Chapter 45: The Market
“Is it just me, or have there been more good people among demons since we came to this world?”
Ayaka muttered.
“A bit, yeah…”
Elvis, Linda-neesan, the medusa maid, and even the werewolf at the Kokura hotel had all been kind to us. They almost made me rethink my definition of demons.
On the other hand, on the human side, there were the yankees on the train, the black-suited men in the red-light district, and Yamane.
Of course, there had been ogres among the demons too, and on the human side, the Self-Defense Forces had transported us to town.
“I think it’s because demons have long lifespans and value mana.”
Kitaura-san offered her opinion.
“What do you mean?”
“Demons don’t seem to have much human greed. They’re kind of laid-back, like grandmas and grandpas. And since everything is decided by mana, I feel like their thinking is simpler.”
That did seem to be the case. They didn’t have as many things to think about or worry over as humans did.
“So maybe that’s why we find them comfortable? We’re the dropout side, the ones who gave up, like Yuu-kun and Hina said.”
“Could be. We have desires too, but in the end, we just want to live peacefully.”
We’re aiming for low risk, low return.
“Well, yeah.”
“Honestly, if it weren’t for our families, I wouldn’t have minded just living in Beppu with everyone. Though the human side attacked us.”
Living in a rural area the humans wouldn’t attack might be nice.
“That does sound nice. But human towns are more stable in terms of supplies, right?”
“That’s true…”
After ten years in another world, we were all craving junk food and sweets. You couldn’t blame us; we’d been teenagers when we were suddenly thrown into a world we knew nothing about.
“We can go to human towns too, can’t we? We just need to go shopping.”
“Yeah. I think I’d prefer living in a peaceful town too. From what I’ve heard, public safety on the human side is deteriorating.”
Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san seemed to agree.
“Let’s think about it after we reunite with Minato and Riku and reach Tokyo.”
“Let’s do that. We can make it work somehow.”
“Yeah. We’re not the type to go bankrupt from greed or anything.”
“Leave the accounting to me.”
We walked a bit from the souvenir shop and arrived at the market.
The market was bustling with activity, with various demons looking at the seafood the sahagin were selling.
“Wow, amazing.”
“They’re selling sushi too.”
“It’s like a festival.”
“It feels like a port town.”
Somehow, it all looked fun.
“What should we do?”
“Let’s look around for now. Since we’re here.”
“Let’s do that.”
We browsed through the market.
Various fish were being sold, and many demons were buying them.
Still, public safety seemed good—no trouble was breaking out.
“Looking at all this is making me hungry.”
Kitaura-san held her stomach.
“We haven’t had breakfast, after all~”
“Yeah. It’s Mayumi’s missing sock’s fault.”
What evil socks.
“They’re selling sushi and miso soup. Want to eat?”
“Let’s eat.”
“Yeah.”
We went to a relatively empty spot and looked at the sushi.
“There’s so much.”
“Yes. There are fish I’ve never seen before.”
“Mister, I’ll have this and this and this and this. And soup.”
“I’ll have this and this and this and this and soup too.”
Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san decided quickly and placed their orders.
“Sure thing. But I’m not an old man. I haven’t even hit 100 yet—I’m young.”
The sahagin shopkeeper said with a deadpan expression while packing the sushi into containers.
But if he said he hadn’t reached 100, he was easily over 50.
“Sorry~. Big brother, can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“We’re heading east from here, and we were wondering what things are like farther ahead. We know about the Hiroshima Ripper, but the souvenir-shop owner told us to ask the people at the market.”
Takamiya-san’s good at this.
“Ah, that guy. East, huh… You guys look human, but are you succubi or something?”
Am I an incubus then?
“Something like that. Our race is a secret.”
“Hmm… At a glance you look human, so you’d probably be better off going through the San’in region rather than Hiroshima.”
San’in refers to Shimane and Tottori.
Conversely, Hiroshima and Okayama are San’yo.
“So Hiroshima really feels dangerous? The souvenir-shop owner said to avoid Hiroshima City.”
“It’s creepy because no one knows what it is. Zero witnesses. No one knows how it happened—whether it was caused by some new human weapon or an insane demon. No one really knows, but it’s best not to get close. That Ripper might not stay in Hiroshima City forever.”
I see.
“How’s Okayama?”
“That place is peaceful. The Kansai region is interesting, you know? There are humans doing business with demons. According to the sahagin over there, some of them wholesale fish to humans.”
Ooh…
“What’s the payment? Most humans don’t have mana, so how does that business work?”
“That’s the interesting thing about humans. Apparently there’s a business over there that converts mana into money. Humans are tough.”
So civilian soldiers take mana from demons, buyers purchase it, and they do business with demons?
“Hmm… Kansai sounds a bit scary.”
“Maybe so. Well, you guys can probably blend in with humans, so you’ll be fine. You’ll make it, you’ll make it.”
Hmm, hmm.
“Hey, what about Shikoku?”
Ayaka asked.
“Shikoku, huh… I heard Tokushima fell to the human side. As for Kagawa, maybe its forces retreated to Okayama? I’m just a fisherman, so I don’t know the details.”
I had heard that Ehime and Kochi were on the human side in Shikoku, but Tokushima too?
Ayaka’s grandparents are in Kochi, so they should be safe for now.
“Thanks. Ah, I’ll have this, this, and this too. And miso soup, please.”
“And I’ll have this and this and this and this and this and miso soup.”
“Sure thing.”
We received the packed sushi and miso soup, paid with mana, and stepped outside the market.