese sense of values, you'll lose: .......

　But this is useful. This is what we'll do.
　I called it the "Festival Business Meeting Operation".
　I had to get Rebecca to help me with this, but she agreed to help me out when I told her about the plan.
　The fact that I always want to do unnecessary tricks when I could just buy something normal is either because of my vocation as a merchant, or because of my calling as a con artist, or because of my nature.