New chapter of Single Old Man is out (1/1 chapter)

 

 

Immediately

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“Getting straight to it… how can I make this?” (Sandrone)

“An oil lighter? No way. I mean, I don’t know much about it either, so you’ll have to teach me a bunch.” (Gentoku)

Sandrone fiddled with my Zippo lighter and with a click, lit a flame.

“No way… to think you can make fire this easily without getting fire from an Okibiya…” (Sandrone)

“That’s the otherworldly vibe, huh. Hey, how do people make fire here? What’s an Okibiya?” (Gentoku)

“Richter, explain.” (Sandrone)

“Yes, Ojou.” (Richter)

Richter… so that’s his name.

He had a pretty solid build, wore a full suit, a hat, even gloves.

This guy definitely does martial arts or something. Probably Sandrone’s bodyguard or something like that.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Richter, secretary and bodyguard to Sandrone-sama, head of the Alexandrite Company.” (Richter)

“Ah, yeah, thanks. I’m Gentoku.” (Gentoku)

“I’ll begin explaining about fire.” (Richter)

“…That’s good, but could you also tell me about this country and the culture and stuff?” (Gentoku)

“Understood.” (Richter)

“Well then, I’m going to take a shower and head to bed. Richter, prepare a room for Gentoku. Good night.” (Sandrone)

““Eh?”” (Gentoku/Richter)

Saying that, she walked out of the room holding the Zippo lighter…

What’s with her?

“…Sorry about that.” (Richter)

“No, looks like you’ve got it rough… Hey, if you can drink, let’s have a drink.” (Gentoku)

“Gladly.” (Richter)

I have a feeling I could get along with Richter.

 

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“First about fire… we receive flame from an ‘Okibiya’. An Okibiya is a shop that handles magical fire. You pay money and buy fire.” (Richter)

Apparently, in this world, you can only make fire through magic or by using hard-to-spark flint. So, Okibiya shops create fire through magic and always keep a fire burning in a hearth. Customers pay money and receive some of that fire in a lamp-like container.

The purchased fire is then used in household hearths or kitchens. After use, people usually extinguish it… Keeping fire going constantly is dangerous and burning logs continuously costs money.

“Every household has at least one lamp. Usually, Okibiya shops get busy during the day or in the evening.” (Richter)

“Huh… that’s unthinkable in Japan. Feels like a real fantasy world.” (Gentoku)

“There are no Okibiya where Gentoku-san lives?” (Richter)

“Nope. We have stoves, and lighters… Ah, right.” (Gentoku)

I took out a 100-yen lighter from my pocket. With a click, I lit it, and Richter let out an “Ohh” of amazement.

“We’ve got tons of stuff like this. I’ve never had trouble making fire.” (Gentoku)

“A-Amazing…! If we develop and sell this, the Alexandrite Company will be set for life…!!” (Richter)

“You know, just a thought, but… wouldn’t the Okibiya people go crazy if we try to sell this?” (Gentoku)

“Well, yes. But I don’t think the company president would care.” (Richter)

“Yeah, she does give off a queen-like vibe. Hey, how old is she?” (Gentoku)

“She’s 21. For reference, I’m 29.” (Richter)

“So young…” (Gentoku)

To have that kind of presence at 21… she’s going to be a big shot. Well, her chest is already big though.

“Anyway, I got the gist about fire. So… might be backward, but where am I?” (Gentoku)

“You are in the continent’s largest nation, the Edelstein Kingdom.” (Richter)

Richter took a map from the room and spread it out. A country located in the center of a bizarrely-shaped continent I’d never seen before, with a population of about 100 million. It was the largest nation on this continent. Just by eyeballing it, the territory looked massive.

Otherworld scale is no joke.

And as for where I was, it was in District Thirteen, the “Warehouse District”. A district in Edelstein Kingdom where company warehouses were concentrated.

“There’s a detection field set up using magic, so infiltration is difficult. Alexandrite Company also employs magical security guards who use their own detection magic, but Gentoku-san slipped past both and was just standing in front of the warehouse, which surprised us.” (Richter)

“I was surprised too… Seriously. So, when you say ‘magic’, is it the kind I know?” (Gentoku)

“Excuse me?” (Richter)

From what I heard, it was the fantasy-style magic I was thinking of.

Offensive magic, defensive magic, detection magic, even mental magic, all that existed. Just the fact that magic existed made things exciting.

“At the Alexandrite Company, we develop and sell magical tools. The ‘Magic Aptitude Detection Kit’ developed by the company president was even formally adopted by the Magic Association. We also sell tobacco… The company president is quite the heavy smoker.” (Richter)

“Oh, that’s great. I smoke quite a bit too.” (Gentoku)

I am glad I had just bought a pack of rolled cigarettes. I thought once I ran out, I’d have no choice but to quit, but maybe if Sandrone is around, I’d be fine… Actually, I am a little curious about otherworld tobacco.

“What kind of tobacco is this?” (Richter)

“Uh, it’s tobacco from my world. Pretty cheap stuff though.” (Gentoku)

“I see. The company president would probably love to see this.” (Richter)

“I’m hiding it. She already took my Zippo when I wasn’t looking. No way I’m letting her find this.” (Gentoku)

“Hahaha…” (Richter)

And so, while chatting, I learned a lot from Richter.

The Kingdom of Edelstein. A monarchy. Magic. Magical tools and even magical beasts exist. The more I heard, the more this felt like a true fantasy world. Could this be… that thing? Using Japanese knowledge to dominate in another world?
Well, it’s not a bad feeling.

“Hey, Richter, so… do you guys have taxes or income reporting?” (Gentoku)

“What is that?” (Richter)

“Like, since it’s a monarchy, don’t you have to pay money to the country or something?” (Gentoku)

“I’m not entirely sure, but… once a year we pay a portion of our income as tax. I don’t think there’s anything else.” (Richter)

“…Seriously? Once a year?” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yes. We calculate the year’s income and pay ten percent to the National Tax Office.” (Richter)

“T-Ten percent!? No way!?” (Gentoku)

“I-It’s true though…” (Richter)

This country’s insanely fair!! Ten percent, are you kidding me!? O-One payment a year, just ten percent of income… for real? Damn, could this mean… I can live the slow life!?

“Hey, think I can go independent too?” (Gentoku)

“That might be difficult… Gentoku-san, you still don’t know much, and I doubt Ojou-sama would let you go…” (Richter)

“Yeah, true. But, I’m feeling a bit motivated now. So, what do you think I should start with?” (Gentoku)

“That, uh… the Zippo lighter, right? I think something related to that.” (Richter)

“Alright.” (Gentoku)

Let’s do this. Zippos might be too much… but I might be able to make matches or something.

“Richter, do you have flint? I want to understand the fire-starting tools of this world first.” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yes… um, I’d like to sleep soon though… can we do it tomorrow?” (Richter)

“Oh, right… Sorry. Alright, let’s call it a night.” (Gentoku)

And just like that, I ended up in another world… somehow.

Things were bound to get hectic, but I was starting to get a little excited.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)