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"Honey, you know what? I've always wanted to go to Japan and eat ramen."
"But we've already been there twice, and this isn't Japan."
"Come on, you have to pretend it's your first time—it's more fun that way, and this place looks just like Japan."
"Hmm, though I also see a bit of Korean and Chinese culture—even Thai."
"It's Japan!╰ (｀ε´)"
"Okay, it's Japan. Do you want to go eat ramen like we always do?"
"Of course I do, but let's find a place that serves it with exotic meats."
"...I'll tell you this up front, but I'm not eating anything that looks humanoid."
"What if that's the most delicious thing? You'll be missing out on a new experience. You need to stop resisting trying new things."
"...Fine, but at least I don't want something from an intelligent species."
I looked around; we'd arrived at what looked like a market.
There were many small stalls selling all sorts of things, from fruits and meats to other products.
There were also a few food stalls and small restaurants.
We were both wearing hoods and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
My doppelganger had already been out exploring this place before, so it wasn't hard for me to find my way here.
My doppelganger had passed this place by before because he was looking for a library or a place to get better information, but I figured this was what Iris wanted—and, in fact, she seemed very happy.
"Oh! Look, honey, everything's so weird. Look at that apple—it has a face."
There were some things that looked like things from our world, but many that didn't, and when Iris saw them, she didn't hesitate to approach them curiously.
"Hey, if you touch it, you have to pay for it."
"Look, the face looks like an old man's, and it makes a face when I touch it."
Iris started touching that strange fruit with a face, which the vendor didn't like, but Iris ignored him and seemed more focused on showing me that curious fruit.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
"Yeah, how much does it cost?"
The guy seemed to be losing his patience, so I stepped in and asked the price.
"One silver coin each."
"All right, here you go… love, do you want anything else?"
"Oh! I want this carrot, too. Look how it glows—it looks radioactive."
"How much for that?"
"Three—no, five silver."
"Tsk! You're trying to rip us off. Just for that, either you drop the price to two silver, or we're not buying anything."
"haaah… looks like it's not my lucky day. Fine, two silver—take it."
Although the basis of the monetary system is the same, each kingdom has its own currency, and Amaryllis had paid me only in gold—but the system allowed for exchange, and I'd already done so in advance.
I even had copper coins.
One gold coin was worth 100 silver coins, so we had plenty of money. At least I could buy whatever Iris wanted at this flea market.
But I obviously noticed the man's change in attitude, as if we were prey he could squeeze money out of.
I realized it was because I hadn't haggled over the first purchase.
It seems that haggling is an everyday occurrence here.
He must assume we have enough money not to worry about haggling, so he raises the prices—just like what happened to Amaryllis.
"Honey, look, that meat is wriggling."
"Ugh, wait for me."
Iris was really excited, and lots of things were catching her attention, so before anything unwanted happened, I stepped in and grabbed her hand to keep us from getting separated.
After all, this was a crowded market.
I have to say that hanging out like this is really nice, and it's also good for Iris to have some fun in a different way than we've been doing so far.
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"Oh! That man has three eyes. Oh, look, that woman glows a little and is slightly translucent. Honey, I want someone like that in our harem."
"Shh, keep your voice down and stop pointing. It's rude."
We kept walking and shopping. At some point, Iris started noticing not only what was for sale, but also the people.
This was a nation ruled by beastmen, but there were many races besides the various types of beastmen.
"(￣ε￣), honey, we don't know that. Maybe here it means 'good morning' or 'what a cute dress you're wearing.'"
"You're not going to convince me with that weird logic. Anyway, it's better not to do any of that until we really know if it's rude or not. Or better yet, let's talk telepathically—that way you can say whatever you want."
"Oh! Right."
' I wonder if, in the future, a MILF of that race will ever come to our massage parlor. Oh! Look, that one has gray wings—she looks like a fallen angel—and over there is a blond elf with green eyes. There's nothing more cliche than that; he's even carrying a bow. Too bad he isn't a cute girl. (ﾟДﾟ) Honey, that girl has three breasts!'
Well, she kept spotting more races in the crowd, but the good thing was that she stopped pointing them out and saying it out loud.
We kept walking and buying things that really caught Iris's attention.
The system store sold various kinds of books on topics like magic and other things, such as weapon crafting, potions, and so on.
I also remember that in that section there were books on plants that described their functions, benefits, uses, properties, and other details.
The same went for creature byproducts, and there were also cookbooks and even some on preparing poisons and medicines.
I'm going to have to buy them; I need to make sure nothing we buy is dangerous to consume.
Anyway, I was planning to buy them, since they seemed like something worth learning about—it just hadn't been a priority until now.
And if I'm lucky and Iris gets interested enough, maybe she'll enjoy reading them too, which would be a safe way for her to pass the time.
"Honey, do you know where the Black Market is?"
"(ㆆ_ㆆ), why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?"
I was only distracted for a moment, and Iris was already thinking about something dangerous.
"I was thinking—we can't just wait for things to happen, so if we find the black market and a slave dealer, we can build a harem of whatever we want. Huehue, am I a genius"
"That's not a good idea from any angle. And no, I don't know where there's a black market, and even if there were one, you can't assume they actually sell what you want; it might be illegal here."
"Hmm, really? Well, I'll ask Sister Rose the next time she comes by. It must definitely be legal in the Demon Realm."
"You're really not going to let this go, are you? Besides, how can you be so sure that kind of thing actually exists there?"
"Because they're demons. All sorts of bad things must happen there."
"That's way too prejudiced. Here, they're just another race, with no concept of right or wrong. IIf it were like you say, then Miss Ro—never mind, just forget about that for now."
I was about to say something to show Iris that generalizing was wrong, but just as I was about to use the only precedent we had as an example, I stopped myself.
Someone who's the leader of the underworld and also the head of a family of assassins isn't exactly an example I can use.
"Huehue~, I can already see our future. On one hand, we'll have a harem of MILFs, and on the other, a harem of beautiful slaves… Honey, do you think we should buy one as an investment for the future? Maybe a cute tanuki girl."
"Seriously, stop it… and that's definitely not going to happen."
"Huh? What?"
"Everything you just said."
"Honey, don't be a killjoy—you're getting in the way of the harem plan and the Nirvana plan."
"Huh? I get the harem plan, but what's this 'Nirvana plan'?"
"Huehue~ it's a secret—it's a surprise for later, honey, huehue~."
"...You said there were no secrets between us."
"Ha! But you said yourself that there were, honey, so I'm not telling you, huehue~. Still, I know you'll like it when I finish it, huehue~."
"...Tell me what it is. It's not anything dangerous, is it?"
"I'm not telling you! My lips are sealed."
"You know I'll figure it out the next time we merge, right?"
When we fuse, we share all our memories, recollections, and thoughts, so there's really nothing that remains hidden between us.
But when it comes to memories, I only know what I've come to think or remember during the fusion. If I didn't think of it at that moment, I won't know it afterward.
So, even though there are now many more things I know about Iris because of the fusion, I don't know everything—and neither does she.
But now that I know about that plan, if I think about it while we're fused, I'll know what it is right away.
"Uhh, Honey, that's cheating—it's no fun that way."
"What you consider fun could end in tragedy, so just confess."
"(￣ 3￣), fine, I'll tell you, but that'll make you my accomplice. Oh! Honey, look, there are strawberries here..."
"Don't change the subject."
"okey, okey, I'll tell you, but you have to buy me those strawberries."
"Sure."
"Yeah! Okay, Honey, listen carefully. My plan is to..."
I bought the strawberries... or at least that's what they looked like. And I listened to what Iris had to say... and to my surprise, it wasn't anything new, but rather a rephrasing of something we'd talked about before.
I decided not to say anything or interrupt—or rather, I wisely decided that I hadn't heard a thing.
I think it was better not to ask.
..
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