“Alright, it looks like the level-up was successful... It seems that level 5 is the maximum for this Outdoor Shop ability. The display that used to show how many gold coins were needed for the next level has disappeared.”

Until now, there was always a display in the corner of the window showing how many gold coins were required for the next level-up, but now it was gone. Most likely, there was no level beyond this level 5.

Based on past experience, the amount needed for the next level-up had always been multiplied by ten. If that pattern held, I would have needed to purchase goods worth 50,000 gold coins. In terms of my original world, that would be equivalent to about 500 million yen—an amount that would have taken an incredible amount of time to accumulate.

Doing business in the royal capital could have shortened that time, but it would have also increased the risk of drawing unwanted attention. In that sense, I was relieved that level 5 was the cap.

“So, Tetsuya, what new items are available!?”

“Are there any delicious things like ramen or curry?”

“Uh, just a second… Whoa! There are an incredible number of new products!?”

At a glance, I could already tell that a huge number of new items were now available for purchase.

This was amazing. Maybe now I could buy everything that was available in an outdoor shop from my original world. Wait, I can even buy stuff like this? And this kind of expensive product, too? This is huge!

“…It looks like there are also new variations of the items that were already available. Even things like size options seem to have expanded.”

Previously, I could buy tents and sleeping bags through the Outdoor Shop ability, but there had only been one type available for each. Now, there were more than ten types of tents alone, and sleeping bags could be chosen in sizes S, M, and L, with different versions suited for various temperature ranges.

Sleeping bags are designed for specific temperature conditions. There are those suitable for extreme cold, such as snow-covered mountains, and those designed for summer, which are thin and easy to carry.

Particularly in this world, where different races like beastmen and humans exist, their needs for sleeping bags must vary greatly. Being able to choose from multiple types was a major advantage.

“Oh, that’s really convenient. Some customers have asked if there were different sizes available for things like waterproof backpacks.”

“Yeah, having size options is definitely helpful.”

“There are also a lot more food-related items. They’re even categorized now. I should take notes, or I won’t be able to remember everything.”

Previously, all products in the Outdoor Shop ability were displayed in a single list, but now they were categorized. With this many products available, just finding what I needed would be a challenge.

I should probably create a notebook or something to keep track of what I can buy through the Outdoor Shop ability.

“…So far, there doesn’t seem to be anything as outrageous as the maps or encyclopedias, but I’ll have to take a closer look to be sure.”

At first glance, the maps and encyclopedias had seemed like ordinary products, but their content had been tailored for this world. There could very well be some newly available items with similarly absurd features.

I would have to examine them one by one to find out.

“There are too many items to go through all at once, so I’ll take my time over the next two days. For now, let’s try out some of the new food items for dinner.”

“Oh, that sounds great!”

“Yes! I’ve been waiting for this!”

With this level-up, a variety of ready-made meals and freeze-dried foods had been added, alongside curry. I had known that modern outdoor shops sold a wide range of foods, but I was surprised at just how many were available.

Along with Lilia and Lange, I decided to taste-test some of them.

“Thanks for waiting. There are many different types, but let’s start by trying the retort pouch series, just like with the curry.”

“There are that many? And they all look completely different.”

“Yeah, and they all smell amazing!”

In addition to the retort curry, four new retort pouch meals had been added: beef bowl, oyakodon, Chinese-style rice bowl, and mapo tofu rice bowl. Nowadays, many outdoor shops sold retort pouches, not just for camping and mountain climbing, but also as emergency disaster provisions.

“Normally, you’d heat up one serving and pour it over white rice to eat, but today I’ve prepared four different pots with the warmed-up fillings. Let’s taste-test them all.”

For the rice, I had prepared the usual alpha rice by adding hot water to make white rice. Each pot contained two servings of one of the new dishes, kept warm on the stove.

Since a single retort pouch meal wasn’t particularly large, and since everyone ate quite a lot, I figured about eight servings would be fine. If there were leftovers, Lange could store them with his storage magic.

Besides, it had been a long time since I last had these dishes. I was going to eat my fill tonight!