Illegal Entry

I met a man named Akira in an Imperial city who, like me, had been transported here from Japan.

According to him, he had grown sick of how harshly his employer treated him and had been preparing to seek asylum in the Kingdom.

My suggestion that he seek asylum had been a lucky break. It seemed to be a godsend.

A stone wall runs along the border with the Kingdom, and it is about five meters high.

We decided to climb over it using the single-pipe scaffolding in my Item Box and enter the Kingdom illegally.

Normally, helping someone enter the country illegally would make me an accessory to a crime, but I had the princess's permission—in other words, official approval.

Even so, if we failed to safely reach the ducal residence where the princess was staying, it would cause all sorts of trouble.

So I had Akira and Reiran-san change their clothes and disguise themselves.

After changing out of her flashy mage's outfit, Reiran-san seemed likely to attract even more attention, albeit for the opposite reason...

Any man would turn around at the sight of those breasts bouncing right in front of him.

The group seeking asylum stood in front of the scaffolding. Akira, the beastfolk Myaa, and the female knight all had swords equipped on belts around their waists.

However, the woman who had shown up without warning today was coming with us too...

"Um... Annerose-san, was it? Are you sure it's all right for you to seek asylum like this?"

"Yes. I have nowhere left to stay in the Empire. I will go with Akira-sama. Meeting Akira-sama on this very day was truly the will of God."

She had arrived literally just before we were about to seek asylum. If she had come a little later, she might have been separated from him for the rest of her life.

"You don't seem to have any luggage, though..."

"I have one bag deposited at an inn, but I will leave it behind. I have money for the journey, and I have no attachments left."

"Don't worry, Annerose. Once things settle down, I'll buy you as many clothes as you want."

As Akira pulled Annerose close, Reiran-san glared at him with a frightening expression.

"Sensei, don't glare at me like that. It's not as though we can leave Annerose all by herself, right?"

"I've never had anyone buy clothes for me, though..."

"Oh, is that what this is about? We were too busy to worry about clothes before. Once things settle down, I'll buy some for you too, Sensei."

"Knight-sama, are you sure you're all right with this? You seemed to dislike Akira...?"

"I must keep watch so that no new victims fall prey to this man's poisoned fangs!"

"Just admit that you can't get away from my dick, you knight who lost to it."

"Ggh! Kill me!"

"You always make that lewd face and say you’re dying, but you never actually die. When are you going to die?"

"Kill me right nowwwww!"

Again? Akira nimbly evaded the female knight as she lunged at him.

"Hey, Akira. This isn't the time for that. If we keep dawdling, it'll get dark."

"Oh! Right."

We all climbed the scaffolding and stood on top of the wall. There was only about a meter of space along the top.

The wall in the center of the city had more room and guards stationed on it, but apparently the outskirts were like this.

Even so, soldiers from the Kingdom and the Empire patrolled the top of the wall about twice a day.

"They patrol twice a day? Are we okay at this hour?"

"They go in the morning and evening, so we're fine."

Then we peered down—and the other side of the wall was covered in dense grass.

Tall, thatch-like plants grew across the entire area, with low bushes visible here and there.

"Has everyone moved onto the wall?"

"What do we do now? Jump down?"

There was no need for that. We could store the scaffolding, then bring it out on the other side of the wall.

"This is how."

"Oh, right. Of course."

We climbed down the scaffolding, and the others descended onto the Kingdom side. But tall grass covered the entire area, and we couldn't see anything.

"Store scaffolding!"

"This grass is dangerous. I can't see a damn thing ahead."

"We just head north, right?"

"Sure, but..."

I took a lawn mower out of my Item Box and filled it with mixed fuel.

Then, making a raucous noise, I began cutting the grass in our path and creating a road.

It was easy enough, since I only had to cut a path wide enough for people to walk through.

"Amazing, nya! It's loud, but amazing, nya!"

"It really is like a devilish magic tool! Just as expected from someone like Akira!"

"Hahaha, don't praise me that much, Clementina."

"Who said I was praising you?!"

Apparently, the female knight-san's name was Clementina.

We continued for about five hundred meters and came out onto a narrow road. It seemed to lead toward the forest.

If we followed it in the opposite direction, we would reach the city.

"This should take us straight to the city, right?"

"I never thought we could enter the Kingdom in such a way."

"If the road were a little wider, I could bring out a car."

"What's a car?"

"A La○d Cruiser. I also have a Hi○ce."

"Seriously?! Sell me one too!"

I had just explained it to him, and I thought he had understood, but...

"That's why I said fuel would be a problem, right? You'd also need consumables like tires, spark plugs, and coolant. You'd need tools made to industrial standards, and you couldn't even put air in the tires."

I felt as though I was giving him the same explanation all over again.

"Can't you do something with magic?"

"No, no, you can't!"

Akira drooped his shoulders and looked utterly dejected. But impossible was impossible.

If he lived next door to my house, I could make arrangements for him... Since I had an Item Box, I could retrieve the vehicle even if it broke down.

Even so, fuel could probably be handled with alchemy and magic tools, and skilled craftsmen could make the necessary tools.

The dwarves would be perfect for that.

What was coolant made of again? Alcohol? ...Hmm... Oh, right, ethylene glycol. Synthesizing that here might be difficult.

Water could be used instead of coolant, but putting water in a radiator would make it rust.

If there was some fantastical liquid that prevented iron from rusting, it might work as coolant...

Besides, even a car that had broken down and become unusable might be useful as a luxury carriage with steering and suspension if I removed the engine and had horses pull it...

"Akira and the others are speaking a bunch of incomprehensible words, nya."

"He is said to be from the same homeland as Akira, so I imagine those are the words of their people..."

As expected of Reiran-san. She was exactly right. It was convenient that words from other languages worked as-is here.

We walked north along the narrow road for about ten minutes and came to a canal—but there was no bridge.

If we continued north, we would reach the main road leading to the border gate. Once we got there, I would know the way too.

"Kenichi, what do we do?"

"It's about three meters. This'll do."

I stood right at the edge of the canal and laid a log diagonally across it.

"This should let us cross, right?"

"You have something like this in your Item Box too?"

Akira's Item Box probably couldn't hold a log this large. A shorter one would fit, but not something this long.

This log sure was useful. I should put it back into my Item Box when I had some spare time.

Akira and Reiran-san crossed safely. The female knight seemed to have no trouble with it either.

Annerose-san looked as though she might fall, so Myaa carried her across on her back.

Beastfolk could cross something like this even while standing on their hands.

Finally, I stored the log and hurried onward.

Gradually, more houses appeared, but the area was filled with nothing but shacks. This was what you would call a slum.

Naturally, the area wasn't safe either. A group of beautiful women walking around would make a perfect target.

"Hey, Kenichi. Sensei and Annerose can't run, can they?"

"Annerose-san looks the part, but why can't Reiran-san?"

"She says her breasts hurt when they bounce as she runs."

"Ah... Her Cooper's ligaments must feel like they're about to snap. Why doesn't she have a bra made by a tailor?"

"I see. That is an option..."

Shangri-La sold bras too, but I doubted they had anything in her size.

However, if I gave a tailor a bra as a sample and had them make something similar, it might reduce the strain on her.

As I was thinking about that, some rough-looking men surrounded us.

But the female knight instantly drew her sword.

"Out of the way! I have no time to deal with the likes of you."

"Hey! You stupid knight! Don't draw your sword out of nowhere!"

Akira tried to stop the female knight, but he was a little too late.

"Oh! You drew it, huh? Could you ladies be the ones who sneaked into the country from the Empire?"

Well, since we were wandering around a place like this, it was obvious.

"Hey, those breasts are incredible!" "They're driving me wild!"

Just as expected, the men's gazes began focusing on Reiran-san's breasts.

I took a single firecracker out of my Item Box. It was one I had taken apart from the usual connected bundle.

I had always lit the entire bundle, but there was no need to set off so many in succession.

A few were enough to intimidate them. Besides, when they were connected and set off in succession, many of them failed to explode.

I lit the firecracker and threw it in front of the men who had gathered—of course, a deafening bang echoed through the slum.

The surrounding residents clapped their hands over their ears and froze.

"Magic?!"

"Sensei, shh!"

"If you get in our way, this magic will explode inside your bodies."

I threw another firecracker.

"Eek!" "H-he's a mage!"

The residents gradually began backing away, and the wooden shutters on the houses slammed shut one after another. There were no glass windows in houses in a place like this.

"Woof, woof, woof! Wooooof!"

But perhaps the sound of the firecrackers had excited it, because a stray dog bared its white fangs.

When Akira stepped in front of it, the stray dog became a savage beast and attacked him.

"Whoa!"

Akira held the sword that had somehow appeared in his hand sideways and let the stray dog bite down on it. The sword had probably come from his Item Box.

Then he sprayed yellow, slippery goo into the dog's open mouth—it was his Unique magic, mayonnaise.

"Gack! Ghack!"

The sticky substance that had entered its windpipe wouldn't come out easily. The stray dog toppled backward, began foaming at the mouth, and started convulsing.

I see. This must be his finishing move—a technique that literally always kills.

"I get it now. If the windpipe and lungs of any living thing are filled with mayonnaise, it'll suffocate. Even the strongest creature, the Red Dragon, isn't an exception."

"Yeah."

He seemed battle-hardened, showing not the slightest sign of agitation. Just how many deadly situations had he survived?

For a mage who had faced hundreds of monsters, one or two stray dogs probably weren't worth a thought.

If his story was true, it made sense that he had grown sick of that brutal life and wanted to settle down somewhere peaceful.

"A mage!" "You've got to be kidding me!"

The men who had gathered all began running away at once. Killing residents would cause all sorts of trouble, after all.

We could say that this had ended well.

"Still, a brutal life using mayonnaise..."

"It sounds like a joke from the outside, but it isn't funny to him at all."

"I feel bad for Akira, but my ability really is quite a blessing."

"Even so, things became a lot easier once I could use an Item Box."

From what he had told me, it seemed that additional abilities could appear later.

But what about me, since I had been given such an incredible ability from the beginning?

Even just receiving the princess's blessing was pretty amazing, though...

"You mean that was magic?"

"That was a miniature version of Explosion magic made through alchemy."

"S-something like that...? So you can produce power similar to Explosion magic without relying on magic power?"

"Well, yes—but please keep it confidential."

"Yes, Sensei, please keep it confidential."

"Akira knows about it too?"

"I don't know how to make it, but I know that things like that exist."

It was reassuring to know that Akira also thought spreading gunpowder throughout this world would be unwise.

We continued on, and when we reached an open area, I took a car out of my Item Box.

"It's really a P○ado! I can't believe it! It even has a snorkel!"

"It's a pretty old model, and it has a lot of mileage on it."

"It's a diesel, and a vehicle like this could easily make two or three hundred thousand kilometers. This world doesn't get much rain, either. Ah, if only I'd had this thing on my shoestring trip around the world..."

That's right. The heavy rain that had washed out the bridge was the only real rain I had encountered since coming to this world.

"This is technically one of my summoned beasts too."

"That sounds like a bit of a stretch."

"But I also have giant golems, and the people of this world don't seem to care when I operate huge construction equipment either."

"You have heavy machinery too?! I suppose golems do look a little like robots, but..."

We decided to put everyone in the car.

"There are six of us in total, so we should fit."

"Right. Myaa and Clementina go in the very back."

"Y-you expect me to cram into this mysterious contraption?"

"Shut up and get in!"

Akira folded down the middle seat, kicked the female knight in the butt, and shoved her into the very back.

Myaa climbed in beside her.

It was a relief when people understood what I was saying; things went so much faster. We had perfect unspoken understanding.

He seemed to have a driver's license too, so he would make a suitable temporary driver.

Reiran-san and Annerose-san took the middle seats, while Akira got into the passenger seat.

"I never thought I'd be able to ride in a car in a world like this."

"I thought the same thing. At first, I only had a bicycle."

"Was the vehicle called a draisine that's popular on the Kingdom side your invention, Kenichi?"

"I drew a picture of it and showed it to my father-in-law, and he turned it into a practical vehicle."

"Your father-in-law must be quite a capable man."

I started the car.

"Eek! It's moving, nya! It's moving! It's moving without a horse, nya!"

"...Uhhhh."

The female knight visible in the rearview mirror appeared to have frozen.

"What is it, Clementina? Are you scared?"

"D-don't be ridiculous! There is no way a knight would fear something like this!"

Even so, I couldn't help worrying a little.

"She's the kind of character who looks like she'd be the first to die. Is she going to be all right?"

"Well, she really is quite useless."

Even so, she claimed that she could handle goblins and human men. Her swordsmanship also seemed to be average.

"You mean this is magic too?"

"Reiran-san, please think of it as something like a golem. However, while a golem has to be assembled piece by piece, this is summoned in its finished form..."

"A steel summoned beast... So it is Unique magic."

"Exactly."

Akira began fiddling with the radio.

"The radio won't pick anything up. I think there's a CD still in the deck, though..."

When Akira switched on the deck, guitar music began playing.

"What is that, nya?! I can hear music, nya!"

"Oh!"

I heard surprised voices from the beastfolk and the female knight in the back.

"Claude Ciari? That's a pretty old-fashioned choice."

"They wouldn't understand if I played pop or rock here, would they?"

"Well, that's true! Hahaha."

Reiran-san kept asking me about this and that, but it was difficult to explain. I told her it was a secret magic tool I couldn't explain, and she accepted that.

According to Akira, even original research into magic was kept confidential, so asking too many probing questions was apparently considered bad manners.

That was why entering a magic academy or becoming the disciple of a famous mage was quite important.

We continued north with the music playing, and the main road came into view.

This road led to the border gate. Once we got this far, the rest would be easy.

"Akira, can we make a quick detour?"

"Okay~!"

"What does a bucket have to do with it, nya?"

"I don't understand... But so this is a Kingdom city. The Empire is more orderly and beautiful."

Well, the female knight was right. But there was something nice about this cluttered atmosphere too.

I pulled the car up in front of a tool shop.

"Wait here. I'm going to pick something up."

"All right."

I left Akira and the others in the car and went into the tool shop. I removed the key, just in case.

Not that anyone could get far if they stole it; it would run out of gas soon enough.

"Hey there. Is the grimoire ready?"

"Oh, hello, dear. I just picked it up this morning."

The female shopkeeper gave me the grimoire. She kept pressing herself against me and linking arms with me—and frankly, it was annoying.

I decided to leave as soon as possible. If she were a little younger, I might have been interested...

"Sorry to keep you waiting~"

"Isn't this a tool shop? What did you buy?"

"A grimoire. I had the registration changed."

"The Kingdom is nice. Even mages can run businesses here."

"Exactly. If Reiran-san opened a shop, all the men would come rushing over. Haha."

"I would like to open a shop, but... I don't think I would like that very much."

It would make for the ultimate advertising, though...

Next, I stopped by the dwarves' shop to pick up that enormous sword.

"Is this a blacksmith's shop?"

"This is a dwarf-owned shop. We have a pretty good selection too—though it's expensive."

"Sounds interesting. I'm getting out too."

"If it's a blacksmith's shop, I would like to look around as well!"

The female knight's voice came from the back. So we decided to have everyone look around together.

Everyone got out of the car, so I stored it in my Item Box for the moment. Then we all entered the dwarf shop.

The enormous sword that had been displayed above the shop was already gone.

"Hey there. Is the master here? Tell him the person who came to collect the enormous sword from the display is here."

"Oh! Yes! Right away!"

The shop assistant ran toward the back and disappeared.

"Whoa! That's a masterwork!"

The female knight was excited by the swords displayed on the wall. The one she was looking at was an elegant-looking sword with a long golden guard.

"You know, you don't have any income. Are you expecting me to buy that for you?"

It seemed Akira and the others hadn't been working while they were on the run.

Well, they were famous people. But this world had no newspapers or means of communication—only rumors passed from person to person.

As long as he didn't claim to be a Dragon Slayer, there was no reason anyone would recognize him.

"I wasn't saying you had to buy it for me..."

"Nya! Akira, I want this dagger, nya!"

"All right, all right. I'll buy it for you, Myaa."

"..."

The female knight's face began to crumple as though she might cry.

"Fine, fine! I'll buy it! Does a useless knight really need such a good sword?"

In the end, he seemed ready to buy her the sword. Reiran-san and Annerose-san were looking around the shop too, but there probably wasn't anything here that a mage or an ordinary woman would want.

"Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting! The sword is finished!"

Six dwarves carried the enormous sword out from the back.

"What the hell is this?! It's the kind of thing people mean when they say, 'Far too big to be called a sword'!"

Akira hurried over and peered at the enormous sword after it was set down.

"Pretty much."

"What are you going to do with something like this?"

"I'm thinking of attaching it to heavy machinery and cutting monsters in half with a single stroke."

Akira looked dumbfounded, but then he asked what kind of heavy machinery I meant.

"What kind of heavy machinery?"

"A Yu○bo. A Yu○bo. I'll attach this enormous sword to the arm and make a flashy entrance before slicing them in two!"

"Haha... You have things like that too? I thought I was crazy, but you're something else, Kenichi."

"We end up fighting quite often, so it's better to have more combat power. Besides, they say this thing is made of adamantite. That's valuable, right?"

"Really? I hear adamantite is difficult to process."

"The master here can do it."

The dwarf master folded his arms and wore a proud expression.

"Master, is business going well?"

"Yeah. The steel you arranged for us is the finest quality. We can even turn it straight into swords without any extra processing. It's made our work incredibly efficient."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Originally, the price had been three hundred gold coins (60 million yen)...

But after I won a drinking wager against the dwarves, the price was reduced by half, to 150 gold coins (30 million yen).

I took the gold coins out of my Item Box and stacked them on the counter.

"Come to think of it, we need to exchange Akira's gold coins too. Sobana probably accepts Imperial gold coins, but..."

When I asked the master, he said they were accepted, but large quantities would be a problem.

"Yeah, that's true."

"If you only need a small amount, I can exchange them for you."

"Then let's do that."

All gold coins were worth the same when deposited into Shangri-La, after all.

Akira paid for the female knight's sword and Myaa's dagger. They cost ten Imperial gold coins (1 million yen) and two Imperial gold coins (200,000 yen), respectively.

But when I saw the pile of gold coins on the counter, I had an idea.

"Master, dwarves know a lot about metals and ores, right?"

"Hmm? Well, I'm not bragging, but..."

I bought a one-ounce platinum coin from Shangri-La. At the current exchange rate, it cost 150,000 yen.

I remembered platinum being more expensive in the past, but these days it cost about the same as gold.

"Master, do you know what this is?"

I handed the platinum coin to the dwarf.

"Th-this! Could it be a platinum coin?! Where in the world did you find something like this?!"

"I found it in some ruins. Is it rare?"

"Yes. If this is genuine, a single coin is worth more than a hundred gold coins."

What?! Seriously? If so, I could deposit gold coins in Shangri-La, buy platinum, and make a huge profit.

Not that I was short on money, but it would make securing funds much easier.

I had once aroused suspicion while trying to profit from the difference in the exchange rate between silver and gold, but now I had a royal warrant of safe conduct and connections among the nobility.

I could simply tell the nobles and royals that I had obtained the platinum coins in a dungeon and sell them.

However, even if I collected gold coins by trading pearls and platinum, I couldn't use them in Shangri-La.

I needed to put as many of this world's gold coins as possible into circulation through the market... I would have to think of something to spend all that money on.

According to the master, a genuine platinum coin could store magic power. He was going to try charging one with magic power to see what happened.

When the master poured magic power into the coin, it began glowing faintly—What was this? Amazing!

"No doubt about it! It's genuine! P-please sell it to me!"

"Really? Then... how about I use this platinum coin to pay for the sword?"

"Would that be all right?!"

"Yes."

The deal was concluded. The 150 gold coins on the counter were exchanged for the 300 Imperial gold coins Akira possessed.

Then I stored the enormous sword.

"Your Item Box is packed with things like this, isn't it, sir?"

"I can't reveal the details, but... I have a fair number of them."

"Where do you live, sir?"

"Do you know that there's a large lake near Astrantia?"

"Yes, I know it."

"I lived beside that lake, but I might be granted the land. If that happens, I'll have to build a mansion."

"Granted the land?"

"Yes. According to the princess, that's what will happen."

"What? You're acquainted with royalty?"

"Yeah."

After hearing that, the dwarf master began thinking about something.

"If you are granted the land and build a city, would it be all right if we went there too?"

"Of course! We'd be delighted to have you. Incidentally, I have another kind of metal like this."

I bought some stainless steel from Shangri-La.

"This metal is extremely resistant to rust. It is made by mixing various metals through alchemy to give it special properties."

"I've never seen anything like this before..."

While the master and I were talking, Reiran-san began making a commotion.

"Akira! Akira!"

Reiran-san threw her arms around Akira. Her eyes shone brightly as she stared at the single platinum coin in the dwarf's possession.

"Uh, Kenichi. Sensei wants that platinum coin, or whatever it is."

"Sure. I'll give it to her for half price, at a friends' rate."

"R-really?"

"It looks like we'll be working together for a long time. Consider it a token of friendship."

I bought another platinum coin from Shangri-La and handed it to Reiran-san.

"Ahhh... Beautiful..."

As she gazed at it dreamily and poured magic power into it, the coin began glowing faintly.

Who would have thought platinum in a fantasy world would possess such a power? Akira gave me 150 Imperial gold coins as payment.

An Imperial gold coin was worth 100,000 yen, exactly half the value of a Kingdom gold coin.

"Kenichi, doesn't the design on that platinum coin look familiar?"

"If humans can be transported to another world, there's no reason items couldn't be transported here too."

"Hmm... I suppose that's one way of looking at it..."

For now, I intended to keep Shangri-La secret, so I covered it up.

"But I had no idea platinum was worth so much... If I'd started out with platinum jewelry, I could have risen in the world much more easily. Maybe I should become a treasure hunter too?"

Akira was troubled by his circumstances.

"That is an option. Fighting for yourself is easier to accept too."

"Exactly. I'm sick of doing things for important people. I don't have even a shred of loyalty left!"

The master joined our conversation after hearing us talk.

"They say there are ruins unknown to anyone in unexplored regions deep in the forest."

I had casually claimed that I had found platinum in some ruins, but apparently things like that really did happen.

"Heh heh heh. That's good to know. Clearing ruins is easy. Just pour oil everywhere and let the Red Cat crawl through."

Even if the gold coins melted, they would still retain the value of the gold, while platinum wouldn't melt at that temperature.

Any living creatures inside would be burned or suffocated. It was a very Akira-like method of clearing ruins, given his cheat ability.

However, any materials from living creatures or written records would burn up too. And wouldn't it take quite a while for the fire to go out completely?

Thinking about that, I realized I couldn't go exploring with him...

"That's a pretty brute-force, cheat-like way to clear ruins."

"It's not like there are rules for how you're supposed to clear them."

"That's true, but ruins might contain valuable records and other things."

"I'm not very interested in that."

He didn't seem to have much interest in academic matters.

"What about you, Reiran-san? Ruins might contain valuable academic materials on magic or unknown grimoires."

"Akira... If you do something like that without asking me, do you know what will happen to you...?"

"Uh... h-haha, don't worry, Sensei! I'll ask you first when the time comes."

Akira fidgeted as Reiran-san closed in on him.

Well, we had picked up the things we bought, so it was time to return to the ducal residence.

Everyone must be waiting impatiently for us.