Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement (Light Novel) Vol. 1

by Funa

  “Huh? Was it me that did that?”

  “Indeed, it appears so. But fear not... I will not fault you for this. It seems the event was accidental, and I have not been inconvenienced by it. In fact, I feel I should thank you for granting me knowledge of ‘pain’. It was new to me.”

  Phew, what a relief! I thought it was gonna ask me to pay its medical bills or something.

  “So, what did you want to tell me?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes... I have neglected to say it. It appears that your mind carries such strength and intensity that you have absorbed the fraction of my energy you tore away.”

  “Huh?! I-Is that bad?”

  “Worry not. This will do you no harm, mental or otherwise. However...”

  “H-However?”

  “You seem to have acquired the ability to travel between worlds.”

  HUUUUUH?! Wait, so that’s what happened!

  Mitsuha had torn off a part of the “thing” and thereby gained the power to travel between worlds. And because of her strong wish to survive the fall, she had jumped to another world, taking the part along with her. Apparently, it was the last world the “thing” had visited prior to Earth. Additionally, the part had now merged with Mitsuha so thoroughly that trying to remove it would cause irreparable damage. Yeah, I think I’ll stay like this, thanks!

  “Now, explaining the situation and telling you of your power was merely a way of expressing gratitude. If there is anything else you desire or simply wish to know, then by all means, speak. The part of me within you has the potential to give you more powers.”

  Anything I want, huh? Well, I... Ah!

  “Umm, could you teach me new languages?”

  “Languages, you say? Truly an important thing when traveling between worlds... Very well. I shall make it possible for you to understand and copy the languages of those you converse with. Do bear in mind this is limited to language. I advise against seeking power to absorb knowledge beyond that. The amount you could acquire would be too much for your feeble mind. Besides, having the capacity to read absolutely anything would reduce the excitement.”

  HEY! My head’s got plenty of room! I’m not stupid, damn it! Mitsuha snapped internally.

  The higher being had a point, though, so she felt it best to listen.

  “Let’s just go with that, then. By the way, does moving between worlds use stamina or something? What’re the costs and limits?”

  “Costs? Well... The burden it places upon you is akin to moving between adjacent rooms. Repeating this motion a few hundred times would leave you quite fatigued and breathless.”

  Ohh. Well, it’s true that moving between rooms a couple hundred times would be exhausti—Wait, THAT’S IT?!

  “Any other inquiries or requests?”

  “Hmm, I don’t think so...”

  “Such a lack of desire. There’s still room for another power, so allow me to at least offer you a restorative function.”

  “Details, please.”

  “It would be weak, and therefore slow, but it would gradually heal any wounds you obtained. Given enough time, lost limbs will regrow, and scars will vanish as if they were never there. Consider the wounds on your left arm. They would leave a mark, no?”

  Whoa! That’d help a lot! It’s actually amazing!

  “I’ll take one order of healing powers, then, please!”

  “Certainly. I am well aware that a long life with physical impairments is difficult. This is no trouble at all, and will only take a moment.”

  “Hehehe!”

  “It... feels as though your attitude toward me has changed.”

  The being exercised some unseen force upon her and then prepared itself to leave.

  “I will come see you again after this planet has spun a few tens of thousands of times. Be in good health until then.”

  Those were its last words, and it took Mitsuha a few seconds to realize that it was talking about hundreds of years. I’ll be dead by then! Or did it mean around the sun? I’ll be dead either way, though... Her conversation with the “thing” had actually been some sort of direct interference in her brain, and once it had left, she automatically drifted to sleep. As her consciousness faded, something finally dawned on her.

  “Oh, so I’m not dead...”

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  I recognize this ceiling, Mitsuha mused in her usual fashion. The bed too. And there’s Colette, the sweet little girl sleeping on my legs. So, got her parents to bring me here again, huh? I hope this doesn’t become a trend. Oh, I’m covered in some kind of bandages. This must’ve cost them some money... I’m sorry. However she felt, it was time for her to think about what would come next.

  What she had assumed to be a village in some developing country was really part of a totally different world—one that was way behind Earth in terms of technology and civilization. She had also gained the power to freely travel between this world and Earth.

  YEAAAH, JACKPOT! Now I don’t need to worry about work, or college, or anything! This world’s gotta be full of gold and jewels and all kinds of stuff that’ll rake in the money back home... and stuff from Earth could be worth a fortune over here. If I brought some over and sold it, I’d be rich!

  Then again, if Mitsuha overdid it, she risked hurting the other world’s development. If I brought over something too advanced and made it popular, everything related to it would eventually crumble ’cause the foundation for it wouldn’t be there. And if I brought over something really out there, I could collapse the economy or destroy some industries, which would cost people their jobs and drive them to suicide, or maybe they’d even form hate mobs!

  She also ruled out things that would depend on her so much that abandoning them would cause chaos. Super influential stuff that’s centered around my existence is a big no-no. Another thing she had to keep in mind was that if she attracted too much attention, she could be targeted. I’ve gotta keep things quiet until I have some backup. Of course, she could always escape back to Earth, but that would be her last resort.

  Although Mitsuha’s thought patterns were a bit unusual, she’d always been a well-behaved, sincere young lady. This demeanor had gained her lots of friends who were still quite fond of her, even if they’d grown distant because of work or college. Because she had such a personality, Mitsuha decided to earn money with her newfound powers without bothering anyone else.

  Mitsuha was actually quite careful, though this quality had frequently surprised the friends who assumed she was a loose cannon. She wouldn’t hesitate to make risky moves whenever it was necessary, but she never took such gambles when it wasn’t. This was most likely because she grew up while looking up to her brother.

  Anyway, Mitsuha considered that her world-jumping ability might vanish one day. While she found it unlikely, she didn’t think it was impossible, and so made her plans with this in mind. She would set up a base both in this world and on Earth and earn enough money to live comfortably on either side. She decided to make one billion yen in each world, for a total of two billion.

  That sum, Mitsuha determined, could see her comfortably until her one-hundredth birthday, even if the economy became turbulent. She wouldn’t be living in the lap of luxury, but a yearly income of twenty million yen was more than enough for her. Beyond that, her earnings wouldn’t matter much. She could just sit back and do something she loved, like writing books or selling handmade crafts, even if it didn’t make much money.

  Now, I don’t know if this is a kingdom, an empire, or a republic, but I’m gonna rack up two billion and become a WINNER AT LIFE! BWAHAHA! BWAAAHAHAHAHA!

  This was the birth of her ambition.

  Chapter 4: Preparation

  Colette woke up shortly after Mitsuha, and chaos ensued. She let out a wail and launched herself at Mitsuha, too fast for the older girl to dodge her incoming bear hug. Mitsuha yelped, then began rapping her shoulder in a desperate attempt to signal her surrender. Colette’s parents, upon hearing the ruckus, bolted into the room.


  “Stop, stooop! Ow, it hurts! You’re breaking meee!” Mitsuha shouted, and Colette finally loosened her grip.

  “M-Mitsuha! Y-Your words!” Colette replied in shock. Her parents looked equally dumbfounded. Thankfully, Mitsuha had already come up with an explanation.

  “First of all, thanks for everything you’ve done for me, Colette. Actually, I learned your language back in my country. I couldn’t speak it because I lost my memory. Just now, though, it all came flooding back to me.”

  “Really? I’m so happy, Mitsuha!” Crying loudly, she clung to Mitsuha again. Her parents nodded, their eyes brimming with tears. They’re such good people, Mitsuha thought, all smiles. When Colette finally calmed down, Mitsuha decided it was time to gather information.

  Because she was from another world, Mitsuha had to tread carefully when talking about herself. For this reason, she’d invented her own backstory: she hailed from a distant country, and for reasons that were conveniently glossed over, she’d crossed over the sea and come to this continent. She purposefully chose to say “this continent” over “this country“; for all she knew, their current region could’ve been landlocked. Mitsuha and her party had been separated during an attack by wild beasts, but otherwise she didn’t remember much—only that she’d found herself in Colette’s home the moment she woke up.

  Mitsuha also didn’t know this world’s class system, so she avoided using the word “noble”, but still led them to believe she was a high-ranking member of society. Her choice to do so was a bit of a risk; commoner-nobility relations weren’t always good, to put it lightly, so it might’ve been upsetting for Colette and her family. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to care.

  It makes sense, honestly, Mitsuha reflected. The clothes they found me in weren’t farmer-like at all, so they probably figured it was something like that. If not, then maybe their beef with nobility is just local, and they don’t care about foreign blue bloods at all. Or they just don’t really get it, if y’know what I mean.

  After her story concluded, it was Mitsuha’s turn to ask about her situation. I’m gonna get all the info I need and then some! She found out she’d been out cold for a whopping five days. Nearly a week... She couldn’t blame Colette for worrying. Mitsuha had no idea if it was due to exhaustion and shock or if it had something to do with whatever the “thing” had done to her, but she didn’t really care either way. Also, they hadn’t forgotten to retrieve her possessions—knives, slingshot, and everything else. How thoughtful.

  Anyway, the beasts they’d encountered were, in fact, wolves. The villagers had rounded up the corpses and reduced them to fangs, fur, and meat, not letting a single part go to waste. They’d split and eaten the meat, since it would’ve gone bad otherwise, but the fangs and fur were still unused. It turned out that they’d been reserved for Mitsuha, along with some money for the meat. Aww, that’s so sweet it’s gonna give me cavities! she thought. But considering they all believed she was penniless and wanted to do her a kindness, it would’ve been rude of her not to accept. I’ll have someone buy the fangs and fur off me, though.

  The villagers were extremely thankful that she’d gotten rid of the wolves before they could hurt someone. It made sense, especially considering the animals could’ve easily picked off one of the village wives or children. Colette, for one, wouldn’t have stood a chance if she had been cornered alone. But Mitsuha wasn’t entirely sure she’d killed off all the wolves. I mean, they are pack animals, aren’t they? And it was a mother wolf with her young, so there’s gotta be a father, too, right?

  She wasn’t convinced it was safe yet, but if the locals thought so, she wasn’t going to argue. The wolves here might’ve been different than the ones she knew. Perhaps it was normal for local mother wolves to take their young on training trips, or maybe she’d had a messy divorce and was bringing the kids back to her parents’ den. Whatever, it doesn’t matter at this point, she concluded.

  Once she was caught up, Mitsuha fired off all sorts of questions about the country they were in: the value of its currency, the nearest town, the capital, how developed it was—not directly, of course—and so on. Peasants didn’t know much, obviously, but she was satisfied with getting about half the knowledge the farmers knew by heart. By the time she was finished, she had another question she really wanted to ask but couldn’t: Why the heck does Colette know more than her parents?!

  On the third day after waking up, Mitsuha went against her little keeper’s objections and took a walk by herself. According to the villagers, when they’d brought her in from the woods, she was in such terrible shape that Colette had been completely frantic. But her seemingly grave wounds had healed since then, and now Mitsuha could barely feel so much as a bruise.

  Still, persuading Colette to let her go alone had proved to be quite a challenge; she’d rattled off more reasons than you could imagine. This solitary trip was absolutely, positively necessary for her. Finally, Colette had relented and gone off to forage, though she’d glanced back at least a dozen times. After she disappeared, Mitsuha checked to see if she was really alone, then jumped back to her home on Earth.

  Whoa, I’ve missed so many calls, she thought as she glanced through her phone. Well, I didn’t—I mean, couldn’t—respond. Everyone’s probably worried sick... Better reply to ’em all.

  After that, Mitsuha checked the mailbox. Her bills were all paid automatically, so there was no problem there. She also made her way to the local police station to let them know she was safe and sound. They’d helped her out a lot when she was dealing with her uncle and the delinquents when they’d gone after her money. She wanted to quell any worries they may have had about her recent absence.

  Next, she enjoyed her first bath in ages, changed into fresh clothing, and handled a few other assorted tasks. She couldn’t wash the clothes she’d been wearing and risk appearing suspiciously clean, so she left them in their current condition. She’d don them again when she returned to the other world. There was also no point in going shopping since she couldn’t bring anything into Colette’s house. All she’d had when Colette found her was a cheap shoulder bag containing a folding umbrella, tissues, and a disposable shopping bag. Patience, Mitsuha... You’ll get to take lots of stuff along once you leave the village.

  She finished up her earthly business and returned to the village long before evening, but Colette still interrogated her about where she’d been and what she was up to. What the heck, she came back way too fast! I guess she rushed it ’cause she was worried about me.

  Mitsuha was so occupied with her world-jumping and schemes to get rich that she’d completely forgotten about the men who’d approached her on the cliff. The moment they’d pushed Mitsuha off the edge, she’d screamed so loudly that the nearby couples had witnessed it in full. They’d wanted to avoid involvement when the delinquents were merely hitting on her, but they couldn’t ignore a murder.

  After Mitsuha fell, the girl from the young couple let out a shriek, her boyfriend snapped photos of the perpetrators, the old man called the police, and his wife took pictures of their car. It was some impressive teamwork. The thugs had panicked, shouting that it wasn’t their fault and other such nonsense, then jumped into their car and peeled off. But with all the witnesses and photos, it didn’t take long for them to get caught and arrested. Everyone thought this was an open-and-shut case.

  It quickly hit a wall, however, because they couldn’t find the victim’s body. The police had even checked every local file for a missing person, but found no one who fit the description. This was partially because the victim was described as a child in either elementary or middle school, so Mitsuha was completely out of the investigators’ range. They had multiple witnesses and the criminals’ confessions, but the victim was a Jane Doe and her body was nowhere to be found. The police were at a loss.

  On the other hand, the three men were getting what they deserved. Mitsuha would’ve surely died if it hadn’t been for her strange and coincidental collision wi
th the ancient being. The fact that she’d survived changed nothing; they’d still committed an act of murder, so it was fair to punish them appropriately. If they were let off the hook, they’d surely go on to do similar things and harass other people, turning more innocents into victims.

  After her family had passed away, Mitsuha ended the newspaper subscription they had. Cable TV and the internet were more than enough for her. The papers also piled up fast, and she couldn’t be bothered to clean them up—not to mention that the mailman always crammed them into the mailbox like he was stuffing away his broken dreams, so people could tell whether or not Mitsuha was home at a glance. If some seedy types discovered she wasn’t around as often, her property would’ve been in danger.

  Mitsuha wasn’t on Earth when the cliff incident was still new, and even during this last visit, she’d been too busy replying to all her missed messages to watch TV or browse the web. She hadn’t had a chance to see the story, and by the time she returned again, all the news outlets had completely dropped it. Mitsuha never heard about the investigation or even recalled the men from the lookout.

  Back in the other world, it was almost time for Mitsuha to move forward. Seven days had passed since her brief trip back home, and her wounds had healed so well she had to hide the fact that they didn’t leave a single scar. Some villagers had gladly purchased the wolf fangs and fur. Apparently, juvenile wolf hides were quality goods; they didn’t carry nearly as much damage as an adult’s, so the three Mitsuha sold had earned her a pretty penny. The buyers had also said something about refining the materials and selling them to the nearby town. So you do have contact with a town, she thought.