The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 10: A Bit of Shopping

Reynard went through the school’s main gate and down the road to the Valkenburg town. It was a short walk. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ahead of him was a familiar sight of the town: huddled stone houses, streets barely wide enough for carriages, and a smell of sewers that Reynard could almost taste.

And this was the richer part of the town. Farther away, the houses became wooden, and most of the streets grew narrower. There were also smithies, tanneries, and butcheries that smelled way, way worse than some simple human shit.

Breathing through his mouth, Reynard walked toward the market district. The commoners gave him a wide berth, many people bowing respectfully, and even carriages paused to let him pass. Still, Reynard watched carefully where he was walking.

’It’s nice to be respected for a change without having to threaten other people with a gun. I would have liked to go out more, if this place wasn’t so dirty!’

Reynard lifted the hem of his robe and carefully stepped over a pile of horse manure.

’Yuck.’

Soon, he reached his destination—the trade district. It was the liveliest and noisiest part of the town at any point in time. Commoners, nobles, and even other magi mingled here, while hawkers and peddlers shouted to the top of their lungs, advertising their wares.

Most of the magi gathered exactly at the place Reynard was heading toward—the alchemical shops.

Here, several traders bought and sold ingredients for magi: herbs, ores, animal parts, and other exotic things they bought from other traders or magi or gathered themselves.

The magi from Blue Bismuth School were easy to distinguish by the cut of their robes. They preferred to stay close to each other and away from magi that came to the town from other places. Those were few in number. Some of these were independent, some were from other magic schools and organisations, and both kinds had no reason to stay in a backwater town like Valkenburg for long.

Reynard ignored all of them and went right to a familiar shop: a small building with "Oscar’s Best Quality Ingredients and Rarities" written over the door.

Inside was a room that smelled even worse than the outside: like a chemical factory mixed with a flower shop. A magical lamp was hanging on the ceiling. In front of the entrance was a shopkeeper’s counter, and behind it, massive shelves full of labeled boxes and vials.

In a corner was sitting a bored-looking Final Cycle Nigredo magus—a hired security guard.

Reynard nodded to him, then smiled at the balding, middle-aged man at the counter.

"Mister Oscar, have you missed me?"

The man rose in his seat, beaming back and waving his hands.

"Oh, Reynard boy! Come here, come here. You didn’t say whether you wanted more Black Salt, but I left a bit for you if you are buying today! I might even let you get some for credit, since you always pay back eventually..."

"Wonderful! I will need some. But first, I want to sell something—there’s no need for me to borrow money from you anymore."

Reynard put two glass jars on the counter. One was full of dark brown powder, while the other was filled with fresh, blueish-green leaves.

Oscar leaned forward.

"An entire jar of crushed Saturnian Leafeaters? This will give you a few gold pieces. And that’s... Gods and Loremasters, is that an entire jar of Moonlit Licorice? This... I will give you twenty gold for it... Twenty-five together with these Leafeaters—I know some people who will gladly buy the powder to make rat poison. It looks like luck is on your side these days, so let me congratulate you with this deal."

Reynard grinned.

Now he felt that his time crushing all the bugs gathered from Saturnian Ivies was well spent.

"Thanks, Mister Oscar! That’s why I always go to you to sell my stuff. Now... Can you give me things on this list?"

The shopkeeper, squinting, read the list given by Reynard, then nodded.

"Yes... Yes, I can. Give me a few minutes."

Oscar took the glass jars and went to the inner rooms of the building, returning soon with several jars and boxes.

From a single glance, Reynard could see that there were all the items he asked for: the ingredients for Boom Powder, Black Salt for smithing (he would buy the steel itself elsewhere), and finally...

Reynard lifted a small vial to his eyes. Inside was a tiny white pearl that emanated powerful energies.

The item he actually went to the shop for.

This little pearl was a necessary catalyst for the next Operation in his Cycle—fixation, or solidification (of his mana). It wasn’t the only catalyst necessary, but it was the best one.

"Finest-quality Mermaid’s Tear Pearl!" Oscar claimed. "You were lucky that I had one on hand, they are usually sold like hot cakes! Too bad mermaids aren’t crybabies."

Reynard snorted, shaking his head.

’These pearls really ARE made from mermaid tears... Although I heard that mermaids are actually ugly monsters, we literally use their tears to refine our mana. What kind of cartoon evil is this?’

"Thanks, Mister Oscar. Just you wait, I’m going to get your business booming with the amount of plants I have to sell!"

"Oh? Boy, did you discover that you had a rich relative all along?"

While Oscar packed Reynard’s items and his change, they chatted a little. If not for the eye-watering stench in the shop, Reynard would’ve liked to spend time like this.

He breathed much more easily after finally leaving.

’Poor guard guy. At least this job pays more than the work at the school, and he only sometimes has to kick out annoying customers. Even if he has to pay a tithe to it anyway... A student of a school is more like an eternal slave to it!’

With these musings, Reynard bought some steel from a smith (with delivery to his dormitory) and was going back to the school through the evening crowds when suddenly, someone grabbed his arm.

"Reynard! Ah, I knew that was you in the crowd! Great—you are going to buy me a dinner!"

"M-Marien?!"