Chapter 16: Days 18 - Entering the Town

I arrived in the capital city of Mināosa.

This town was a fortress city surrounded by walls about 5 meters tall. As it was located in the Frontier Count's territory, they had their own powerful military force. However, this force was not meant for defense against other countries; it was organized to combat the monsters in the Freya Forest.

Their numbers amounted to around 4,000 soldiers, which was about 20% of the city's population of 20,000.

The major industries here revolved around various products made from monster materials. Although having abundant monster resources would be conducive to both the production and crafting of magical tools, that wasn't the case here.

The epicenter of magical tool crafting was the royal capital.

This was due to the country's support for magical tool research, resulting in many workshops and researchers congregating there. The royal capital even boasted a Royal Institute of Magical Tool Research.

In Mināosa, magical tools were brought in from the royal capital, resulting in higher prices. There were no specialized magical tool stores; instead, they were sold at the corners of trading companies, commercial guilds, and monster-slaying guilds.

A storage bag with 2 cubic meters of time-passed storage was worth 12 gold coins, twice the price in the royal capital.

Considering that 1 gold coin is equivalent to around 20,000 yen in real-world terms, the monthly living expenses for a family of four were about 5 gold coins.

10 iron coins equaled 1 copper coin.

10 copper coins equaled 1 silver coin.

10 silver coins equaled 1 gold coin.

10 gold coins equaled 1 large gold coin.

10 large gold coins equaled 1 platinum coin.

Magical potions, like the time-passed storage bags, were also twice as expensive as in the royal capital. Here, a single potion apparently ranged from 4 to 28 silver coins.

I reported the bandit subjugation at the city gate and handed over the bandits. A thorough interrogation was conducted.

The Storage Box of the Jail had garnered a fair amount of surprise, but they accepted it relatively easily, which was a relief.

As I didn't have an identification document for entering the city, I was about to proceed with the procedures when a knight approached me. He was one of the knights who had been escorting the countess.

This might be why the questioning was easy and they seemed to accept things quickly.

I wondered if my information had already been relayed to the lord of this territory.

"Takashi-sama, welcome to the capital city of Mināosa. You don't need to pay the city entrance tax, and here is your identification document."

"Thank you."

With this identification issued by the city, I wouldn't need to pay entrance taxes in this city or the surrounding villages. It seemed the countess had arranged it for me. I would have to express my gratitude later.

"Where do you plan to stay, Takashi-sama?"

One of the countess' escorts inquired.

"I haven't decided yet..."

"In that case, for the time being, please stay at our Minag Trading Company."

Grey proposed that I stay at the Minag Trading Company.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, please."

"Well then, thank you for accommodating me."

"Then, would it be alright to have the Minag Trading Company as your temporary residence? We'll contact you soon to express our gratitude for the dragon subjugation, herb supply, and bandit subjugation."

"Yes, please, and thank you."

After taking a short break at the Minag Trading Company, Grey and I went to the Commercial Guild. Although the owner of the largest trading company in the capital would naturally attract attention, registering with the Commercial Guild went smoothly.

Afterward, I returned to the Minag Trading Company and had dinner with Grey's family. I was introduced to his parents, his wife, and his two daughters.

After dinner, it was decided that I would purchase one of Grey's pieces of land. It was agreed that I would have the land on a gratuitous loan until I could make the payment. I was truly grateful.

I was shown to my guest room for the night and went to bed early.