The Great Sage Who Did not Remain in Legend - 17.2

“Do they sell this kind of bread in the capital?”

“No, I bake this myself. I’ve never seen sandwich bread being sold around here.”

“You baked bread yourself in the morning?”

“I put the ingredients in and set a timer, and it bakes itself.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a magical tool, a magical tool.”

“Do they sell magical tools like that?”

“They don’t sell it. I only have permission to sell magic books.”

Iris was puzzled. Her questions and Mergin’s answers weren’t matching up.

“You said it’s not sold… Where did you purchase…”

“Oh, I see what you mean. This isn’t something I bought; I made it myself. All the magical tools in my place are homemade. Your room feels warm too, right?”

Realizing her room was warm, despite not having a fireplace.

“Is the room also heated by magical tools?”

“Yeah. Gathering firewood for a fireplace is a hassle, and you have to be careful about fires.”

“Using magical tools with magic stones can be expensive…”

Hearing “magic stones,” Iris recalled the magic light from Vanessa. She had been told it contained expensive magic crystals and had been thinking about returning it.

“Oh, um, thank you for that too.”

Luckily, Iris had the magic light in a small bag to return when she met Mergin.

“Oh, that thing. You can’t use light magic, can you? Here, I’ll show you how. It’s handy to have one.”

“But, I heard it contains precious magic crystals…”

“It’s fine. I still have some magic crystals left. If you don’t use it, you can sell it when you need money. Seems it fetches a decent price.”

“R-really? I heard it could be worth about three months’ worth of money.”

“It’s okay. I have no place to sell it myself as a foreigner. If I tried to sell magic crystals, they’d think I stole them. You’re from here, right? Just say you got them from home if anyone asks.”

“B-but…”

“Just keep it. Besides, you don’t have much money, do you?”

“I-I do have some.”

Iris tried to show Mergin the bag of gold coins she received as travel expenses.

“Oh…”

Unfortunately, the bag with the gold coins was already in her backpack.

“I know, but the backpack won’t come out again.”

“Yes…”

“What are you going to do now? Your plans seem to have gone awry.”

“W-well…”

“You’ll need a change of clothes… My clothes are men’s and won’t fit you.”

Mergin thought for a moment. He could buy her some clothes as a parting gift, but he didn’t know where to find women’s clothes.

“Oh well. I’ll ask at the brothel. They should have women’s clothes there.”

“After breakfast, Mergin headed to the brothel.”

“Is this perhaps the red light district?”

“That’s right.”

Realizing she had been taken to the red light district, Iris paled.

“Ma’am, I have a favor to ask.”

While Iris panicked, Mergin, accustomed to such places, took her inside the brothel.

“Oh, Mergin. Are you here to sell again? This time, quite a meager girl.”

Seeing Iris pale, the shrewd madam quickly grasped the situation.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You were planning to sell her after being kind.”