To fulfill our original goal—a proper shopping trip—we headed out into the Freeport Nova arcade accompanied by a delivery drone.
The last time I’d stopped at this port, I’d been so busy gathering cooking utensils with Professor Stein that I’d left the actual food procurement entirely to Lucia and Mina. That meant I hadn’t been able to give the market a thorough look myself. I really needed to see these things with my own eyes.
"...Phew. The energy here isn't half bad."
I scanned the street, taking in the rows of eclectic stalls.
First, we looked for the shop where Lucia and the others had bought ingredients last time. Before long, I spotted a shopkeeper with lizard-like skin arranging a row of mud-caked wooden boxes.
Inside, brown bulbs and long orange bundles had been tossed in haphazardly.
Pseudo-Onions and Pseudo-Carrots.
I felt myself drawn to the stall like a magnet.
"Hey, welcome. Looking is free, but if you’re touching, show me your money first. These beauties are delicate."
The shopkeeper pointed to the price tags. Prices ranging from several hundred to several thousand Credits per item were displayed as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I'll take everything you've got."
"...Huh?"
The shopkeeper’s eyes bulged. The three behind me echoed his surprise.
"All of it. I'm buying the whole box."
"H-Hey now, are you serious? The whole lot won't go for a cent less than 100,000 Credits. You buying for a restaurant or something?"
"No, it's for my ship's kitchen."
"A kitchen on a ship!?"
Exasperated but clearly delighted, the shopkeeper tapped away at his terminal. I finished the payment and had the vegetables carefully loaded onto our delivery drone, watching over the process as if they were handling fragile glassware.
"Akito, what are you going to do with all that? Our freezer is still about half-full of Star Tuna."
Mina made a fair point.
"I know. But I don't know when we'll find these again. Besides, these don't necessarily need to be refrigerated."
"Well, that's the replenishment done, but..."
There should still be some room left in the drone’s cargo capacity. I wanted to see as much as possible while I was here.
We passed through an area filled with miscellaneous junk and suspicious contraband, loading a few more ingredients onto the drone as we went. Then, I suddenly stopped in front of one particular shop.
The shopkeeper was a surly, large-framed man who didn't even bother calling out to customers; instead, he was preoccupied with rolling around what looked like lumps of stone.
"...What is that?"
Rugged, rock-like clusters had been dumped into a dim wooden box. The price tag identified them as "Rock Root," and beside the name was a staggering figure.
Price per kilo: 15,000 Credits
"...They just look like pebbles to me," Emulgand said, sounding perplexed.
The other customers seemed to agree, walking right past with looks that said, Who would ever buy a bunch of rocks?
But my eyes were glued to them.
"...If my hunch is right, these are..."
I asked for permission and picked up one of the Rock Roots. Using the knife at my waist, I shaved off a thin layer of the hard outer skin. A white, succulent surface appeared beneath. When I touched it, I felt a moist, starchy texture.
"It's a potato. Or at least, it’s remarkably close."
Visions of steaming, fluffy potatoes filled my mind.
Butter-topped Baked Potato—steaming them until they’re soft, dropping a pat of butter on top, and drizzling on soy sauce as it melts.
Potato Salad—mashing them with mayonnaise to enjoy that creamy, thick texture.
And above all—
"If I grind these into powder, I can make Potato Starch. This is going to expand my cooking repertoire immensely."
15,000 a kilo was steep, but there was no substitute for the real deal.
"Lucia, arrange for an additional delivery drone. ...Actually, make that right now. I’m buying out all these Rock Roots as well."
I watched with satisfaction as the Pseudo-Potatoes were loaded onto the newly arrived drone.
Accompanied by my crew—who looked utterly floored even as they began to look forward to the new ingredients—I finally left the market.
Author's Note: This one turned out a bit short.
I've introduced things like instant mashed potatoes before, but please think of those as having a completely different structure. It’s been quite tough having only buckwheat for flour.
If you thought this was interesting or are looking forward to the continuation, please click the "★"!
Akito's dinner tomorrow might get a bit of an upgrade. Thank you for your support!