Embracing, Dwelling, and Being Born (2)
There is a saying about bread and circuses. It is a metaphor for how rulers control the discontent or work motivation of the ruled, and this applied to some extent even in this barbaric other world.
For example, in Etur Lasna, where the Armaals family estate stood, there was a colosseum—one of Romania's flagship attractions. It served as this world's version of a comprehensive stadium, and at that size it must have offered no shortage of spectacle. Still, I could not picture this hopelessly nerdy goddess giggling with delight while watching macho warriors and monsters splatter each other with blood.
It felt somewhat contradictory for a goddess of Asgard, a realm where the concept of Valhalla existed, to have zero interest in that direction. To the ancient gods, the phrase “fighting eternally with an undying body, regardless of the event” probably carried a different nuance than it did for a 21st-century Earthling like me.
To them, Valhalla was likely heaven itself—a place where people who shared the same hobbies, whether PC games, console games, or fighting games, could brawl to their hearts’ content without ever growing tired of it. If I had to choose between the icy abyss of Helheim and a multi-PC room, even I would pick the latter. Sounds like actual paradise, doesn’t it?
That was why the first place I brought Veronica was the Alchemy Guild. As I have said several times before, alchemy in this world encompassed metalworking, herbalism, magic, and more. From what I had heard, however, the Alchemy Guild in Etur Lasna focused primarily on the cultivation of medicinal herbs and plants.
I learned this after giving Professor Brammaton’s PT sessions to the lower knights. It made sense. This region belonged to one of the Senate families, so the soil would be rich. Good plants would thrive here.
“Hmm. So because I am a mage, you assumed I would be delighted to be taken somewhere overflowing with reagents? Well, I will at least praise you for avoiding anything as banal as a food-stall crawl or a tour of historic buildings. It is not a bad choice.”
“Put that catnip down first before you speak.”
You don’t have to clutch it so dearly. No one is going to steal it. The culture of keeping cats in this world was truly dismal below the noble class. It was common for people to feed them table scraps as if they were rural dogs, and few actually raised animals with dedicated food.
Given that, there was no chance of finding catnip for sale in Sargadis, a city that could easily be nominated as the backwater of the year. Veronica, who apparently had not even known of the leaf that drove cats wild, tried to buy out the entire stock. Stopping her proved harder than expected.
Had we not had a garden at home, no one could have prevented her hoarding. Without Purification magic, cat hair would probably have flown off Veronica’s clothes constantly. Such is the fate of a cat lover.
Aware that she had grown excited, Veronica offered a lame excuse.
“This is… well, it is a kind of reward for the cats you have patrolling. You understand, yes?”
“My own wife’s reward is being given to the cats before I’ve even received it. This husband is feeling rather twisted up inside.”
“Do not be jealous. I shall give it to you later. Later.”
“Hap-py.”
Thus the industry reward could be reserved, but by the law of supply and demand the catnip cost more than the grass I ate. Even in this world, animal feed was more expensive than human food. Goddamn it.
“Let’s buy this too. It’s a fruit tree personally blessed by the Pomona Church. They say it fully matures in a year.”
I pointed to the sapling corner. The potted seedlings stood in neat rows, each radiating a vivid mana of abundance visible even to my eyes.
“Which one do you want? Pick whichever you like.”
“…You truly mean I may choose freely? Should we not ask the opinions of your other wives before purchasing?”
“I already received permission to buy whatever you like. Among our family, you’re the one who eats fruit the most.”
Any man would understand. Fruit was something you rarely got to eat unless your mother or grandmother peeled it for you. It felt too expensive to buy yourself, and choosing the good ones was difficult, so your hand simply never reached out.
The situation was similar in this other world, whose distribution network seemed developed only as far as a criminal’s brain would allow. Fruit was difficult to transport, so people usually sold what grew in nearby orchards or within the city itself. The prices were insane and the flavor rarely good—either unbearably sour or unbearably bland.
It’s worse than the school lunches from my delinquent days. That says everything.
Besides, the only one in the family who cared about vitamins was Franc, so fruit almost never appeared on our dinner table. At best it showed up occasionally as drinking snacks.
“Veronica, you must have eaten fruit often back in your homeland. We have a yard at home, so wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one fruit tree? Let’s grow one as a hobby.”
Hunting animals would not be easy for the Bicorns living hidden in the sanctuary. That sanctuary was not a completely separate dimension, so animals could enter, but they would not appear frequently enough to serve as a staple.
On the other hand, the sanctuary’s land itself was a meadow flowing with milk and honey. If you excluded the meat they occasionally sneaked out to hunt, their main diet was probably plants and fruit, much like the elves.
In that case, Veronica was likely in the same state as a Korean-American international student who had not eaten rice for a very long time.
At that, Veronica gave a bitter smile.
“How did you know I like fruit? I do not recall ever saying so.”
“I saw you devouring the fruit dishes at dinner last night. There were plenty of other foods and it wasn’t a situation that required modesty, yet your hand kept going for the fruit. So I figured you must like it. I should have asked sooner.”
I felt sorry for not noticing until now. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about it, but because she never spoke while eating, I had assumed she was simply tired of fruit after eating it constantly back home.
Was my noticing completely unexpected? Veronica smiled as though genuinely pleased.
“…Then I would like an apple tree.”
“An apple. A fruit truly worthy of a goddess.”
I nodded with an expression that said I knew it. Of course it was apples. Whether the Garden of Eden, the golden apples, or the shinigami from Death Note, it was always apples.
Thank you for your purchase!
I paid with the money earned from beating Diabolo, and once again the apple-tree sapling disappeared into the slate. Once the tree bore fruit, should I buy a refrigerator for long-term storage? Or would we eat them all during the harvest season? Still, I wanted a refrigerator. Now that I had money, I was dying to spend it.
I stretched, then took Veronica’s hand again.
“Next is this way. They said there’s some kind of museum around here, but apparently there isn’t much to see. Instead, there’s a fairly famous bookstore.”
“A bookstore?”
Veronica’s ears perked up. Among the literate people of this world who earned a decent living, few disliked books. After all, they even had erotic novels—the web novels of this world.
As expected, Veronica, who had experienced nearly all of human culture through text alone, lit up the moment we reached the bookstore. Though she tried to maintain a cool, indifferent expression, her head swiveled like a turret atop her neck, failing to hide her excitement.
I, for my part, was impressed by the size; the place was closer to a library than a bookstore. It certainly lived up to its reputation. There were quite a lot of customers browsing the shelves.
Welcome. Are you looking for a particular book?
While Veronica wandered around like a college student visiting Subway for the first time, the woman at the counter called out to her.
“Eep.”
Veronica stiffened at the greeting and took a step backward. Hmm. I didn’t particularly want to learn the reason behind that reaction.
The woman behind the counter looked flustered when a beauty on Veronica’s level recoiled from her. She even checked her own clothes to see if something was wrong. Sorry, my wife has a condition. She doesn’t mean anything bad by it. Probably.
May I help you with anything?
Another clerk, an elderly man who looked like he belonged in a bookstore, noticed the situation and stepped in. This time, perhaps because of his age, Veronica’s expression relaxed noticeably.
“Do you have Natalia’s Dam? Other works by Domisus would be fine as well. The Pale Soliloquy is also acceptable.”
“Oh? My, what a wonderful customer. Looking for those old masterpieces. Please, follow me.”
Perhaps because the custom of respecting elders had become a vulgar joke in this world, the old man spoke without minding her archaic tone. In any case, Veronica’s face brightened; it seemed she had found the book she wanted.
Veronica’s interests usually leaned toward the cultures of other races.
That was why I had kept it in mind while planning the date, yet there was one thing I had not anticipated. No—on second thought, this was something I should have realized in advance. Still, things rarely go exactly according to plan, and a date was no exception.
The books here were not the ones other Bicorns had brought to the sanctuary or those she had luckily obtained while traveling. These were titles that discerning people had deliberately gathered to stimulate customers’ interest.
—Twinkle, twinkle.
An environment where simply reaching out brought new stories made Veronica look like a child who had stepped into a toy store for the first time. Even from the side I could see her eyes sparkling with the charm of the written word. And yet the books that captivated her were not refined scholarly works but ordinary essays and novels that focused on entertainment.
The reason I felt no disappointment watching her was simple: everything I had prepared for today was ultimately meant to bring exactly that expression to her face. There was no reason to feel disappointed when the goal had been achieved.
I lightly scrapped the flexible plan I had designed from the beginning. Maybe I should have brought her here first.
From now on, it might be good to bring Veronica to libraries often. There was a fairly large library in Sargadis as well, but a person’s heart is difficult to know until they experience something directly. Even I had not expected to adapt so well to the adventurer life.
Still, for that very reason, I first needed to make sure Veronica could go outside alone. Until now she had only gone out with me or the other wives, but such a makeshift solution could not continue for years.
There was also the matter of official household registration after marriage.
…Identity fabrication is urgent.
I would have to ask my connections in Britannia or contact the Henesis young lady’s line. While my mind spun on that subject rather than the book in my hand, I fell into thought at one of the tables placed inside the bookstore.