2-1. Sure, you have skills now, but nobody ever said you can use them as you please.

Translated by Yonnee

“Other noble lords are much harsher. Our village is blessed. We thank God every day that we serve such a great man.”

In the meantime, the grocery store owner kept praising Count Pfalzgraf to death.

I forced myself to look away from his hand. Even if it really had warmth in it, that’s something programmed into his character, too. It wouldn’t mean anything.

“Of course, yes, you’re always grateful… But what of Young Master Adrian? Does he also stop by this village?”

“I heard that he drops by from time to time, but I haven’t gotten the chance to see him at all. Even if he came, he wouldn’t come meet us merchants. But you know, the Countess is very devout, so won’t she come by the parish sometime? I heard that she’s very ill. Is she doing alright these days?”

Leaning his torso forward slightly with the body language that made it apparent that he was listening intently, he seemed to want to hear some gossip about the countess. The rumors were already out that her condition wasn’t good, but they seemed to be keeping it a hush amongst themselves.

“Yes, she’s gotten a lot better. But it’s difficult for a servant like me to meet her directly.”

“Really? No, I just… That, um, it’s just, someone who’s always coming to the parish so often over the years suddenly isn’t coming anymore. I was just worried!”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

After that cursory answer, I prepared to leave the store. I was carrying so many bags with me now that I had to try and squeeze some others in a bigger bag because it was so uncomfortable to carry all of them as is. But then the white letters, which I seldom wished to see, appeared as though they were dancing in front of my eyes.

「 The bag has exceeded the weight limit. You cannot put more items in. 」

The items slipped out of the bag as if they were pushed out by an invisible hand, just like the time when I tried to lie down in bed without a pillow.

「 Would you like to purchase an item that can temporarily increase the weight limit of your bag? (Price : 40G) 」

“Wow, and I thought things were going well already, but now everything’s…”

40 gold? Which punk said 40 gold? There’s no such thing as death’s embrace. I can’t believe it’s selling products to me now…

“Huh? What did you say?”

The grocery store owner looked up as he was organizing the groceries so that they could be placed in the bag properly.

“No, it’s nothing.”

 「 Would you like to purchase an item that can temporarily increase the weight limit of your bag? (Price : 40G) 」

I picked up another item, and at the same time, the white text popped up in front of me again. I can’t believe it’s selling me something that gets temporarily applied to a bag—to me when I had only 6 gold.

This system was like a thief who’d come every night to rob me blind, and then proceeded to come back during the day to sell me the same things. I’m not buying it! Not at all!

“Ah, I guess you don’t have enough space in the bag to hold all of this. There’s no extra bags left over either.”

「 Would you like to purchase a bag? (Price : 50G) 」

As soon as the store owner expressed his concern, the white letters of the system popped up at just the right timing as though it was waiting for the chance. I wondered if there was an NPC hiding behind the system, making a living out of my money.

“It’s no problem. You can take out some of the items out of the bag to free up some space. I’m sorry, but I’ll come back for the rest of them the next time I visit. I don’t have enough hands, you see…”

“Right, of course. That’s too bad. When you return, please say hi to Miss Leticia for me.”

It was better to throw away things that weren’t mine in the first place than to spend my own money to keep them. Sifting through the things that the grocery store owner had put into the bag, I nonchalantly took out the things that weren’t in Catarina’s list and left only what I needed to bring back, that being salt and pepper.

As if it didn’t expect my response, the white letters popped up again. Urgently this time.

「 Would you like to purchase a bag? (Special price : 30G) 」

It knew that I wouldn’t buy it, so just look at how that price is going down. I still won’t buy it even if it’s 10 gold.

I snorted loudly as I saw the system’s reaction, then sauntered out to the street. The village wasn’t big, so I could just walk around for ten minutes and I’d have already seen the entire place. However, amongst the various shops here, there was one shop that caught my eye.

“Welcome.”

It was the bedding store. There was a bed being displayed near the entrance, and there were more items at the back, too. Pillows that were the hot item these days, wooden pillows that helped support the neck, white pillows made out of goose feathers, and lamps that were arranged side by side—everything caught my eye. I was already drooling over the display case by the time the shop owner approached.

“I see that you’re interested in our pillows. A lot of new products have come in this time. I’ll open the display case for you so you can try touching them.”

When the shop owner opened one side of the display case, helpful descriptions appeared in small status windows next to the various pillows.