CH 6

The sun tilted to the west and the busy time for my dagashi shop arrived.

I wait for the adventurers to come up on the ground, just as dagashi shops back on Earth wait for the grade schoolers to leave school.

Rumors seem to have spread by word of mouth, and several customers have already bought snacks from me.

As I was selling my snacks, my eyes stopped to look at two people walking towards me.

They were Merle and Mira, two of the shop’s regulars.

However, there was something strange about them.

Merle, who was usually like a bundle of energy, was walking with a limp, holding onto Mira’s shoulder.

[What’s going on?]

I got up and ran toward them.

[Merle got caught in a trap in the dungeon. She was inflicted with the Vertigo Curse.]

If that curse really was just as I imagined, being under the effect of Vertigo Curse in itself shouldn’t be life-threatening.

However, it could also be a terrible curse to be under a dungeon because it causes severe fatigue and makes it impossible to move properly.

[Come here, I have something good for you.]

I helped Mira bring Merle to my shoulder-pole stall.

[Do you have a cup?]

[Yes. Ah, would it be alright, giving us medicine?]

[No, it’s not medicine. It’s juice.]

[Juice?]

What I’m having Merle drink is this.

Product name: Powdered Juice (Grape Flavor)

Description: Dissolve in 120 ml of cold water and drink. Fruit-flavored power mix, made with artificial flavorings. Has the effect of breaking curses.

Price: 30 rims

In addition to grape-flavored juice, there are four other types of powdered juice: strawberry, melon, pineapple, and orange, each with its own effect.

The grape flavor has the Anti-Curse effect, orange flavor has the Detoxify effect, strawberry flavor reduces MP consumption (15 minutes), melon flavor increases EXP gain by 1.2 times (10 minutes), while pineapple flavor increases money gain by 1.2 times (10 minutes).

[Mira, do you have some water?]

[I will make some right away.]

Saying this, Mira magically created a ball of water in the air.

[I don’t need that much. Too much water makes the drink taste weak and bad.]

If I’m going to blend it, I want the drink to taste good.

I mixed the powder and water in a metal cup and made grape juice.

[Now, drink this.]

[Hnn……]

Though it seemed like she was out of breath, Merle slightly opened her mouth.

Through that small opening, I slowly poured the juice into her mouth.

[Gulp…… gulp…… Gulp gulp gulp!]

[How are you feeling?]

[There’s none left?]

Oi!

The effect of the juice was so dramatic that Merle got up and asked for a refill.

Merle’s face, which looked pale a moment ago, now has a healthy blush to it.

[A packet only contains a small amount of powdered juice after all. So much so that when I was a kid, my dream was to dissolve and drink 5 packets at the same time.]

[Yeah, I get ya!]

Merle and I laughed in sync upon that thought, but Mira just remained surprised.

[Merle, are you really alright now?]

[Unnn. I feel much better now!]

[Amazing…… Umm, it looks like there are five different juices, but do they all have the same effect?]

I explained the other types of juices to them, to which Merle showed interest in the pineapple-flavored juice.

[Does this mean what I think it is? Let’s say I defeat a Giant Bee. The money left by a Giant Bee is about 100 rims, so if I drink this juice beforehand, it will instead drop 120 rims!?]

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[Well, that’s what it would mean.]

[Give me 10 packets, all your stock!]

She bought up all the stock in the shop.

With that, I’m now out of pineapple juice.

Meanwhile, Mira wanted the other types of juices.

[I’ll have three grape-flavored and three orange-flavored ones please.]

She must be very cautious.

The juices she bought were the anti-curse and detoxify ones.

[Now then, should I try much luck with the 10-rim chocolate again today!?]

After buying up all the pineapple juice, Mira puts her hand into the box of 10-rim chocolates.

It’s hard to believe that she was cursed just a moment ago.

[Ahh, you guys are here too?]

The adventurers who had bought curry crackers in the morning had also arrived.

It seems like my friends here in this world are increasing.

[Welcome. How were the curry crackers?]

[Thanks to it, I didn’t lack stamina at all. At first, I thought it was suspicious, those really are amazing. Thanks to the round candies, I can move faster, and I got a lot of compliments from the boss today!]

[You probably made a lot of money then?]

[Yep, that’s why I’m here to buy some more.]

Making a lot of ruckus, the young adventurers shopped for goods.

[Bro, what’s this?]

[It’s a magical whistle candy. When you blow on it, it makes this “pweeee” sound which attracts monsters.]

[What’s that, that’s scary!]

[How about using it after setting up a trap or something beforehand?]

[I see! I’ll have one.]

[Don’t use it when there are many strong monsters around, okay? That will be 60 rims.]

Sales are going well.

[Ughhaaa! Another fail!]

Seems like Merle got another fail from the 10-rim chocolate again.

[Geez, can you stop it with that already?]

[Shut up, shut up! One more!]

If she were actually gambling, she would have been the type to suffer huge losses, but if it’s just for 10-rim chocolates, her current losses would just be cute.

However, with her being like that, I couldn’t help worrying about her future.

[Merle, you’re getting too heated there. Buy one of these too and eat them.]

[What’s that?]

[Mini cola.]

The little plastic container is filled with cola-flavored ramune candies, and the hard candy is just the way I like them.

Product name: Mini Cola

Description: Cola-flavored ramune candies. Has a calming effect.

Price: 40 rims

[It might be a good idea if you always carry one of those around, Merle. To prevent your life from falling apart, that is.]

With a cute smile on her face, Mira harshly said.

Translator Notes: