I May Have Thought of a Good Trick

After finishing the laundry, I returned to my room, strung a rope across it, and hung up my clothes.

I vigorously rubbed my hair with the bath towel I'd bought from Shangri-La.

"Phew... That feels refreshing."

I ran a hand along my chin to check whether I'd missed any spots while shaving.

On my first day in business, I got lucky and sold an expensive item right away. But things wouldn't always go this smoothly――I had to stay focused.

Still, wasn't there something more efficient I could sell? The best thing I'd sold so far had been the clothespins, but...

But as I counted the coins from my sales, I thought of something good.

"How about bullion...?"

Shangri-La sold gold and silver bullion. I could just cash it in directly.

I immediately searched Shangri-La for bullion――and found one-ounce silver ingots and coins selling for around 4,000 yen.

If I bought those and took them to a money changer in this city, I could exchange each one for a silver coin from this country, worth 50,000 yen.

But wait... Silver coins in Shangri-La were worth only 4,000 yen at most, yet I could charge them as the equivalent of 50,000 yen in local currency. How did that make sense?

Was that just how it worked? Could I buy large quantities of cheap silver coins from Shangri-La and have them recast into local currency...?

It was a mystery.

Was I about to touch something I shouldn't? The Status screen had to exist because someone was managing it, after all.

I wouldn't suddenly get banned for breaking the rules, would I? If being banned in this world—which wasn't a game—meant dying, I'd be in trouble.

Still, it seemed worth trying once.

While I was at it, I searched for gold bullion, too, and found that one-ounce gold coins cost around 180,000 yen, so their value wasn't much different from here.

So if I was going to try anything, silver coins were the way to go...

I tried charging the gold coin I'd gotten today into Shangri-La――and it deposited 200,000 yen.

"So the exchange rate really was what I thought."

To put my scheme into action, I bought three one-ounce silver coins and two square ingots. At 4,000 yen each, that came to 20,000 yen.

When I pressed 【Purchase】, the coins fell with a clink and rolled across the floor. One nearly dropped into a knot hole in the floorboards.

Aren't things like this normally put in packaging? But no matter what I bought, it never came with wrapping or cardboard boxes.

Maybe that was just how it worked.

As a test, I put one of the silver coins I'd just bought into the buyback appraisal――3,900 yen.

As expected, its value wouldn't increase unless I exchanged it for this world's currency.

I thought I might have found a bug or a clever exploit――but apparently things weren't going to be that easy.

"Whoa! It's really beautiful."

The silver coin had been polished to a mirror finish――but wait, it was way too shiny. That would be a problem.

I went outside, picked up a stone, put it in a leather drawstring pouch with the silver coins, and shook them together with a rattling sound.

They were covered in scratches now, but they still didn't look worn at all...

"Hmm, didn't they sell some kind of tarnishing solution for silverware?"

I searched for silver tarnish――and found one. It was called silver antiquing solution. Pretty straightforward. I bought the liquid for 2,000 yen and read the instructions.

"Let's see――mix the antiquing solution into boiling water, put in the silver item, and once it turns black, rinse it with water and dry it thoroughly..."

Apparently, I was supposed to polish it with paper afterward――I see.

I took a portable gas stove out of the Item Box, boiled some water, and followed the instructions. Sure enough, the gleaming silver coin turned black.

I bought some sandpaper and rubbed it vigorously――.

"Whoa! It really does look the part. No one should notice now."

Tomorrow, before opening my stall at the market, I'd take it in and see if they'd buy it. Silver was silver, and it wasn't fake silver, so there shouldn't be a problem――or so I thought.

As I gazed at the silver coins, I heard someone coming up the stairs. I put the tampered coins into the Item Box.

Azalea entered after knocking.

"I've got nothing else."

"You don't have to put it like that――"

Apparently, she thought I was an amusing old man and kept dropping by to see me.

Well, she was the quickest way to learn about the city, so I found her useful too.

------◇◇◇------

――The next morning, I was eating meat and rice first thing. I'd been eating nothing but bread, and I was craving meat.

But grilling it on a wire rack would have filled the room with smoke, so I bought a frying pan and cooked it over low heat. The sauce was my favorite mutton barbecue sauce.

Cooking it in a frying pan kept the excess fat from dripping away, so it ended up terribly greasy. That was the downside, but I couldn't help it.

After cleaning up from breakfast and psyching myself up, I put on the collarless black shirt I'd bought yesterday and left the inn.

"All right, time to charge in with these silver coins! Let's see whether this turns out lucky or unlucky."

After leaving the inn, I first headed to the tool shop where the muscular man had bought his double bed. I decided to ask whether they could buy the silver coins.

I passed through the market and arrived at the shop with all kinds of things piled up outside, then went inside the dimly lit store――.

The dark shop was piled high with all sorts of things too, and I couldn't make heads or tails of it...

"Hey there!"

"What is it?"

"Whoa! You startled me."

An old man with white hair and a white beard emerged from the darkness. His dark green robe had made him hard to see.

His white chin beard hung long, and he looked every inch a wizard.

"Old man, do you buy silver coins?"

"Let me see it――"

The old man took the silver coin in question from my pocket. Then a bright light began shining on his hand.

What was that? Magic? He looked like a wizard, but was he really a mage?

"Hmm, I don't recognize this silver coin. Where did you get it?"

"I can't tell you where, but I found it."

"Did you go into a dungeon or something?"

"Let's just say that's what happened."

What? There were dungeons? Come to think of it, I'd heard people at the market talking about the Adventurers' Guild and such.

"Unfortunately, I can't buy it here. This country has strict currency regulations. Using coins from outside the country is forbidden. If you want to use it, you should go to the national money changer."

"That's pretty strict."

"You're from outside the country, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I just got here."

"There was a time when a large amount of counterfeit money circulated. Ever since then, the country has been on high alert."

"I see. Then, old man, could you tell me where this national money changer is?"

I handed the old man one copper coin.

"There's a large road that crosses this one just before you reach the market. Follow it straight ahead. It's along the road, so you'll spot it right away."

"Thanks, old man."

Counterfeit money, huh――no wonder they were on edge. Counterfeiting, which directly affected the economy, was a serious crime in any country.

As I was about to leave the shop, I spotted something like a burner with a thin, square trivet attached.

"Old man, what's this?"

"What, you don't know? It's a fire-stone burner."

When the old man fiddled with the burner, a flame sprang to life.

"Whoa! That's amazing. Is it magic?"

"You could call it magic, I suppose, but..."

Apparently, it was a burner that used fire stones, stones that could burn. What the heck, this world was surprisingly high-tech. I also found a kerosene lamp that used a fire stone as its ignition device.

So this was the one Azalea had been talking about.

But they were incredibly expensive. The used burner cost the equivalent of 300,000 yen, and the kerosene lamp cost 100,000 yen. At those prices, Shangri-La was far cheaper.

After leaving the tool shop and walking as the old man had instructed, I saw a sign bearing a crest of a sword thrust through a coin.

It was a grand, three-story stone building, with the entrance projecting out by one step and a short staircase leading up to it. Every window had glass set into it, and the building was impressive.

As expected of a state-run facility.

To enter, I stuffed my merchant's credentials into my pocket. That way, if anything happened, I could keep my identity from being exposed.――All right. I steeled myself and stepped inside.

Inside, too, the building was lavishly made of marble-like stone. The windowpanes helped, but the light reflected off the white stone made it bright inside.

I headed for a counter where a young man wearing glasses was seated. The staff here wore white shirts and blouses, with trousers or skirts held up by black suspenders.

Both men and women wore bow ties around their necks.

There was also a female employee behind the counter, her hair swept up and glasses perched on her nose. Even from a distance, I could tell she was very well-endowed, and the uniform suited her remarkably well.

Hmm, impressive.

No, that's not why I'm here――.

"Um, I'd like to exchange some foreign silver coins."

I placed all five silver pieces—the coins and ingots—that I'd had in my pocket on the counter.

The young man with glasses put the silver coins into a wooden dish, examined one of them closely, and then answered.

"Please take a seat over there and wait."

He gestured with his palm toward a row of chairs with red cushions. Nothing I could do about it; I supposed I'd sit quietly and wait.

While I was waiting, I got bored, so I brought up the Shangri-La screen and started reading an e-book, but――.

The area behind the counter grew hectic. They brought out scales, tanks, and all sorts of equipment, causing quite a commotion.

They were probably checking whether the silver was genuine... Would this be all right? Still, I'd bought it from Shangri-La, so the silver had to be of the highest quality.

There was no point worrying about it too much. The artist in me was stirred by the busty female employee I'd seen earlier, so I took paper and a pencil out of the Item Box and decided to sketch her.

Hmm, a woman really ought to be around this age. Azalea was cute too, but there was something to be said for a mature woman's allure...

I think my tastes had changed quite a bit as I'd gotten older. Lately, I was having trouble seeing things up close and was starting to develop presbyopia.

Sigh, I hate getting old.

Just as I was feeling a little down over such a stupid thing, they called for me――about thirty minutes had passed, I thought.

"The customer here to exchange silver coins――"

"Oh, yes, yes."

When I hurried to the counter, the bespectacled employee explained everything politely.

"After a rigorous examination, we have confirmed that the silver coins you brought in are unquestionably silver. However, including the labor involved in recasting them, we can exchange five silver coins for one gold coin. Is that acceptable?"

"Well, it can't be helped. If I can't use them as they are, there's no point in keeping them..."

"Sir, may I offer a personal opinion?"

"Y-yes, go ahead."

What was this? Was there some kind of problem?

"Sir, where did you obtain these?"

"In a dungeon..."

"I see――these silver coins were made using highly advanced minting techniques. Once they have been sent to a proper workshop and examined in detail, I believe their value will increase several times over. I have handled coins and examined all sorts of items, but being able to see such magnificent pieces is truly a feast for the eyes."

This man, calmly and politely speaking of his love for coins, was a little strange too. But coins from my original world were made by pressing, if I remembered correctly.

"Um... I wouldn't understand anything complicated, so exchanging them for gold coins I can use would be fine. You can conduct your investigation on your own..."

For now, I just smiled and laughed it off.

"Understood."

The man nudged his glasses up with a disappointed little motion, and one gold coin appeared in the wooden dish.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Once I had my gold coin, I left in a hurry. It had worked, but my heart was pounding.

I can't bring any more of these in! This is definitely going to cause trouble. I thought I'd come up with a good idea—a clever trick—but it seems there are serious problems with it.

If I brought in a large number of silver coins and they traced them back to their source, I'd be in serious trouble.

I might be able to melt down the silver coins and recast them myself, but privately minting currency would surely carry the death penalty. There was no reason to take such a dangerous risk.

There were plenty of other ways to make money.

For example, foreign silver coins couldn't be used, but silver accessories were perfectly fine, and the market sold all kinds of silver goods.

Of course, they were fairly expensive.

Shangri-La had plenty of cheap silver accessories for 2,000 to 3,000 yen. I could sell those.

But since I'd have to charge a high selling price, I worried that it would limit my customers to people who could afford them...

Apparently, the customers who came to the market earned around 100,000 yen a month. It would be a bit much to ask people like that to buy 20,000- to 30,000-yen accessories.

It would be nice if I had connections to some rich people... But I didn't want anything to do with nobles.

Well, at least I had some extra cash now. I could put out some silverwork and wait for customers.

Maybe a rich person who happened to come by would notice it.

It had taken up some time, but I decided to head to the market.

------◇◇◇------

I opened my stall late, but as expected, yesterday's luck didn't continue. I sold only about thirty clothespins.

As expected, these clothespins looked like they were going to become a staple product. Maybe I should think more about the display.

I could link the clothespins together, make a garland, and decorate the booth with it――or something like that.

I was thinking I might close up early today――when someone called out to me.

"Could I see this bed?"

The man who called out was a stocky, middle-aged man with a mustache. I ducked under the table and went outside.

"I'll bring it out here, so step back a little."

"Bring it out? Oh..."

I took the bed out of the Item Box in front of him, and he stepped back, staring in astonishment.

"So this is that Item Box I've heard about."

"That's right. It's seen some use, but it's still sturdy. If you buy it, I'll throw in a sheet as a bonus."

"Hmm... Can't you do a little better?"

"Well, I'm closing up for the day, so I'll use my Item Box to carry it to your house for you."

"That would be a big help... All right, I'll buy it."

"Thanks for your business!"

It sold for six small square silver coins (30,000 yen).

Everyday necessities like this could sell even at a slightly high price, but accessories were luxury goods.

My work for the day was over once I delivered the bed.

The silver coin scheme hadn't worked out, but it couldn't be helped.