Chapter 6: She Gets a Bargain
"Now that I have some money, the first thing I need to do is find a place to stay." Robin said to herself. "And then afterwards see to getting a proper meal."
What about the bag of dandelions? Well, since she had money, why would she reject a proper meal for a salad of nothing but slightly bitter herbs? That's like asking if someone wants a salad while eating a big piece of juicy steak in front of them. Can anyone imagine who would refuse the steak?
(AN: For those of you who are vegetarians, my apologies. Robin does not agree with your ethics towards food.)
The weeds were placed to the side to be given as feed for the guild's livestock. As for Robin, she had asked around and found a good inn to stay at for the time being: Magpie Inn. As she entered, a tiny bell rung, notifying the young man at the counter.
"Welcome to Magpie Inn! Are you here for a meal, or to grab a room?" He asked.
"...Ah! Both. I'm here for both." Robin replied.
"I see. And how long will you be staying?" He asked.
"Before I can answer that, I'll need to ask about your prices." Robin said sheepishly.
"One Large Bronze coin per day, and one regular bronze coin per meal. Only breakfast and dinner are provided, though. If you apply to stay for a week, we'll wave the meal fees and simply charge five large copper coins." He replied.
"Hmm? Why don't you just ask for one silver?" Robin asked.
"That's cuz most of our customers are commoners and peddlers." He replied. "And not everybody realizes that five large coppers is one silver. It's only when the occasional adventurer comes through that we can get an influx of silver."
"Well, I suppose that makes sense." Robin nodded thoughtfully, thinking of how empty the adventurer guild had looked. A small town like this would only have a limited number of qdventurers. Perhaps that was the real reason why there were so many requests up on the board. "But, unfortunately, I've only got a few silver on me." She placed one silver on the counter.
"Just finished a job, huh?" The young man noticed as he accepted the coin. He grabbed a key from underneath the counter. "Here you go. It's room seven. Up the stairs, and three doors to your right. Dinner will be served in the common room in a quarter hour."
"Thanks!" Robin replied as she inhaled the smell of cooking food. Hmm. From the smell, it seemed to include chicken. While she wasn't the best in terms of cooking or baking, she could usually tell the main ingredient by the smell. Unless, of course, it was a cold dish.
She didn't really have very many things, so she decided to go to the common room and wait for dinner. Dinner really did have chicken: chicken noodle soup, along with some rye bread and a side salad of both pickled and fresh vegetables mixed together. It reminded Robin slightly of sauerkraut.
After dinner, Robin headed to her room and thought over what she had accomplished that day.
"Money, check. Shelter, Check! Food, check!" She muttered to herself.
"Next on the list is: clothes. Looks like I'll have to go shopping tomorrow. Also, adding onto the list of things to keep an eye out for, some sort of storage bag or item box would be really helpful."
And, with that, Robin quickly fell asleep.
-------The Next Day------
After asking around, Robin was quickly able to find her next target. There was only one tailors shop in town. But, even so, it was a bit difficult to find it without someone drawing a small map for her. This town had originally been just a small village, so the layout of the buildings was not very well planned. Aside from the village square, business buildings and residences were mixed together, creating a network of alleyways and by-routes.
Still, Robin was able to find it relatively quickly.
Tiny bells rang as Robin went inside and looked around. Dust motes floated undisturbed through the beams of sunshine that entered through the shop's windows. Bolts of cloth lined the walls, in different colors and materials. In the center, a few front-pieces were displayed on wooden and cloth mannequins, while the rest were folded up neatly on the shelves.
To the side, an elderly man dozed half-spread out on what could only be considered a work bench.
"Um...hello?" Robin asked. The elderly man jerked awake immediately.
"Wha-what!? Did I fall asleep again?" He yawned, stretched, and said dismissively. "I tell you it's the weather. Spring weather always makes me so sleepy."
When he finally got a good look at Robin, his eyes grew wide. "THIS!" He exclaimed. "Such uniform stitching, such a simple and unique style of clothing, such an interesting texture of cloth! Tell me young'un, who made this?"
Robin smiled apologetically. "Sorry, everything related to it's production are a huge trade secret where I come from. I have no idea. But, as you can see, it's drawing quite the attention, both the good kind, and the bad kind, if you know what I mean."
She leaned an arm on the desk.
"So, do you have anything more normal-looking to walk around in? A full set of clothes, preferably something durable and easy to wear."
The old man was drawn back from his examination of Robin's clothes.
"Er, right. I do have something that can be considered so, but I won't lie to you. The materials to make it were somewhat expensive. Are you sure you can pay for it?"
Briar took out two silver coins. "Is this enough?"
He frowned. She added another silver. He wavered it wasn't every day that he could earn so much silver.
"I need to buy a magic bag later on, so I can only add this much." Robin said.
"Hmm? You're looking for a magic bag?" He asked.
"Yeah. I was separated from my guardian and he has all my things, so I'm going to need a magic bag if I'm going to travel around to look for him." Robin said.
"Hmm...tell you what. Add one more silver, and a large copper to the pile, and allow me to examine your odd clothing for a few hours, and I'll give you a second-hand magic bag that I've been using to store a few bolts of special cloth, okay?"
"For real?" Robin asked.
"There's no way you'll get a magic bag otherwise." The old taylor said. "All the ones in town are occupied by the shops, and there aren't many who would be willing to part with theirs for a few silver. It's only because I'm interested in your clothing that I am willing to suffer a loss."
Robin thought for a moment...a chance to get both things that she needed at one place? Her hand smacked down on the table, securing the final silver next to the other three.
"Deal!" she agreed.
After changing into the new outfit, and waiting for the old taylor to finish studying her clothes, she left the shop happily, having accomplished her objective for that day.
She had gotten everything except for....
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone