Kokugensou wo Item Cheat de Ikinuku (LN) v1c1

第一章 「酷幻想[リアルファンタジー]」
Chapter 1 - “Real Fantasy”
One week has pa.s.sed since I was transported from modern j.a.pan to this countryside village, called Losgow, in a parallel universe. Since I was exhausted from working for a farm family, I was thoroughly weakened.
“Aaaah, d.a.m.nit, why don’t they have faucets!”
From early in the morning, I have been drawing water from a far away well, and have gone back and forth several times to carry water into the barn.
My current job is to take care of the cows, which replaced agricultural machinery of modern times.
Once I replenished the cows’ drinking water, their feed was next.
I put a heaping portion of hay into the feed trough.
You could say that the fact that I needed to feed the livestock before I could receive my meal showed my status. In other words, I was below even livestock.
Since they knew that I would give them food, the cows let out a happy “moo”.
I gradually grew more attached to them as I took care of them, and you could say that they were cute, but my physical labor is severe, so I don’t have the time to play with you.
So stop licking me already.
I do like eating grilled cow tongue , but I don’t really enjoy being licked by a cow’s tongue.
“Haha…… really.”
It was fatigue after fatigue.
Pain after pain.
As for how I came to do live-in work at this farmhouse, the Rodd house, it was thanks to Louise's introduction.
Since even a deadbeat like me could probably do something to help at the farmhouse, I was thankful, but after a week I was dead tired.
Furthermore, even though I'm supposed to be hired as a farmhand, for some reason I was always made to work dairy farming jobs, which I think is a problem.
As an exceptionally wealthy farmhouse in this village, the Rodd house kept pigs and horses alongside cattle. Since they didn't seem to be a dairy farmhouse I supposed they were work animals.
Nononono hold on, I didn't want to be a farmhand or a dairy farmer to begin with. It somehow feels weird when a person going on an otherworld trip goes on and does plain jobs like these.
The reason why these complaints surface is because the work is too severe. I thought that if I worked for a while, I would get used to the hard manual labor, but I just can’t get used to it. Thanks to the muscle pain upon muscle pain, my body hurts, no matter how much time pa.s.ses.
I am clearly being overworked. Though, since there are no labor laws in this medieval fantasy, it can’t be help even if I complain.
Also, according to the father of this farm family, it’s not the busy farming season yet, so the workload is on the leisurely side.
The reason why it’s hard for me to complain about something like ‘the work is hard’, is because the husband, wife, and even their small daughter have much heavier workloads than me.
Even though it’s tough enough just drawing water and splitting firewood.
I really like fantasies, but I had never thought that there would be such hards.h.i.+ps in everyday life.
One week has pa.s.sed since I came to this Real Fantasy world. Through seeing and hearing things in the village, I gradually understood more about this parallel universe.
The small village I’m staying in, Losgow, is inside the territory of Earl Est, within the Silesie kingdom. Silesie kingdom is located inside of the Eula continent. I can’t affirm it, since there’s no map, but from what I heard about the land and climate, if compared to my original world, it would roughly be around the middle of France.
Although it’s far from ideal, this fantasy world has magic too, in place of modern science.
However, the ones who can use magic are only special people that possess magic power by birth, who are called magicians. Since the number of magician is low, if they don’t make a name for themselves as adventurers, then they would generally serve n.o.bles or become government officials, it seems.
Finally there are some who can use holy magic and become priests of the state religion called the Asama Church. These people are mostly powerful or influential people.
In short, the life of the common people hasn’t changed at all since the old times, when they didn’t have magic yet.
From the viewpoint of a modern kid like me, the physical strength of the people who don’t use magic in their normal life in this inconvenient world is, it’s like they all possess a superhuman strength cheat skill.
If it’s like this, then how will I survive the busy farming season, I wonder.
My arms would fall off, maybe.
“Aah jeez, I can’t do it anymore.”
I laid down on the pile of hay.
Hay is an indispensable part of a farming family. It isn’t infested with insects, so it’s clean and feels good. I just want to leisurely fall asleep like this.
After ditching work, and then getting fired, even though I’m just a farmer, I will even get driven out of the village and die in no time at all, because this world is a harsh one.
Even though Louise saved me and extended my life, I’m gonna die just because of this, huh.
“No, if I give up then it’s game over.”
I rose up from the pile of hay.
I cheered myself up with a line from my favorite manga.
Then I picked up a tree branch and started drawing something like a plan on the ground.
I don’t even have paper or pen, so this will have to do. Rather than complaining by myself, trying to write it out like this will make it easier to connect my thoughts.
The theme is “Somehow make money using modern knowledge”. If I think about it, am I not a engineering student?
TL note: engineer is like modern day wizard - Yuus.h.i.+n
For example, rather than complaining about the lack of faucets, how about making it myself, even if it’s a primitive one.
It’s tough to make it by myself, but I can consult the blacksmith, sell the idea to someone who can make it, or something similar.
On the nearby river, there’s a water wheel for the miller, so I can use it as a water pump and draw water, can’t I?
For example, the well, just making a hand pump would make it easier to draw water.
While I was lost in thought, a blond-haired girl showed up.
“Aah, Takeru is ditching work again.”
“No no, I was doing some thinking.”
It’s Sara-chan, the daughter of this farming family.
She isn’t an especially beautiful girl, but since she has silky blond hair and beautiful emerald green eyes, she’s small and plenty cute, so it’s a feast for sore eyes, and just seeing her is enough to relieve my fatigue.
Sara-chan’s wearing an ap.r.o.n and a cape over her normal clothes like Heidi, really like a village girl in medieval times. Her appearance is really cute, but she’s a bit too noisy, even though she’s a kid, so it’s like a flaw in the crystal.
No, she’s noisy exactly because she’s a kid, isn’t she. It seems that, since I came to this house, an existence lower than her appeared, so she’s very happy and acting all bossy.
To be frank, it’s annoying.
However, since I’m already an adult, I don’t fuss over small matters like being bossed around by a little girl.
I retorted to her, not out loud but only in my head, that ‘your parent probably only named you Sara because of your silky (sarasara) blond hair, didn’t they’
TL note: is that an insult or a praise? I don’t even
“Huh, Takeru you can write sacred letters?”
“Of course I can, it’s only letters…...”
Somehow, Sara-chan was surprised at the diagram and text I drew on the ground.
“Amazing, you can write sacred letters, so Takeru is a scholar-sama!”
“......Sacred letters and scholar you said, what are those?”
From the details I heard from Sara-chan, the letters I can write naturally are a higher form of letters called Sacred letters, and they’re used in official doc.u.ments, it seems.
I see, this is the ‘language cheat’, huh.
If one was transferred to another world and couldn’t understand words or letters, they wouldn’t be able to live, so as a plot device, they were usually given the power to understand the native language.
I thought I couldn’t do anything, but to think that I was equipped with a hidden skill like this. It was so basic that I didn’t realized it.
To be able to freely read and write in a world with a low rate of literacy is already enough skill to do a respectable job, especially people who can write sacred letters, who are respected as intellectuals and called scholars.
When the farm isn’t busy, Sara-chan gets taught by the only scholar in the village, even though it’s only the lower form of letters, it seems.
These sacred letters are used all over the world by the Asama Church and so on; they’re like Latin and Greek in my world.
Low rank letters are regional language like English and France, huh.
I tried writing a single word with the low rank letters used by Silesie Kingdom, and it was possible.
It’s mysterious, I think of j.a.panese, but I can naturally translate and write it like I’m multilingual.
I thought ‘oh c.r.a.p maybe I can’t write j.a.panese anymore, since I used low rank letters’, but it turned out that if I was just conscious of it, I could still write kanji, so I was relieved, but maybe I will forget it if I don’t use it sometimes.
“So smart, Takeru is a scholar-sama, so why are you doing ch.o.r.es at a farm house? Are you stupid?”
“So am I smart or stupid, which is it?”
If I’m a scholar, then I can immediately work in the village’s administration office, so I better quit doing this s.h.i.+tty job and go there, or so Sara-chan told me.
She will introduce me to her sensei, who is in the village’s administration office, it seems.
Since I was able to converse normally after being transferred here from j.a.pan, I didn’t think that being able to write this world’s letters could get me a job.
I want to thank Sara-chan for teaching me this.
But hey, Sara-chan, you speak ill of this farming job even though you’re a farmer’s daughter, what are you parents gonna do with you.
●
I informed everyone of the Rodd house that took care of me about my resignation.
Thank you for you work, they said, and then they handed me the pay for this one week of work.
By the way, the pay for one week worth of labour that was in the palm of my hands was 7 small copper coins.
2 small copper coins equal 1 big copper coin.
If I were to convert it to j.a.panese yen based on the market price here, 1 small copper coin is about 50 yen. So with three meals and a living place provided, one week of back breaking labour only gets me a mere 350 yen.
No matter how poor a farmer is, isn’t this wage too low?
The labour cost is too cheap. In Silesie Kingdom, there’s no Labour Standard Bureau or Minimum Wage Act.
“Well isn’t it good that you got another job.”
“Yes, thank you very much.”
The missus of the Rodd family said so and sent me off with a relieved face.
They didn’t show it, but it seems that the Rodd house hiring me was just them doing their duty by replying to the request of the influential female warrior Louise.
Well, it wasn’t even busy farming season, so of course they wouldn’t hire a part-timer.
Even though it’s just 1 small copper coin for one day of helping out with farm work, my labour was still nowhere near enough, it seems.
This is just their way to discreetly get rid of me.
Well, if I can’t get this scholar job, then I won’t be able to live in this world.
While realizing the feeling of danger once again, I followed Sara-chan to the village’s office.
“Sensei~, I’ve brought the scholar-sama along.”
Small shops and an inn were lined up side by side, and the office was in a corner of the village square.
It is firmly made with stone, a remarkably splendid building in this village. It even has a proper name plate with ‘Losgow Village Office’ on it.
Once I come inside, I see that it even has proper wooden flooring. In this Losgow Village, just having a wooden floor is enough to make it an extravagant building already.
By the way, even for the Rodd family that has plenty of farmland, more than half of their house is still dirt floor. Everywhere else has stone and plaster for flooring, but it gets cold in the winter, so they cover the floor with straw.
Just having wooden floor is already a real luxury.
However, inside of that most extravagant building in the village was only one girl.
Uum, that’s a girl, right?
The person who was sitting at the table while writing something was wearing snug male clothing.
What she was wearing couldn’t be seen as anything other than a black suit that modern office workers usually wore, but it wasn’t that efficient of a design.
TL note: it’s more fancy
Even the neck is b.u.t.toned, and the vest is worn formally, so it looks swelteringly hot. It’s an attire that gives off a feeling somewhere between that of a medieval n.o.ble and a gentleman.
It was clearly different from the plain clothes of the village people. Considering the pretty b.u.t.ton made with a gemstone, or the beautiful embroidery, or the firm sewing line, it may possibly be the official uniform of the country.
She’s a personnel of the village hall, so I guess that is the bureaucratic uniform.
It’s just that, despite being dressed up in formal clothes, I could only see her as a beautiful lady with short brown hair.
“I’m a man.”
Probably figuring out what I was thinking by my gaze, the beautiful person wearing men’s clothes raised their delicate face and said so with a gentle voice that sounded like ringing bells.
What a slender chin. Is this guy a model? He’s way too pretty.
The government official presenting himself as a man looks just over 20 years old. It wouldn’t be strange for a pretty young boy to look like a girl, but it’s impossible for an adult man to look like nothing but a woman…… in my opinion.
image00235.jpeg
TL note : Beautiful enough to be banged. Heh. - rei_hunter
Of course, this is a fantasy world, so anything could be possible.
“Umm, h.e.l.lo. My name is Sawatari Takeru. This is the first time we meet.”
“My name is Lyle Laertius. I am serving in this region as a secretary.”
Even though he already looked sharp, he adjusted his collar, even without the need to, and responded politely.
“Secretary?”
I wonder what kind of official post a secretary is.
“Yes.I am also a teacher, and the one teaching Sara-chan letters.”
“Then, I will call you sensei.”
When I said that, Lyle-sensei raised the corners of his mouth just a little bit.
“Also, I am a man, so I sincerely ask you to not make that mistake.”
“Ok……”
If you repeat it so much, it decreases your credibility even further.
Even for a Caucasian, he’s way too fragile, and his skin is too smooth. Maybe he’s so beautiful because he’s an elf.
But, his ears aren’t pointy, so he must be human.
His skin is so white and transparent that you would think that he hasn’t ever been under the sun, since the day he was born. I really want to ask what kind of perfume he uses…… but I will drop that matter.
I don’t know his circ.u.mstances, but he himself is claiming to be a man so persistently. If I stir things up in a bad way, I might offend him.
My livelihood is depending on this Lyle-sensei.
“Lyle-sensei is sooo amazing, he’s a secretary that was dispatched from the Kingdom Central, and to tell the truth, the mayor is nothing but small fry compared to sensei.”
Sara-chan, who was standing next to me, boasted as if she were talking about herself.
“Ahaha, Sara-chan. You’re exaggerating.”
He has a rather stiff expression towards me because this is the first time we meet, but I guess he can smile towards his pupil, Sara-chan.
I thought he was beautiful, but his cheerful smiling face is also cute.
Looking at how he chided Sara-chan but didn’t strongly deny her, It must be true that the occupation called secretary has a higher rank than the mayor.
Ok, so he’s an influential person, I’ll do my best at flattering him.
“Secretary Lyle-sama, umm, I…… No, I have a bit of confidence in myself as a scholar.”
“Alright, I’ve never heard the expression of “having confidence as a scholar”, but if you say so, let’s try testing your abilities.”
As expected of a teacher. I am immediately getting a test.
It seemed that Sara-chan had bitter memories of tests, so she looked at me with a sour expression while I took the test.
I also hate tests, but I was sick and tired of taking care of cows, so I desperately listed down all the characters I knew onto the starchy paper I was handed.
Ok, pencils down (actually, it was a quill pen rather than pencil), the written test is finished.
“Wow……, this is interesting. Excuse my impoliteness, but I hadn’t thought that such a young person could write this much. Where did you learn the sacred letters?”
“Umm, it seems that I was somehow transferred here from somewhere, but I have no memories.”
Thinking that he won’t believe me if I said I came from another world, I feigned losing my memories for now.
This is also just a parallel world theory.
Even if I were to tell the truth, I might be treated like a madman. I need to proceed with caution.
“Oh, so Takeru-dono is a lost person. This is rare indeed. It’s no wonder you have such an oriental name.”
“Umm, what exactly is a lost person?”
It couldn’t be that it’s just a person who simply lost their way.
“A lost person is someone who gets transported from a place that is unthinkably far away. It is said that the cause could be the spontaneous discharge of summoning or teleportation magic, but there is no accurate theory yet.”
“So, do you know the details?”
Even then, learning the existence of summoning and teleportation magic is a good harvest.
“Teleportation and Summoning magic are rare themselves, and when you talk about them going berserk, that is an ever rarer phenomenon. From what I’ve heard, it seems that there are people whose memory gets clouded or lost completely, or they gain mysterious knowledge when being transported, but if that happens, it becomes difficult to search for the cause.”
“Is that so…… You sure are well-informed.”
Upon asking, I learned that Lyle-sensei, who had deep knowledge about magic, was an intermediate level magician himself. Well, no wonder Sara-chan was saying that he’s an excellent person.
I let myself be deeply impressed by his extensive knowledge.
However, according to sensei’s story, is seems that generally, a lost person isn't just someone who came from a parallel universe. Anyway, if that is true, I can a.s.sume that I’m not the only person to have ever been transported to another world.
“Um, Lyle-sensei, please, could you please hire me?”
I cannot let this opportunity escape.
No matter what, I need to have sensei teach me.
“I can handle all of the jobs we get at this village hall by myself, but Takeru-dono is a precious lost person…… Since we’re both scholars, I will appoint you as a.s.sistant secretary.”
“Thank you very much.”
Just like in a western movie where a sheriff lightly hires a wandering gunman as a deputy, I was appointed as the a.s.sistant of a secretary.
My heart was pounding furiously. Upon hearing more explanations, a secretary isn’t like a sheriff. His role isn’t a village’s official, but a government official.
Even as the simple a.s.sistant of a secretary, I can become a proper bureaucrat. To appoint me on the spot on his own, is that even allowed in this administrative organization?
Despite being in the village hall of this remote village, doesn't secretary Lyle have too much authority?
I wonder what kind of person is he.
●
An a.s.sistant secretary’s job is pretty boring.
As an a.s.sistant of secretary Lyle, making official doc.u.ments and clean copies of detailed reports is my job, but the amount isn’t that high.
Losgow village is a settlement lying at the foot of the Ye mountain range with a population of 200 at most.
There’s a country governed iron mine near the village. Living there are the mine workers and blacksmiths, or wandering adventures like Louise, but even combined it still isn’t over 300 people.
The village is really like a miniature garden.
Making the official doc.u.ments for such a village doesn’t amount to much.
I now understand why Lyle-sensei would have too much free time and become a private tutor for kids.
However, there are also benefits of doing this boring job of writing doc.u.ments.
As I investigated and wrote all sorts of reports for the king and feudal lords, I was finally able to learn about the geography and characteristics of this village Losgow.
I thought it was in a very remote area, but when I studied the geography, the distance from the village to the royal capital could be covered in four days by stagecoach, so it wasn’t that far.
Eventually, I would like to go to the royal capital, Silesie……
However, what bothered me more was……
“Secretary Lyle, I see that our village has hot springs.”
As a j.a.panese who likes baths, I cannot overlook this.
“Although you need to dig with a shovel if you want to go in the hot spring.”
It seems that it’s not something convenient like hot water gus.h.i.+ng out, but there’s a place along the small river at the edge of the village where hot water gushes in, and if you wanted to bathe, you would dig a hole with a shovel and make your own bathtub.
That’s kinda weird. I guess it would look like an outdoor bath on the river bed.
“Ok, then should we go together sometime?”
“Eh? …...No, for me it’s somewhat, I don’t really like getting in with other people.”
Aah, he made an unpleasant face. Well, as expected, there’s no way he would get in with me.
Lyle-sensei needs to hide the secret of his body, after all.
If I meddle there too much, it will spoil the mood of his Excellency, the secretary, so I’ll stop here.
Anyway, that wasn’t what interested me.
“Secretary Lyle, is there sulfur at the hot spring?”
“Ooh, you sure know your stuff. In the vicinity, there are areas where the sulfur is exposed.”
That’s right. Hot springs always come with sulfur…… well, I guess you can’t say that, but if there’s a hot spring, that means that the volcanic is active and in many cases, sulfur mines form naturally.
Lyle-sensei, who was a man of immense erudition and had a vigorous thirst for knowledge, was also a elementary level alchemist and had previously done some field work to research the minerals around here.
I will ask about the exact place afterwards.
“There isn’t also a saltpeter mine, is there?”
“Saltpeter, you say? There isn’t any around these parts. If you really wanted some, you would need to order some from the royal capital, or otherwise make some yourself.”
If I ordered saltpeter from a distant place, it would probably exceed the budget I have for my plan.
Well, it’s not as if it’s limited to mineral deposits. Saltpeter can be harvested from fermented animal excretions, if I remember correctly. You should be able to make it by boiling down the soiled dirt from livestock and human’s toilet.
If I could gather sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal, I should be able to make gunpowder.
“Are you maybe…… planning on making black powder?”
“Ooh, so you noticed.”
As expected of an alchemist. It seems that gunpowder isn’t that popular in this world, but he knew about it.
Hmmm, I was expecting a development where I quickly made gunpowder and impressed everyone, but maybe there are even places where the use of gunpowder is popular.
I was kinda hoping to sell it as my ownriginal technology.
TL note: he used oreginal here, ore as in watas.h.i.+, boku, ore, in other words, it’s a lame pun - cookie
I have no idea about the state of affairs of this field, so I would like to learn more from Lyle-sensei.
“I haven’t made gunpowder before, in fact, I’ve never even seen it before. I only know that it was written in a historical book, that it has been used in a distant empire’s war before.”
“I see, so it has been used in a war.”
So if Lyle-sensei, who knows about gunpowder, hasn’t made it before, it should mean that it isn’t being used in the Silesie Kingdom, right?
Even if it were invented, it must mean they haven’t realized its potential.
If that’s the case, my ownriginal plan might still work.
I was afraid of having my idea stolen, but I decided to tell everything to Lyle-sensei.
I’m really indebted to him, and if it was Lyle-sensei who copied my idea, I wouldn’t really mind.
“Actually, I’m thinking of making a huge bombs with gunpowder and selling them to the iron mines. Do you know about explosive blasts?”
Using the back of a sc.r.a.pped doc.u.ment as a memo pad, I explained it using simple diagrams.
“I see, so you let it explode and open holes in the hard bedrock. What an amazing idea…… I’ve never heard of such a method. Takeru-dono, did you come up with this?”
That’s right, it is my ownriginal technology.
TL Note : オレジナル - this f.u.c.king guy - yuus.h.i.+n
TL Note : I know right xD - cookie
TL Note : Basically, the katakana says OREGINARU, composite of ORE and ORIGINAL (in katakana) - rei_hunter
Well, if you had gunpowder at your disposal at a mine, anybody who knows a bit about engineering could come up with this idea.
So Lyle-sensei, if you looked at me with those sparkling eyes of respect, I’ll get embarra.s.sed, so please stop.
There’s no way I could say that it’s knowledge from another world.
Of course, manufacturing will take time and effort, and I don’t know yet if it would sell, but if all goes well, it should be profitable.

“Lyle-sensei. If you would like, could you help me with creating and selling the gunpowder products? I will give you compensation for your efforts.”
“Yes, I don’t mind at all. I was just bored as well, and I am deeply interested in making gunpowder. I don’t really need money either.”
Lyle-sensei is the type that wants knowledge more than money.
Well, he is more important than the mayor. I guess he’s not troubled by money.
Of course, I want him to help with the production, but the rights to the iron mine don’t belong to the feudal lord of this area, but to the Silesie Kingdom. Therefore, I want to use the reputation of secretary Lyle, who was dispatched by the Kingdom central, when I sell it to the mines.
It should go more smoothly than if a questionable person like me went by himself.
●
For now, I decided to go check the sulfur collecting site, as well as the hot spring by the riverside.
It’s boring going alone, so I decided to invite someone.
First candidate is Lyle-sensei, but he declined the naked bonding between men, so it falls to Louise, huh.
Now that I think about it, ever since I became a.s.sistant secretary, I have been meeting Louise more often.
Lyle-sensei rented a room in the only inn in the village for me to stay in as my official residence.
This Losgow village’s inn even has a bar, and it function as an adventurers’ guild as well. Well, since it’s a small village, the inn has to do everything I guess.
I easily finished up work just past noon today as well, and when I went back to the inn, I saw Louise drinking the speciality wine of Silesie there on her own. On the table was a wooden plate piled with roasted lentils, which was probably a snack to go along with the wine.
It looked delicious.
“Yo~, if it isn’t a.s.sistant secretary Takeru-dono.”
Louise raised her gla.s.sed that was filled to the brim with purplish red wine and smiled at me.
“Geez, please stop teasing me, will you.”
When I first told her that I became an a.s.sistant secretary and started living here, she congratulated me and treated me to some meat she hunted (dog meat again).
After hearing that the secretary Lyle, who is respected as the village’s great teacher, calls me, who is younger than him, by ‘Takeru-dono’, Louise laughed like she never had before.
Of course, I knew that such a formal way of calling me didn’t suit me at all, so I blushed as a result.
“Fufu, sorry for teasing you. I’m just happy that you’re able to live properly now. How about we drink together. Otherwise, I could also get you some crazy dog meat right now.”
“Well, other than that, would you go to the hot springs with me?”
I had thought that dog meat tasted good at first, but I got tired of eating it so I would like to decline the offer. I decided to invite her to the hot springs instead.
“Hmm, the hot spring, huh. For me it’s a bit…..”
“So it’s no good?”
She doesn’t seem to be very eager. Maybe I should have asked after she drank more alcohol.
There’s a chance that she saw through my skillfully hidden secret intention of bathing together with the beautiful and fas.h.i.+onable Louise.
“The hot spring thing, I still don’t really get it.”
「えっ……」
“Eh…… “
I would understand if she didn’t want to get in with me, but what does she mean with she doesn’t get it?
“Well, I don’t understand why you would go through the trouble of digging up a hole along the river, just to get into hot water. If you wanted to clean your body, you could just wipe it with a warm wet towel.”
“Hm~m, I see.”
It seems that the idea itself of getting into a bath isn’t that popular in these parts.
I guess you would say that the culture is different.
Well, Lyle-sensei wasn’t denying the act of going into the water itself, so I guess it depends on the person.
As I was about to give up, thinking it was pointless to forcefully invite her…
An adorable voice I'm familiar with came from under the table.
“If you are going to the hot spring, then why aren't you inviting me first!”
"Uwah!”
Sara-chan, with her familiar silky blond hair, popped out from under the table.
image00236.jpeg
Hey, you surprised me and made me bang my thigh against the table!
What are you going to do if the old wound of the crazy dog bite opens up?
Even when I shook the table, Louise had put the wooden plate on her arm and the winegla.s.s in her hand, and she continued eating the roasted beans. How skillful.
It seems that I was the only one surprised by Sara-chan’s sudden appearance. I wonder if suddenly appearing from under the table is a popular part of this world’s culture.
“If it’s now, I could give Takeru the special, special, special~ privilege of inviting me to the hot spring. What do you think?”
I would invite you even if you didn’t overbearingly puff out your chest like that.
“Hmm, well I could take you if I had permission from your parents…”
If it’s the hot spring near the sulfur mine, it’s not that far away from the village, so it should be fine to take kids there.
There doesn’t seem to be a danger of monsters appearing on the way, so I have no objections to taking her along.
It’s just that, if she wanted to come along, I would like her to get permission from her parents first.
“Hey, you’re treating me like a kid, aren’t you? How dare the likes of a former servant act so important.”
“Well excuse me.”
Sara-chan continued sticking out her nonexistent chest and raised her chin.
I’m sure she’s trying her best at acting big, but it sure is cute when a kid does it.
However, it is exactly because I’m a former servant that I need the parents’ permission to take their kid out.
I don’t want to generate concern and be treated like a kidnapper.
“If you need Sara’s parents’ permission, I’ll get it for her later, so go take her already.
“Ah, I see.”
Louise told me with a disappointed look on her face. I guess if Sara-chan were to act violently, it would get in the way of her meal. Even if there were no other important guests around, making a fuss in the drinking area would cause trouble.
Leaving Sara-chan aside, if big sister Louise, who I’m indebted to, says so, I have no choice but to take her along.
Saying “Ok, then it’s decided!”, Sara-chan guided me to the hot spring by pulling me with her small hand.
●
With a shovel and stiff towels in our hands, we arrived at the river bed hot spring.
Certainly, there was steam silently rising from the small, shallow stream.
The distinctive smell of rotten eggs wafted towards me, so it is clearly a sulfur spring. It seems that I can not only expect an effective hot spring, but also to harvest sulfur.
“Come, start digging. Diligently dig a hot spring for me~”
“Yeah yeah.”
I wonder if I’m still a servant of the Rodd family.
Well, I have an obligation towards Sara-chan for introducing me to Lyle-sensei, so I dug a huge hole, just like she told me.
It was interesting how warm, white, cloudy water rapidly gushed out as I dug with the shovel.
Digging holes becomes a habit after doing it for a bit. It felt like I’ve been digging for a long time, and I didn’t suffer at all. My body movement felt extremely light. Maybe I put on some stamina thanks to the severe farm work. If you think like that, that hard work wasn’t for nothing.
Even if I broke into a sweat, I can get into the hot spring immediately, so that’s not a problem.
“Lyle-sensei was saying that the hot spring makes your skin beautiful~”
“I agree, I think this will be effective.”
To know about the effects of a hot spring in this age, Lyle-sensei is too amazing.
Maybe she…… Oh, I mean, he is actually also a modern person who was transferred from another world.
Hmmm, it’s scary how likely it is for that to be the case, if you think about it.
Next time, I’ll try nonchalantly asking him about modern things to confirm it.
One thing that I can say is that Lyle-sensei’s fair white skin could be due to the hot springs here.
That means that if I just lurked here for a long time, then maybe I can encounter the precious scene of Lyle-sensei entering the bath.
“Takeru, you’re thinking of something no good right?”
“Arara, you can understand, huh.”
Well, since Lyle-sensei is a man, even if I see his bathing scene by chance, it won’t be that much of a crime anyway.
Or rather, it should be fine for men to enter together, but somehow I feel a strange guilt.
“Well, whatever. Let’s get in quickly.”
“Um…… It may be too late asking now, but is it really ok for us to go in together?”
Even if Sara-chan is still a flat-chested child, it still feels a bit awkward.
Getting in the same bath can’t be helped, though, since it would be too troublesome to dig a second hole.
“Is Takeru the kind of person that gets aroused by looking at naked children?”
“...... No, if you put it that way, I guess I don’t.”
“Mom told me to be careful, since there are people like that, but if you’re not, then it should be fine.”
“Y,Yeah, I guess so……”
Since it would be troublesome to be misunderstood as a lolicon and get reported, I feign tranquility.
Sara-chan peered into my facial expression with investigating, upturned eyes. It doesn’t seem like she’s taking caution from a lolicon, and Sara-chan’s pink lips, which had a good complexion, turned into a smile.
Is this…… Maybe I’m being teased by Sara-chan?
What’s a proper adult doing, getting teased by a 12 year old?
Just when I thought Sara-chan was starting to put pressure on me by staring my way, she suddenly took off her clothes and got naked.
Uwa, so in this world, you don’t put on any undergarments under your clothes. Once she removed the cape and ap.r.o.n and took off the simple one piece dress, she was stark naked.
I wonder if she didn’t put on undergarments because she was a kid from the countryside. Or is this maybe normal in this world?
Hmmm, I don’t have anyone to compare with, so I have no idea.
However, leaving that aside, my heartbeat is fast. Calm down, don’t get fl.u.s.tered by seeing a naked child. The hero that came from another world will not be fl.u.s.tered!
“Takeru…… even though it’s ok, I’ll still get embarra.s.sed if you stared at me so much.”
“Exc.u.n.ts meee!”
Looking too much in a mixed bath is a breach of etiquette. I also quickly undressed and got into the natural bathtub.
By the way, I had thought that Sara-chan’s chest was flat, but there was a bit there. It was puffed out to the size of a small bowl.
Resting on the tip of the slightly expanded chest was the appearance of a sakura colored flower petal, and her skin was very glossy. As expected from a kid, her crotch was still smooth.
Hey now, what am I doing, getting serious and calmly observing Sara-chan’s body. That’s dangerous in various ways. I’m being way too conscious, although I don’t have lolicon tastes. Maybe it’s because I saw a naked body for the first time in a while.
No, wait. Rather than a while……. Isn’t this the first time I’ve seen the naked body of a girl?
Well, whatever, if I think anymore, I’ll get sad. The reason why I can’t find any memories of girls is probably because I lost the memory. That’s right, that must be it. Let’s get in the bath already.
The hot water is cloudy, so once I’m in the water, it should be fine, even in the unlikely case of me getting lively.
I would like you to not ask what would get lively.
“It feels good~”
“Uuuun, I feel alive again.”
For Sara-chan, I guess it stops at just feeling good.
For me though, this is the first bath in half a month.
Climate-wise, it is dryer here than in j.a.pan, so it’s fine to just wipe my body with hot water.
“As I thought, a j.a.panese person needs baths~!”
I thought that deep in my heart. Or rather, I shouted it out.
j.a.panese need baths, it’s the laundry of the soul.
I decided to come frequently to get in.
“By the way, don’t you use something like soap?”
“Soap is the thing that makes bubbles, right? I’ve never used something expensive like that.”
Now that I think about it, there wasn’t anything like that in the only grocery store of the village.
Although it’s sad that the fabric is so rough, to think that there are towels but no soap.
“Sara-chan, if I had soap, would you like to use it?”
“If I said I wanted it, would Takeru buy it for me?”
Oh, she already knows how to entice a man at this age? She grasped my hand and my pulse went up. What a scary kid. Maybe she has expectations of my now a.s.sistant secretary salary.
If you carelessly think that Sara-chan is still a kid, she will sometimes take actions like an adult woman.
This world’s average life expectancy is low.
I heard you become adult at 15, so at 12, you should still be a kid, but maybe they are living fast in proportion to how fast you become an adult.
I had never thought that I would be solicited for something from a 12 year old girl.
It’s a scary world here.
“If it’s just soap, I’ll try to get my hands on it somehow.”
I won’t say that I’ll buy it, but if it’s just soap, I could try making it.
“Hee, if it’s just soap, huh?...... As expected of a scholar-sama, you talk big.”
I somehow earned respect.
It seems that in Sara-chan’s mind, there is a diagram that says scholar = important just like Lyle-sensei.
Compared to sensei with his extensive knowledge, who is not only a magician but also an alchemist, I am nothing but a quack with incomplete modern knowledge, but I would like her to wait with high expectations.
If I’m not mistaken, you should be able to make soap with animal fat and the alkali products from ash. I can gather the ingredients quickly.
If it’s regarded as such a high cla.s.s product, maybe I can even sell them.
●
“Now you want to make soap? Even though we’re in the middle of making gunpowder, you sure come up with all sorts of ideas.”
Today, as usual, I went to the town hall from the inn to work, and when I started talking about making soap in the break time, Lyle-sensei was astonished.
It’s just that, while thinking about making gunpowder, all sorts of ideas started popping up, and I couldn’t stop them.
When I actually gathered the ingredients and tried making it, several problems arose from the practicality side, so I will have Lyle-sensei help me with that part.
“If I remember correctly, I heard that there are cities where soap is made from olive oil or rapeseed oil. I don’t really understand the alkalines Takeru-dono is talking about, but it’s true that they are solidified by using lye and quicklime.
“As expected, I can’t get my hands on olive oil, but I think you can also make it from monster fat.”
If it comes to animal fat you can get for free in this Losgow village, there’s only monster fat.
There are three main kinds of monsters living around the village, and they are the crazy dogs, the grey rat-men, and the vampire bats.
When the monsters grow too numerous, a quest is put out in the adventurer’s guild and Louise-san goes hunting, so I have her share the prey and I squeeze out the oil from the fat.
I’ve tried saponifying that oil by mixing it with lye, but it’s been a series of failures until now.
I was able to make something soft that resembled soap, but it hardly bubbled and it gave off a clay-like stench. Even if I dried it, I don’t think the smell would come off.
I won’t go as far as making a high cla.s.s product like the ones with olive oil, but if I could make a cheap soap that normal, common people could use, it would definitely sell. The basic idea shouldn’t be wrong, but all that’s left now is to keep repeating the trial and error process.
“In other words, Takeru-dono is telling me to help with making the monster soap.”
“Well, if you put it frankly, that’s what I want to say.”
Once I figure out the manufacturing process, I should be able to make a wooden frame and ma.s.s produce them, but as expected, I would like the help of an alchemist for the precise experimentation.
When I humbled myself and put my hands together, Lyle-sensei started laughing like fufufu.
“Even though we still need to gather and mix the ingredients for the gunpowder, Takeru-dono really treats people roughly.”
“I’m so sorry, I will do the tough process like making the saltpeter, so please.”
While he even offered me a job, I am only causing trouble for Lyle-sensei. I can’t let the delicate sensei do heavy manual labor, so I will have to do my best in that area.
“No no, it’s just a joke. I am very happy if my skills are useful. There wasn’t anybody in this village that I could talk about alchemy with, and if Takeru-dono hadn’t come, I would’ve never thought about trying to make soap or gunpowder.”
Even though it’s troublesome, he gave me advice with a smile, and even helped me with the production, I’m sure that a better person doesn’t exist.
Hey now, I’m going to get used to this!
When I asked to please let me wash his back at the hot spring to show my grat.i.tude, he immediately rejected that proposal.
It was just a light joke, so please don’t pull back with such a serious look, sensei.
●
For now, I’ve completed a decent prototype explosive that can be used for mine blasting.
I packed a jute bag full with gunpowder and connected a fuse made with paper rolled with gunpowder; it was an extremely simple explosive. When talking about mine blasting, dynamite is famous, but making nitroglycerin without preparation is very dangerous. Black powder should be enough already.
The hard process I had to go through to finally complete the bomb would take too long to tell, so let’s skip it.
Aaah, but can I talk about one difficulty I encountered?
Leaving sulfur aside, making pota.s.sium nitrate was hard. Since the ingredient is, to be frank, dirt containing human and animal excreta.
Originally, you would make a saltpeter hut and bury the excreta together with gra.s.s, and wait until the saltpeter is made by the microbe’s activities, then harvest. It doesn’t have to be excreta, even corpses work, but anyway, the point is, it stinks.
However, refining using this method will take at least two to three years. I can’t wait that long so I didn’t make the saltpeter hut, but used the Rodd family’s animal pen’s dirt to extract pota.s.sium nitrate for the prototype.
I can’t even begin describing the odor of the process of boiling down the p.o.o.p dirt again and again……
Even then, the manure of livestock is surely better. Actually, it would be obtainable from the dirt of human toilets, but I learned of the cruel toilet circ.u.mstances of this world.
In medieval j.a.pan, cesspools and special locations where you could do your business had been established since long ago, but it seems that they don’t use human excrement as a fertilizer in this world.
In other words, it’s a nasty story, but they mostly do it in pots and once it piled up, they would randomly throw it out in the back street…… I can’t get saltpeter if it’s like this.
Ahh, that reminds me, but when I came to this world, the bathroom was the toughest on me. Since there’s no toilet paper, they use leaves to wipe their buts. Leaves! I was singing “Micchan michi michi” when I was a brat, but I would’ve never thought that I would actually have to wipe my but with leaves.
TL Note: The song MC is talking about is a song sung by children in j.a.pan, where a girl called Micchan takes a c.r.a.p along the road, wipes her b.u.t.t with her hand because she didn’t have paper, and licks it off to not waste it. Yeah. - cookie
I really wanted toilet paper, so I consulted Lyle-sensei about making paper. Turns out, it seems that there are also proper paper making techniques in this world. The quality is bad, but now that I think about it, we also use paper in the town hall.
However, the paper’s quality is bad and it’s stiff, so for really important contracts, we would use parchment with higher preservation qualities.
When I asked why proper paper isn’t generally widespread, it seems the reason isn’t a technical problem, but because of the chronic shortages of the ingredient, wood.
Maybe because the atmosphere is generally arid, it’s not like my homeland j.a.pan, where trees simply grow again when cut down, and when they lumber, the mountains go bald.
It doesn’t seem that the people of this world do afforestation, so the more you went towards densely populated areas, the wider the wasteland spread, and this resulted in a wood shortage.
Even if I knew the manufacturing process, if there’s a shortage of ingredients, I can’t do anything, even with my modern knowledge.
As expected, I need the power of money.
By the way, when I asked Lyle-sensei what he did after the bathroom, he replied with a red face “with water magic……”.
How unfair, I had Lyle-sensei examine me, but it seems I have zero magic competence, so that direction has dim prospects.
It seems that if I used magic tools or magic gems with magical power stored inside, even someone like me with zero magic competence could use magic, but such things have a extremely high price.
As expected, even in this world, it’s all about money money money.
Now, let’s return to the main story.
…… and just like that, with bombs with fuses attached in hand, Lyle-sensei and I had come to the iron mine deep in Losgow village in order to earn money.
Even though I’ve been hearing that it was a national mine, it was smaller than I thought. It’s to the extent of just a few caves being opened.
In those tunnels, of which there were a few, there were workers carrying minerals in small freight cars. All the workers had worn-out clothing and had iron chains attached to their legs.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Slave miners. They are an essential part of mines.”
Slaves, I have seen them at last…… When I see things like this, I can’t help but think that this is a medieval fantasy world.
A number of slave miners are transporting the excavated minerals in trolleys.
The ones throwing out the earth and sand from the tunnels using small wagons are also slaves, and there are soldiers holding long clubs surveilling their movements.
The chain on their legs is probably to rob their freedom and to make it difficult to run away.
“......”
“The working conditions of a mine are severe, so a disposable workforce is essential. Were there no slaves in Takeru-dono’s country?”
As if worrying about me as I sunk in silence, Lyle-sensei spoke to me. Did I have such a bad complexion, that I made him worry?
Having people who were robbed of their freedom and working in the worst labor conditions right before my eyes, to tell the truth, I was lost for words.
Seeing the normally nice, calm Lyle-sensei calmly accepting slavery made me wonder if that is a given in this world.
However, since I come from an age where slavery had long since been abolished, the sight of the same humans having their basic human rights robbed and being exploited was a shocking sight. They’re not even criminals.
TL note: Actually, there are more slaves in the world today than ever in history, but oh well. - yuus.h.i.+n
According to Lyle-sensei’s explanations, slaves aren’t criminals, but usually are people who fall into an unpayable debt.
If I had been broke and had taken on a debt, there’s a chance that I may have also turned out like that. The thought made me shudder.
Right now, I am living in a society supported by a workforce of slaves.
I am aware that, in order to live, this is something I have to put up with.
Therefore, I will burn this sight into my mind. Lyle-sensei waited silently as I gazed at the slaves.
“Excuse me sensei, I took up your time, let’s continue.”
“Takeru-dono, over there is the governor’s residence of this mine.”
Near the entrance of the mine was something like a small village.
There are miserable shacks where the slaves live, row houses where the soldiers and engineers live, and there are even blacksmiths to smelt ores and process metal. In that shabby, small village, the biggest building is the residence of the mine’s governor.
It is a firm wooden construction, and when I was led inside by a maid, I see the parlor had wooden flooring.
All the furnitures are st.u.r.dy and made of wood. There are stuffed monsters from the vicinity being lined up for display, and even the wall is decorated with brightly colored tapestries.
There are iron knives and long swords, and even a decorated halberd and plate mail, maybe made by the blacksmith at the mine. As expected of a world with adventurers, the products look more solid than I imagined.
Maybe the village’s blacksmith is more technically advanced than I thought.
I can’t think of it as nice taste, since the decorations are too unrefined, but maybe they also act as merchandise samples. Displaying this much merchandise, maybe being a governor of a national mine is pretty profitable. Even the pro adventurer Louise doesn’t have such good equipment. I can expect that my business partner has ama.s.sed quite a fortune.
Then the door opened, and a half-naked muscular man entered.
It was a smooth headed man in the prime of his life, he’s way bigger than the female warrior Louise. What’s with this bodybuilder?
“Looks like I’ve made you wait, I’m the governor of this mine, Nattal Dacole.”
Eh, this person is the mine’s governor? Since he’s half naked, with only plain fustian pants on, I thought a miner entered here by mistake.
Nevertheless, this Nattal guy, he’s pumping with muscle. With bulging biceps and a bald head, he looks like a tasteful old man, as well as the main character of a Hollywood movie.
Seeing me admiring and staring at his bulging biceps, he lowered his head to apologize, he probably misunderstood something.
“Sorry for having such an appearance in front of a guest. Since I just got out of the site……”
“No no, we’re the ones who have to be sorry, for showing up suddenly...... well, I’m, no, this one is called Sawatari Takeru. Nice to meet you, your Excellency governor Nattal.”
I also panicked, bowed deeply and introduced myself.
He told me to ‘drop the your Excellency’ as he embarra.s.sedly rubbed his nicely shaped smooth head.
This mine governor Nattal can even honestly bow his head to a seedy looking youngster like me, huh.
A middle aged man, furthermore, a man of influence, being so courteous to me, I feel very obliged.
I can see that, together with his half naked muscular body, he also has an respectable, unaffected, and sincere att.i.tude. Even though he’s the governor, he also works on site, what a good guy.
Secretary Lyle and governor Nattal are both government officials stationed in this village, so they already knew each other, it seems.
Nattal had already been informed beforehand that I will come here to sell explosives. His polite responses, which seemed to be on purpose, could be him using his wiles to get the business discussion going smoothly.
Still, even if I am to put up my guard, I can’t help but having a favorable impression of his frankness. Furthermore, Nattal, with his beautiful bald forehead, was a refined looking old man, greatly resembling Bruce Willis.
I’m weak to beautiful women, but I’m also pretty weak to cool gentlemen.
“Well then, let’s get to the point, can you show me this bomb thingy?”
To show him the performance of the bomb, I blew a wall, where they were going to dig a new tunnel, to smithereens.
Even though I prepared a long fuse and let it explode after getting far away enough, if I handled it badly, the violent shock wave may have burst my eardrums. I’ve went and made a fearsome thing, even if I do say so myself.
After looking at the big hole opened in the wall, I know that black gunpowder is already enough, just as I predicted. It exerted a detonation force just like I calculated.
Probably excited by the explosion he witnessed for the first time in his life, Nattal threw both of his hands into the air and screamed ‘Wooooooow!’.
It’s an honor that it’s been received happily. Looks like it was a good demonstration for the business partner.
“How was it?”
“Takeru-dono, was it? You’ve made a wonderful thing! This bomb thingy, if you use it wisely, you can cut down a lot of time and labour in one shot, this will really help.”
While touching and examining the gaping hole made by the explosion, he’s collecting the ore that was blown away by the shockwave and checking them one by one.
Would be nice if Nattal likes it and attaches a high value to it.
“For 1 bomb, how about 1 silver… no, gold coin?”
“Well that’s……”
I gulped. One gold coin is worth about 10,000 j.a.panese yen. If the bomb for mine blasting can be sold for 1 gold each, it will be a pretty profit according to my calculations.
I didn’t think it could be sold at this high of a price.
No no, how can I sell it just at the asking price. Gunpowder and bombs are rare merchandises in this world, so maybe I should raise the price more…...
“Please don’t raise it more than this, since we’re comrades working for the same country, I told you the absolute highest price I could pay in good faith.”
“Hahah, as if!…… Well then, one gold coin please.”
I laughed while breaking a cold sweat. By seeing my facial complexion, he already knew what I was thinking, it seems.
As expected of a veteran governor, he’s perceptive even in negotiation.
“Also, there’s a condition for buying at one gold, I want to pay later.”
“Erm, what do you mean by that?”
“It means that I’ll be troubled if I bought defective products. Deliver me the qualified products and I’ll pay you for that portion. I heard the rumour in the village you know, you lot have experimented in the vicinity and failed a lot, right?”
“Aah, well, that is true, yes.”
I looked at Lyle-sensei next to me, and he was wearing a wry smile.
Well, it’s true that while experimenting until we succeeded, there were a lot of failures like the bomb only producing smoke and not exploding, and so on. Even with the intention to mix them with the ideal ratio of 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur, there will be some scattering, which may lead to failures that won’t detonate. That was to be expected since it’s the work of an amateur.
Now that I’ve gotten used to mixing the components, I shouldn’t make too many mistakes, but you never know with gunpowder. Indeed, I should also think of the probability of failures.
I don’t intent to sell defective goods so there’s no problem with him paying later.
“There’s one more condition.”
“Yes.”
I reflexively wanted to complain ‘there’s still more?’, but since he’s a partner that will pay 1 gold coin for the bombs, so I patiently endured.
“This Losgow mine, despite being small, it’s still a mine owned by the kingdom, so selling bomb for us…… you know what that means, right?”
“Erm……”
Even if you speak in that suggestive tone I still don’t know.
Being unable to watch me standing dumbfounded, Lyle-sensei whispers into my ear.
“It’s the monopoly contract for Silesie Kingdom. Well I don’t think there’s anywhere else you can sell bombs, so isn’t it fine?”
Hmm, I see. Well, it’s just as Lyle-sensei said. Lyle-sensei is also the kingdom’s secretary, I thought about my position and agreed to the contract.
“Well, if you agreed to sign a monopoly contract with us then, you can sell it at the sites that need bombs too, like other national mines or public-work projects. I won’t put you at a disadvantage.”
“Well then, let’s go with that.”
While bowing, I reflected on how thoughtless I was.
Even though I produced bombs, I didn’t think about expanding the market channel at all.
Since this is just the countryside, letting the chance of selling to other regions of the kingdom escape is a waste.
On the other hand, if I want to sell consumer products, I won’t be able to enter the monopoly contract with the country and will have to find the outlet for the products on my own, huh.
Is there any good method? Let’s try consulting my wisdom bag (Lyle-sensei) later.
TL note: wisdom bag http://chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/, it’s the j.a.panese version of yahoo answer
Anyway, there’s something I should say in advance.
“Also, please be really careful of accidents. If you let it explode inside the tunnel, then there’s the concern that it might cave in.”
“Haha, you said it. But I’m an expert on mining, you know. I don’t make a blunder like that. But this power, it’s true that I’ll have to handle it with care. Thanks for the warning.”
Even though I was ostracized for being captious by Nattal, I still had to give him at least a warning.
Even in the modern day j.a.pan I was living in, there were still people dying by being buried alive in mine accidents.
If the miners I saw earlier were to be caught up with the bombs I made and died, it’d take a toll on my conscience.
Gunpowder is for blasting things with a low level of safety, so I have to have Nattal handle them with plenty of caution.
●
After a series of trial and error, I finally completed making soap. I still can’t constantly make quality products, though.
The chance of making soap that is white, has a good smell, and creates good amount of foam is still low.
I’ve made more failures like ones that wouldn’t solidify properly, or ones that smelled like mud and clay. I don’t know if it’s a problem with the monster fat or if the lye lacks alkalinity. I can only ascertain that in the production experiment hereafter.
Despite being a failure, it can still be used for was.h.i.+ng clothes, so I decided to sell it as detergent for 1 small copper coin
The people of this world seem to use lye for their detergent, but compared to just lye, even the failed soap is still way better at removing dirt.
By the way, I decided to sell the high quality monster soap for 1 silver coin (worth about 1000 yen).
I wondered if the price was a little too high despite the next to nothing cheap raw materials, but it turned out that the soaps made from olive and rapeseed oil seemed to be sold at 1 gold coin. The market price varied a bit depends on the region, though.
If I think about it, there’s almost no difference in quality, but my price is only one tenth, so there’s no way mine wouldn’t sell.
When I brought the completed soap and detergent over to the Rodd family, Sara-chan and the missus were really delighted.
I kept the fact that I used them to test the products to see if there was any problem a secret though.
Since Sara-chan just kept saying ‘thank you, thank you’ to express her joy despite her low vocabulary, I got carried away and told her ‘let’s go take a bath together in the hot springs again’, and Sara-chan’s father seriously glared at me.
I didn’t dare to ask ‘Eh, why are you so angry?’. About the hot springs, I thought you said you’d get her parents’ permission, Louise……
●
Even if I say “sell the soap”, I don’t even have a shop, so I decided to supply the village’s general store and second-hand shop with the soap.
When I brought it to the general store, the owner was very happy, since it’s a rare product. I sold it at 1 silver, but he will probably raise the price a little to make some profit himself.
While I was at it, I decided to go on a shopping spree at the second-hand shop. The reason being that there is a gold coin groaning in my wallet. Since I should earn even more if the business with the soap in addition to the explosives goes well, so it should be alright if I live a bit in luxury.
The items of this world have been on my mind, and i have been thinking that I want to try all sorts of things.
“Do you have magic items?”
“Hmm, we only have this ‘Fireball Staff’.”