“All right…here goes!”
Subaru tilted the glass and drank all of it in one gulp. Immediately his esophagus began to scream as it was burned. Subaru slammed his glass on the counter.
“Argh! Gah! That’s terrible! It’s hot! It’s so bad! Ugh! Disgusting!”
“You don’t have to say it that many times! Come on! You’re going to lose out on half of the fun in life if you can’t understand how good liquor tastes!”
As Subaru spewed out comments along with the heat from the liquor, Rom yelled at him and drank again. This time he took the whole bottle up and gulped from it.
After drinking about three times as much as Subaru just had, Rom gave a mighty burp and smiled.
“But still, you should be proud of yourself! That was good form there! So how about it? Do you feel like letting any of that stuff inside you out now?”
“…Yeah! Just a little! Old man, it’s time for me to take care of that one other reason I’m here!”
Turning the old man’s smile back with a wicked smile of his own, Subaru wiped his mouth with his sleeve and pointed into the back of the cellar, where it looked like most of the stolen articles of value were concentrated.
Rom’s face took on an air of seriousness, and Subaru told him directly.
“I’m looking for a badge that’s got a jewel embedded in it, and I want you to let me have it.”
This was Subaru’s original goal. Other than confirming Satella’s safety, it was the main reason he was here: to retrieve the thing so important to Satella that she would face danger just to get it back.
Even while Subaru still felt insecure about the state of Satella’s well-being, he thought that if he could at least get a handle on the state of the badge, he would have a clue toward finding her.
After Subaru had stated his goal with all of his emotions thrown behind his words, Rom made a difficult expression on his face before replying. “A badge with a jewel… I’m sorry, but no one’s brought in anything like that.”
“…Really? Think long and hard about it—you sure you’re not going senile yet?”
“If I can’t remember when I’m at my best with liquor running through me, then I really have to say I don’t know. However…”
Just as the last thread of Subaru’s hope was about to be cut, Rom gave him a sly grin.
“Someone’s made plans with me to bring something in later today. I’m told it’s something valuable, too, so it might just be the thing you’re looking for.”
“Is the person bringing it in, by chance…a girl named Felt?”
“That’s exactly the case, but…what? You actually know the name of the thief who took it?”
Subaru couldn’t help but strike a victory pose.
Just as he’d thought he had lost all of his leads, things had connected once again. Felt’s name had just come up. Felt, the name of the girl who had supposedly taken Satella’s badge. If that were the case, Felt’s existence would prove Satella’s existence. At the very least, Subaru would be able to be sure that Satella wasn’t some figment of his imagination.
“I was just about to think that my love of silver-haired heroines had made me delusional…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your strange sense of relief there, but you don’t have any guarantee that you’ll be able to buy back the item, even if she brings it here. If it’s got a jewel embedded in it, it’s going to fetch a high price.”
“Ha! You can look around at me all you want, but I’m sorry. I’ve got nothing! I am eternally and peerlessly penniless!”
“Then you’re out of luck!” Rom yelled back, taken by surprise.
But just as he did that, Subaru lifted up a finger in front of his face and waved it back and forth. “Tsk-tsk-tsk. It’s true, I may not have any money. However! In this world, you do not necessarily need money to obtain things. There’s this wonderful system called ‘barter’—haven’t you heard?”
Rom didn’t argue back, he just nodded in silence, egging Subaru on. Subaru dug around in his pants pocket, and in his hand when he took it out was…
“…What’s that? It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it.”
“This object that I now raise up is fantastic magical item that can be used to freeze any object in time! It is called a ‘cell phone’!”
It was a compact-size, white-colored, thin-model cell phone. As Rom looked on amazed at this mysterious item he had never seen before, Subaru quickly moved his fingers and a moment later a white light flashed in the darkness inside the building.
As a loud shutter sound rang out along with the flash, Rom fell back behind the counter. It was such an exaggerated reaction that Subaru couldn’t help but laugh, but Rom was obviously mad.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?! Don’t think you can fool me with your funny moves!”
“Wait, wait, calm down. Take a deep breath, relax, and come over here and take a look.”
Rom was still red in the face, and it wasn’t because he had been drinking, but nevertheless Subaru held out his cell phone in front of him. After a doubtful look at Subaru, his eyes opened wide as he looked at what was in front of him.
“This is…this is my face. How did you do that?”
“I told you, didn’t I? This is a fantastic item that cuts out a piece of time and freezes it. Using this item, I cut out a bit of your time, just before now, and sealed it within this device.”
Then, Subaru changed the direction of the camera and pointed it at himself, and took another picture. When he showed the screen to Rom again, it showed Subaru making a peace sign.
“It cuts out little pieces of time, just like that. So how about it? Pretty rare, huh?”
“I can’t get terribly excited about that lame pose of yours, but this really is…hmm…”
After insulting Subaru’s pose, Rom looked very intensely at the cell phone. Subaru made a fist and squeezed it, emboldened by the fact that Rom seemed more interested than he expected.
“This is my first time seeing one of these, but…basically, this is a mitia, isn’t it?”
“A mitia?” Subaru was about to say, “It’s just a flip phone,” but caught himself. Rom nodded again.
“It’s what you call things you can use to do magic without opening up a gate, like magic users do. That said, they’re mostly used as gifts rather than tools…”
So magic items were called “mitia.” Subaru nodded, thinking the word fit pretty well. Rom, who had continued to look closely at the cell phone, finally put it back on the counter.
“I’m not sure I can put a definite price on this. I’ve worked here in the loot cellar for a very long time, but this is my first time handling any mitia. …I can say, though, that it certainly would sell at a high price.”
It seemed that rare items commanded attention in any business, even for those working the black market. Rom’s voice had quickened in excitement, and he rubbed the tip of his chin as he looked down at Subaru.
“To be honest, even if it has a jewel embedded it in, exchanging something like this for a purely decorative item really puts you at a loss. You’d be better off trading it for something more expensive… Well, really, you can’t compare it to any of this stolen junk I have here.”
For someone involved in illegal activities, it was strange for Rom to give him such a kind warning, and Subaru responded with a weak smile. To anyone else, what Subaru was trying to do must seem stupid.
“No, it’s all right. I’ll exchange this mitia for the badge that Felt brings in.”
“Why would you go so far to do that? Is that badge really worth more than this mitia? Or are you saying that it’s worth more than money can buy?” asked Rom, unable to come to terms with Subaru’s decision.
Honestly, if Subaru was in the same position as Rom, he thought he might have said the same thing.
“Well… Actually, I haven’t seen the badge myself yet, but I don’t think that it could be worth more in money than this cell
phone, and I’m sure I’m going to be taking a loss.”
“If you understand all of that, why do you want to go through with it?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I want to take a loss.”
Rom blinked a few times at Subaru, but at the same time Subaru felt a sense of exhilaration, because this…this was his answer.
“I want to pay someone back. I’m someone who always feels like they have to return a favor. I’m one of those modern kids who can’t handle the feeling of being indebted to someone. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. So, even if I have to take a big loss, I’m going to take back that badge.”
“Hmm… So, it sounds like this badge isn’t actually yours… Is that right?”
“It belongs to a beautiful silver-haired girl who saved my life. I don’t understand why, but it’s very precious to her.”
“But what about that person who saved you? Why isn’t she here?”
“I’m currently looking for her! Actually, right now I’m not even sure she’s not a figment of my imagination that I created because I was feeling down!”
Subaru gripped his fist and laughed off his previous anxiety by putting it into words.
Subaru was going to get this badge back, and then once again meet that girl. He wanted to see her smile.
“You’re quite the idiot, aren’t you?” laughed Rom as he looked on at Subaru and his determination.
5
After having gotten through the first round of negotiations, Subaru spent the next while chatting with Old Man Rom. Given how interested Rom seemed to be in the mitia, Subaru mused to himself that gadgets were something men were fond of, no matter what world you were in.
“Whether it be your clothes or this, you’ve really got a lot of strange stuff on you, don’t you? I mean, these things here are delicious!”
“I know, right? Hey, wait! I thought you said a bite! Those are my corn chips! That’s the last food I had on me!”
“Oh don’t be so stingy. If you keep something as tasty as this all to yourself, you’re gonna fall straight to hell, I tell ya.”
“Oh and you won’t, for eating all them yourself?! Blaming others while you’re doing the same yourself is a really bad habit of you baby boomers… I said, stop eating those!”
Subaru thought he was just being kind by sharing some of his snacks, but after seeing them all get eaten like this, he sure did regret it. As he put his empty snack bags back in his convenience store bag, he was close to tears.
By the time they both heard a knock on the door, it was already quite close to sunset.
It was just as Subaru was starting to doze off, and when he looked up, he saw Rom move his giant body lightly toward the door.
After quietly putting one ear against it, Rom whispered.
“To the giant rats…?”
“We give poison.”
“To the great white whale…?”
“We lend a fishing hook.”
“To our most honorable great dragon…?”
“We say, ‘Burn in hell!’”
To each of Rom’s short questions came a curt answer. Along with the special knock, those had to be passwords. Satisfied with the answers, Rom unlocked the door.
“Sorry I took so long, Old Man Rom. I had someone really persistent on my tail, and it took me a long time to lose ’em.” With a friendly tone in her voice, a young girl slipped past Rom, bragging of her exploits.
The girl’s blond hair was semi-long, and her eyes were red like a rabbit’s. From the side of her mouth peeked a mischievous canine tooth. The clothes she was wearing looked easy to move in, but they were in tatters.
Subaru stood up without thinking, causing a clatter. The girl immediately looked his way and wiped the smile from her face.
“Who’s this? Hey, Rom. I told you I was going to bring something big, so I didn’t want anyone to be here, didn’t I?”
“I understand how you feel, but that uh…kiddo there has some business with you, Felt, and it’s not completely unrelated to that ‘big thing’ you said you were bringing in.”
Rom’s answer only made Felt more suspicious. By the way she was unconsciously drawing her hand close to her chest, it appeared that that’s where she was holding the badge. Felt continued to be on her guard as she looked at Subaru.
“What’s with that guy? You didn’t sell me out, did you, Rom?”
“Just how long do you think we’ve been working together? I’d never do anything like that. The only reason he’s here is because I think that he’s got an offer for you that ain’t too bad.” Rom winked at Subaru, “Right?”
While feeling disgusted at being winked at by an old man, Subaru cleared his throat to help dispel his nervousness and, ignoring Rom’s continued gaze, turned to face Felt.
“You don’t have to be so nervous. Why don’t you just sit down and have a glass of milk first?”
“Stop it with that stupid face of yours. I can tell you don’t know what you’re doing… Look, I don’t know what you’re scheming, but I’m not interested in anything you have to say, unless I’m sure it means more money for me. So go ahead and get straight to the point.”
Felt’s reaction was cold. Subaru’s shoulders fell at how bad his first impression went by, but…
“I begged this old man here to give me some time to talk to you, but…my business is actually with that jeweled badge you have hidden away in your pocket there.”
The girl raised her eyebrows along with the level of her caution. Subaru knew not only about her theft, but exactly what she stole. But Subaru raised both of his hands in front of her, trying to calm her down. “I’m not planning on doing anything. I’ve only come here to talk. That is, to negotiate.”
Subaru then, with his two hands still in the air, pointed down at a small table near the counter.
“Let’s aim for a result where both of us come out on top. In other words, a win-win situation.”
After a short pause, Felt nodded, and both sat down on either side of the small table.
Rom then poured two glasses of milk and set both in front of them.
“I’ll give you the place and this milk, but you’re on your own when it comes to negotiating.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve come here prepared to have everything taken from me. Just watch me as I lose it all,” said Subaru, punching his fist into his other hand as if he was bragging, about to enter a fight, though saying nothing to be proud of.
Rom snorted, but Felt, who had already begun to drink her milk, twisted her face.
“Hey, Rom. You haven’t watered this milk down, have you? It tastes terrible!”
“Why does everybody have to insult the drinks?! I’m showing you some kindness here…!” said Rom before taking his giant hand and rustling Felt’s hair.
Subaru thought it looked as though Rom was going to tear Felt’s head off, but it was clear from Rom’s face that he meant no harm and was just patting her head like any old man would his grandchild. Plus, Felt looked used to it.
“You two look closer than I thought you would be. I’m getting lonely over here all by myself.”
“Don’t say something wimpy like that when you’ve got a face that looks just as awful as this old man’s.”
“I’ve had my face insulted before, but really? As bad as this guy?! Come on!” yelled Subaru, shocked as he looked back up at Rom’s bald head and was stricken with horror.
While Subaru didn’t have the most handsome features and was often mistaken for some kind of thug, he didn’t think they were so bad as to be compared with this six-foot-tall giant of an old man.
“…You’re right. Sorry about that, I went too far,” replied Felt.
“Here’s where I’d want to say that, to make it up to me, I’d like you to call me ‘big brother’ in a cute voice for the rest of the discussion, but I’ll go ahead and forgive you for now. You’ve got to be careful so you don’t say anything too hurtful, or… Rom, what’s wrong?”
“I’m really beg
inning to think you two have teamed up together just to come in here and make me angry…” Rom was smiling, but a vein was popping out of his forehead. Subaru and Felt looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
Rom let out a deep sigh. “Just when I thought Felt had made a new acquaintance around her age, you turn out to be just as twisted as the others.”
“…Rom, please. I know you think you’re helping, but I’m going to ask you to stop saying such embarrassing things,” said Felt.
“Plus, ‘around her age’…? Although I suppose from your perspective everyone else looks like they’re in the same age group.”
Subaru took another look at Felt, but even taking into account the fact that she was probably thinner than she should have been, she looked about twelve or thirteen. If you wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and stretch your imagination, she might have been able to pass for fourteen years old.
It was enough of an age difference for Subaru to feel embarrassed if Felt were referred to as his acquaintance or friend.
But Subaru’s analysis aside, Felt and Rom’s argument continued on without him.
“What do you think is going to happen to you if you keep up this ‘lone wolf’ attitude of yours? Sooner or later, I’m going to get too old to be able to take care of you anymore. Do you really think you can make it on your own?”
“Just how many times have you told me this already? Isn’t it a mark of senility to say the same thing over and over again? But other than that, it’ll be a long time before you’re too old for anything, and before that happens I’ll…”
“…You’ll do what?” Subaru said, jumping in, as Felt’s sentence trailed off. Felt suddenly looked up, irritated.
Given that he seemed to have asked a question he shouldn’t have and was in danger of wrecking the mood, Subaru cleared his throat. They had gotten very sidetracked, and it was time to return to the main point.
“Anyway, let’s go ahead and start our negotiations. So, uh…Felt. You’ve got that badge, right?”
“…Yeah, I do.”
Subaru cut straight to the point, and in response, Felt answered honestly.
Reaching into her breast pocket, Felt took out something and set it silently on the table.
Re: Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Vol. 1 Page 9
