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

 

 

Mutual Contract

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

A few days later, I was reading the morning paper at home.

“Oh, an article about the ice maker.” (Gentoku)

On the front-page headline, it read “Alexandrite Trading Company’s New Product – Ice Maker! No more worrying about ice this summer!”. It explained the magical tool, the ice maker, along with the price and information about a “lease plan”.

Apparently, the small size is for household use, and the medium to large sizes are for commercial purposes. Of course, compared to my prototype, the design is far more refined, and it allows you to choose from various ice tray shapes to make different kinds of ice.

“This looks like it’ll sell well. Oh, the refrigerator is getting a new model too… They made it in time, huh.” (Gentoku)

I sipped my coffee while reading the paper.

It’s about time I stopped sourcing coffee beans from the pharmacy and started getting them from a proper supplier.

Coffee… They have beans, but people seem to drink them as-is like medicine, and they’re only sold at pharmacies. I probably look like some kind of lunatic who roasts medicine, grinds it into powder, and drinks it.

Maybe I should talk to Richter and see what we can do about the coffee situation.

“Well then, I’ve eaten, so I guess I’ll head to work.” (Gentoku)

Today’s breakfast was brown rice, vegetable soup, fried eggs, and bacon. I bought a bunch of mixed grains, and since I haven’t made a rice cooker yet, I’m cooking it in a mess tin. I’m grateful that I can eat rice now. Maybe I should make a rice polishing tool soon. The current sweet potato tastes good like brown rice, but I want to try white rice too.

“Speaking of which… Where did it go… the moisturizing cream?” (Gentoku)

I had a slight concern.

The “fake moisturizing cream” I made disappeared. The front door on the first floor had been open.

Could it have been stolen?

For now, I decided to think about it later and headed to the workshop.

 

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Now then, when I arrived at the workshop…

“Ah, you’re here. Ossan!!” (Rosso)

“Huh? Rosso…?” (Gentoku)

There stood Rosso with her red twin-tails and bikini armor.

“That’s rare. You’re alone?” (Gentoku)

“Yeah. So, I came because I wanted to ask a favor. Blanche and Ao told me, ‘Don’t do it,’ but… I thought maybe Ossan could help.” (Rosso)

“What is it? Trouble again?” (Gentoku)

“Yeah. You see, our base for Scarlet Camellia is super hot. Ossan, can’t you do something with magic tools? Ah, I’ll pay properly!!” (Rosso)

“Aah… well, I’ll hear you out for now.” (Gentoku)

I let Rosso in.

When we got to the second floor of the office, Rosso dived onto the sofa.

“Ughh, it’s been so hot lately.” (Rosso)

“They say summer is near. I want to go camping at that spring again… This time, I want to swim too.” (Gentoku)

“Oh, if we’re going out in summer, wouldn’t the sea be better? Actually, I love the sea. So, I saved up a ton of commission rewards and bought a vacation house in the sea country of Zanad!!” (Rosso)

“Oh? The sea country, huh…” (Gentoku)

The sea country Zanad. It’s a resort nation east of the Edelstein Kingdom. It’s kind of like Hawaii in Japan.

I see. A vacation house, huh… I kind of want one too. Spending summer at a resort doesn’t sound bad.

“Oh? That face… you want a vacation house too, don’t you, Ossan?” (Rosso)

“Well, yeah. Spending summer at a resort, sounds just like the bourgeoisie.” (Gentoku)

“What’s ‘bourgeoisie’?” (Rosso)

It looks like this world doesn’t have the word “bourgeoisie”. But, now I’ve got something else I want to do… Buy a vacation house in the sea country. With my current assets, I could build a new house with land… I should talk to Richter and ask if he knows any good properties.

“Anyway!! Ossan, we want you to somehow cool down our base. Don’t you have a big refrigerator-like magic tool or something?” (Rosso)

“Hmm… let’s see…” (Gentoku)

Well, I just need to make an air conditioner. I can simply attach a box with a “cold wind” magic stone inside. It seems easy enough to make, so I’ll go ahead and do it.

“Alright. Let’s make an air conditioner.” (Gentoku)

“Air… conditioner?” (Rosso)

“Yeah. A magic tool that blows out cold air.” (Gentoku)

“Such a thing exists!?” (Rosso)

“Yeah. With magic stones, I probably don’t need an outdoor unit. Just attach a ‘Cold Wind’ magic stone, and it’ll blow cold air… But—” (Gentoku)

Magical script. Just carving kanji can produce effects… but in reality, the more characters you carve, the shorter the lifespan of the magic stone. For the air conditioner, I’ll use a ‘Cold Wind’ magic stone, and one that absorbs the warm air inside, a ‘Suction’ magic stone. It should be enough to cool down by absorbing the heat and blowing out cold air from the unit.

“The issue is the magic stone. If we want it to last long, I’d like to use at least a four-star one.” (Gentoku)

“Magic stone? Then, use these.” (Rosso)

Rosso took out around ten dazzlingly brilliant magic stones.

Whoa, hey… no way…

“These are from the Dream Dragons. I kept them because they were pretty.” (Rosso)

“D-D-Dream Dragons, as in a whole group of Dream Dragons!?” (Gentoku)

“Yup. There’s like, ten of them.” (Rosso)

Those are S-rank dragons! The stones are nine-star grade… This is the first time I’ve seen them. They’re about the size of a fist. If sold, these would go for billions of Sedol.

“Is that enough? I can bring more if it’s not.” (Rosso)

“You still have more!? No, it’s more than enough.” (Gentoku)

“Then, just use those as your commission payment. If there’s any left, sell them or do whatever you want.” (Rosso)

“…Thanks.” (Gentoku)

It’s way too much. Even if I install a hundred air conditioners at their base, I’d still have leftovers.

And so, I created air conditioners to be installed at the base of Scarlet Camellia. I worked with Rosso to set them up… and I was surprised to find their base was a mansion. Just as Rosso said, the mansion was hot.

It was located on the outskirts of the castle town, and the sunlight hit the area directly. It was a bad location in that sense.

I used eight magic stones. I installed one each in Rosso’s, Ao’s, and Blanche’s rooms, and one in their shared living room. Since there was no remote control, I added a metal pipe to the unit and installed a switch directly underneath. When the switch was turned on, the air conditioner began to suck in the hot air and blow out cold air.

“Ooooo!! It’s cool!!” (Rosso)

“…Fiiihh.” (Ao)

“Ahh, it’s so cool… Thank you, Ojii-sama.” (Blanche)

“It’s fine. I got paid, after all. Rosso, I’ll make good use of the leftover magic stones.” (Gentoku)

“Yup yup. Much appreciated!!” (Rosso)

The air conditioner really is cool. I’ve got two magic stones left… Maybe I’ll make one each for the office and home.

As I was thinking that, Ao tugged on my sleeve.

“Oji-san. You know… I’ve been thinking, why don’t we form a ‘contract’?” (Ao)

“!!” (Rosso/Blanche)

“Huh? A contract… You mean a mutual contract?” (Gentoku)

A mutual contract. It’s a deal where a magic tool technician provides their creations to adventurers, and in return, the adventurers gather the necessary materials and such.

Well, it’s nothing too formal. Sometimes I’d request something from the contracted adventurer, but often the materials can be found in town. There’s no contract fee or anything… It’s just a promise that when needed, the adventurer will gather materials.

Rosso jumped onto Ao.

“That’s a great idea!! Hey, hey, Ossan, what do you think? We haven’t signed any contract with anyone yet!!” (Rosso)

“…To be precise, we’ve rejected all of them.” (Blanche)

Blanche also stepped closer.

“If it’s with Ojii-sama, it might be acceptable. Every magic tool you make is wonderful.” (Blanche)

“Yup yup!! We’ll gather all the materials you need, so if you make some cool magic tools, give them to us!! Come on, please?” (Rosso)

“Ah, uh… hmm.” (Gentoku)

“…Oji-san, are you not interested? Are we bothering you?” (Ao)

“No, it’s not that you’re bothering me, but I don’t really have the enthusiasm to work that hard just because of a contract. I mostly make magic tools on a whim, and… well, it’s not something I should say to young girls, but… I’m basically working just to live comfortably and single, you know.” (Gentoku)

“That’s normal. I want to have fun too.” (Rosso)

Rosso said while clinging to Ao. Blanche and Ao both nodded in agreement.

“Oji-san, we don’t plan to contract with anyone else… Just call us when you’re making something interesting or useful. We’ll bring lots of magic stones and monster materials.” (Ao)

“Indeed. And we don’t mind if you don’t work hard. We prioritize adventuring… so we also dislike being asked to gather materials too enthusiastically.” (Blanche)

“Yup yup!! Actually, if we sign a mutual contract, we can just tell other magic tool technicians, ‘Sorry, we’re already contracted’, and turn them down.” (Rosso)

“…I see. Well then, if that’s how it is, sure.” (Gentoku)

And so, I entered a mutual contract with Scarlet Camellia.

Whenever I make magic tools and lack materials, I’ll request help from Rosso and the others. In exchange, I’ll give them the magic tools I make.

“Ossan, let’s work together!!” (Rosso)

“…Oji-san, let’s go fishing again sometime.” (Ao)

“Ufufu. Let me have some more coffee next time, okay?” (Blanche)

Rosso, Ao, Blanche… Now that I think about it, I hadn’t realized. Just how incredible they are and how famous they are as adventurers.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)