Ryozanpaku

[Apollymi]

Their philosophical discussion left by the wayside, Tamamo was left to begin her discussion with the Nure-onna selling the food they both seemed to be interested in. She was soon told exactly what this delicious smelling thing was and given a price for each item to be purchased. Strangely, the number given seemed to be outrageous. Tamamo's face shifted slightly as she leaned over Giyu's shoulder looking at this woman and mentally processing this new amount of money she mentioned. "Yatagarasu? The three-legged bird? Those are its eggs?!" she said seemingly surprised. She supposed she'd eaten more than her fair share of strange food so that wouldn't be so bad, still the amount of money she asked for left a lot to be desired.

Ashikaga Kimiko had traveled quite a bit in her life, but never had she come across such a specific amount of currency. The idea that something should cost 2.4 million of anything was a bit outlandish to her, even as someone who paid ridiculously high costs for nice things all the time. What was more this felt kind of familiar like a conversation or two she'd had with her father as a younger child. 'Well, there was that one time, Daddy and I were in Arabia and he told me the price of something but it was basically pennies to the dollar back home. Actually, I did a lot of math problems like that too...' she thought giving it a bit of consideration. Still this type of money hadn't come up in her current set of studies, so perhaps it was outside her current sphere of understanding. There was nothing she disliked more in life than not understanding money, as such she removed herself from the back of the lad she leaned over finding herself standing directly in front of this stall. Tamamo's golden eyes became intense a glare was present, but there was also the light of learning behind, she didn't ask a direct question, but instead for information so she could find her own answers. "What's the exchange rate with the lower kingdoms?" she asked rather directly. Whether the woman behind the counter told the truth or not, surely she wasn't the only person who'd been encountered who'd come from below. Most merchants would have to maintain some form of active exchange or it wouldn't really make sense. A single piece of information like that would be all the lass needed to know to convert mon into the kind of money she had in excess. The annoyance of such a thing, was why Kimiko enjoyed visiting Europe, with their unified monetary system. And why she'd worked to convert Atlantis immediately to the kind of money she liked handling... this kind of thing was always problematic initially. Still, something about this sort of exchange always made her heart race with untold excitement.

[Bloodedge]

"Indeed! You've never seen them? Such a surprise, hearing that from one of you," the saleswoman spoke. It was strange to hear this from a Kitsune, but there were odder things. This Kitsune and Oni seemed like a lovely young couple, so the woman was content to prepare the finest Yatagarasu egg she had available for their consumption. She wrapped what seemed to be a large, hard-boiled egg in a paper cone. Like all prepared versions, the top had been lopped off to expose the yolk. It had no need of seasoning, toppings, anything of the sort to display the full effects of its flavor. Even the ever-stoic Giyu saw the appeal of this egg, and he took it without hesitation. Meanwhile, the Nure-onna seemed rather... confused by Tamamo's query. "Exchange rate? We do not deal with these 'lower kingdoms' here, my child. If you do not have mon, you must earn it... or barter something of value." the woman said, while Giyu stared into the egg yolk. This thing seemed quite delectable, but he did not intend to partake of it first. As he recalled, it was Tamamo's previous form who first brought attention to matters of hunger. With that in mind, he held it out for her to try first.

[Apollymi]

"Oh? I suppose, it does smell really good to me~" Tamamo said with a happy smile. Of course, she couldn't help but have her mouth water just a little. After all, she hadn't eaten all day and something about this food seemed to appeal to her as a being, not just her currently empty stomach. Beyond this point she watched the opening of the egg which she was offered with wide eyes. Apparently her question about exchange rates caused confusion according to the Nure-onna, they chose specifically not to deal with the lower kingdoms at all. Instead, they either accepted only their own currency, work or items in exchange... this caused a scoff from the pink haired kitsune. "Cutting yourself out of markets means you make less money. Not doing business with other kingdoms cripples your output and your potential intake. Lack of unified coin is a special brand of annoying that cuts you off, though that isn't specifically your fault. And it's not that the potential war zone doesn't do the same~" her words came with a teasing tone, but not the same one she normally reserved for Giyu. "I'll give that advice for free..." said Tamamo with a frown on her face.

In exchange for the food though, there was something else, something that Tamamo had to give. She looked at the woman and searched her mind for lore related information. Nure-onna, were strange creatures, they fed on children's blood and enjoyed washing their hair. Creatures of water with snake skin in need of hydration, a gentle upturn of her lips came but then a portal opened and into her hand came a single object. A large bottle similar to the type shampoo would be made of, full of the waters she'd collected from a certain mermaid in the form of her tears. It was considered the cleanest water one could get, with special properties which protected and added shine. "How about this, in exchange for breakfast, for me and my friends... I'd need at least a dozen more, but if you think it's fair. I have an equivalent number of bottles to spare~" mentioned the fox girl as she leaned over to take the offered food with excitement in her eyes.

[Bloodedge]

This woman didn't seem concerned at all with Tamamo's business-related advice. Nothing said would be able to work in a place like this, where the land itself was split into four opposing factions. Others wouldn't deal with them, if they could even make it to Ryozanpaku in the first place. If humans even found their way to this place of Youkai, they were likely to turn their heads... if they survived. None of that bothered her, though; she was only here to sell these eggs for personal gain. These newcomers seemed to have been Youkai from foreign lands, and though that was strange, she didn't care about that either. A simple barter would suffice to earn them whatever number of eggs they wanted. What could they offer, though? Would they have anything worthwhile, or would they come back later after earning some of the local currency?

Ah, it seemed she had something of high value indeed. The snake woman's eyes glistened with anticipation as she gazed upon the offered fluid. "The maiden's tears? My my, you've come from a very distant place, haven't you? What you have is valued here at a million mon per droplet," she said, knowing that this particular faction held the tears of a Mermaid in high regard. It wasn't simply due to its qualities as water, but something... far, far greater in purpose. "We can do business, dearie."

[Apollymi]

It seemed the woman wasn't at all concerned with the business advice Tamamo had to give, if only she knew how much such information normally cost individuals. Oh well, Tamamo was certain of many things when it came to money and given this transaction went well, this woman would eventually find her way before her again. Whatever the case, Tamamo made the Nure-onna an offer which caused her eyes to glisten with a certain acquisitiveness that Tamamo herself was quite familiar with. The number she spouted off was quite large indeed, saying that a single drop of the fluid she offered was worth such a sizable amount, gave the fox lass all the information she needed to be able to do some quick math. 'A drop worth 1 million, a 4 ounce bottle contains 912 drops. The bottle itself is worth 9,120,000 multiplied by the number already existing, converts to 13,820,000 USD, which is... closest equivalent to the lower Kingdom's "Gold" exchange rate. That basically means each drop is worth 5 bronzes, which is crazy bit of inflation considering what the bottle is worth,' the lass said, she was thinking in their shared head space. "Damn, I could get a really nice car with that amount of cash..." she said with an off-handed smile. Now that she understood the conversion rate on this money type, she knew that she'd not have any problem bartering or negotiating while they were in Youkai Country. "Hai, we've been all over, and now I just really want some breakfast," she said content to now try and experience this new food of choice. "I'll give you two bottles for the rest of your morning stock, if you could wrap it up for us, I'd really appreciate it?" she asked as she began happily eating and placed two of the small bottles of Mermaid Tears onto the front of the stall before the Nure-onna. After this she was happy and would immediately have a taste of the offered food of choice.

A bite of yolk and her eyes widened immensely. It was sweet, and had a strange consistency but it was definitely indulgent and breakfast like in its creation. Her face was flush and her eyes were filled with a light of joy. "Omai!~" she squealed happily, she turned to Giyu who'd been waiting quietly this whole time and offered him some as well. "Mikon!~ Try it, it's amazing!~" she coaxed as she waited for her purchase to be complete.

[Bloodedge]

Giyu was addressed directly by the mind of Tamamo, but his facial expression remained blank as his eyes stayed fixed on the eggs. As he stared, he seemed to be inspecting them more thoroughly, if only to be certain there was nothing poisonous about them. Everything appeared to be fine, yet he went without reacting to Tamamo's 'speech' at all. While the lad was so spaced-out, the Nura-onna nodded her acceptance of Tamamo's offer. She certainly couldn't say no to two bottles of Mermaid tears all to herself. There was no hesitation from the woman before she began gathering eggs, carefully boxing them one after another. At that time, Giyu's attention was finally grabbed properly by the Kitsune. His gaze averted from the eggs, shifting instead toward Tamamo as she expressed satisfaction in the eggs themelves. Without a word, he reached out to claim the meal for himself. One bite confirmed for him that this was an enigma as a food item. An egg that was naturally sweet, happened to somehow seem creamy as well. Perhaps that was the spiritual aspect of the Yatagarasu? Whatever it was, it convinced Giyu to consume a quick second bite before handing the egg to Tamamo again. "It is. I like it."

[Apollymi]

Giyu had been quiet and seemingly spaced out? Whatever the case, his attention was soon on Tamamo as she mentioned he should try their new food of choice. She then got to happily watch as the lad tasted this new confection with her. A bright smile painted her face she was happy he enjoyed this. Happier still that she managed to acquire so many of them for them to share with their friends when they headed back. Egg back in her hand, she soon found herself back in the place she had been in the moments before, casually slumped over the lad's shoulder as she took another bite. "Hai hai! It's really good!~" she chimed her agreement. She seemed beyond amused, what an interesting breakfast. Always one for fairness she'd continue offering the lad bites after she took another, so that they could finish this first one between themselves. This would be enough to hold her over until they were able to sit for breakfast properly. "Did you want to get anything else before we head back?" she asked of the lad, it was strange not being able to see his emotions all over his face, still she wouldn't peak into his mind if he didn't expressly ask her to perform that task. Whatever the case, she was ready for whenever the woman finished boxing up the breakfast they intended to take back to their ship.

In the meantime, a certain raven haired, black-winged lass was waiting patiently just out of eye shot of the ship. She was quite near to where she'd met the two adventurers before and made the assumption they'd pass back through here at some point. She looked a bit bored as her eyes scanned the distance. 'I wonder what his new Avatar is like...' she thought to herself of the boy known as Aiba Yugi. She couldn't know, but she was one of a limited number who knew his legitimate identity.

[Bloodedge]

After Giyu handed off the egg again, Tamamo returned to her place against his back. He showed no signs of reaction again, but he clearly wasn't complaining about this approach. Time passed, eggs were boxed to order by the excited Nure-onna, and bites of the first egg alternated between Tamamo and Giyu. Soon enough, the boxing was done. The Nure-onna had her entire stock for the day on offer for Tamamo, and Giyu was taking one of the final bites from the first offered egg. Was there anything else? He could hardly think of anything he intended to do, besides acquiring something to eat. "That's all I can think of," he said between taking a bite, and returning the egg. Assuming Tamamo intended to use her Artifact to hold this incredible quantity of boxed Yatagarasu eggs, he was easily prepared to begin moving whenever the task was done.

[Apollymi]

Tamamo reclaimed her spot upon his shoulder with the utmost happiness and as they continued to share their egg of choice, it seemed that Giyu had no problem with their placement. Rather, the lad didn't say no, and his face betrayed no negative feelings. The pink-haired Kitsune was not really sure what all this lad's newest Avatar had problems with, but she'd mentally decided to take his acceptance with or without actual signs of it. As such she'd settled into position even more, wrapping her arms around him and seeming to find this position most comfortable. It also gave her easy access to the lad's ear leaving her face visible over his shoulder.

Moving right along, their order was soon boxed up, and unlike the problems of carrying this large amount of items, she might have had in her actual life, here, she had a much more efficient way of moving a large number of items. In this moment the fox girl opened up portals beneath the boxes and allowed them all to go into her storage space. They'd disappear after they were all ready. "Sugoi, sugoi! Shopping is so much easier now..." she mentioned happily. "Imagine the possibilities of all that extra free time!~" the lass whispered to flirt with the lad whose shoulder she occupied. She'd give a gentle wave to the Nure-onna and offer her thanks, "Arigatou na," she offered for her breakfast, knowing that Giyu would move whenever he was ready. He'd even claimed that he had nothing else he'd wanted to do besides gather breakfast so she assumed they'd be headed back in the direction of their ship.

[Bloodedge]

Their early breakfast came to an end, and the remainder was successfully placed in storage by Tamamo. Of course, their departure wouldn't come before Tamamo spoke another one of her flirtatious statements into the Oni's ear. His eyes alone shifted toward her in the moments following the clause of 'free' time, as if to acknowledge whatever possibilities she had in mind. This particular Avatar was about the task at hand, yet Aiba Yugi remained quite conscious deep within. He still had very little to say in response. "Yeah," was the only speech he offered before turning on his heel to move toward their ship. No acknowledgement at all went to the Nure-onna they were so recently dealing with, interestingly enough. No; he was on the move, and he wouldn't stop until he neared the Grandcypher... where they would encounter the two Youkai they met upon arriving in this place.

Rimuru waited with marked impatience, keeping to his Slime form atop the head of Kuroka. Even as a Slime, that blob-like form of his was drooping as if deflated by boredom. The ship those two had was nice, and so full of crew members, yet he did not have it in him to approach without the others' presence. Where were they? Well, he'd be seeing them in a matter of moments, though only one was immediately recognizable to the Slime. "Ugh... finally."