Chapter 11
The next morning, after camping by the riverbank.
I woke to find the beastmen already up and cleaning up.
"Good morning—yaaawn. You drank quite a lot last night. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. It was great fun after such a long time, so I drank too much—my apologies."
"It's all right. Want some breakfast too?"
"No, thank you. After eating and drinking so much, we can't impose on you any further."
They seemed like a thoughtful, considerate bunch. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind associating with them.
"Where's Amana?"
"I'm fine~"
"All right! Then let's head home and eat. Well, I'm going to the inn."
"Nyaa!"
Once again, I had the beastmen carry me on their backs to the inn. They were incredibly fast.
I parted ways with them and returned to the inn. But I had to eat and head to the market again. I could go straight there, of course, but I'd paid my lodging in advance.
Still, I figured I should at least show my face.
"Morning."
"Oh! Kenichi, where were you yesterday?"
"I was outside drinking with some beastmen."
"Huh? Why outside? Aha~ You were playing outside, it got dark, and you couldn't make it back, right?"
"Something like that."
"If you wanted to play with a beastwoman, you could've played with me..."
"It's not like I was playing with a beastwoman—"
――But before I could finish, Azalea silently pointed at my shirt. The black shirt was covered in Myaree's shed fur.
Oh, crap.
I started to make excuses, but Azalea turned away with a huff and went into the back. Had she started to hate me?
...Well, it couldn't be helped. Women weren't necessary for the slow life I was aiming for.
For now, I went upstairs, ate breakfast, and brushed my shirt with a clothes brush.
But the fur wouldn't come off, so I agonized over it for a while.
I bought a lint roller from Shangri-La and rolled it over the shirt. This seemed to work best.
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After breakfast, I went to the market and opened my stall as usual.
Today, I put out three plain wooden jewelry boxes. They were the same kind as the one I'd put the drop in and given to Azalea.
I also hung up a double-edged saw I'd bought for 2,000 yen. Customers would get bored if I always had the same merchandise.
If I put out something different now and then, customers might come by wondering whether I'd gotten anything good.
One of the wooden jewelry boxes sold in the morning, though apparently they weren't a particularly popular item. The woman who bought it planned to use it as a container for small things.
After the flow of customers dried up, I sat on my stool and read an e-book on the Shangri-La screen when someone called out to me.
"I'd like this paper."
An old man in a green robe was standing in front of my stall. Beneath it, he wore black from head to toe, and he had black hair streaked with gray, along with a beard.
There were plenty of unusual fur colors in this land, but black hair was common too. Thanks to that, I didn't stand out.
"Yes, welcome."
"This paper is thin yet sturdy."
Apparently, he wanted paper. He was feeling it with his fingers to check the texture.
"I'm confident in its quality~ How many sheets do you need?"
"One hundred."
"A hundred~?"
"Can't you get that many?"
"No, that's fine. If you can give me two or three days... However, each sheet costs one copper coin, so a hundred would come to two silver coins (100,000 yen)."
I could really produce them immediately, but if I always brought things out at once, people might get suspicious, so I decided to play it that way.
"That's fine. I have the money."
"My apologies. ...Are you a writer, perhaps?"
"No, I'm a copyist."
"By copyist, you mean someone who copies a book out one page at a time?"
"That's right."
Printing technology didn't exist in this world yet. Making a book meant writing the whole thing by hand. Once an original was completed, a copyist would copy it and sell the copies, I supposed. There was no copyright, after all.
"By the way, how much does a book usually cost?"
"Anywhere from one to ten gold coins—the prices vary wildly. If you spend money on the binding, it could cost ten gold coins (2,000,000 yen), or even twenty (4,000,000 yen)."
"Oh? What sort of content do such expensive books usually contain?"
"Mostly erotic material."
The old man closed one eye and stroked his beard.
"Erotic material for ten gold coins?"
"Ha ha ha. Money doesn't improve a person's character. I make my living from it too."
"I see... In that case, your order will definitely be ready in three days."
"Yes, I understand. I'll be counting on you."
Even though he was an old man, he had a spring in his step. He still seemed hale and hearty. It'd be nice to stay healthy even when I'm old.
But what happened when people fell ill in this world? Since magic existed, could healing magic cure diseases too?
After that, I sold about twenty clothespins. They really had become a staple product.
If word spread, I might sell even more. If I received an order from a large mansion, like the maid who'd come by the other day, I might be able to sell them in bulk.
But that was the end of my morning customers.
After eating bread for lunch, I had no customers for a while in the afternoon either. Just as I was about to finish an e-book on the Shangri-La screen—
Two customers came to my stall.
"Margaret, is this the shop?"
"Yes, milady."
One was wearing a navy maid uniform—yes, it was the maid who'd bought a hundred clothespins from my stall before.
The other was a woman with flowing, straight golden hair, a fine white blouse trimmed with frills, and a long navy skirt.
She looked every inch a young lady. She was probably around twenty. Her narrow eyes held an air of intelligence.
Since she was obviously a wealthy customer, I naturally treated her with the utmost courtesy.
"Welcome~"
The blonde young lady picked up one of the necklaces hanging at the front of the stall and examined it closely.
"Maid, did you come to pick up the item you had reserved?"
"Yes."
I took the silver necklace from my Item Box and held it out to the maid.
"Here you go. Six small square silver coins (30,000 yen)."
"Thank you... Milady, this is—"
"Oh my! Could this be a diamond?"
"The shopkeeper said it was glass."
"Glass..."
The maid and the young lady seemed to be arguing about something. Not really arguing, I suppose, but they were discussing the necklace I'd given the maid.
But perhaps they couldn't reach a conclusion, because the young lady came over to me.
"May I ask you something?"
"What can I do for you?"
"Is the stone on this necklace not a diamond?"
"No, it isn't. It's polished glass."
"..."
She seemed to be thinking hard about something.
"Yes?"
"If you have any other accessories, could you show them to me?"
"Of course."
I opened the Shangri-La screen, searched for a necklace with a different design, and pressed the purchase button. It cost somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 yen.
The young lady reacted when a silver piece of jewelry suddenly appeared before her.
"An Item Box!"
Technically, it had been sent from Shangri-La, so I hadn't taken it out of my Item Box, but that was how it looked from the outside.
So I played along.
"Indeed."
"..."
The young lady rested a hand against her slender chin and seemed to ponder it again. Then, apparently having reached a conclusion, she began to speak.
"Shopkeeper, I have a small favor to ask."
"What would that be?"
"My name is Primula, the eldest daughter of the Marrow Company."
"How very courteous. My name is Kenichi. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"I'm sorry for the sudden request, but would you be willing to visit our company and meet my father?"
That really was sudden. Still, it would be a problem if it was some shady company. I'd heard Bacopa was dangerous, for example...
I quietly asked Amana, at the neighboring stall, about the Marrow Company.
"Hey, Amana. Do you know the Marrow Company?"
"They're one of the biggest businesses in the city."
"They're not dangerous, like those Bacopa people everyone keeps mentioning?"
"The Marrow Company is a respectable business."
"Hmm..."
I see. It didn't sound like such a bad proposition. A major business like that was probably one of the city's leading establishments too. Establishing a connection with someone like that wasn't a bad choice.
"I understand, but—do you mean right now?"
"My father is at the estate today, so if possible, today would be better..."
"Understood."
"I'm sorry to impose on you."
The blonde young lady bowed her head. Despite being the daughter of a major merchant, she was bowing to a small-time newcomer like me.
I didn't know what sort of merchant her father was, but judging from this young lady, he seemed like a man of considerable character.
I packed up my stall and shoved it into my Item Box, then ended up heading to the Marrow Company's estate with the blonde young lady.
A black-lacquered carriage was waiting at the edge of the market, and a man who appeared to be a butler showed me into it.
It was quite a fine carriage. Inside, I found a wonderfully plush, bright-red seat. But the carriages of nobles must be even more luxurious.
"This is my first time riding in such a fine carriage."
"Oh-ho, a noble's carriage is even more luxurious, right, Margaret?"
"Yes, milady."
As always, the narrow-eyed maid responded coolly.
"Have the clothespins we sold you been useful?"
"Yes."
The maid answered briefly and matter-of-factly.
"I had a look at the clothespins myself right away. They're a wonderful product too."
"Thank you."
"I immediately had a workshop I know make a prototype, but they couldn't get the edges to meet perfectly."
That was true of tweezers and the like too; getting two surfaces to line up perfectly when something moved required highly advanced machining techniques.
The clothespins I sold were probably made using computer-controlled machinery.
They looked simple and easy to make, but reproducing them through cottage industry was somewhat difficult.
The same went for the coiled spring. There probably weren't any extrusion machines in this world. Even a single spring would have to be forged.
"They look simple at first glance, but making them requires advanced skills."
"Our craftsman said the same thing."
As we talked about clothespins, the estate came into view. We passed through an impressive gate into a spacious garden with a magnificent stone building.
The building was about the same size as the national money changer where I'd gone to exchange my silver coins. And they said noble estates were even bigger. Talk about a class society.
I was poor to the bone, so this was a world I had little connection to. Even when I looked at a magnificent building like this, all I could think was, "That must be a lot of work to clean..." and things like that.
Primula-san and the butler showed me to a parlor, where I waited. The sofa was wonderfully soft, and every piece of furniture looked like a first-rate item.
Any of the furniture here would fetch a high price as antiques in Shangri-La's buyback appraisal.
I desperately resisted the urge to open Shangri-La's buyback window and shove a piece of furniture into it when—the door opened.
"Kenichi-san, my father would like to meet you."
Primula-san led me to the head of the Marrow Company. Waiting in the study of the estate was a portly man in late middle age dressed in flamboyant clothes.
He had a magnificent black mustache beneath his nose.
He wore a grass-green outfit and a red vest embroidered with gold thread—a color scheme of vivid primary colors—but at a glance, he was dressed unmistakably like a merchant.
In the world of business, the first priority was to make people remember your name. Merchants all racked their brains, adding all sorts of flourishes to make an impression on their business partners.
Amana's habit of jangling necklaces next door was probably part of the same idea.
The necklace I'd sold to the maid was sitting on his desk.
"Thank you for coming. I am Marrow of the Marrow Company."
He sprang up from his chair and greeted me.
"A pleasure to meet you. At your daughter's invitation, I have come to pay you a visit. My name is Kenichi. I look forward to our association."
"How very courteous. The pleasure is mine."
Since he didn't extend his hand, I guessed people in this world didn't shake hands. I hadn't encountered a handshake once since coming to this city.
"Father—"
Primula-san rushed over to the head of the company—her father—and whispered something in his ear.
"What! I hear you possess an Item Box."
"Yes, though it's a small one."
"In fact, so do I—"
A golden ornament appeared in the empty space before him. I see—so that's what my Item Box looked like from the outside...
"You have an Item Box too, Mr. Marrow."
"I do. I used it to grow my company to its present size."
"That's impressive. I used mine only as a storage space for crops when I was a farmer."
"What a waste."
"So, what did you wish to discuss...?"
He paused briefly, as if thinking, then came straight to the point.
"To put it simply, I would like you to supply these products to the Marrow Company."
These products were the silver necklaces and other accessories on the desk.
"I see. Judging from your daughter's reaction, they're products that could be sold for even more if taken to the right place..."
"Exactly."
"But in that case, why not simply resell the products you bought cheaply from my shop?"
"If I did that, and word reached you, what do you think would happen?"
The head of the company sat down and laced his fingers in front of his face.
"I would stop handling silver products, I imagine."
"Exactly. And our competitors would surely come rushing to you and offer a better contract. To be blinded by immediate profit and lose out on a major business opportunity—that would be the height of foolishness for a merchant."
"I see... Understood. In that case, what wholesale rate were you considering?"
"I was thinking a fifty-percent rate..."
"Very well. We have a deal."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Since the silver accessories I'd bought from Shangri-La for 2,000 to 3,000 yen would become worth several hundred thousand yen, I was thrilled. I would've been happy even with twenty or thirty percent.
Naturally, gold products would sell for more, but gold was expensive even on Shangri-La.
If I wanted to take advantage of the discrepancy in value between Shangri-La and this world, silver products were the most efficient. I'd failed to launder silver coins, but it looked like I'd found a good business partner.
Put simply, instead of scraping by selling things at a market stall, I could live comfortably by selling two or three silver products a month.
Still, I had no intention of giving up my stall right away.
The head of the company hurried over to me and extended his hand—it was a handshake. I see, so shaking hands here meant the contract was complete.
Conversely, that meant shaking hands carelessly could be dangerous.
After that, we signed a contract, finalizing the wholesale of silver products to the Marrow Company. At the same time, we also finalized a wholesale deal for clothespins.
Primula-san seemed to like them very much, and apparently there was considerable demand for them at noble estates and the like.
Of course, for a major merchant company, the profit from clothespins was probably negligible.
But selling them also gave them opportunities to sell more expensive products.
I was happy to have secured a good business partner, but then—
When the conversation turned to small talk, the head of this major business turned into nothing more than a doting father bragging endlessly about his daughter, and escaping was difficult.
He was an important customer, so I supposed it wouldn't hurt to keep him company for that much conversation...
I heard the Marrow Company's selling price for the silver products ranged from 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen.
They also sold further upgraded products—ones where the cubic zirconia had been replaced with diamonds and the glass with crystal.
But the jewelry-cutting technology in this world was still underdeveloped. Apparently, cubic zirconia and cut glass, which could be cut more beautifully and cleanly, were more popular than genuine stones.
In that case, I thought I could get a high price by bringing in brilliant-cut diamonds, but—
Still, I had to be careful about bringing in anything that was obviously beyond this world's technology.
I didn't need to make money recklessly. All I needed was enough to pursue a slow life in another world.
Of course, having more money would be nice too.