Oh, I forgot to ask about the Klan.

　After I left the temple, I remembered that I had originally planned to ask the priestess if she knew anything about the Clan today.
　With the boy's blessing ceremony and the incident with Elepippi, I'd forgotten all about it. Well, I'll see you next time: .......

　That Elepippi, however, has now recovered his energy and is now chatting with Marina about knights.

　Sometimes there are shakes like that, but they calm down after a bit, so it's not a problem -- in her defense, "trauma to the point of vomiting" is something that was hard for me to imagine growing up in modern society.

　-- I heard later that Elepippi's family was originally an imperial aristocrat -- but a lowly one.
　Elepippi's father took over the family at a young age, but due to business failures and other factors, the family fell before Elepippi was born. After that, they moved from the imperial capital to Elishe, and were so impoverished that they had no desire to talk about the restoration of their family.

　However, Elepippi's parents had been praying for the restoration of their house since its fall. They could not forget the glory of their former life.
　It was during this time that their eldest daughter, Elepippi was born.
　Naturally, their parents had high hopes for Elepipi. Despite her poverty, she was raised to be blessed with a good vocation and more blessings.
　Elepippi grew up to be bright, active, well-mannered, dainty and beautiful in response to their expectations.
　Then, on her fateful 10th birthday, she was blessed with a knighthood.
　She was blessed and given the vocation of a knight .......

　She still sometimes dreams about that moment in her dreams.
　Her mother's face paled and she lost her expression.
My father spat out, "You are a filial daughter," and left the temple in the middle of the ceremony.
　After that day, the parents suddenly became cold-hearted and only loved their sister .......

'...... I wish I was a holy knight,' Elepippi muttered.
　Unlike a mere knight, it doesn't matter if you are a holy knight or a woman, he said.
There, I don't know how much of a difference it makes. But it's done, it's decided. That is the only truth.

　Incidentally, in terms of family reestablishment, because there was also a way to marry some nobleman, Elepippi's parents used a handmaiden from the nobleman's era - even before Elepippi received the blessing - and a good deal of groundwork was put in place. They had started it. Once the marriage with the nobles is finalized, the restoration of the house will be a reality. The vocation can be a normal one .......
　But a knight. A knight, by ---- of all people.

'Are you saying that female knights can't even get married?　A nobleman's wife doesn't have a vocation, it doesn't matter.

　I wondered and asked the question. I didn't understand what Elepippi was saying about how marriage arrangements don't work with knights.

'...... The marriage itself can be done, young man. But not ...... noblemen. A knight's woman is considered crippled, and I would never choose her for a marriage partner, never let her choose.
It's also ...... something. But since you don't have to have a wife in your narrow-mindedness, you'll be fine, I'm sure.

　Elepippi kept the same expressionless expression as usual, looked down and said

'...... Don't say it's that simple. It's not that ...... simple.

　It was my way of following up, but I guess I didn't understand it in a proper, realistic way.
　Casual consolation can sometimes irritate people.

"Sorry ....... That was insensitive.
Oh, ...... No, I'm sorry. I'm the one who's sorry. ...... I guess I was just a little nervous.

　Elepippi - though he had fallen - understood that he was destined to be born into a noble family, and that he was not free to marry. And if that was the wish of his parents - he also thought naturally.
　But that was no longer the case. Even his parents gave up on him.

　As a result, Erepippi was - greedy.
　He declared that he was going to become an actor, which he had secretly admired, and joined a theater company on the spur of the moment. But his parents didn't say anything about it either.
　He never left home.
　It's not like today's Japan where people run away from home so casually, and it's not possible to leave home that easily. He practiced on the street.

　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with them.

...... It was a long, long time ago, when I was a kid. It's not like we're still on edge. My sister might resent me for it, but ......
You've talked about it a little bit before, but you have a sister.
...... Yeah. My little sister is the one who carries my parents' expectations instead of mine. She's only 12 years old, but she's always saying, 'It's not fair, you're always playing with your sister! And I'm the one being scolded.
You are a good man, aren't you?
...... So. I guess it's not so much ...... as ...... that had to be firm. My parents, the kind with heavy expectations.

　Elepippi's sister has been given a rare vocation, "secretary," and is working for the government. Well, of course, she works as an "apprentice" - so you can't tell me how much she's being paid - but

...... I'm just a snakebite as a result of I'm just a snakebite. When I'm in a play, I make a little income, but when I'm not, I'm really just a breadwinner.
You mean, you're an actor, sometimes a neat guy? It's a bit relatable.
What's ...... neat?
I don't remember the exact definition, but I guess the short answer is: young people who don't get the job, don't get the education, and don't get the discipleship .......
...... Okay, that's it.
Okay. I was kind of a NEET. Now I'm working. My parents used to scream at me to work and work and work--sorry.
Hmm?　...... Yeah, I'm fine. My relationship with my parents is not that bad anymore. They want me to work and put money in the house for whatever I need to do sometimes.

　Then a hint of loneliness points to the profile of Elepippi, who smiles thinly.
　Not so (・・・・) bad, I guess that means it's not so good either.
　I guess the decisive rift is that it hasn't been filled ..........

　Elepippi murmurs, without the appearance of letting anyone hear it.

'Just ...... one thing. I just can't show my emotions well in front of my parents anymore. This is the only thing I can't ...... inevitably do, no matter how much I practice acting, I just can't .......

　Elepippi is always expressionless.
　When she's talking with Marina, she looks quite expressive, and when she's acting, she's like a different person, but she can't seem to do well in front of her parents.
　He smiled in resignation and said, "It's a relief that my parents haven't come to see me perform even once.

'Come to think of it, do your parents even give you an allowance?'

　I cut in to change the subject.
　I felt like I was subtly failing, but Elepippi blew out a pooch, her lips delicately quirked up and she muttered in a way that made it hard to say.

'...... Sometimes, yes, my sister gives me ...... or ...... right?'

　Well, that's just the way it goes, isn't it!
　We laughed at each other.

　But to ask my 12 year old sister for an allowance: .......
　Maybe Elepippi is a worse kind of kid than I thought.





　◇◆◆◆◆◇





　The next day, I was showing up at the flea market (flea market).
　The flea market in Elishe is held regularly, and unlike the market, citizens sell old tools and other unwanted items, so you're more likely to find a bargain.

　You need to visit the flea market first thing in the morning to find a bargain.
　Even if you find a bargain, other vendors will naturally come after it. Then you have to earn money on your feet - it would be strange to say, but you have to find and buy them first.
　Basically, I'm a sloth, but I get up early on the days of the flea market.
　I arrive at the market by 7:00 a.m. to check out the stall holders who are preparing their wares.

　Deanna, who is weak in the morning, doesn't get up, so Marina is basically the only companion.
　Around noon or so, we'd return to the mansion once we'd left our bags and had lunch.

'Why didn't you wake me up!　You said I'd be there this time!
Oh, Princess!　I was so busy in the morning that I forgot all about it. I will try not to forget next time!
d*mn it!　Marina's an a**h*le!

　There is an exchange between the two, but I guess it doesn't matter.

　There was a young man pulling a cart to take the goods into the market, so I went to see his booth.
　I guess it's the same here and there, but booths at flea markets are very simple. Basically, they just put their goods on a rug and that's it. Ask the stall holders about the prices!　This is the style of the game, so there's no need for price tags.
　In fact, the items were lined up immediately.

Good morning. May I take a look at it?　It's kind of a rare sight!
Oh, good morning. Well, my grandfather passed away, and I had to sort out his stuff. I don't know what to do with all this junk he left behind. It would have been better if he'd left them to me with money.

　Oh, I see. It's lucky.
　That's the most delicious pattern...

　The curious old man dies, and the completely uninterested son of a b*tc* sells out.
　When you fall into this golden pattern (・・・・), it is impossible for even the buyer to know how much profit you can make.

　I once bought a collection of wonderfully crafted Japanese rods in bulk at a neighborhood flea market.
　The vendor (a woman who looked like her daughter) thought they were just dirty rods. She was selling them for 1,000 yen each.
　I didn't know anything about Japanese rods, but I figured it would still be about 5,000 yen a rod.
　The most expensive one was priced at 47,000 yen, and the cheapest one was 8,000 yen. The cheapest one was 8,000 yen.
　So it was a treasure trove.
　The fact that it was sold at the auction means that the list price must have been at least double that.
　I don't know the details of the auction, but from the bidders' questions and the winners' comments, it seems that most of them were made by famous artists.
　I heard that the series of my bids had become the talk of the town among the Japanese rod lovers on the internet.
　Off topic.
　The flea market is a place where you can potentially find a great bargain.

　The young man examines the items he has lined up with the "Mirror of Truth" while secretly appraising them.
　A ceramic plate with a simple unusual design, a silver frog figurine, a sword scabbard with a beautiful decoration but without its essential contents, a stone that looks like a human face, a collection of empty bottles, and a mask carved out of wood .......

　Unfortunately, they all seemed to be of average quality. I liked the scabbard and masks so much that I'm not sure I'd buy them.
　For the purpose of selling them in Japan for Okku, both frogs and empty bottles would sell well, but there is a physical problem of not being able to hold them even if you buy so many.

I didn't know you had this too. These are a bit rare.

　As if to say he just remembered, the young man took out of his bag a scroll that looked somewhat familiar.
　It was a scroll made of sooty parchment, similar to those seen in video games.

'It's a strange scroll. It's a map inside, but the content inside changes when you push it with your finger. It's like a letter. What do you think?　Isn't that unusual?
Yeah. It's definitely different.

　Pretending to be genuinely surprised, I was thinking about how I was going to get my hands on this.
　Maybe, or maybe not, it's definitely the Quest Order Form that Efta showed me a long time ago.
　It's the same one he received from the mayor when he bet on Deanna to win.
　I open it up to check it, but like a touch screen, the screen?　It's a magical map that switches information when you press I can't read the text, so I give up on it.
　Well, you buy it anyway, you can check the contents later.

　After negotiating, we were able to buy the scabbard, the mask and the scroll for three silver coins. Naturally, the young man did not know the price of the magic map.
　The price of the magic map was probably 20 gold coins (if Evta is to be believed). So, he could buy it for about 1/100th of the price.

　Because of this, I can't stop visiting the flea market. Gufff. .......

　When I checked later, the scroll was like this

'I need you to get me a magic fruit that will cure my mother's illness. The fruit is said to grow wild in the hills near the North Woods. ......'

　Oh, what?　It's soooo little information.
　I think I was shown Efta's before and it even had some pretty detailed information (rewards and such): .......
　Well, you can check the "Mirror of Truth".


　　 ---------------------- ...

　[Type]
　Quest Order Form (normal mode)

　[Name]
　No.01068
　The crouching beast and the sky-blue fig

　[Commentary]
　Item Delivery Quest Order Form
　Difficulty D
　Deliver a fruit to a little girl that is said to cure her mother's illness.
　The fruit is said to come from a tree that stands on a hill by the forest west of Lucraella!
　Rumor has it that the magic fruit is a monster's favorite food.
　Just be prepared to fight!

　[Magical characteristics]
　After clearing the game, it changes to a reward.

　[Spiritual blessing]
　None

　[Owner]
　Jiro Ayase

　 ---------------------- ...


　Difficulty D or .......
　As I recall, the one Efta showed me before was also on difficulty D.
　That one was to take out the goblin mother at the end of the tunnel!　So it was the same level of difficulty?

　So a D rating doesn't seem so difficult ......, but however, it's unclear where the bottom is, so it might be subtle .......
　I hope the bottom is a D. ......, but what if E is the bottom?　What if there was an F further down?
　If the minimum difficulty was F, then difficulty D would be something that isn't as easy as you might imagine.
　I mean, you can die. With room to spare.
　I'd be battling a monster that came to eat fruit, and I'd be a fruit myself.
　What's more, A is the easiest, and Z is the maximum difficulty - not without possibility .......

　If you want to take the safety pie, it's safer to sell this map to Efta for 20 gold coins.
　Twenty gold coins is a lot of money.
　If it is converted into Japanese yen, it is 3 million yen. In Emespalette, he could live for a few years if he was bad at it. We could equip the knights and such, and even buy a horse.
　If so, there may be the option of buying another slave (although as expected, it will not be enough to buy a slave).
　I don't even know what the quest rewards are, and in terms of money, that would certainly be more advantageous.

　But I didn't want to cut that pie.

　Because I want to try it!
　I just want to do a quest!
　Money is secondary to the problem. If you're in need of a living, but you've got some spare cash, and since it's a quest, you want to take it.
　Secondly, there's no plan to get a magic map, and this time I'm only super lucky to get it .......
　Even if there are monsters, if Rebecca or Shero is there, we'll be able to handle it, I'm sure, maybe.

　Well, the problem is--we don't know where the fruit is, and we don't know if what is said to be a 1,000 year old map in the first place is still valid today, and most importantly, the girl who gives you the fruit is supposed to be long dead by now. .......

　So you're usually stuck, but, well, you can try it.

　If you can get the magic fruit alone, you can sell it to Efta, and if you can't even complete the quest, you can sell the map to Efta.
　That way, you'll also be able to achieve the "Let's do business with the Imperial Merchant" guidance that I've been releasing all along, and either way, it's a bargain.

　While thinking about this, I look at the magic map.

　The terrain drawn on the map was very similar to the area around my mansion.