Chapter 9

It’s been a week since I started working, and I’ve gotten used to the workplace.

By the way, in this country, one week is six days, one month is 30 days. A year consists of 12 months plus 5 days (a holiday-like day for giving thanks), making it a total of one year.

The task assigned to me by my supervisor the other day seems to be calculating the expenses for an archaeological survey of a certain noble’s territory.

Moreover, it seems that this territory is in a remote area.

The reason for Tiara’s request is unclear, but she probably hasn’t thought it through.

According to my supervisor, it’s customary for veterans to handle this type of investigation.

They seem reluctant to burden a newcomer with such a task.

However, considering it’s a request from a noble, they intend to submit an estimate, saying they’ll at least provide some documentation.

So, they decided to let me give it a try as practice.

I figure it might be a good learning experience for me to understand the actual situation in this country. I’ll do my best.

They mentioned that I’ll be handling the usual accounting tasks as well, so I can work on this assignment in between.

It doesn’t seem to be urgent, so I’ll approach it comfortably.

In front of the guild, there is a square plaza of about 50 meters on each side, with a pattern on the ground resembling a circle outlined in cobblestone.

In the center, there is a flowerbed with a diameter of around 5 meters, and a broadleaf tree, about 20 meters tall, with large branches spreading horizontally.

Around the flowerbed, there are benches placed.

On the side near the road, there are two food stalls, and I usually buy lunch from one of them and eat it on one of the benches.

At lunch break, I was eating my meal on the bench and taking a break as usual.

Then, the guild’s entrance opened, and Lana, Lily, and Carol came out together.

It seemed like their lunch break too.

All of them are taking a break together… I wonder if Tiara, the guild’s poster girl, is currently absent.

“Carol spotted me and ran over with a smile.

“Zuki-san! I asked Lily-san!”

I unintentionally coughed at those words.

If it’s about Lily-san, there’s only one thing – the blunder with those infamous corpse photos.

“Zuiki-san, from your country… the photos, could you show them, please?”

“Huh? Oh… those, right.”

It seems it’s not about the incident. As I showed her the photos, Lily-san awkwardly smiled.”

Carol disregarded my personal space and sat down on my left.

When our arms touched, all my attention focused on the warmth.

Then, on my right, Lily-san and Lana-san sat down in a row.

I took out my smartphone from my waist pouch, displayed the photos, and everyone curiously leaned in.

Peering into the small phone, their hair came close to my face.

Lana-san, trying to see the photos, moved in, and Lily-san’s arm touched me.

Once again, all my attention focused on that sensation.

Carol is the first to ask a question.

“Wow, it’s cute! What kind of cat person is this?”

“Not a cat person. Just a cat. It’s a Munchkin kitten.”

Her close-up smile naturally softens my expression.

“What’s this? It looks amazing.”

Lily-san is focused on a drink with plenty of cream.

“It’s a beverage… a Tall Iced Latte Cafe Mocha with Extra Milk and Caramel Sauce.”

” “Eh… what was that?”

“Tall Iced La—”

“I don’t get it!”

They’re surprised by the spell-like name.

“What’s this?”

Next, as if it’s my turn, Lana-san asks a question.

“It’s a Tempura Bowl. A Mega-sized Tempura Bowl. You eat it with tempura on top of rice.”

“Tempura Bowl… Tempura… I’ve never heard of it before.”

One by one, I showed them photos, and they all exclaimed, “I don’t get it,” expressing their interest in unfamiliar Japanese culture.

And for the first time in my life, I found myself in a situation where I was surrounded by three beautiful women, enjoying the feeling of being socially fulfilled. Their occasional smiles were dazzling.

Might as well let them take a look at things they operate, I thought, so I handed my smartphone to Lily-san on a whim.

“Whoa!”

They jumped a bit at the sudden event.

“Try it!”

I showed them the sliding motion on the screen and encouraged them to give it a try.

When Carol tried, sliding with her finger, the photo changed, surprising them that they could operate it.

Seeing Carol peering closely at Lily-san’s hands, I thought I might be in the way and stood up.

When she looked up at me, I gestured that it’s okay to come closer.

She showed a happy smile, and the three of them enjoyed the smartphone, leaning our shoulders together.

Watching them manipulate the smartphone was quite charming, and my heart warmed at their joyful expressions.

Every time the photo changed, I was asked questions, and answering them made me feel a bit of superiority, which was pleasant.

By the way, people in this country don’t have a lunchtime habit, and their regular meals are twice a day, in the morning and at night. 

If they get hungry in between, they seem to have snacks casually. However, I haven’t seen them eating so far.

Rest breaks can be taken at any time during working hours. It’s not a fixed time like a synchronized break at noon.

There is no concept of assigning specific times for individuals or taking turns in a rotation.

In situations where there are no receptionists, customers either wait until they return, or if there are staff members on the guild side who can handle it, they may take over until the receptionists return.

A level of flexibility unimaginable in Japan—this is what I thought of as “reform of working styles.”

After finishing the lunch break, I return and inquire of my supervisor.

“Supervisor, may I take a day off tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?”

“A day off?”

“Yes. Now that things have settled down, I thought I’d take the opportunity to organize my surroundings.”

“I see.”

Upon learning the reason, the supervisor approves with a smile.

In this world, there are no convenience stores, so essential items can only be obtained during the day.

“What about money?”

“I haven’t considered anything that can’t be bought with large silver coins, so it should be fine.”

“I understand.”

I haven’t fully grasped the cost of living in this country yet, but large silver coins seem to have a value of around 10,000 to 20,000 yen approximately.

It appears that food supplies are stable, and prices are low, indicating that the country is stable.

However, metal products seem to be expensive, so it might be quite a challenge for adventurers to buy swords, for example.

I mentioned organizing my surroundings as the reason, but that was just a pretext. The real purpose is to go to the bookstore and check if there are any magic-related books.

I have a feeling that books might be expensive, but I want to know the actual situation in this country anyway. If there are interesting books aside from magic, I’d like to check those out as well.

By the way, the Tiara Adventurer’s Guild has a holiday approximately once a month.

Although it’s an irregular schedule, it seems that recently, taking the day off on the day after the end-of-month payday has become a habit.

It’s not a black company where you can’t take breaks; rather, there’s a system where staff can take time off whenever they want. It’s not a problem even if they take a few days off.

There are two reasons for this. One is that traveling takes too much time. 

Even with a carriage, it takes several days for a long journey, and it seems that simply going to and returning from the capital can consume a whole week.

It’s very unfortunate that it’s not easy to casually visit the capital.

And another thing is ethnic background. There’s no one like the Japanese, who are workaholics.

Even in modern times, Europeans take a two-month vacation, and it seems strange that the Japanese, who only take breaks during the Bon and New Year holidays, don’t take more time off.

Well, personally, if I can take a break once a week, that’s enough for me, so I plan to take a break in that kind of manner for a while.

　◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, I took a day off from work and went out into the town.

The purpose was to visit bookstores and search for magic-related books. I heard there are three in this town, so if possible, I’d like to visit all of them.

However, before that, I decided to refresh myself at a food stall.

I had “Tomato Soup with Beans and Ground Meat,” “Boiled Potatoes,” and a “Salad.”

First, the tomato soup.

“Delicious. Oh, but what’s this… there’s a spice in the aftertaste that’s used in curry. Turmeric or cumin, I think. As for the meat, I can’t quite figure it out… it’s not beef. Something I can’t quite identify.”

Tomato soup with a curry flavor… well, it was tasty, so all’s good.

Next is the boiled potatoes.

“Hmm… really could use a lot of butter. It would have been perfect if there was butter on it…”

They’re soft, well-seasoned with salt, and delicious. The potatoes themselves are ordinary with no sweetness, but I really felt the need for butter. I wonder if butter exists in this world.

And then, the salad.

“…Ugh!”

Not a bad smell, but a strong basil aroma.

“…Parsley! A salad with basil, parsley, and some other greens… super intense!”

I involuntarily puckered my lips and froze. Well, I guess it’s a matter of different cultures—no, never mind, there’s no getting used to this. It feels like I just ate a stink bug… I’ll have to give up on this one.

“But you know… I can’t grasp the trends in their cuisine.”

The spices are just overwhelmingly strong. It feels like they’re used in curry or something. The aftertaste lingers on my tongue.

The way they cook meat involves skewering it and shaving it off, which, if I recall correctly, is a method used in South America or the Middle East… completely different civilizations from where I come from. I’m bewildered by all these unfamiliar dishes.

The quintessential Japanese flavors of rice, miso, and soy sauce seemed utterly hopeless in this atmosphere.

Heading south from Tiara, passing through the miscellaneous goods district, I reached the first bookstore by following the river westward.

It’s a small shop, more like a personal business, with only a few customers. Come to think of it, I wonder what the literacy rate is in this country…

Even in modern times, Japan has an unusually high literacy rate, but many other countries have considerably lower rates. Wasn’t it around 70% even in the United States?

This would likely affect the prevalence of books. I wonder if there are libraries in the town…

The shopkeeper, looking sleepy, sat behind the counter. When I approached, he lifted his head.

“Do you have any books related to magic?”

“Magic? We don’t have that here.”

He gave me a dubious look, probably thinking I asked a strange question out of the blue.

“Where can I find them then?”

“You can only learn magic at a magic school. There’s none here because there’s no school.”

Suddenly, an announcement of closure. It seemed hopeless to find magic-related books, and I felt disappointed.

I briefly considered looking for some other interesting books, but then I realized I could do that elsewhere and promptly left the store.

On my way to the next destination, I found a shop selling weapons and armor.

“So, they really have weapon shops.”

Next to the building was a workshop about the size of a parking space for a few cars, with tools and swords visible.

In the back, several craftsmen were sitting and working.

My heart couldn’t help but leap at the familiar sight of a shop seen in games and manga. Before I knew it, I had opened the door to the shop.

Right near the entrance, swords were casually stuck into barrels, and the disorderliness surprised me.

However, the wall was neatly adorned with beautiful weapons, and I could see spears and shields as well.

Ah, I see… the swords in the barrels are like discounted items at a PC parts store.

“Need something?”

The shopkeeper who spoke had young, chestnut-colored hair and looked sleek, but you could tell he was muscular from his lightweight clothing.

He had the image of a slim but fit person, someone who might be a good fit for a firefighter.

“Uh, well…”

Worried that I might be treated poorly if they realized I was just browsing, I decided to use my Guild staff title.

“I’m a staff member from Tiara, recently joined. It’s my first time in this town, and I was curious, so I decided to take a look.”

“Tiara?”

“Yeah, that place over there…”

“Hmm…”

Since there were no other customers, perhaps they welcomed the conversation, as the attitude wasn’t unfriendly.

.

“Sales are not bad, but it’s mostly weapons that move. Armor doesn’t sell as much.”

Glancing around, I saw a variety of swords—long, short, and knives— but no ranged weapons.

“Don’t you deal with bows and arrows?”

“Bows and arrows are in a different store. Some places handle both, but we focus on just one.”

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, when I was stranded in the forest without gloves, it was a struggle to gather branches.

“Do you have gloves?”

“Over here.”

There weren’t too many options, but I tried on a pair that seemed to fit well in terms of size and softness.

“I’ll take these.”

“Hmm… thank you, as always.”

I paid and immediately stowed them in my bag.

“Do you also buy back weapons and armor here?”

“We do. But most of the time, it’s just for the value of the materials.”

Ah, I see. So that’s why those items were on sale.

“Thank you.”

“Come again.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little uplifted, experiencing the atmosphere reminiscent of a game.

Next, I looked for the second bookstore said to be on the north side of the town.

There was no gate on the north side, so there was no main street. The buildings had a similar structure, making it easy to get lost if I wasn’t careful.

I noticed someone in front of a house, drawing water from a large jar. I decided to ask for directions.

“Excuse me, is there a bookstore around here?”

They stopped and answered

“Ah, if you go through the alley on the opposite side, there should be one.”

“Thank you.”

I passed through the shaded and somewhat dirty alley and reached the opposite street. When I looked to the right, I saw a shop that seemed likely.

“Could it be…”

I wearily made my way toward the shop about 50 meters away.

Suddenly, my right sleeve was pulled, and I was dragged into a side alley—

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