Krek...
The sound of the kitchen door inside Anna Bakery opening.
Rona entered the kitchen, holding a notebook while lightly tapping it with her pen. Adjusting her glasses, she asked Ray,
"Hmm… flour, milk, butter… ah-? Ray, are we also running low on sugar?"
Ray took a sip of the coffee he had just made, then checked the sugar jar.
"Hmm? Hmm… yeah, we're running low on sugar… and the meat stock in the storage room is getting thin too."
"Ah right, Mistress already noticed that. That's why she told me to ask you to buy some meat for stock."
Ray let out a light sigh and muttered "Alright…" as he slowly took off the apron he was wearing.
"How about the kitchen when i'm out?"
Rona slowly began putting on her kitchen apron.
"Yeah, relax. I can handle the rest myself."
***
"Come on! Come on! Cheap prices!" The voice of a vendor calling out to potential buyers echoed through the area.
The market was crowded with people buying goods, food ingredients, or simply browsing around. Even though it was already late morning, the place was still lively- there were fruit sellers, clothing vendors, book stalls, street food, and many more. Along his way, Ray stopped at a general store called "Grandma Bria's Good."
Inside, he met an elderly woman who knew him like her own grandson.
"Oho?~ Let me guess, you're here to buy sugar for stock, right?"
"Yeah, as usual~"
After a moment, the old woman left, then returned carrying two bags of sugar.
"Two bags of sugar cost 5 Copper Coins, so the total is 1 Silver Coin."
`Hmm…? 5 Copper Coins? Wasn't it 4 per bag before?`
Ray was slightly surprised by the price change.
"Heh- surprised by the price increase?"
"Ah… yeah. Why is that?"
"Well… rumors say some sugarcane fields were bought by the Foxglove City government for a project… so several businesses had to buy supplies from outside the city to meet demand. As a result, logistics for some food ingredients got disrupted, so prices went up"
`Hmm… of all crops, why sugarcane? Is it because of the land… or something else? Sugar is a basic necessity with a high demand… at this rate, the price will only keep rising. Madam should know about this.`
Ray thought to himself.
With that thought lingering in his mind, Ray left the store with the 2 bags of sugar.
***
Next, Ray headed to a meat shop called "Meat.", located not far from the old woman's store. Inside, he met the burly owner with his signature mustache.
"…? YO! Stinky brat, what meat are you buying today, huh?!"
`Heh… as energetic as ever.`
Ray let out a light sigh with a smile while observing the shop's usual scenery; high-quality meat hanging on display, a silver-plated wooden rack holding a sword engraved with "Gorge G. Powel – 3 Star Unit", meat-cutting tools, and several sacks of salt.
"Do you still have beef thigh?"
"Hah! Of course I do! Since you're a regular, I'll give it to you for 4 Silver! That's with a 2 Silver discount! You should be grateful I'm being generous, kid!"
"WHAT POSSESSED YOU, OLD MAN?!-"
Ray stared in disbelief.
"Why are you suddenly being nice?"
(´ε｀ )
"…SO ARE YOU BUYING IT OR NOT?!"
Without thinking twice, Ray immediately agreed. "When else would he be this generous?!" he thought.
The big man walked away and returned with a slab of beef thigh, already skinned and wrapped in cloth, then placed it on the table. With a hint of hesitation, the butcher asked,
"O-oi… don't tell me…"
"Yup! I'll carry it myself."
The shop owner looked shocked, then grinned.
"Hah, stupid kid. Fine, do whatever you want. Don't blame me if you collapse halfway, alright?"
"Haha…"
With that, Ray tied a rope around the meat and hoisted it onto his shoulder. His legs trembled slightly, but- he looked strangely excited? Controlling his breathing, he began walking back while carrying the beef.
"He really did it himself, huh…"
Watching Ray haul the meat on his shoulder reminded the butcher of the past. He glanced at the sword hanging on the wall and smiled faintly in nostalgia.
***
On the way back, Ray stopped for a moment to rest. Not far from him, he could see a crowd gathering around a demonstration of newly upgraded Rune Stone technology. From a distance, he heard:
"Behold the newest creation from the Technomancer Research Group! They've finally released a new model of Rune Stone that fixes the flaws of the previous series!"
`Hmm… wasn't the latest Rune Stone only released a year ago? Technology really is advancing fast.`
Ray thought to himself.
"With this latest series, we can now control the elemental output of the Rune Stone! No more constant supervision needed! This will become a perfect technology in the coming years! And this model will be released to the public in two months!"
`Now that he mention it, i remember the Fire Stone incident yesterday`
Ray chuckled a bit remembering those moment that still fresh in his mind.
Ray didn't have time to stay and watch, so he stood up and continued on his way back to Anna Bakery, carrying the meat and 2 bags of sugar to where Rona was waiting.
Not long after, while walking, he unintentionally saw a girl being dragged by her hair into a slave trading area by an adult man. Her torn clothes and the shackles around her neck and hands clearly showed that she was a slave.
`…`
Ray tightened his grip on the rope tied to the meat.
`I can't do anything right now. It feels wrong- but… I still need to hurry back to work. Rona is waiting for me.`
With a heavy heart, Ray continued walking to Anna Bakery.
***