I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived at the place that sold the organic stuff.

I was kind of expecting it to be a supermarket of sorts or at least similar to the marts that sold the synthfood but that obviously wasn't the case when we got there.

What I found there was a large building that looked more like a boutique than a mart, especially when there's security standing at the front door alongside some other guys dressed in suits greeting people at the entrance.

"Isn't that a little overkill? Are they expecting to get robbed or something?" I asked, gesturing to the guards.

Amber chuckled, "You'll be surprised but it's actually something that wouldn't be unexpected."

"People actually rob places like these to get organic food?"

Both Amber and Samson nodded.

Huh… I would say that this was a weird choice for people to rob but then again… There's people in my old World who would also rob and steal from supermarkets as well so I guess it's not too ridiculous.

We went up to the door and one of those guys in suits approached us with a smile on his face.

"Greetings, are you perhaps here to shop?"

Samson nodded, "We are. Care to guide us through it?"

"Of course, right this way please."

He stepped up to the door and pulled out a security card that he tapped against one of the panels, prompting the door to open up and allow us inside.

One of the guards that was standing outside even left his post to accompany us, most likely just in case we turn out to be thieves or robbers I guess.

You would think that we were entering some kind of bank or some high security facility but we're really just here to buy potatoes and stuff…

I wonder if every other place that sold organic food was also like this? Are there really a lack of farms around the galaxy?

What's more, it got even more ridiculous when we entered the building.

The interior was seriously designed like it was a boutique with dazzling lights and posh furniture. Heck, the very things they were selling were being displayed in glass cabinets for crying out loud.

The staff member smiled at us, "May I know what you might be looking for?"

Both Amber and Samson turned to me.

Well… I suppose I'll have to pick the stuff since I would be the one cooking anyway.

"Do you have any potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes… Maybe strawberries, mint, basil, thyme… Err… Any meat or fish perhaps?"

The staff member stared at me for a moment before nodding his head, "We do have that… But may I ask what is your budget?"

Samson cut in, "You don't need to worry about that. We have enough."

That is music to my ears.

The staff member nodded before gesturing towards the shop's interior, "In that case, please follow me."

He guided us to one of the glass cabinets and inside was a single potato sitting on a small cushion.

It's not like it's some kind of really special potato that is especially big or whatever, but it was just a normal potato.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"This is our potato, we procure them from the planet Gia directly so you can be assured of its freshness."

I'm assuming that planet is one of the few that actually grows their food organically or something.

"How much?" I asked.

"We're selling them at two hundred Credits per potato."

…

Ok, truth be told, that's cheaper than I thought…

That's about twenty dollars per potato and sure, that's bloody expensive since five potatoes would cost a hundred but at least the price was at a range that even someone who isn't filthy rich might be able to afford if they choose to.

Sure, they probably wouldn't just buy one single potato but that's beside the point.

There's one thing I'm concerned about though…

I pointed at the display case, "Don't tell me that's the only one you have in your store?"

"Oh, not at all, dear customer! This is just for display! We have more in our storage of course. Just tell me what you need and I will have them packed and ready for you."

"Alright, I'll take five of these. Where's the others?"

The staff member's attitude seemed to change as he got pretty enthusiastic about guiding me around the store.

I guess he had initially assumed that we would baulk at the prices and leave but seeing that we didn't, he knew we were serious customers.

He then started leading me towards each of the individual cases and introducing the products to me.

Cabbages were going at three hundred Credits per cabbage, lettuces were at two hundred Credits, Strawberries and tomatoes were at a whopping three hundred Credits per fruit and the beef they were selling was priced at three thousand Credits per kilogram.

I got a few of whatever I had listed out to him where I intended to be cooking a few of them while I'm going to attempt to try and grow the rest.

Not the beef of course… I wish it actually grew on trees.

Come on, this is a sci-fi universe right? Why hasn't anyone invented a beef tree yet?

Actually, don't do that… I doubt I would eat that anyway…

The total came up to just over a hundred thousand Credits and I felt a little apologetic to be making Samson pay for all this.

"Truth be told… I thought you would be buying more than this actually, so it's fine," He assured me when I apologised. "In fact, are you sure this is all you need?"

I nodded, "I'm sure. I don't really want to spend too much of your money and if I need to, I can always just come back here and buy them myself."

The staff member finished tapping on his personal terminal and turned to me, "We shall deliver the products to your ship once they are packed, dear customers. Thank you for shopping with us today."

I frowned at him, "Wait, what? That's it?"

"Yes, that is it, dear customer. Or do you have something else you need?"

"I mean… Aren't I going to be the one that picks the stuff out from your storage? No offence, but I don't trust other people picking the produce for me."

He blinked at me, "Dear customer would… Like to pick the items yourself?"

"Yes?"

Pretty much everyone was giving me a weird look and I felt a little conscious now.

"Is that not allowed?" I asked.

"That is… Certainly not a problem… Ermm… This way please."

Huh….

I turned to Amber and raised an eyebrow as we followed behind him.

She leaned over and whispered, "You know how to tell which ones are good from the bad?"

Ah… I guess since people don't usually eat organic food, they've grown unaccustomed to picking out these products themselves?

I shrugged, "I can manage… Although I realise that this is actually cheaper than I thought? Why would eating all this in a restaurant be so much more expensive than the produce themselves?"

Amber giggled, "You forgot, Tera, most people don't know how to cook anymore. And when I say cook, I mean really preparing these produce from their raw state and making them edible. Heck, after the automated cookers became a thing, people just stopped doing it entirely."

"There's automated cookers?!"

"Oh, I know what you're thinking but it's not the same. They also use synthfood but of a different variety that comes in these pre packed boxes that you can insert into the machines and they basically just 'print' out the food with a press of a button."

"It… Prints out food?"

"That['s the most accurate description of it I would say."

"Then what about my ship's kitchen?"

Samson turned to me, "Your ship has a kitchen?!"

Amber grinned, "Yep! Wait till you see it for yourself! It's so awesome! Not as awesome as Tera herself of course~"

I coughed before nodding at Amber again to remind her about my question.

"Ah, right. Yeah, your kitchen is one of the old school ones which was why I was really surprised to see it. If you want to find appliances like that now, you'll really have to look for the specialised stores that sell them."

"Are they expensive then?" I asked.

She shook her head, "They're not expensive but just no one really buys them aside from restaurants that specialise in serving organic food. So I would say that they're just harder to find."

I nodded in understanding and we soon reached the back where the products were stored and hell… They were even individually sectioned in their boxes like they were some premium grade products or something…

Then again, I suppose in this universe, they really are…

I had to wear a glove to sort through the products but that wasn't really a big deal so I set myself on the task, picking up and inspecting each of the vegetables and fruits I bought to make sure I picked the good ones.

The others were just staring at me silently from behind but I just ignored them.

Hey, you need good ingredients to cook good food alright?!

Just let me work!