Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Preparing Equipment Part 2

I began to wander around the store and stopped in front of a certain item, calling out to Cynthia.

"Cynthia, what is this?"

"This is a magic power recovery item in the shape of a candy. Its name is 'Mana Candy'."

Of course, it's the Mana Candy! In the game era, it was the strongest recovery item that appeared when the story was coming to an end in Cynthia's store. Unlike other recovery potions, the Mana Candy was an item that provided sustained recovery over a certain period of time, making it the most important item in magical battles.

"Wait, a set of 10 for only one silver coin?!"

"Is that so surprising? I made these as a hobby, and I decided to sell them today since I had a surplus. But since they're just a hobby, I haven't set the price too high."

"... How much for all of them?"

"Huh? All of them? There are exactly 100 there... let's see. How about five silver coins for half of them?"

After hearing those words, I handed Cynthia five silver coins and stored the candy. I also appraised it and confirmed that it had the same performance as in the game. With this, I can use magic almost endlessly! Coming here was really the best decision!

"But still, does Jin really like candy that much?"

"Huh? Well, I don't dislike candy, but I just like the effect of this candy."

"It continuously restores magic power, right? But if you eat that, a regular magic power recovery potion would provide more recovery, wouldn't it?"

"Of course, the amount is important, but this candy is more efficient."

Saying that, Cynthia tilted her head in wonder and asked, "Is that so?"

"Basically, when using magic, there are some spells that require a large amount of magic all at once, but most can be used with a small amount of magic, right?"

"Yes, that's right. You don't need to use big spells all the time."

"To recover that small amount of magic, instead of having to open and drink a recovery potion each time, if you just keep sucking on a candy from the beginning, you can save the trouble of recovery and continue fighting longer."

"Ah, I see. I understand what you mean. It's true that candy would be more efficient in that case."

"Yeah, but hardly anyone actually uses it in practice. Recovery potions are more readily available on the market, so candy isn't circulated as much."

Although the ingredients for candy are simple, there are few candy makers, so it's not a product that is widely available in the market. In Cynthia's shop, she keeps it because she makes candy as a hobby, but other shops don't carry it because there are no candy makers.

"I've never seen this candy in a store on the main street, probably because there are so few candy makers."

"Well, it's not that popular because of that, but it's definitely a more usable product than recovery potions. By the way, I'll come buy some now, so if you could make as much as possible, it would help."

"Sure, that's fine. I enjoy making candy, and if someone will buy it, I can keep my hobby going."

Cynthia smiled happily and said so. I looked around the shop, but there was nothing else I needed except for candy.

"Oh, in the end, all I bought was candy. I feel bad because you were offering me a service."

"No problem. The things you wanted were probably out of your reach even with the service. But once you can get armor and weapons, you'll be able to start adventuring for real, so please come back and shop properly next time."

"Come to think of it, Jin, you're a newbie adventurer, even though I couldn't tell by your demeanor."

"I'm a fresh new adventurer, just registered two days ago."

"It's the first time I've offered such a service to an adventurer who just registered two days ago, but I think Jin will quickly catch up to the top adventurers."

"Is that just a hunch?"

"Yes, my intuition is usually spot on."

After that, I left Cynthia's shop and decided to stroll along the main street of the commercial district.

While Cynthia's shop didn't have a large selection of items, there were still some useful things, so I bought some odds and ends.

I mainly purchased items that were necessary for adventurers, such as healing potions and hemp bags for dividing materials.

Although I can use storage skills and recovery magic, I prepared these items just in case.

"Oh, you look unfamiliar, kid! How about some delicious skewered meat in the capital? Rob's special sauce meat skewers are perfect for filling up before an adventure."

As I was thinking about going to the guild soon, I was stopped by the owner of the skewered meat shop, the old man.

...Well, the smell is really tempting, but I'm already running low on funds.

And come to think of it, this old man also approached the protagonist like this during the game.

The old man's name is Rob.

He is the owner of the meat skewer shop, and he leaves the store to his wife and sets up a food stall like this to find new customers.

"Sorry, Old Man Rob. I can't buy any now because I'm really short on money."

During the game, I had enough money to buy and eat normally.

But now, I'm running low on funds due to various expenses.

I said that and bounced the hemp bag, which was practically empty and serving as my wallet, on my hand.

"Seriously? I thought you had money because you seemed to be shopping quite a bit at other stores..." 

"I'm a new adventurer and I needed various things. That's why I ran out of money over there." 

"Hmm, a new adventurer? But you're wearing such good-looking equipment." 

"The store owner gave me this as a service. Actually, it's an expensive item that I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise." 

"I see... well, this must be fate. You're going to the guild now, right? Eat this and do your best with your requests." 

The old man said that and put three skewers of meat in a paper bag and handed it to me. 

"Is it okay? I can't pay for it." 

"It's fine. Anyway, if these don't sell soon and get overcooked, I'll end up having to eat them myself. My wife keeps telling me to lose weight and I can't gain any more weight." 

The old man patted his belly and said, "Just eat it already," and forcefully handed me the bag. 

I couldn't refuse even though he had already said so much, so I accepted the bag. 

"Well, if you like the meat, come back and buy some when you have money. I usually run this shop here." 

"Got it. I'll definitely come back and buy some when I have money." 

Saying that, I bid farewell to the old man and headed towards the guild.