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

by Funa

  Endowed with her newly-acquired funds, Mitsuha could now tell everyone she wished to go on a journey. She planned to head to the town where the local lord resided, then make her way to the capital from there. From what she’d learned, the local lord’s town wasn’t all that impressive. Though not as rural as this village, it still fit the image pretty well. Nevertheless, it was the most developed town in the area, the starting point for capital-bound carriages, and most importantly, the place where the local lord lived.

  After her encounter with the wolves, Mitsuha had befriended villagers other than Colette, which helped her learn much more. All of them had made sure to thank her, and the elders—thinking she couldn’t move because of her wounds—sat around to converse with her. The villagers didn’t know much individually, but once she put it all together, she had an impressive amount of information. In the end, she became more knowledgeable about the nearby town and the local lord’s family than anyone else present.

  I’ll start by schmoozing the lord, Mitsuha decided.

  According to the villagers, he was a surprisingly good person for a noble. He cherished his subjects, never hesitated to postpone taxes during bad harvests... Basically, the people had hit the jackpot with him. Not only that, but he was a count, meaning he also had a lot of influence in the capital. After all, if you ignored dukes, who had royal blood, the only ones above counts were marquis.

  The town’s about eighteen miles away, Mitsuha thought. At least, that’s my guess based on what the villagers told me. But if they walk at some crazy pace like twelve miles an hour, then that eighteen could easily be a hundred! Ugh, all right, enough of that. For now, I’ve gotta focus on wining and dining the count so I can get a carriage to the capital. I really need his support.

  What? Wondering how I’ll pay for the carriage and get by in the capital? Sure, the money I got here won’t be enough, but again, that’s where the count comes in.

  Additionally, she had yet to take care of her biggest obstacle.

  “NO, NO, NO, NOOO!” Colette yowled. “DON’T GOOO!” Mitsuha couldn’t bring herself to blame the girl. The two had saved each other’s lives, and there weren’t many girls around her age in the village. If Colette wasn’t out foraging, she was all over Mitsuha, especially after the latter had sustained some severe injuries.

  “Sorry, but I gotta go,” Mitsuha told her. “I wanted to do this from the start. Besides, my people and I had agreed to meet up in the capital if something went wrong.”

  “B-But, but...!” Colette simply would not give in. Not even her parents could calm her down.

  “All right, then let’s make a promise. After I get settled in the capital, I’ll come back here and tell you all about it. And if you ever go there, I’ll make sure to see you no matter what.” Colette whimpered, but was slowly calming down.

  “You’re a smart girl. You know you can’t stop me, right? So, please... Smile for me? I’ll be thinking about you all the time until I see you again, and I don’t want to remember you like this.”

  “Hic...” Colette let out one more sob, then forced her wobbly lips into a smile. Her father, Tobias, marveled at the sight. “This girl’s practically a master seducer!” he whispered. Okay, now that’s just rude!

  The next morning, the villagers saw Mitsuha off as she finally departed for the town. She had a bag filled with necessities: specifically, a gallon of water and four meals, two of which were light. The villagers had decided that, since the journey took a whole day for adults, it would take two days for Mitsuha. They’d stuffed her bag accordingly, without leaving so much as an inch for anything else.

  Mitsuha hadn’t brought very much along with her in the first place, yet the villagers had attempted to load her up with blankets and other supplies. Had she brought them, she wouldn’t have been able to stand, let alone walk. Some people even offered to come with her, but she firmly refused. That’d be seriously bad for me.

  Anyway, she more or less had to force her way out of the village. She’d been told it was rare for someone to go to town; it was a two-day journey there and back, three if you spent a night there. It was just too far for anyone to go there without having some serious business to attend to. Staying at one of the town’s inns was also a small luxury. The village was mostly self-sustaining, so the people here didn’t earn enough money to pay for a room, food, and wares.

  The bottom line was that no one went to town without a very good reason. Anything they couldn’t acquire from within the village could often be bought from the traveling merchants who dropped by every now and again. They even took requests and would do their best to bring the items along on their next visit.

  Mitsuha was well aware of the fact that she could choose not to go to town, and they’d be none the wiser. If some villagers decided to trek out that way in a few weeks or months, she doubted they would walk around asking about her. Even if they did, they wouldn’t learn anything because she’d never have arrived in the first place. It’s not like I’m not planning to go to town, she thought. I’m just gonna be completely off schedule.

  Mitsuha now had a full understanding of her cross-world movement—“world-jumping”, as she liked to call it. The “thing” had installed this comprehension directly into her brain. According to the intangible manual, the first area she’d jumped to had been determined at random, but now she could go wherever she wished.

  There was one caveat: she could only travel to a place she could picture, which in this case meant somewhere she’d visited before. She could jump between places in one world by using the other world as a stepping stone. For that, she first had to get there using normal methods, but once that was done, she could jump there whenever she desired. So for now, Mitsuha would go straight to town, then return to Earth to make some preparations. After all, getting close to the lord and securing a way to the capital wouldn’t be easy.

  Once she’d walked a good distance from the village, Mitsuha jumped home, hopped onto her trusted scooter, Scooty, then jumped back once more. The path between the village and the town was barely used, so witnesses weren’t a problem. Even if someone did come across her, she could just jump back to Earth. The terrain wasn’t very smooth, so she couldn’t travel at full speed, but she arrived at the outskirts of the town after just an hour of driving. She hadn’t met anyone on the way, so everything was going according to plan.

  That’s enough for today, Scooty. I’ll walk the rest of the way when I get back. Now it’s time to get busy! Mitsuha returned home and changed into some casual clothes. She walked to the station and took a train to the nearest city with an American military base. Some Americans were along for the ride as well, most likely servicemen assigned to the base. Looks like I don’t have to wait till I get there for this part, she thought.

  “Excuse me.” She directed her words to the most intelligent-looking man there. She simply asked if the train would stop at the first city that came to mind, thanked him when he responded, and walked to the neighboring car. She then exited at the next stop and traveled back to her starting point. With that, Mitsuha gained the ability to speak, write, and understand English.

  Why had she chosen this man in particular, you ask? Well, her ability essentially “scanned” the brain of the person she was speaking with in order to copy their language. Normally, she’d be able to acquire the most there was to know about a language by interacting with many different speakers, but since she had a limited pool to choose from, she made an effort to pick the most knowledgeable person she saw.

  Once she returned home, Mitsuha got on the internet and began running some searches. The keywords, the results, the sites—all of them were in English, and she consumed page after page as part of her preparations.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Thousands of miles away, there stood the headquarters of a minor mercenary organization. The group had a relatively upstanding reputation. By mercenary standards, that is.

  “Captain. You got a visitor,” one of the mercs reported, open
ing the door to an ordinary-looking office.

  “Pretty sure I had no appointments today,” replied the man in charge.

  “It’s an unannounced visit. That okay?” The captain took a moment to mull it over. They weren’t on any major missions, and the money from small jobs could pile up and help cover the squad’s operating costs.

  “I’ll be there in a sec... Take ’em to the reception room.”

  “Roger that. Heheh, you’ll be surprised.”

  “Whazzat? Is it a hot chick or somethin’?”

  “Hmm... You could say that.”

  Yeah, right. There’s no way in hell a woman like that’d come here, of all the damn places, he thought in disbelief as he made his way to the reception room. When he opened the door and saw who waited inside, however, his jaw nearly dropped.

  My boy wasn’t lyin’ after all. Well, shit, I sure am surprised. He eyed the visitor. She was far from a “hot chick”, but “pretty girl” seemed close enough.

  “Nice to meet you,” the girl began. “My name is Mitsuha, and I have a request for you...” His guest was an elementary schooler with silky black hair, mystical dark eyes, and a well-proportioned, doll-like face. The captain listened to the entirety of her monologue before speaking up.

  “So, you’re tellin’ me you wanna learn to use small arms, get some target practice, train in knife and short sword fightin’, and for us to get all that gear for ya, huh...?” Child or not, she was a client. He was in charge here, so obviously he knew how to talk business even if he was weirded out by the whole situation. The girl nodded in response.

  “Handguns are the most immediate matter. In particular, I’d like a small one I could carry with me at all times for self-defense, a powerful, high-capacity pistol I could use as my main weapon, a light revolver I’d switch to if the others jammed, a set of holsters for all three, and training in how to use them. Everything else is secondary. The knife and sword training might not be too useful... so feel free to gloss over them. Assume it’s just for intimidation.”

  “Says here ya also wanna learn to use machine guns, assault rifles, snipers, and grenades, plus rocket ‘n’ grenade launchers... Li’l lady, what the hell kinda megacorp ya goin’ after?!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice. Crap, I lost my cool.

  “I’m planning no such thing...! This is merely for self-defense. My country is currently in a state of unrest, you see... Oh, and of course I will be paying in advance.”

  Where the hell’re ya from?! Do yer hoodlums have tanks or somethin’?!

  “Ah, I currently have a lot of Japanese yen lying around,” she remarked. “Would it trouble you if that’s what I paid with?”

  “Well, sure, yen’s a whole lot better’n yuan or won, at least,” the mercenary replied. “There’ll be a fee when we turn it into dollars, though... Yer gonna cover that, right?”

  “Oh, but of course. I don’t mind at all. Ah, but I may switch to using gold coins. Would you accept those as well?”

  Gold coins? Seriously, who the hell are ya? If he could’ve raised an eyebrow any further, he would have.

  “Got nothin’ against it, but what kind we talkin’? Krugers? Maples?”

  “No. They would be nameless coins from a nameless country. Just think of the value of the actual gold in them. I’ll bring you a sample sooner than later, so you can have it appraised. But...”

  “But?”

  “Keep in mind you may eventually have to convert these coins by the hundred—no, by the thousand.”

  After they came to an agreement, the girl left. She was hella shady... no... hella weird, but I had to take that job. Somebody’s gotta cover these squad costs, damn it! The captain was fairly sure he’d made the right choice, but for some reason, the hand holding his cigarette still trembled. He’d ordered one of his subordinates to follow her. Now I just gotta wait till he comes back.

  “I’m back, Cap’n,” the man in question said as he came in.

  Uhh, okay, that felt a little too fast.

  “How’d it go?”

  “Sorry, but... I lost her.”

  What? She shook off this guy?

  “I saw her turn the corner on her way outta the base, but when I went after her, she was gone. I looked around the place, but I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

  “What kinda bullshit is that?! There ain’t no more turns for miles!”

  His subordinate had no reply. He had nothing else to say, either. Man, I guess I really do need to get the guns, he thought as he stared at the objects on his desk. There was a thick roll of yen and a piece of paper with the girl’s—Mitsuha’s—measurements on it. They needed her sizes to know what kind of holsters to get her.

  An A cup, huh...

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Man, that was sooo stressful! Mitsuha thought.

  Her conversation with the captain had been the first time she’d spoken with someone in English outside of her classes. On top of that, his being a foreigner and a mercenary didn’t help settle her nerves at all.

  Keeping up the act of some high-class lady was really hard! I was totally drenched in sweat! After her business was done, she vanished from the mercenary base. They might have sent someone to tail her, but it didn’t matter. She simply walked out of the front gate, turned right, and jumped.

  She’d chosen that particular group after hours of online research. It had surprised her to see how varied mercenary groups were. Some were enormous, some small, some were upstanding, some scum of the earth, and so on... Then again, perhaps it was strange to call any mercs “upstanding”. Still, she’d gone for the one that looked more reasonable than most.

  If she’d felt she was making a mistake, all she had to do was make herself scarce. Staying off their radar seems easy enough. And if they tried to capture or violate me, I’d just crush them. If their armory was suddenly emptied, or their funds and documents went missing along with their safes, the mercs would have their hands too full to concern themselves with some runaway girl. As a world-jumper, I’d make a great thief, assassin, or terrorist... But that isn’t my style! Teehee! She only hoped this new relationship wouldn’t turn sour.

  As for how she got to another country so easily... She’d essentially had an epiphany.

  She had initially been under the impression that, because she needed a concrete mental image of any place she wanted to go, she had to have been there at least once. But it had occurred to her to try a little experiment. She’d absorbed TV shows, movies, and newscasts that showed a specific place, then checked a satellite photo of the location. This had given her a mental image as good as—no, even better than—the one she’d have if she saw it in person.

  The result? A complete success. Mitsuha could now jump to many different spots outside of Japan. However, she could only use this tactic on Earth. There weren’t any photos or satellites in the other world, after all, meaning that she had to actually travel to her destinations at least once. How horrible.

  I’m basically burning through Mom and Dad’s money... But this here is like any initial investment. A necessary expense.

  Her thoughts were directed toward a necklace on the table. It was a real luxury product. The necklace was adorned with pearls a third of an inch thick and had cost her over a million yen. This was actually her greatest weapon, so she couldn’t have settled for something cheap.

  Right beside it was a Gerber folding knife. Not the one Tsuyoshi had left behind, but a new one she had just purchased. There was also a Swiss Army Knife and a Randall hunting knife. On a nearby clothes hanger, there was an expensive-looking—and actually quite expensive—dress, partnered with a pair of heels. Besides that, there were some spare sets of clothes, as well as a couple accessories. Mitsuha carefully put everything in a large backpack, got dressed, and equipped whatever she could.

  All right! Moving out!

  Soon she was standing in front of a large door. Taking deep breaths, she prepared herself. It was finally time for the next step in her plan. She grabbed
the knocker and rapped it on the door, creating loud thunks. Though no one could hear her, she shouted from within her thoughts.

  Hellooo!

  Chapter 5: If the Pearls are a Weapon, Mitsuha is a WMD!

  “Master Bozes, you have a visitor,” the butler announced.

  “What? I was sure I had no such arrangements today,” replied Count Bozes, his curiosity piqued. Stefan was a reliable butler who had served the Bozes family for over two generations. He wasn’t one to make absurd mistakes, and it wasn’t like him to announce the arrival of any unappointed, untrustworthy visitors.

  Did he perhaps deem the guest worthy of my audience? the count wondered. Then I shall trust his judgment.

  “Very well. Let them into the reception hall as soon as I’m ready,” he ordered, yet Stefan lingered.

  “What of the lady and your children?” he inquired. What? Is he saying my family should join?! What is he thinking?

  “Call them, then.”

  “As you wish.” I chose to trust his judgment, and I will do so until the end.

  Soon the count was in the reception hall, accompanied by the entire Bozes family: his wife, Iris; his firstborn, Alexis; his second son, Theodore; and his daughter, Beatrice. Their reception hall paled in comparison to the grandeur of royal throne rooms. All that furnished the room was a large, rather plain table surrounded by chairs.

  Summoning the family to meet a guest who came with no prior notice was unheard of. Count Bozes’ wife and children looked fittingly bewildered and uneasy. He hadn’t told them anything, for he himself had been caught unawares. But that was something he simply couldn’t give voice to. I hope this isn’t a mistake, Stefan.

  At last, the butler led the guest inside. “This is Lady Mitsuha von Yamano. She hails from the land of Japan. The lady claims to have come to greet Count Bozes.”

  The girl surprised him immensely. She had silky, well-groomed black hair, a face like that of a doll’s, and clothing unlike any he’d seen before. The garb looked comfortable and had numerous pockets, while the belt she was wearing supported knives and other curious tools. He had never heard of her country, but he wondered how a noble lady—a girl barely older than ten, at that—ended up traveling without a retinue. He was livid. Not with the girl, but her parents and everyone else around her.