God, why did you walk so fast?

Sorry, man. Hey, you wanna go somewhere else?

　Estelle's words embarrassed me and I walked a little faster and waited for the heat in my face to go down.
　The fever quickly receded and I slowed my walk, but when Estelle, who had been following me hastily, caught up with me, she pruriently and angrily grabbed the hem of my clothes.
　She looked so happy, but I felt bad for her.
　It's nice to hear you speak so favorably to me, but it's also very embarrassing.

''Hmmm, well then, do you mind if I go to the clothing store?''

Yeah, that's fine.

Thank you. Oh, since you're here, would you like to eat that?

Hmm?　Well I'm starting to get hungry and it's just as well.

　When I asked again where we should go, Esther put her hand on her cheek and thought for a moment before answering.
　I agree with that, and then she points in a certain direction and asks me if I want to eat.
　I pointed in the direction of a store that sold food with fruit on a round, wheat-colored dough.
　From the looks of it........a pie guy?

Here, be careful with this, okay?

Thank you. The money is....

Don't worry about this. I mean, they're all joint ones I have.

　I immediately went to the store and bought a pie and handed it to Esther.
　I didn't buy a round pie as is, it was cut into several parts and wrapped in paper.
　If it's this size, it seems to be easy to eat, even while walking.
　Esther was concerned about the money when I handed it to her, but it's not an amount of money to worry about.
　Besides, the money I have is only what we all earned, so in a way it's Esther's money as well.
　Even if you thank me, you'll feel sorry for me.

　Well then, I was about to eat, but before I could, Estelle held out a pie to me and waited patiently.
　Eh.........could this possibly mean that you should eat it?　No.........that's not quite........

''Um........okay.

　Defeated by Esther, who didn't seem to be moving anytime soon, I bit into the pie she offered me.
　A slight crunching sound came from the still hot dough, and a sweet and sour taste spread in my mouth. It tastes like fruit, much like apple pie.

'How's that?　Is it good?

Oh, this is good.

　Esther had a satisfied smile on her face when I bit into it and told her it was delicious. Would she be that happy?
　The pie didn't taste bad. No, not only was it not bad, it was delicious. It's not as sweet as the messy treats, but it's good.
　I'm sure Noll and others would be happy to eat this.　..............No, that guy could have already eaten it.

　As I was admiring the taste of the pie I had eaten a little, Esther was looking at me with a smile on her face.
　Ah, I knew it?　Since you did it for me, do I have to do it for you?

You see....

Hmmm... yes, it's delicious.

　This time I held out the pie I was holding to Esther. She bit into it and put her hand to her mouth and squirmed with it.
　Then she swallowed it and said it was delicious. Apparently, even from Esther's point of view, this pie is delicious.

　After that exchange, we finally started walking to the clothing store.
　We've never done anything like this before, feeding each other. I'm starting to feel kind of embarrassed. My face is about to get hot again.
　I mean, isn't that all you're going to be embarrassed about today?　What's going on.
　More importantly........what do I do with this. I fed the pie to Esther in a momentum, but if I eat this thing like this... no, I'm not old enough to worry about that anymore!

　I thought that maybe Estelle was concerned about it too, so I looked at her.
　Estelle didn't even pretend to be bothered by it at all, she was holding the pie in both hands and eating it slowly.
　Was I the only one who was aware of it!

What's the matter with you, brother?　You're not going to eat it?　It'll get cold.

Oh, I'm going to eat it.

　Esther, noticing that I was looking at her, tilted her head in wonderment.
　d*mn, that's right. Sisha will tease me again if I get upset about this.
　I made up my mind and put the pie in my mouth with gusto.

●

　After my struggle with the pie, I walked a bit and arrived at my destination, a clothing store....

''Hmmm, would this look better on me?　Oh, but this one might be good too.

'Um, I don't mind coming to the clothing store, but weren't you supposed to be looking at Esther's clothes?'

'Oh my God, I never said anything about looking at my clothes?

　Ever since I walked into the clothing store, I've been feeling like a dress-up doll for Esther.
　I thought I was going to look at her clothes... and sure enough, I didn't say a word to her.

"You don't have much clothing, do you, brother?　It's a good opportunity, so why don't we pick one together?

''Hmmm..... Since we're here, let's get Esther to choose.

Yeah, I'm on it.

　Estelle was right, I only had about five outfits of everyday clothes and sleepwear combined.
　Even in the original world, I didn't care that much about clothes, calling them armor or something. Since this is the time to buy them, let's buy them.

''Hmm, then let's go to the grocery store next.

'I didn't think I'd end up buying my own clothes...'

　I went into the clothing store for quite some time after entering, I finally bought about 10 outfits of top and bottom combined.
　They varied from white shirts to black suits. Was it necessary to do so?
　

'Welcome!　I mean, isn't that your brother from earlier? What, you're back in Brunne?

Oh, hi. You remember me.

Sure. I remember you bringing me a lot of low grade black oak meat and all that.

　After leaving the clothing store, we came next to the grocery store.
　I hadn't been here since I came to Brunne, so it felt like a long time ago.
　The owner of the store greeted me, as usual. I'm glad he remembers me.

I heard you went to the royal capital, why did you come back?

'I actually bought a house in Brunne.

Oh, yeah. That's good news. What do you want me to do to celebrate?

No, no, no, don't worry about it.

　I only mentioned it to Myrna or so when I left Brunné, but was it talked about there?
　When I told him I bought a house in this city, the owner laughed and asked if we could celebrate.
　I'm happy for you, but I'm sorry to have you care so much for me.

'So, did you go to the labyrinth of King's Landing?　Did you pick up anything unusual?

'Oh, no, I haven't actually been hunting in the labyrinth at all.

'Well I was hoping you could sell me something.

　I went there because I heard that a lot of things fell in the maze, but I didn't hunt at all because I prioritized advancing to the depths of the maze over dropping items.
　Well, there's no need to go to the labyrinth to look for things in the gacha, but next time I'm there, I'll continue to beat the slime for a while.

Oh, but there are boots that the slime dropped, for example.

'Slime ... slime!　Well, I heard there's going to be slime in the lower levels of the labyrinth... I'm interested in the boots, but do you still have the slime core?

''Yeah, well I don't have a lot of them, but I don't sell them, but I do have them...''

　When I said I was a slime, the shopkeeper asked me, a little excitedly, if I still had the nucleus.
　The slime kernels were lying in the depths of my bag, not to be sold to the shop in King's Landing, so I took them out and put them one after another on the desk.
　I picked up various slime kernels, but they were all white and I couldn't tell the difference. Only the steel slime nucleus is easy to recognize because it's a silver ball.
　When I finished getting them all out, there were 23 nukes. I guess I really wasn't hunting at all.

''Oh... so many slime cores... and this is from a guy called Steel Slime, right?

Yes,

Please!　Can you sell all of these for 420,000 g's!

　Ew!　That's 420,000 g's?
　It's not a surprising amount of money now, but that's a lot of money for just this.
　I don't think I could use a slime core at all.

''Okay but........Is that much of an amount for this number?

'Yeah, I can use the slime nukes. Each slime nucleus is 10,000 g and the steel slime nucleus is 200,000 g, okay?

　Wow, 10,000 for regular slime and 200,000 for steel. That's a pretty good purchase price.
　 I don't want to deal with someone who orbits like a bullet moving around like that a lot of times.

''What is a slime core used for?''

When you put it in water, the water turns into a sticky liquid and can be used in many ways. The steel slime can be used in many more ways because when you apply it, the surface becomes hard like iron. It's easy to obtain in the royal capital, but Brunne doesn't get around to it very often.

'Wow, the core of a slime has such properties...'

　A liquid altered by the core of the slime.......I don't want to use it too much.
　It could be used as a glue substitute, though, and it looks surprisingly useful.
　The steel core looks pretty awesome. If you put it on a wooden stick, will it look like steel?　Is it like plating?
　This world is awesome in so many ways.

What about the boots?

'Hmmm, I'm curious about that too, but I'm hoping it's just a regular boot, but those are rare, right?　I think you'd better take it to a proper equipment store.

　He seemed to be willing to buy everything, but it looks like I should go to the equipment store for the boots. He's a good man, as far as he's concerned.
　It's true that this looks rare, so I'll have to ask Gantz-san next time I go to his equipment store.

I'm sorry to say the same thing. I didn't want you to get in the car with me.

Oh I'm sorry, Esther!

'Mmmm, it's awful that you came with me and got so caught up in the conversation that you ignored me.

　After handing me the money for the slime, he clasps his hands together apologetically and then the owner points behind me.
　When I turned around, I saw Esther, her cheeks puffed out and mushy, angrily wondering if she'd finally noticed.
　I didn't mean to ramble on and keep you waiting.....

Well, that's all right. Hey, Uncle, what's this all about?

Hmm?　That's a recently arrived magic light stone.

'Demonstone!　Didn't you just say magic stone!

'Calm down, brother, it's the Demonlight Stone. How does that sound?

　Estelle pointed to a necklace with a centimeter-long transparent jewel on it that was displayed on the counter.
　And I heard the words demon and stone, so I thought it was a magic stone and I bit into it, but it didn't seem to be a magic stone.............too bad.

''What's up with you all of a sudden................................So, young lady. Are you interested in this?

Yes, it's kind of strange to watch that.

　Estelle looks at the necklace displayed on the counter with her hand on it, as if she was curious.
　Is it a necklace that feels strange or........is it an equipment-type item?　Maybe there's some equipment in this world like necklaces and rings that look like they come out of a mess, too.

'Come to think of it, the last time you came here, you were dressed like you were using magic... you mean a mage?

Yeah, that's right. So what's that magic light stone?

That sounds like a good fit.

　Then the owner told me about the Demonic Light Stone.
　This stone is said to fall from demons very rarely. The size of the stone is proportional to the strength of the monster, and the one here is the one that fell from a goblin, so it seems to be the smallest size.
　It seems that the magical stone is a gemstone that changes color and shine as the mage puts his or her strength into it. The stronger the mage's power, the darker the color and the more brilliant the shine.
　It's said that some things can have special effects.
　I've heard that in a city like Queres, a mage's stronghold, there are many opportunities to see it. It seems that if you look for it in the royal capital, you can find it there too.

It's too small to be of much use as a mere necklace, though. I don't think you can put enough power into it to make it effective.

'I didn't know you had one of those. It's small, but it's just right, and can I have this for sale?

　She doesn't have much use for it because it's too small, but Esther seems to like it and is trying to buy it.
　Right now it's a transparent gemstone, but it's going to be pretty awesome when she puts her magic into it. I'm a bit curious to see what happens.
　Even if it doesn't have any magical effects, it looks good enough for a necklace, I guess.

'Even for a size like this, it still costs 300,000 g, are you okay with that?

Yeah, I'll do that.

　 Well, with the money I have now, there's no problem, and the slime nuke sold for a lot of money, so it's fine.
　I'm indebted to Estelle on a daily basis and this is a good amount of money to spend.

Wait, brother. I'll use my own money to pay for this one.

Well ... but ...

Just do it, okay?

"Since you're the one telling me this, why don't you let her do what she wants?

...Yes.

　I tried to take out the gold coins to pay, but Esther stopped me and said she would pay from her own money.
　I've been giving her money from time to time to allow her to be free to some extent on her own, but when it comes to paying 300,000 G, it's pretty much gone.
　So I tried to say I'll pay again, but she took out three gold coins from her shoulder bag, smiling, and paid.
　I told her to let the shopkeeper do what he wants, too, and handed Esther the necklace. She receives it, smiles, and clutches the necklace carefully.

　.........She looks happy, and it's only when you pay for it with your own money that you become attached to it.
　It would be annoying to pester them too much, so let's just let them do as the shopkeeper says and do as they please.