Chapter 43: The Mansion’s Security

I looked into security as well and found that home surveillance cameras were available for sale.

And they weren’t just ordinary surveillance cameras. Apparently, some came equipped with AI and could send notifications if anyone other than a designated person approached, or even if an unusual sound was detected, not just based on the video feed. Of course, they could also monitor the area at night using night vision.

They even came with small solar panels, allowing them to be charged that way. If Wi-Fi was available, they could apparently send notifications directly to a smartphone, but even without a network connection, they could be connected to a monitor via cables to display the camera feed in real time and issue alerts.

…Perhaps because crimes involving so-called “dark part-time jobs” had been increasing recently, these high-performance surveillance cameras could apparently be purchased for only around 10,000 to 20,000 yen. There were plenty of other security systems and devices for sale as well.

“We really do need Japanese money, huh? I’ll keep earning through flea markets while looking into whether there are any other ways.”

After returning to the mansion, I reported what I had found to the two of them. For now, we decided that securing the mansion would be our first priority, followed by getting a portable power station and generator, as well as a rice cooker and microwave.

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Just like yesterday, I went to a flea market I had reserved a spot at.

Since it was Sunday, there might have been more customers than ever before.

It really did seem like participating only on Saturdays and Sundays, when there were more customers, would be the most efficient approach. Besides, the number and type of customers varied considerably depending on the flea market’s location, so I wanted to gather all kinds of information, study the situation, and figure out how to make as much money as possible.

Today, I left a little earlier and came to collect the manga on the list I had received from Rain.

Last time, I had gone to a large bookstore, but there were many older manga series they didn’t carry, so this time I had gone a little farther to Akihabara, where there were many large bookstores.

According to Aoi, Akihabara had many large bookstores, so apparently I would be able to find plenty of older manga there as well.

“Great. Rain will definitely be happy with this.”

I went around to several large bookstores and managed to buy quite a few of the manga on the list brand-new.

Even so, there were still some series they didn’t carry, so I found those at secondhand bookstores.

Akihabara had plenty of secondhand bookstores in addition to regular bookstores, so I was able to collect all the higher-priority manga on the list.

Given that I didn’t have identification or a credit card and couldn’t purchase things online or digitally, buying everything together in Akihabara seemed to be the best option. If I still couldn’t find something, I’d probably have to ask Yuuka’s family to order it and then pick it up there.

Incidentally, Rain’s list had been slightly revised.

There were many manga series that were still ongoing even after sixteen years had passed, so apparently we’d start by collecting the ones that had already finished, in order.

And he had been extremely surprised that a certain long-running manga had finally ended.

Honestly, I never thought that manga would ever end either… The fact that it had never once gone on hiatus in forty years of serialization was just incredible.

After that, I headed to a specialty store in Akihabara that dealt with surveillance cameras and other security equipment.

Apparently, Akihabara had specialty stores like this. Security products were also sold at other large electronics retailers.

I picked out the surveillance camera I’d researched online, and in addition to the camera, I bought a monitor, long cables, and other equipment.

Apparently, modern systems could also be linked to an app, allowing you to immediately check the live footage, but I explained that the location wouldn’t have any signal and had them recommend a system that could work entirely through wired connections.

For power-related reasons, I deliberately chose a slightly older battery-powered monitor.

Yuuka’s mansion was large, so ideally I’d want to install cameras at all four corners, but I wanted to test one first and see how well it actually worked before buying the rest.

“I’ll take these, please. Looking at all this, there are quite a few personal-defense products, too.”

“Things have gotten pretty dangerous lately. More and more people have been buying various things to protect themselves against robberies.”

I consulted with the man in his forties who worked at the store about various things.

He explained everything very carefully, so I’d consult him again if I needed anything else.

Besides surveillance cameras, the store sold all sorts of other products as well.

Surprisingly, quite a lot of them looked like they could be useful in another world, so I’d come back if I found anything else I needed.

“I’m ho—huh? What happened!?”

When I returned to the mansion with a huge pile of manga, the inside was somehow noisy and chaotic.

“Welcome home, Kakeru-sama. A Magic Bag arrived from the royal capital earlier, but the security system we’re currently testing at the mansion malfunctioned a little…”

“Welcome home, Kakeru. This little one got startled and started thrashing around.”

“Coo-roo!”

When I went into the living room, I found a large, white, pigeon-like monster about fifty centimeters tall being held in both of Yuuka’s arms.

A bag containing what appeared to be the Magic Bag Rain had sent was tied around the monster’s feet.

“Whoa, it’s super cute! There are yellow star-like markings on its wings!”

It was somewhat larger than the pigeons found in Japan and covered in pure-white, fluffy feathers. On both wings were yellow markings resembling five-pointed stars.

It had an innocent expression and was incredibly adorable.

“This little one is a monster called a Star Pigeon. It’s a monster that can fly extremely fast, and there aren’t many of them, so the fact that the royal family keeps one like a carrier pigeon really shows their status.”

“I see. I hope we get along.”

“Coo-roo~”

When I stroked its head, the Star Pigeon cried out as though replying to me.

It seemed to be quite a friendly monster.

Apparently, in this other world, there were monsters that attacked people, but there were also creatures like this one.