Is There Anyone Else?

――Heavy... Help me...

This is seriously heavy! I woke up in the dark. And right in front of me was the Forest Cat's face...

"What the hell? It's you. You're heavy."

"Meow."

As I said that, she placed her right hand on my face. No, not her right hand—her right forepaw.

"What's going on?"

When I sat up, she climbed down from the bed, sat in front of the door, and looked back at me.

Apparently, she wanted to go outside.

"All right, all right."

It was a little chilly, so I wrapped myself in a blanket and opened the door. It was still dark, but it seemed to be getting a little brighter, the color changing from black to blue—

A thin fog had spread across everything. The distance had turned white, and the rows of giant trees seemed to be dissolving into it.

Watching the Forest Cat disappear into the fog, I realized that their mornings started early.

"Yaaawn."

People in this world got up when it became light, but it was still far too early. I was still tired. I decided to go back to sleep for a while.

When I looked toward Primula-san, she was breathing peacefully in her sleep.

Still, if I'd gotten married when I was young, it wouldn't have been strange for me to have a daughter about her age.

But as a fellow old man, I wondered what must be going through Marlow-san's mind as he watched a daughter as beautiful as her get taken away by another man.

When I considered Marlow-san's feelings, I felt so sorry for him that I couldn't bring myself to make a move.

Still, my own behavior had been a little too careless.

Because everyone spoke Japanese and all the people I'd met had been good, I'd been dealing with them as though this were simply an extension of Japan.

Even Amana from the neighboring stall had said that people here were too nice.

I'd gotten carried away because everyone I'd happened to meet was good, but sooner or later I might run into a scam—or a honey trap.

I had to be careful. After victory, tighten the cords of your helmet—is that proverb being used a little differently here?

Incidentally, people around here apparently said, "Don't celebrate until you've made it out of the forest."

I got back into bed and pulled the blanket over myself again.

------◇◇◇------

When I woke up after it became light, Primula-san was already awake.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

We exchanged a perfectly ordinary greeting.

I stored the bed in my Item Box, then took out a table and chairs. Even if a room was small, there was no need for storage space or a closet, so you could live comfortably in a room this size.

For example, even in a room with eight tatami mats, if you put desks, chests, shelves, and so on around the edges, you could only use the center of the room.

But with an Item Box, you could use the entire room. I usually left the bed out, but if I stored that away too, the room became spacious.

That would make it easier to do crafts inside the house or invite a large number of people over for a party.

Now, what should I have for breakfast?

Should I go with the granola that Myaree and the old man at the tool shop had both liked? Azalea at the inn had liked it too.

I took out plates and spoons and prepared granola and milk.

"What is this?"

"It's something you eat with milk poured over it. I've given it to all sorts of people, and everyone has liked it."

Primula-san immediately tried some.

"Delicious. This really is delicious."

She covered her mouth with one hand and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"It's dried, so it can be used as preserved food too."

"I feel like I could make something similar."

She really was a merchant's daughter. She never stopped thinking about business.

"Um... I would like to buy this nightgown from you."

"You like it?"

"Yes."

Her golden hair went wonderfully with the pink nightgown. No, she was so beautiful that anything would probably suit her.

Her hair, which she'd washed yesterday, looked silky smooth. Was that really because she'd used conditioner?

"If you need more, I can supply you with a small quantity."

"No, I want this one for myself..."

The price she offered was two silver coins (100,000 yen). Apparently, clothing like this cost about that much. Well, all the clothing in this world was handwoven.

But the fabric of this thing was polyester. Would that really be all right? Primula-san seemed to think it was silk or something.

If that explanation worked, then fine. There probably wasn't any way for them to analyze it, anyway.

After we finished eating, Primula-san and I decided to go to the Marlow Trading Company.

I'd let the daughter of a business partner stay the night, so I ought to explain myself, at least.

When we left the house, Primula-san discovered the solar panels.

She probably hadn't been able to see them yesterday because it was dark, but there were all these strange panels lined up. Naturally, she was curious.

I covered by saying they were tools used for magic. For the time being, anything incomprehensible—whether an object or an event—was magic. I would just force my way through with that explanation.

Besides, when I called something magic, people surprisingly accepted it.

------◇◇◇------

I couldn't use my bicycle with Primula-san along, so the two of us walked to the city. It couldn't be helped.

After entering the city, we took a shared horse-drawn carriage. Apparently, these carriages ran to the major destinations. But the fare was one small square silver coin (5,000 yen), which was quite expensive.

It wasn't something ordinary people could ride casually.

As we sat on the red sofa and were jostled along by the carriage, I asked Primula-san a question.

"Primula-san, don't you have rickshaws here?"

"Rickshaws?"

Since she didn't seem to understand, I took a sketchbook from my Item Box, drew a picture of a rickshaw, and showed it to her.

"It's a one-person vehicle that someone pulls like this."

"My, how interesting. But I've never seen one."

"Beastfolk seem to be good at running, so if they had work like this, they could earn money. And this would be cheaper to make than a horse-drawn carriage, wouldn't it?"

A rickshaw should have been possible to make with this world's technology. It wasn't all that different from a horse-drawn carriage.

"It does sound interesting, but it would make it seem as though we were treating the beastfolk like livestock..."

"Ah... I suppose you could look at it that way. In that case, it might be a little difficult."

Come to think of it, I'd never seen rickshaws in the West. Maybe that had something to do with it.

When we arrived at the Marlow residence, Marlow-san was waiting at the entrance.

"Where have you been? Without even contacting us?"

"I was outside the city walls, but I couldn't return, so I stayed at Kenichi-san's house."

"I couldn't very well let the daughter of an important business partner sleep rough, so I had no choice but to take her in."

"I am terribly sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused you..."

Huh? I'd expected him to get angry or lodge a protest, but he didn't seem to mind. Perhaps the age gap between her and me meant he wasn't that worried—or perhaps he trusted me that much.

"Who on earth did she take after...?"

"It must be you, Father. Whenever you heard about a profitable business opportunity, didn't you rush into battlefields under a rain of arrows or forests teeming with monsters without a second thought?"

"Sigh..."

Marlow-san seemed to have his hands full with Primula-san's tomboyish behavior.

As her father, he probably wanted her to settle down and start a family rather than travel all over the country as a merchant.

Of course he wouldn't want such a cute daughter to be put in danger. I felt the same way.

"But all that paid off, and I was able to acquire some excellent products."

"What a troublesome daughter."

I was shown into Marlow-san's study, where we began discussing business. Bath towels, bathrobes, and nightgowns in a different design from the one Primula-san had bought were laid out on the desk.

"Oh, this is an unusual fabric. Are these cloths for drying yourself after bathing, and clothes to wear after a bath?"

"They absorb water well and feel good against the skin."

The wholesale price of a bathrobe was one silver coin (50,000 yen) each, while towels cost five small square silver coins (25,000 yen) each. We decided on five of each.

I'd already finished all my major purchases and even built a house.

All I needed now was enough money to pay for food while living my slow life, so there was no need to make any flashy deals.

There was also the black-hole problem with Shangri-La that I'd been thinking about in bed. From now on, I intended to cut back on my transactions somewhat.

"I have something else as well."

I retrieved a pink, sexy-style nightgown from Shangri-La, one that was see-through.

But when Marlow-san saw what I unfolded, he covered his eyes.

"Good heavens, how indecent..."

"My!"

While her father's face showed horror, Primula-san's eyes glittered.

"This is it! ――If you wear this in front of the man you have your eye on, even the most stubborn man will fall head over heels—"

She was about to continue, but when she saw Marlow-san's expression, she stopped herself.

"I apologize. That was taking my joke too far."

"Ah..."

As I stored the completely sheer garment in my Item Box, Primula-san reached out with a disappointed look on her face.

While the atmosphere grew a little awkward, the door opened and a maid entered carrying a mountain of ledgers. She was the woman who had bought clothespins and silverwork from my stall.

"As expected of a major merchant house. You have a mountain of ledgers."

"The accounting system has recently been changed, so we're in the process of rewriting them."

"Oh? What sort of system is it?"

I wondered whether this was an otherworldly accounting system. I always handled money in a rough, seat-of-my-pants fashion, checking only the balance in Shangri-La and the number of coins in my Item Box.

"This is a system called double-entry bookkeeping, recently invented in the Empire. It is an extremely useful innovation."

"What? Double-entry bookkeeping?"

"You know of it?"

"Well, I've only heard the name..."

According to Marlow-san, it had apparently been invented by a guild master in a certain regional commercial city of the Empire.

It had spread across the Empire in no time, and because of his achievements, the guild master who invented it was highly likely to be nominated as the next minister of commerce.

But double-entry bookkeeping... Was it a coincidence—or...?

As I pondered this, the maid who had brought the ledgers stared intently at Primula-san's hair.

"Young mistress... your hair..."

She had noticed that something about Primula-san's hair had changed.

"Oh, this is... well..."

When Primula-san turned toward me, the maid came over to me.

"Stare."

She was staring. She was definitely staring.

"What is it?"

"Stare."

Even when I spoke to her, the maid simply continued staring intently at me. Honestly, she was frightening.

"Stare."

Under the pressure of her silent stare, I finally gave in.

"All right, all right. I'll give you some too. But please, keep it strictly confidential."

The maid gave a small nod.

I wasn't good with people like this. If I refused too clumsily, she might suddenly stab me.

Primula-san looked uncomfortable, but she really hadn't said anything, so it wasn't her fault...

"That reminds me, Father. Wasn't today the day for testing that thing?"

"Yes. The craftsman contacted us to say the item was finished, so we'll test it this afternoon."

"In that case, I would like you to examine the things Kenichi-san has as well."

"Outside?"

"Yes. They're large."

She must have been talking about the drum-barrel bath. But she had said they were testing a new product. I wondered what they had made. It was a little intriguing.

"Kenichi-san, would that be all right?"

"I don't mind, but is it all right for an outsider to attend the testing of a new product?"

"Of course. I have no objection."

If Marlow-san, the head of the trading company, gave permission, then it must have been fine.

But that wouldn't be until the afternoon. I had time to spare...

"In that case, I would like to return this afternoon."

"Understood. We will be waiting for you."

I had time before the afternoon. In that case, I decided to go register at the Adventurers' Guild.

When I asked Primula-san where the Adventurers' Guild was, she said it was along the main street.

I couldn't keep taking those expensive carriages every time. It would only take thirty or forty minutes to walk there.

The building on the street was a two-story stone structure with a sword-and-shield sign. It was quite old and had a dignified air, with ivy covering one end of the building.

The windows had glass in them, so it was bright inside.

There were quite a few people, and the place was bustling—but this was supposed to be this world's Hello Work, after all. There were probably plenty of people looking for jobs.

I went to the front counter for the time being. A young woman in a white blouse and red vest assisted me.

"Welcome. How may I help you today?"

"I'd like to register."

"Certainly. Have you registered with any other guilds, sir?"

"Yes, I'm registered with the Commerce Guild."

"In that case, please provide one silver coin for the registration fee and your guild insignia."

Apparently, the guild insignia could be used across guilds. That was convenient. It meant I didn't have to fill out forms again.

The young woman disappeared into the back, then returned almost immediately.

"Your registration is complete. Please look at the job postings on that bulletin board. We also accept applications for special requests at the counter."

"Thank you. Um, I have something I'd like you to buy from me, separate from a job request."

"In that case, please go to the counter on the far left."

I went to the far-left counter as instructed.

"Hey, what'd you bring in?"

The man there was a rugged, mustached fellow with scars all over his body. He looked battle-hardened.

"I'd like to sell one horned rabbit."

"The whole thing?"

"Could I have just the meat? You can buy the rest."

When I took the rabbit out of my Item Box, the man was surprised.

"An Item Box? Haven't seen one of those in ages. And it's still warm."

The man checked something on a Plate, apparently confirming his schedule.

"It'll be ready by evening. Come back and pick it up."

He handed me a metal token with a number on it. Apparently, this was my claim ticket. I had to make sure not to lose it.

While I was there, I looked at the bulletin board covered with requests.

There were requests for gathering rare medicinal herbs, finding lost things, locating missing people—everything. At the very top were portraits of wanted criminals with large rewards on their heads.

There was apparently one for a bandit named Shaga, whom I'd heard about before. The reward for the leader with the large scar on his cheek was one hundred gold coins (20 million yen).

There were apparently about fifty bandits, and the country paid a bounty in addition to the guild's reward, so wiping them all out would earn a considerable amount.

They didn't take taxes from your earnings, but they did charge fees for processing your kills and various other services. Still, that was only fair.

After leaving the Adventurers' Guild, I decided to have an early lunch.

I went into a stand-up restaurant and ordered a meal.

It was an ordinary soup with vegetables and meat, along with bread. I had no idea what kind of meat it was, but I took a sip—hmm, not very good!

Secretly, I took some dashi powder from my Item Box and sprinkled it in.

"Yeah, that's better!"

It was amazing that one little sprinkle of seasoning could make a mediocre dish perfectly edible. Umami seasoning was a wonderful thing.

My grandparents back home must have been moved by that flavor too. It had turned the poor meals of the war and postwar years into feasts.

Perhaps those memories were so vivid that they added umami seasoning by the handful.

Then there was sugar. They put huge amounts of sugar into every dish, and I had been exasperated by it more than once. But they belonged to a generation for whom sweet things meant a feast, so I couldn't really blame them.

Still, please don't put sugar on natto or tomatoes. And they even ate fine, delicious sashimi with umami seasoning sprinkled over it...

No, this wasn't the time to get sentimental about such things in another world.

After finishing my meal, I trudged back to the Marlow residence.

It would be so much easier if I could use my bicycle in the city. But there had been early bicycles that you propelled by kicking against the ground, hadn't there?

That kind might be possible to make in this world.

When I went to the Marlow residence, preparations for the experiment were complete. The site was the well in the backyard.

But what I found there was—

"Is that a pitcher pump?!"

Marlow-san reacted to my words.

"You know what it is?"

"It's a contraption that raises water from a well when you move this handle up and down, right?"

"Oh, as expected of you, Kenichi-san. You certainly hear things quickly. This has also begun spreading through the Empire. We immediately ordered one and had a craftsman make a prototype."

This world had no copyrights or patents, after all. They copied things in no time.

But a pitcher pump? Combined with the double-entry bookkeeping from before noon, this was too much to be a coincidence. Was there someone else here who had come from my original world?

Seriously?

Was the man who invented double-entry bookkeeping and was likely to become the Empire's minister of commerce one of them?

But the Empire was apparently an enemy nation, so there didn't seem to be any connection. I would like to meet him if I ever got the chance, though...

While I was thinking about other transmigrators, the experiment began.

Marlow-san worked the pump handle as hard as he could, but no water came up at all.

"No water is coming out, Father."

"It would seem not."

The two of them were at a loss, so I took over. But moving the handle produced no resistance.

This was the same phenomenon that had occurred with the well I'd built. Since there was no water inside, the pump was just spinning uselessly.

"This needs to be primed."

I poured water from the well bucket into the top of the pitcher pump. Then, when I moved the handle up and down, clear water began flowing out in a steady stream.

"Father!"

"Oh! This is incredible! We must begin production immediately!"

Afterward, I showed Marlow-san the drum-barrel bath I'd brought, but after the pitcher pump, it lacked impact.

The pump would obviously sell better than the bath. Marlow-san's reaction wasn't very enthusiastic either, so we decided to put the bath on hold for the time being.

Of course the pump would sell better than the bath. It was something people needed right away.

"I'm sorry, Kenichi-san."

"No, no, this isn't your fault, Primula-san. Besides, this contraption will definitely sell better."

But I was a little disappointed, so I took a sketchbook from my Item Box and drew a picture of a bicycle propelled by kicking against the ground.

"Primula-san, what do you think of a vehicle like this?"

"Ho ho ho! What is that?"

"It's a vehicle that moves when you kick against the ground with your feet."

"Ho ho ho ho! Father, you have to look at this!"

Primula-san doubled over laughing. It must have struck her as especially funny.

"Hmm? Ha ha ha! This is a strange contraption. Kenichi-san, you're an excellent artist, but I had no idea you also had a talent for jokes."

It really did seem to look extremely strange to them. Pioneers were always targets of ridicule.

If I told people in this world that it was possible to fly through the sky, they would probably burst out laughing too.

"But this would let you travel faster than walking or running without getting tired. Don't you think it could be sold to enthusiasts?"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, it does look easier than running. Perhaps we could have one made if the opportunity arose."

"If the opportunity arose" probably meant it wasn't going to happen. Primula-san was still laughing.

I wondered what she would say if she saw my mountain bike.

On the way back from the Marlow residence, I picked up the processed rabbit meat at the Adventurers' Guild.

The pelt and horn fetched one small square silver coin (5,000 yen). With the meat to eat as well, I could probably live perfectly well by catching one a day.

――But a month later.

I happened to see a foot-powered bicycle in the city. When I asked about it, I was told it was a product sold by the Marlow Trading Company.

Then there were two, then three, and before long, bicycles had become a common sight in the city.

Although Marlow-san had laughed at the bicycle in my drawing, he apparently realized how convenient it was a few days later and had a prototype made.

He had them ridden through the city as a demonstration to advertise them. He really was a first-rate merchant; he had a nose for making money.

They apparently used them for delivering notices from the city office and the like, making the job something like that of a messenger in my original world.

And I received five gold coins (1 million yen) as an idea fee.

It was cheap compared to patent royalties in my original world, but the fact that they paid me for the idea at all was remarkably decent of them.

Now that this had happened, perhaps people wouldn't find my mountain bike quite so suspicious.

Still, I had no intention of riding it around the city.

Marlow-san was apparently recognized for reforming the country through his invention of the bicycle, received an award from the lord, and was granted a surname—a family name.

Of course, I had them keep secret that I was the one who came up with the bicycle idea, and my name was never mentioned at all.