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

by Funa

  That’s a little easier said than done with the bathroom, though. I mean, taking care of a “number one” is easy. I’ve got a Western toilet, and it even flushes. The carpenters hooked it up to a water tank that’s linked to the well with a motor pump.

  As for “number two”... Uhh, I did make it usable in case guests came, but there’s... y’know... the clean-up part. For now, I’m just gonna keep jumping back home whenever I’ve gotta drop the kids off at the pool, if you know what I mean.

  Two days later, Mitsuha opened her store for the first time in ages. It was business as usual. It had been so long that the neighbor lady came to check up on her.

  Oh, the beauty of human sympathy! Mitsuha felt so moved that she gave her another towel.

  A few days passed after her reopening. It was three o’clock—close to closing time.

  Ding-a-ling!

  My first customer in a while! Mitsuha cheered on the inside, though she hadn’t been entirely dry. She’d had a decent amount of people come and buy things like shampoo, shampoo, and of course, shampoo. She did sell other wares, but the overwhelming majority of her customers were girls buying shampoo.

  The number of customers was steadily growing, at least, and she made enough sales to live her everyday life. If you can recall, Mitsuha had keen senses when it came to her profit margins. Additionally, she owned the place, so she didn’t have to worry about rent.

  Anyhow, let us return to her current customer... As soon as he entered, the man stomped over to Mitsuha like he was on the warpath.

  “Give me fish,” he grunted.

  “Huh?”

  “I said, give me fish!”

  “Sir, this is a general store. You may want to visit the fish shop instead.” Mitsuha had no idea if there were any in this town, but she had to guess there were none. She was actually quite cold to people with bad attitudes, if you couldn’t tell.

  “Stop fooling around! I did my research, and I know you sell fish! Do you have any idea what will happen if you don’t do it right now?!”

  “No. Do tell me.”

  “The insolence...! Do you really not know the consequences of refusing Lord Turck?!”

  “What? You’re a baron?”

  “Wha...?” Her question caught him off guard. “C-Certainly not! I’m the baron Lord Turck’s head chef!”

  Yeah, I could tell he wasn’t a noble. I’ve got eyes, and they work just fine.

  “What brings a baron’s head chef to my establishment?” Mitsuha asked, her customer-service smile fading.

  “Since coming back from that accursed Ryner affair, all he does is complain about the food! He demands to be served what he had at the party. I asked around, and discovered it was exotic food that used fish. I can easily make food of that caliber as long as I have the ingredients. That’s all I need!”

  “Ohh, well... I didn’t actually ‘sell’ any fish, per se. I accepted a request to host the entire party, and the fish was simply a product I had to provide to complete the contract. It’s not the same as selling fish.”

  “What?!” he snapped. “Stop talking nonsense and just do as I say! If you don’t, I’ll—”

  “What’s all this noise?”

  Whoa, it’s Lady Iris! Mitsuha thought. Crap, I totally forgot about the Bozes... again!

  “Why haven’t you come to see us?!” she asked aggressively.

  “Oh, I... I’ve been pretty busy lately...”

  “With this man, perhaps? Is he your customer?” She looked down her nose at the head chef. The sudden appearance of an obviously noble lady had him nearly cowering.

  “Uh, no. Not by a long shot,” Mitsuha said, then quickly changed her tone. “He said he would hurt me if I didn’t do as he said! I don’t know what’ll happen to me now...”

  “HUH?!” The man immediately turned pale.

  “Wh-What are you—?”

  “What business do you have with our girl?”

  They were joined by Count Bozes himself.

  “Eep!” the head chef squeaked.

  Feel that? That’s the heavy air of nobility.

  “N-Nothing... I’m just a customer looking for some—”

  “He said he works for the Turcks, and that he’d hurt me if I don’t do as he sa—”

  Ah. He escaped. Didn’t even let me finish. Look at him go.

  “I’ll be sure to mention this to Lord Turck,” said the count.

  Lady Iris had an ice-cold smile on her face.

  “I, uhh...”

  Before Mitsuha could argue, she was thrown in the carriage and shuttled off to the Bozes’ mansion.

  Umm, can we turn around for a sec? I wanna lock the door.

  Chapter 9: Adventurers

  “Hey! No fair!” Beatrice was livid.

  Mitsuha had been taken to the Bozes capital mansion, where she was instantly put on trial. The judge and prosecutor was none other than the Bozes’ youngest child and only daughter, Beatrice. Mitsuha had no defense, as both Alexis and Theodore had run away.

  “Why didn’t I get to go to the party?!” she asked.

  “You’re thirteen. You haven’t come of age yet,” Mitsuha replied.

  “B-But all that tasty food! And sweets!”

  “Sorry...”

  “What about my debut, huh?! You’re gonna make it up to me by throwing me the best one ever, right?!”

  In the end, Mitsuha had to promise that her debut would have an electric parade, a fireworks show, and food stalls, including ones for takoyaki and cotton candy.

  Let’s hope she forgets about it in the next two years.

  Come dinner, she was barraged with questions.

  “What was all that food?”

  “How about those pictures?”

  “Just where did you get the odd things you’re selling in your store?”

  Knew this was coming. I guess it’s time to make something up.

  Mitsuha ran with the following story: The friends she’d left behind in her country were so worried about her well-being that they’d secretly sent her things by boat. Since they sent so much, however, Mitsuha had decided to sell the extras. She added that the boats were small and swift, and that they only brought the supplies at night.

  What a crock, she thought when she finished. Hope it lines up with my story so far... Then again, they’d probably understand a little white lie or two, considering I’m trying to hide my identity.

  H-Huh? You won’t pry any further...? Wow, Count, you really are a stand-up guy. Wait, “We’re dealing with Mitsuha, after all”? What’s that supposed to mean, Lady Iris?! Ah, sorry. Forget I said that!

  Once the matter was over, the rest of the family joined in to chat.

  The what, now? “Artificial golem soldiers?” Huh? I told you about them? Doesn’t ring a bell, sorry. Salt-making? You’re hell-bent on that, huh, Count? Oh? Your territory has a coast? All right, I’ll look it up on the internet.

  Alexis? You found me more charming than Adelaide? Yeah, right. Are you okay in the head? Know your place, I’m older than—Hold on. Count? Lady Iris? Why are you encouraging him?!

  Ah, Theodore and Beatrice are on my side! You guys want me to spend the night here because it’s late? Okay. I expected this, anyway. I’ll have a glass of wine and it’s lights out.

  The next day, Mitsuha returned to the store right after breakfast. She had to open, after all. Diligent girl that she was, she couldn’t skip out on work for no reason.

  Well, there goes the weather, she thought, watching a murky wall of clouds move in. A drizzle soon followed, which grew to a downpour in no time. It was the first rain Mitsuha had ever seen in this world.

  How does everyone get by when there’s barely any rain? she wondered. Maybe I missed some when I went to Japan? Either way, there’s no way I’m getting any customers now. The locals probably don’t have umbrellas... Ah! Maybe I should start selling them myself!

  The bell rang not a moment later, catching her by surprise.

  Customers?! I
n this weather?!

  “Sorry,” came a woman’s voice as she stepped inside. “We’d like to stay here until the rain passes, if you don’t mind.”

  Oh. Well, that’s fine by me. I like people with manners, and she’s easy on the eyes. Hmm, so there’s three other people with her... Wait, hold on a sec!

  “A-ADVENTURERS!” Mitsuha cried.

  “Huh?” The four raised their eyebrows in unison.

  Two of the party members were male, and two were female. One of the men had black hair and a muscular frame that supported the greatsword on his back. The other was a slim blond who wielded a spear. The woman who’d spoken had red hair and a sword in her belt, while the girl had silver hair, a bow on her back, and a dagger in her belt.

  Mitsuha guessed the larger man was nearing his thirties, the blond just over twenty, the redhead about twenty or so, and the girl no older than sixteen. Though petite, she was at least more mature than Beatrice, so Mitsuha assumed she was about as old as Adelaide. She took a look at the girl’s chest, and a feeling of camaraderie washed over her.

  Anyway, it’s a ragtag group of specialized fighters! There’s no way they aren’t adventurers!

  “Actually, we’re just mercenaries...” one of them said.

  Well, I stand corrected.

  Although the group hadn’t come to buy anything, they still took a look around the store, perhaps as a courteous gesture. Whatever the reason, they found Mitsuha’s inventory extraordinary enough to have a good time browsing. The bigger man was mesmerized by the knives, the blond captivated by cookware, the redhead charmed by the accessories, and the archer transfixed by the tools.

  “They’re so cuuute,” said the redhead as she looked through the trinkets. They weren’t too expensive, but “mercenary” wasn’t the most lucrative career during peaceful times, to put it lightly.

  The rain showed no signs of abating, so Mitsuha boiled some water and prepared tea and snacks for her guests.

  “Would you like some?” she asked.

  “Huh? I don’t have any money...” An instant response from the redhead.

  “Oh, this is free. I’m not getting any customers in this weather, but I can’t just leave either, so I’m kinda bored. I was hoping we could chat.”

  “Oh, then sure thing!”

  “Ah, hey...” The bigger man cracked a strained smile at his companion’s lack of caution.

  In the end, they all accepted her invitation and joined her at the table in the kitchen. As it turned out, they were all mercenaries from the same village. The black-haired man was Sven, twenty-seven years old, the blond was Szep, twenty-two, the redhead was Gritt, twenty-one, and the silver-haired girl was Ilse, sixteen. Mitsuha was disappointed to find out she wasn’t a mage.

  What a letdown!

  She did find it strange that a sixteen-year-old was working as a mercenary, but she considered that her own worldview was the problem. Any villager who couldn’t feed herself had the option of becoming a merc or bandit. Gritt said that she had also started out at sixteen.

  At present, wars and local disputes were scarce. With so little demand for mercenaries, many of them had switched to marauding. These four, however, didn’t stray from the more righteous path and continued making a living doing odd jobs, foraging, gathering, or going on hunts. Sadly, they earned so little they couldn’t even afford replacements for their damaged weapons, let alone treat themselves to any luxuries.

  “So yeah, we can’t buy anything from you. Sorry.” Looking apologetic, Gritt bit into a steamed bun Mitsuha had served with the tea.

  Ilse was eating one too. Stuffing her face with it, actually. Mitsuha found it cute. She looks like a hamster, she thought. Though she probably wouldn’t want to hear that from me, of all people.

  The men were reluctant at first, but they couldn’t resist the allure of hot food and were soon gobbling them up.

  “Don’t be shy,” said Mitsuha. “Like I said, I’m really bored... Can I ask some questions?”

  “As long as that’s all you want, then yeah, ask away!”

  They happily obliged her inquisitiveness about all sorts of things: their gathering and hunting trips, the guilds that referred them to jobs, the troubles and unexpected joys of travel, goals for the future, and so on.

  This is it! Mitsuha thought. I smell some serious money... and my nose never lies!

  “Umm, do the mercenary guilds take jobs from anyone?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Sven nodded, still eating a bun. “All that matters is that it ain’t illegal and doesn’t break the guild’s guidelines. They charge you a bit, though.”

  “And designated jobs work just like you said they do, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Then how would you like to take a designated job from me?”

  “Huuuh?” they blurted, all at once.

  Mitsuha’s request was simple: she wanted them to take her on their next hunting and gathering trip, protecting and supporting her the whole way through. She claimed she wanted to learn how these jobs were done so she could stock up on items that might be useful.

  The party considered her offer. Although she was a child, Mitsuha ran an impressive store. They appreciated that someone of her status was so considerate of people like them.

  The forest they’d be working in was not too far from the capital. It wasn’t very dangerous, so looking out for her wouldn’t be difficult. It shouldn’t impact their work much, either. At worst, they might have to carry Mitsuha’s things—or the girl herself—but she was so small that it wouldn’t be a hassle.

  And most importantly, they’d be paid. Hunting and gathering didn’t always go well, but these kinds of requests always guaranteed money. The guild would take the payments and distribute them to the mercenaries once the task was done. Plus, the only way they could fail this request was by getting attacked and wiped out by bandits, and what kind of bandit would attack armed and penniless mercenaries?

  They concluded that this was basically easy money with no negatives whatsoever. Furthermore, it would increase their reputation in the guild, since personal requests made mercenaries seem more trustworthy. Besides, they really wanted to establish a connection with this store. The potential of more jobs in the future—and more of these delicious treats—was just far too enticing. It wasn’t even a choice, really. The four looked at each other and nodded.

  “We’ll take it!” they shouted in unison.

  The mercenaries told Mitsuha that they would move out in two days. Once the rain passed, Mitsuha would close the store and they’d all head for the guild.

  Oh, I forgot to ask about the pay, thought Sven, ever the party leader. Well, whatever, I won’t mind even if it’s just a couple silver. Needless to say, the gold coin she presented to the guild moved him. Things are really looking up!

  The next day, after closing up shop, Mitsuha began preparing for the three-day trip. Besides the bare necessities, she stuffed her backpack with some odds and ends, the usefulness of which she’d asked the mercs about ahead of time. That was all well and good, but keeping the bag at a weight she could carry was a challenge. Some items were light, but too large, while others were small, but too heavy, and so on and so on.

  The food and water were especially heavy. The place where they’d set up camp was near a stream, but she needed water for the journey there. At the very least, a quart didn’t seem like enough. She most likely wouldn’t be able to use world-jumping to stock up, either. One of their objectives was to protect her, so they’d surely keep an eye on her for the whole trip, nights included. Trying to jump in that situation would be too dangerous.

  On the day of departure, Mitsuha woke up earlier than usual. She had a filling breakfast, then jumped back home to use the bathroom, as she didn’t want to have to answer nature’s call on the way there. She’d been told that they’d only be eating two meals on the first day, so she ate well in the morning to hold her over until evening. Though she did intend to have a snack or two regardle
ss.

  This world’s travelers had a difficult relationship with food, as it was both heavy and took time to prepare. During trips like these, they could live off the land by eating wild plants and animals, but mercenaries preferred to take anything they could sell back with them, often fighting off hunger for the money.

  Because of all that, they only brought along the absolute minimum, then hoped to get by with just the wild goods that weren’t worth much on the market. And if that didn’t work out, they’d just make do with the little food on them. They said they’d prepare shares for Mitsuha as well, but she refused.

  “Hey, I just wanna give this food a try! Don’t look at me like that! There’s nothing to worry about! Boil-in-the-bags are awesome!”

  Boy, do I talk to myself a lot recently, she thought. Well, I don’t have anyone else to talk to. Anyway... Knife? Check. Dagger? Check.

  Mitsuha had given up on taking the short sword. It was way too heavy for her. There was a world of difference between short swords and daggers in that regard. The differentiation between “short sword” and “long sword” was actually based on what kind of soldier used them—the former for infantry, the latter for cavalry—so there were long short swords as well as short long swords. That basically meant that short swords were weapons used by adult foot soldiers. The term “short” was pretty deceiving.

  Mitsuha needed something about half as long as a normal sword—a dagger, basically, like the one owned by Ilse. Twenty inches in overall length with a thirteen-inch blade would’ve been perfect. When she had mentioned this to the leader of the mercenaries, he’d made a face that said, “Yeah, had a hunch you didn’t know what you were dealing with”, much to her annoyance.

  The knife was mostly a generic tool for survival and work, including skinning and whatnot. It wasn’t as though she’d be doing that, but she felt it was good to have one for appearances’ sake. Plus, it could easily work as a weapon.