The lively and bright voices of those people were so intense that it almost made the surrounding colors fade in comparison. And while it was a bit boisterous, it was also relaxing in some way.
Captivated by that gentle environment, Mira did not realize that she had already walked through the entire residential district and was entering the merchant district now.
More than half of the scenery was also covered in white, but the people wore clothes of all sorts of colors.
The flow of people was higher there, but they were all in a good mood, children running around filling the gaps between the adults.
There were many young ladies carrying baskets, but there were barely any men, armed adventurers or travelers. All in all, it was a very peaceful place.
The merchant district was filled with such a sense of liveliness that it was obvious that it was a place designed for the residents. As opposed to the shops built for outsiders right at the entrance of the city, the ones here are specialized in houseware and daily necessities. There was a strong sense of community there, so it felt like everyone was a big family together.
As Mira kept walking forward, she spotted multiple grocery and meat stores. Faced with multiple scents that triggered her stomach into rumbling, she offered no resistance and began stuffing her cheeks with easy to eat stuff like skewers or small dishes to satisfy her stomach.
As she kept wandering around without any specific goal, she followed some children and arrived at a certain shop.
Its doors were wide open and many people, mostly children, constantly entered and left.
「What is this store?」
Muttering to herself, she peeked inside the building which resembled a white warehouse.
There was a counter there with a lady wearing an apron manning it. The children would approach her, give her some money, and in return she would give them a palm-sized rectangle of some sort.
One of the walls was covered with encased shelves that displayed their wares. As Mira looked through all of that, the flow of children entering and leaving did not stop.
Mira took a step back and looked around, this was the only store that was mostly visited by children throughout the merchant district.
Curious as to what kind of store that was, Mira followed the children and entered herself.
The rest of the interior of the building was made of white stone, giving a striking impression of cleanliness. Further inside, there were countless tables and chairs lined up. As if performing some sort of rite, the children were sitting at the tables facing each other.
Many of the tables were surrounded by groups of children like that, their bustling voices filling the store. Seeing the children’s bursting energy, Mira was reminded of old times she had long forgotten. Days when being alongside a friend was enough to make her feel fulfilled.
Filled with nostalgia and deeply emotive from watching the children, Mira’s eyes began dancing around the scene, landing on a grown woman who sat with an air of dignity, who soon began laughing together with the children surrounding her.
(Is that someone’s custodian?)
That was Mira’s first thought, but seeing her sit there without much care made Mira more curious. To learn who that was, Mira approached one of the tables surrounded by children.
The children were in high spirits, deeply focused on what was happening on the table, so Mira was unable to see the table through them.
Mira could only stand outside, circling around the table while stretching her neck trying to catch a glimpse of the center of the table.
(Nngh….I can’t see.)
Giving up on that table, she began surveying the rest of the store. There were many other tables there, some without such a large crowd around them.
She wanted to know what they were doing. Many had tried to invite her to join them, but she focused on finding a table with less people so she could watch.
(Could these be…)
Two boys were sitting on a table facing each other, holding something like playing cards spread into a fan in their hands. The table had a heap of cards, a large sheet with drawings and designs on it, and more cards placed on top of it.
It was a trading card game.
In the era Mira once lived in, trading card games were all done in Augmented Reality, using toy-like props to set things up, and playing out fun card battles like those seen in animes.
What she had seen was enough to convince her that her guess was correct, even though the design on the table or the rules were all entirely foreign to her.
(A trading card game huh, that brings me back.)
A smile floated on her lips as she watched the table highly interested. However, she did not realize that the boys’ hands had stopped, taken aback by the out-of-place cute girl that had suddenly appeared there.
「Nngh…」
Mira’s eyes were focused on a single card, her brows slightly knit as she grunted without warning. Wondering what had happened, the two boys looked up and down between Mira and the table, before returning their gazes to the cards they held in their hands.
The card that had caught Mira’s attention had a drawing depicting a person together with a name.
The name read 『Rikka Petal Heinrich』. It was a card of the warrior she had been together with until that very morning.
(Without mistake, this is him… He’s been illustrated in quite the gallant fashion.)
Mira then looked at the other cards, seeing monster ones depicting goblins and ghouls.
Still oblivious to the attention from the boys and curious to see what other cards there were, Mira began circling the table. She saw the second-in-command of Grimdart’s Knight Order who she had encountered during a quest before, as well as the priest of Alispharius.
But the card that caught her attention the most was that of Fist King Kojiro.
That was the name of a very well-known Player.
(Is this trading card game entirely based on this world, perhaps?)
Having gained all the information she wanted, she raised her gaze and looked around the store once again. Doing so, she finally understood exactly what kind of store that was.
Looking past the children who avoided her gaze, she saw the shelves housing the most valuable cards lined one at a time. And the lady at the counter was selling packs of five cards.
It was a trading card shop.
(That a game like this is becoming popular… Is this something other players started as well, I wonder?)
Mira was in high spirits, as if she had gone ten years back in time. She headed to the card showcase and began searching for a certain card.
If there were cards of old players, then there also had to be a card for her, who was one of the Nine Elders that were so well-known there even were plays about them.
「Hmph, Creos.」
The card displayed highest of all was of someone she recognized.
She began walking along the shelves, searching as much as she could, but in the end, she was unable to find Danbulf or any of the Nine Elders.
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