” That was really dangerous, Fio. I can't believe that a guard would act like that. ” I said while still grimacing from that interaction. It was not how I portrayed my first interaction with civilization. 

” It's better like this... Being distracted with small things is working is our advantage. ”

Maybe that was a small thing for her, but for me... for me... It was like... It was better to say that a former man being praised by another man for his— or to be more accurately her— beauty would not be the most pleasant experience. 

I would have taken it easier even if he insulted me instead. At least, in that case, I would have known how to react. 

” Let's just forget about that for now. Let's just... forget about it. More importantly, Fio... what should we do now? ”

I was aware that I had relied on her quite a bit from the moment we started our journey, but that was inevitable... My common sense was different from theirs. Not to even mention culture, tradition, and even history which probably played a big role as well.

To have someone accustomed to all of that and not using that to your advantage would be simply stupid. 

” We need to go to the village center first. Usually, there are no shops and facilities in normal villages but this one is closer to the forest. They probably earn money from selling provisions and equipment to the passersby and adventurers. ” 

That was understandable. I saw some small plots of land with some crops on them on the other side of the village but that was enough to sustain their lives. Most probably they were relying on hunting and trading for sustenance. That was giving me another idea. 

” If that's the case, we have some good chances to buy clothes and other useful goods as well, isn't it?  ”

Where was a hunter, there must be someone to work with the pelts and other materials provided by them. And that was the reason we could meet merchants here as well. Buying from the source and selling with a higher price was the basis for a merchant.

 ” That depends on how much money do you have. I was a slave so I have no money if you remember that. ”

Before leaving the temple, I had cleverly dropped a silver coin on the ground for her to see it and she reacted normally. She gave it back to me like nothing was wrong with it. At least, there was no problem with the money. 

The real issue was that I had no idea about their value. I concluded that was better to subtly confirm it with Fiona and roughly estimate their value. 

” I have 11 silver and 2 copper coins to spend. I don't think that there's a good idea to show gold coins here. I have some as well. ”

” If you have 11 silver coins is good enough. Would have been better if you had some lesser silver ones as well... but is good enough as it is.  No need for trouble. ”

My info fluff was working hard for me again. With some clever turns of discussion, I discovered that there was another type of coin called Lesser Silver Coin which valued roughly 20 Copper Coins. 

The coin was named like that because there was just 25% silver in the middle of the coin and 75% of some unimportant metal to make it look like the other coins. I hadn't noticed so far that all the coins were the same in size and shape but that seemed to be the case. 

If we took that logically, a silver coin was worth 4 lesser ones or roughly 80 copper ones. The gold value was put on hold for now. At least, I could assume that his value was pretty high if it was enough to make us trouble there. Probably gold coins were beyond the commoner's reach.

In the meantime, we arrived at what seemed to be the center of the village. I could see people looking strangely in my direction and kids pointing their fingers at me like I was some new zoo attraction. 

There was a little girl who asked her mother about me, but the mother was more clueless than her daughter. It was a mind-opening experience, to say the least.

Is my race that rare?’

When Fiona pointed out the fact that elves rarely left their forest I hadn't paid much attention. But I could see now that it was a mistake. 

Being a walking attraction would give me endless amounts of trouble. She said that our current location was fairly far from the elven forest... 

’How was it named again? How the hell did I forget something like the name of my supposed birth and childhood place?’ I had to pay attention next time when Fiona would mention it again. 

Some people seemed to be cautious for me but most of them were just curious. 

There were not that many villagers and most of them were women and children. Some people seemed to be cautious for me but most of them were just curious. Especially the children. 

That was not strange. The majority of men must be out hunting or working. I could see some children playing with sticks too. To become a knight or a swordsman was a real possibility and probably a true profession in this world.

Deciding to not pay attention to them anymore, I stepped closer to Fiona to consult with her about what we needed to do now from that point on.

” Say Fio, where should we go first? ”

She surveyed the place for a moment and looked like she was pleased with it. It seemed that the Holy Tree was watching over me. 

” Mm. How I expected. First, that shop. ” she pointed be at one building. It wasn't much different from the rest and I would definitely not notice it on my own. For that was my fluff after all.

” That must be a general shop. We could buy provisions and other things useful for expeditions in the forest. ” she said shortly afterward and I nodded at her to continue. 

” The one from there is a tailoring shop and if I'm not wrong... That one must be a collection center. But we don't have anything to sell with us. ”

The general shop and tailoring shop sounded good but the last thing attracted my attention. To sell what? I would like to know that but I somehow managed to resist the impulse to ask her. 

She mentioned it like that was normal for anyone to know. And that was despite knowing that I laked a bit of general information. And I had no desire to aggravate the situation.

We made our way to the general shop building. Again, It was not much different from the rest. The door was opened so we simply stepped inside.

The walls had some kind of supports attached to them to sustain stuff. Some tables and shelves in the middle and a counter where was seated a middle-aged woman. 

She had short brown hair and dark brown eyes.  She was not skinny but not fat either. More like in transition between the two. The aging process was never coming alone after all. 

She looked at us and looked relatively surprised as she saw me. That seemed to be the norm already. I was not going to react anymore to these things.

” Welcome to my shop, what brings you here, if I may ask? ” she said after a little while. 

” We are here to buy some stuff for our trip. We had an accident and lost some of our baggage. I'm going to buy a rucksack or two if you have any. ”

She was still looking at my unusual appearance but the buying part made her soften a little. That was the power of money. It can even shorten the distance between different races. 

” We have, we have... Don't worry, sweetie. ” she said and put a business smile on fee face. ” I assume that you want a delicate one for the beautiful lady and another one for the slave, am I right? I can bring some of them for you to take a look at if you want. ”

That was way too big of a change in her attitude. The power of money was not to be trifled with. And the contrast between me and Fiona was somehow shocking as well... She looked at her like it was natural in that way. Fiona was not counted as a person in this woman’s eyes.

She took her way to some of the boxes from the corner and started to take out random stuff. After some time of continuous rummaging from one box to another, she came back with four different types of rucksacks.

” This is all I have at the moment. If you buy more things besides these, I'll make a discount for you. ” she said while continuing to smile at me. 

There was a smaller one with delicate workmanship and probably the most expensive of them all even if it was the smallest. The second and third were the same. With a big compartment and three more pockets. The last one was the biggest and the roughest. With a single big compartment. 

” I'm going to buy these two. They were quite decent as well. ” I said and pointed to the two identical rucksacks.

” Oh, are you sure you don't want this one? I think it suits you much better. ” the woman said and pointed at the small and delicate one. 

That... was not going to work on me. I would say no to the fancy and expensive one and take the cheaper and more practical one. A person like me had to put with way more clever selling strategies in the past. The woman’s attempt was not even looking cute in comparison.  

” Yes, these two would be more useful to us. Now... if you have some blankets and preserved food? ”

She seemed a little disappointed but that wasn't my concern. We took three blankets, food, some bottles of water, and other useful equipment. That was 5 silver and 2 lesser silver coins with her promised discount.

We thanked her and left the shop. And when I said we thanked I was referring just to me. Fiona was silent for the entire period. She looked even more pissed than usual for some reason. 

Overall, the first shopping experience ended quite well. We looked around a little and we prepared to make our way to the next destination. Maybe the whole thing would end much better than I initially feared. 

FDSIO

Hmmm, a little delay from the schedule with this chapter but also a little longer than the usual ones... Sooo yeah, I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. 

I was busy these days but I managed somehow to make it.