Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)

Volume 3 - Ch 4.05

What I mean by that is that they seem to be geared towards everything a typical resident of a big city might need, and they also have a certain sense of class to them. Just look at the clothing they sell here, and the difference will become pretty apparent. The clothes sold in Quratar all looked like a rural ones that have already seen their fair share of wear, tear and use, but from what I see on the displays of the clothing stores here, the products they are offering look like something that might have been sold in the shops with brand clothing that could be found in Ginza. Needless to say, they are all expensive as fuck.

Even the displays and the windows of the shops were all made from glass yeah, when it comes to luxury, this place really is a cut above all the other cities we have visited thus far.

Look, master! A carpet store!

What Roxanne pointed at with her finger was indeed a carpet store. It was not on the ground floor, but on the first floor above the other shop, but even so, it had a solid set of steps leading up to it, there was a rug in front of the door so that people could tidy the soles of their shoes before entering, and the inside of the shop itself was spacious and luxurious to such a degree that a part of me was thinking tha a riff-raff like me has no place in here. The place was literally lined up from top to bottom with carpets in all sorts of colors and intricate embroidings that made me think of haute couture (TL Note: Basically expensive, fashionable clothes produced by leading fashion houses) items that were sold on earth. Maybe it was because of the closeness of the Adventurers Guild, or maybe because this is the Imperial City, but even though I was expecting the quality of goods offered here to go up in comparison to other cities, I would have never expected that it was going to be to such an extent. Maybe we should leave and go fins some other shop, the one that will be much more merciful to our money? How about that, Roxanne? No? Aww

Even though this carpet store was on the Imperial Citys main street, the inside of it was unexpectedly quiet. The carpets on the floor were all made from soft and fluffy materials, adding some relaxing aspects to the coziness factor.

Welcome.

Hello, and sorry for the intrusion, mind if we have a look around the shop?

Of course, take as much time as you need.

A middle-aged female clerk bowed her head lightly and gave us a polite greeting, watched over us from her spot in the middle of the room where she without budging for even an inch.

Other than the two of us there werent that many customers to speak of inside, making me feel as if were here alone with the clerk lady. Trying my best to suppress the creepy feeling that she was carefully watching our every move, Roxanne and I proceeded to inspect each and every one of the stores carpets, both the ones on the floor and the walls as well as the ones placed on small podiums and rakes scattered here and there around the entire building.

How about this one?

I think it is not bad but if we want to display it as a decoration, then I feel like we definitely need something a little more flashy and representative.

How about this one then. It definitely looks like its made from better materials than that previous one.

We took a look at the carpet with geometric patterns that was placed on a low platform. It looks like a pretty well-made carpet to me. The patterns are all different, but none of them were too vivid or extravagant. Rather, their colors were all warm and gave you a sense of calming just from looking at them.

You really can tell that much about a carpet simply from touching it for a bit?

Yes, and I am sure that with a bit of practice you could learn to do that as well, master.

Just like with dodging enemy attacks the same way you do it, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not think thats happening anytime soon.

Roxanne slowly examined more carpets by touching each and every one of them and staring at them pretty intently. One with geometric patterns, reddish-brown one, a dark one, brown one with yellow stripes and so on and so on until she went through majority of them.

How about these ones?

They look like they would stand out too much in our house.

Roxanne told me that after scrutinizing the carpets with a serious look. If Roxanne says they would not look good in our house, then I have no reason to distrust her. After all, girls always have better judgement when it comes to those kinds of things.

How about these other ones then?

Hmm, they are certainly not bad, but.

Pardon my intrusion, dear customers, but is there anything I can help you with? What kind of goods are you exactly looking for here?

The female clerk walked to us and offered her help with perfect timing. As expected of someone who must be well-versed in the art of customer service after a (what I assume to be) a lifetime of work here?

Ah, yes, your advice will be greatly appreciated, maam. Actually, we are looking for a carpet that we could hang on the walls in our house as decoration.

Understood.

For starters, could you tell us how much do the carpets in this section of the shop cost? Like this one, for example?

I pointed at the carpet that Roxanne was now holding in her hands.

The carpets around sirs left side are the non-luxury variants, so the price of each one of them oscilates around three thousand Nars. As for the carpet held by your Wolfkin companion, both that one and all the other ones near her, their retail price is about five thousand Nars each, because they are all luxury products designed and crafted by the way of special order commissioned from the famed carpet manufacturer, Dobrou.

While it is good that apparently I wont have to bust out my gold coins to by a carpet, these prices still seemed to be a little bit on the expensive side. Since we want not something to be placed on the floor but rather as a decoration to be mounted on the wall, we wont be needing anything too extravagant.

And what about the carpets that are cheaper than the ones you have already shown us?

Those carpets right here are the one that are made by the local manufacturer. While not exactly on the same level as the luxury items we are offering, they also cannot be called cheap or badly made.

Uh-huh, I see. And their price?

Three thousand Nars per item.

Hmm, okay. What else do you have?

This way, please.

And the female clerk guided us to the products that were located at the back of the shop, where the carpets were all arranged on the stands near the walls. Are those carpets as good as the ones in the front, or are we now getting to the options for poor saps part of the establishment?

I have a question before we move forward. What sizes are the carpets you sell here in?

Most of our carpets are of the universal size, and that is such that a fully grown, adult Adventurer could be easily rolled up in it.

Really? Thats the description youre going with? Because let me tell you, it is, well, a very, very specific one. Also, if they are truly so big, then if we decide on buying one we will probably have to carry it together, since there is no way only one of us could haul something so big around. And there is another issue that we might end up having with it besides that. Is it going to be okay for us to Warp back to Quratar with such a huge carpet? Now that got me seriously thinking, because as much as Warp is better in comparison to Dungeon Walker and Field Walker, being so restrictive when it comes to the size and the number of the items you may carry with you during the Warping procedure is its most crippling shortcoming. In the worst-case scenario, we might end up being forced to ask one of the Adventurers in the Adventurers Guild to give us a ride back home.