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As she followed the gatekeeper’s directions, she turned onto a small street around the corner. It was barely wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side, and even then the coaches would have to maneuver with great care.

At least, that was the theory. In reality, it would probably be impossible for carriages to do so at all, with signboards jutting out everywhere and pedestrians occupying much of the street.

Mira soon noticed that it was a lively street too, with various shops lined up one after another. There were bakeries offering freshly baked bread, relaxing cafes, shops selling odd Magic Wares, and a bleak weapons store. There was a bit of everything there.

“Behind the general store…I think this is it? But it doesn’t look right.”

After walking down the street and looking at the various shops, she faced a certain building with a puzzled look. It was the place the gatekeeper had mentioned, but it did not look like a branch of the Fifty Bells.

“Large variety of herbs and high quality medicinal plants…hmm.”

Mira read the sign placed in front of that building, then looked through one of the windows, seeing a front counter and a lot of pots with plants.

The building she had been guided to turned out to be another shop.

(Did I mess up somewhere along the way?)

She could not imagine that this was the Fifty Bells’ branch, so she went back the way she came and looked at the other buildings nearby more closely.

In the end, she could not find any other building that looked like the correct one, so Mira returned to the first one she found.

For a moment, she began wondering if they had moved somewhere else, and then she recalled what the gatekeeper had said. Errands.

“No, it couldn’t be…”

The most common errand for children to run was shopping. Coupling that with the store she found, it all made sense in a way. With that in mind, Mira looked at the store again.

The first thing she noticed was a sign that read, “Recommendation of the day,” listing the names of various herbs, including some rather rare ones.

“Oh, they have Tocopecco leaves in stock.”

That was a herb she had heard about from an adventurer in the Ancient Underground City, who was good at cooking and mentioned those leaves paired well with meat. The sign claimed they had a large amount of freshly picked high quality leaves.

She continued looking around, remembering the taste from back then, and noticed another sign, larger than the recommended one.

“Hmm… Everforest Garden, huh.”

It was not particularly hidden, but also did not stand out a lot, being placed right on top of the entrance. That was probably the name of the store, and Mira noticed smaller letters just below.

They were written in a pleasant green, and were easy to miss, but they definitely read Fifty Bells Ratnatraya Branch.

“So this actually was the branch all along…”

Mira had failed to consider the possibility that the branches could be different from the one in Sentopolly. In reality, they varied a lot depending on the country.

Then again, Sentopolly was under the control of Chimera Clauzen at the time, who were enemies with the Fifty Bells, so it made sense that the branch was not very big. But they were not chased out of there either, since in the public eye the Fifty Bells were a charity organization dedicated to protecting forests, and it would cast a bad light on Sentopolly if they openly pushed them away. So in the end, the branch was allowed to exist as a small house in the industrial district.

“Ohh…it’s so different here.”

Mira stepped into the branch, and looked around the first floor, which was no different from a store.

It was all lit nicely, with shelves carefully lined up and filled with the best produce. There were also plenty of clients, showing that the store was thriving.

All of that came like a huge shock to Mira, who only knew the branch in Sentopolly, and did not know how well Nirvana had treated them. That explained why it took her so long to notice it.

“It smells so nice in here too.”

Mira let out a sigh of relief now that she had reached her destination, and then glanced around the store.

A difficult to describe scent filled the air there, and despite the complex mix of smells, it was still pleasant and relaxing, like sitting in a flowerfield in a forest.

Because of that, the staff members also smiled amiably, and the clients looked calm, giving it a certain elegant appearance as there was not a single rowdy client.

Most of the people there were also female, from maids and housewives to rich girls and older ladies, covering a broad demographic.

(It seems they’re doing pretty well here.)

Mira kept looking at the clients and then back to the items on sale as she walked around the store, checking everything they had.

Further in there were also fruits and spices on top of the herbs she saw at first.

Overall, everything they sold came from the forest, or was related to it in some form. They even had various desserts made with fresh fruit, herbal teas, spice mixes, and aromatic oils.

(It definitely has to be that…)

What stood out the most to Mira were some solid cubes she found in a corner of the spice section. Almost all of the clients had picked up some of it, and there was no doubt about it, it was curry roux, which let out a delicious and spicy scent that opened one’s appetite.

It was listed as Curry Blessed by the Forest, and next to it there was even a recipe detailing how to prepare it.

(Hmm…I have no choice but to buy it.)

All adventurer food could be summarized as camping food. And there was no bigger staple of camping food than curry. Driven by that shallow line of thought, she picked up a packet. Then she went back to the herb section and grabbed some Tocopecco leaves and other herbs before heading to the counter.

(The prices are really modest too.)

Her cart had ended up quite full, but it only cost 3500 Rils. And when she consulted Martel, she said that everything was of high quality, so it really was a good deal.

As she walked around the store, she had also overheard a few conversations, and everyone else also seemed to think quite highly of the store.

All reviews were stellar, which also improved everyone’s perception of the Fifty Bells as a whole. If that had been the branch’s goal all along, they had certainly achieved it.

“Now then…”

She had ended with a nice haul in an unexpected place, which filled Mira with satisfaction as she headed out the way she came, and then stopped on her tracks.

“Wait no, that’s not what I’m here for!”

She was not there to shop, but had gotten carried away and forgotten everything else. Even she was baffled by her own actions, which made her think of a certain possibility.

(I’m sure it’s because of this smell.)

The whole store was filled by the scent of herbs, flowers and spices, so she was certain that they mixed a certain smell with it that made clients want to buy more.

Obviously that was not the case, but Mira decided to blame such delusional ideas for her behavior, and took another look around the store before walking up to the employee that stood out the most to her.

“Hey, you there. I’d like to see the branch director, do you know where I can find him?”

Finally remembering that she was supposed to get in touch with Kagura, Mira seeked the aid of one of the employees.

Since the way to communicate with the headquarters was secret, it was best to talk about it directly with the director of the branch.

“The branch director…? Ah, you must mean the manager. He’s inside at the moment, may I ask what business you have with him?”

The smiling employee looked confused for a second, before correcting her and mentioning the manager. That once again reaffirmed how much this branch was treated like a store.

Or maybe that employee was not a member of the Fifty Bells, and just worked there as a shop employee. That possibility also meant that it was best not to bring up too much about the Fifty Bells.

“Ah, umm…I mean, err… It’s a bit of a secret. Could you just tell him to come here?”

Mira could not openly mention that she wanted to get in contact with the headquarters with the secret device there, but could not think of a safe way to hint at it either, so in the end, she merely said that it was a secret and tried to insist on meeting with the manager.

She had not thought about any of this beforehand, all because she was still under the impression that it would be the same as Sentopolly, where knocking on the door was enough to meet the director. Then again, becoming overconfident because of previous successes was something that happened often with Mira.

“Umm…alright then. Please wait a moment.”

Someone trying to see the manager for a secret reason sounded really suspicious, and the employee was clearly unsure of what to make of it, but he decided to go along with it. Probably because Mira did not look like someone suspicious.

A few minutes later, the employee returned with another person, likely the manager.

“I’m the branch director here, are you the person who had something secret to discuss?”

To sum up his appearance, he looked like a hitman.

He was more than two meters tall, muscular, his head cleanly shaven, and had a really sharp gaze. If someone ran into him in an alley, they would likely run away instantly.

It was really hard to believe that he really was the person in charge of this store that preached the blessings of the forest.

Mira’s first thought was that maybe that was why he stayed inside. Then she replied without fear, “Yes, that’s me.”

“I see. If it’s a secret then come with me inside, it’ll be better to discuss it that way, right?”

It was clear he was trying to make his voice as gentle as possible, but his gaze remained sharp. He already had a pretty good idea of what Mira wanted to talk about since she had asked for the branch director and not the manager.

“Come with me, there’s a meeting room inside.”

Saying that, he turned around and went back inside, and after taking a few steps, he stopped to look back and spoke to the employee, “Don’t worry about serving tea, just go back to work,” and continued walking. Mira thanked the employee and followed the branch director.