Chapter 35 - Item Box Function Expansion
After finishing our lunch, we stepped into the commercial district beyond the street food district.
Shops lined the area—ones catering to adventurers, bookstores, weapon stores, restaurants, clothing boutiques—offering a wide variety of goods. Even the roadside stalls had impressive merchandise for a traveling vendor.
It seemed like I could find anything I needed here.
I checked the items displayed at the stalls, recording their names and prices on my smartphone.
"...Tohru, what have you been doing for a while now?"
Haku asked in a suspicious tone after watching me wander between stalls and shops, repeating the same actions over and over.
"I’m taking note of the items’ names and prices."
"And what purpose does that serve?"
"It’s to understand the true market value. Even if you go to the trouble of taking down monsters, Haku, it would be pointless if the materials were undervalued when sold, wouldn’t it?"
Earlier, Orlando had warned me about this, so I was already gathering information on the market prices in Nirouette.
Of course, it wasn't something I could grasp all at once, but I believed this kind of steady effort was the first step to becoming a merchant.
Still, being in another world, there were many mysterious ingredients.
At a produce stall, wooden boxes were filled with what appeared to be apples.
Their shape and color resembled apples, but their surface had a mouth, with a lazy tongue hanging out.
Apparently, this fruit was called an Appul. But is it delicious?
I decided to buy one with a single copper coin and gave it a try. The taste was similar to an apple, though it had a stronger tang.
The strange part was the surface with the mouth—it seemed there was a core there that couldn't be eaten.
You were supposed to leave that side uneaten.
What a peculiar fruit.
Whenever I spotted an interesting food item, I would try it with Haku or chat with the shopkeepers to gather more information. After spending about an hour doing so, I decided to wrap up my market research.
"Shall we head to an inn soon?"
In another three hours or so, it would be evening, and the place would be crowded with adventurers returning from quests and citizens finishing their work. Travelers and merchants rushing in just before the gates closed would also add to the chaos, so it was better to check into the inn early.
Orlando had recommended an inn affiliated with the Merchant Guild.
Naturally, the place also had accommodations for familiars.
Following the map Orlando had drawn for me, I arrived at a wooden building slightly removed from the commercial area.
This must be the inn Orlando had mentioned.
Its location, away from the town center, seemed considerate of the fact that familiars would be staying.
While it was a bit isolated from the residential area, giving off a slightly lonely vibe, the premises were quite spacious.
Here, Haku could walk around freely, and even cooking meals within the grounds shouldn’t cause any issues.
As soon as I entered the inn, I approached the counter.
"I have a familiar with me. Do you have any rooms available?"
"We do. It’s one silver coin and five copper coins per night. However, the familiar will have to stay in the shed outside. Is that acceptable?"
"Could I see the shed first?"
"Of course. Go ahead and take a look."
We stepped outside and headed to the back of the inn, where the owner had directed us.
It was walled off and had individual sections, but it was essentially a stable.
"So, this is where I’ll be staying?"
"Looks like it."
"...It’s cramped."
"They say there aren’t any larger places in this town. Sorry, but you’ll have to make do here. In exchange, I’ll cook something delicious for dinner."
The stable’s ceiling and walls weren’t too dirty, and the straw laid on the ground was relatively clean.
Considering that it was an inn in the town and one that accommodated familiars, the cost of staying here was on the higher side. Still, it seemed the place put in some effort to maintain cleanliness.
"Alright. If that's the case, I'll endure it here."
As Haku moved to enter the vacant stall, a black panther in the neighboring stall glared at us fiercely.
When I used my Appraisal skill, the name Blackpard appeared.
The blackpard raised sharp quills from its back and let out a menacing growl, attempting to intimidate us.
However, when Haku glanced at it with a mere sidelong look, the blackpard seemed to sense the overwhelming difference in strength. It retracted its quills instantly, letting out a whimper as if in submission.
With no issues arising from our new "neighbor," I returned to the inn and paid for five nights in advance.
"Ah, would it be okay if I brought in a wagon onto the premises or prepared meals on-site?"
"As long as you handle fire safely, I don't see a problem."
"Thank you very much."
Great, I got the owner's permission.
Now I could summon the camper van onto the property without any worries.
After writing my name on the register and receiving a key, I headed to the room located at the very end of the second floor.
Placing my backpack on the table, I lay down on the bed to test it out.
"...Yeah, the bed in the camper van is way better."
My camper van’s bed was equipped with a wooden-spring frame and a high-quality cushiony mattress.
The mattress used a custom-made prefill urethane with pressure-distribution properties.
Beds in this world didn’t stand a chance. Honestly, with this level of technology, I was probably sleeping more comfortably than the nobles here.
Unless I splurged on a luxury inn or had a bed custom-made, I doubted any bed would come close.
Good grief. Having such good performance in the camper van was also a bit of a double-edged sword.
●
After resting for about an hour, I decided to head outside.
If I lazed around for too long, I’d lose the motivation to go out, and preparing food after dark would be more of a hassle.
"Vehicle Summoning."
I activated my unique skill, and the camper van materialized right in front of me.
"First, I should store the gold coins I’ve collected in the Item Box."
After accounting for the coins I got from the Merchant Guild, the cost of lunch at the stalls, the market research, and the inn fees, I had about fifty-eight gold coins left. Still, it was a hefty amount.
Carrying all that money around felt risky, so I decided to store twenty coins in the Item Box.
As the leather pouch grew lighter, I felt a slight weight lift off my shoulders.
"If only I could use the Item Box without the camper van nearby..."
"Why can’t you?"
As I let out a sigh, Haku, who had just come out of the stable, said that.
"I can use it when I’m near the camper van, but I can’t take it far from here."
"What do you mean? Even someone as weak as you should be able to carry it, shouldn’t you?"
Haku tilted his head in confusion. To explain, I picked up the Item Box and stepped away from the camper van.
There was no problem placing it around the camper, but when I tried to carry it further away, the item box suddenly disappeared from my hands
"What?! Where did the Item Box go?!"
"It’s back in the camper van."
After returning to the camper with Haku and checking the external storage, I found the Item Box I had tried to carry there.
"So, that’s what you mean by not being able to carry it..."
Haku muttered, seeming to grasp the situation as he stared at the Item Box.
To be fair, even if I could carry it, the Item Box was quite large, making it impractical to lug around. It would occupy both hands, and walking around town with it would be an absolute nuisance.
"The Item Box is great, but it’s inconvenient that I can’t use it while shopping in the city. I’d love to stock up on cooking supplies and ingredients..."
"In that case, why not try expanding its functions? If you have CP, your camper van should be able to evolve, right?"
"Good idea! Let’s check out the Item Box functions!"
Taking Haku’s advice, I operated the device and browsed the expansion list of vehicle add-ons.
[Item Box Function Expansion: Outside Use]
Enables use of the Item Box without summoning the vehicle. Only the summoner can use it.
The Item Box inside the vehicle is linked to the external one, allowing seamless retrieval from both.
To acquire this feature, 1,000,000 CP is required.
"Aha! Here's the Item Box function for outside use! ...But the CP cost is insanely high!"
"You still have those magic stones you got from the guild, right? Why not convert them into CP?"
"Let's give it a try."
I had about 63 gold coins worth of magic stones from the Merchant Guild.
Six large stones and one medium-sized stone.
The larger ones were worth about ten gold coins each, and the medium one was worth about three.
I operated the device and pressed the magic stones against it, converting them into CP.
I was amazed as the CP rapidly increased, converting all seven magic stones I had obtained.
Suddenly, my CP shot up by 970,000... and now I have 1,030,000 CP!
"Then go ahead and do it."
"Yeah!"
I wasted no time and used the CP to expand the vehicle’s functionality.
Although I didn’t see any physical change, I immediately felt a sense that the Item Box could now be used anywhere.
"Let's test it outside."
Since it wouldn’t make sense to test it near the camper van, I moved to the spot where the Item Box had disappeared earlier.
"[Item Box]."
When I spoke the command, a rift appeared in the air, and a swirling black vortex opened up.
Peering inside, it was pitch dark. Is it like an interdimensional space?
I decided to reach my hand in.
When I imagined what I wanted, I was able to take out the twenty gold coins I had stored earlier.
When I directly returned the coins to the subspace, it closed without any issue.
I didn't feel any drain on my magic or any fatigue.
It seemed that the subspace opened automatically without me needing to speak, allowing me to use the Item Box anywhere, unnoticed.
"This is amazing, Haku! I can really use the Item Box anywhere now!"
"Now you can store all the food and ingredients you pick up in the town, right?"
"Exactly."
I used to move the items to the camper van and stored them in the Item Box.
Just eliminating that extra step was such a huge help.
"Great, now that the problem’s solved, let’s eat. You promised me something extravagant, didn’t you?"
"Oh, that’s not possible. I barely have any CP left after expanding the functionality."
The smile vanished from Haku’s face as soon as I spoke.
"...Hey."
"Hey, I had no choice! I used up the CP! You were the one who told me to use it without holding back!"
I was partially at fault for not thinking ahead, but Haku had also encouraged me to spend it freely.
"......"
As I pointed this out, Haku immediately began radiating an unmistakably grumpy aura.
Even the blackpard in the stable let out a frightened whimper.
"Alright, alright. I’ll go back to the Merchant Guild, sell some monster materials, and get some more magic stones so you can have your feast. Don't get upset."
Though it was a hassle to head to the Guild and acquire magic stones, Haku had made it clear that he was looking forward to my cooking more than anything. As his master, it was my duty to respond to that.
"Then good. Make it as quick as possible."
The promise of a grand meal made Haku’s mood visibly lighten.
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