Published at 20th of November 2020 09:24:03 PM
Chapter 40.1: 40.1
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
Not good! This is definitely bad! I did say ten times the usual pay grade, didn’t I? Why the heck did I run my mouth like that? The money on me is considered our party funds! Come to think of it, I’m actually flat broke right now .
I was just so glad they decided to fight with me, so I got too into it and made a huge blunder . But I just can’t go back on my word and tell them it’s actually two or three times the pay grade instead .
(Nanom, can you display the salary and benefits of a standard space marine?)
A table indicating the salaries of different ranks in the imperial military popped out on a virtual window .
Um, for warrant officers, I need… Hey! It’s basically the same as my salary ain’t it!? I see . They may be NCOs, but they were technically only two ranks below me, so the salary rate isn’t that different . Wait a minute . I’m actually a commodore now, ain’t I? Uh, lesse… Commodore… Hm . I see . Even though I got promoted, the increase wasn’t really that drastic huh . Well, it was double than the rate for a first lieutenant, so I guess it was still pretty substantial .
Let’s see . If you want to check in at a regular hotel in the empire, you’ll have to fork out at least ten thousand Credits . In this city, the normal rate for staying at an inn is one hundred Guineas .
Let’s assume that one Guinea is roughly equivalent to a hundred Credits then . The salary rate for a warrant officer is three hundred twenty three thousand Credits . So, when converted to Guineas and multiplied by ten times, it’ll become thirty two thousand three hundred Guineas . This is bad! I’ll have to pay both of them sixty four thousand six hundred Guineas every month! What should I do!?
Oh, wait!
(Iris!)
『Yes, Captain . 』
(How much is my current accumulated salary!?)
『I have already transferred it to your bank account yesterday . 』
I checked my status page and found that the money really was deposited properly . Oh! So, apart from my previous salary, bonus pay for getting promoted was also added in, making my total assets about one million credits! Geh . This ain’t right!
(Uh, I kinda wanted the amount to be converted to Guineas y’know . )
『As you well know, there is no precedent for paying salaries using local currency . In addition, there are no longer enough resources to produce any counterfeit money on the ship . 』
(But I’m gonna need military funding for the coming operation y’know?)
『Providing Selena and Sharon the money they currently have on hand has already strained our available resources . Please procure funds locally . 』
(Fine! I understand . )
There’s no point in venting my frustration on Iris .
I guess all I can do right now is borrow the party funds, make some magic tools, and then sell ’em .
I don’t have anything else worth selling anyway .
Hm? Wait a minute . I still have some of those shaped memory PET bottles stashed away . I already don’t have any problems with securing drinking water, so I don’t really need to keep them around . And if I got into a situation where I would need one or two, I’m sure Selena and Sharon have brought some over from the ship as well .
When Cleria first saw the PET bottles, she was quite surprised, so I think it’ll fetch a good price at least . I’ll just package it as some sort of mysterious ancient magic product or something . Guess I’ll need to pay a visit to Tarus-san later .
Oh yeah . I’ll bring a sample dryer as well and give it to him as a present . Maybe I’ll even land a large order if I manage to impress them with it .
Selena and Sharon said they’ll be observing Cleria and Elna’s sparring earlier, right? I’ll go out for a while then .
(Selena, Sharon . I’m gonna go shopping for a bit . I’ll come back right away . )
((Understood . ))
It’s still early in the morning, so I think Tarus-san hasn’t gone out of his manor yet . Tarus-san and Jonas-san rarely go to the shops under them anyway, so I’ll just head straight for the manor . It’s been a while since I last paid a visit .
I found Willy doing some early morning cleaning by sweeping the yard in front of the manor .
“Good morning, Willy . Are Tarus-san and Jonas-san present?”
“Alan-san! Good morning . Yes, the both of them are inside the mansion . ”
“I see . So, can I ask you to call out Jonas-san for me then?”
“I understand . ”
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“Good morning, Alan-san . May I ask what matter you wish to discuss today?” Jonas-san inquired .
“I actually wanna show you some things . It would be great if you can make some time for me so I can present them to you . ”
“Of course . We’ll take a look . I presume you also want to show them to the Master, correct? I’m sure the things you want to show are quite something since you personally came for a visit . ”
“Yes, please . Thank you for making time for me . ”
I followed Willy and was brought to the meeting room inside the manor . I was then served some tea . Tarus-san and Jonas-san entered the meeting room soon after .
“It has been a while, Tarus-san . ”
“Yes, quite . Welcome, Alan-san . I have heard of the improvement to the meals served at Nature’s Bounty . The moment I got wind of the rumors, I was sure it was all due to you, Alan-san . I’m feeling quite regretful, to be honest . I and my family have been planning to have a meal over there actually . ”
“Is that so . Well, I did teach them a few recipes, but Verse, the inn’s chef, is also quite skilled you see . ”
It seems you can also come to the Nature’s Bounty just to have a meal, and don’t plan on staying over . But the guests who have booked rooms in the inn have priority when it comes to meals, and the prices are also more expensive compared to regular restaurants, so meal-only customers hardly come by, it seems . But I guess Tarus-san and his family can easily afford the meals .
“The things I wanted to show you are these . Um, can I trouble you to fetch some water as well?”
The bottles were in their folded-up state and were still limp when I took them out of my bag . I brought out all three and handed one over to Tarus-san .
“Hm . It’s my first time seeing such a transparent bag . It feels quite strange to the touch . ”
“These are actually containers for holding water which my comrades and I managed to obtain recently . It seems they were excavated from some ruins . ”
Yep . On this planet, it seems it was usual to find ancient magic tools while exploring ruins . I also heard that the much-valued Artifacts, considered to be the highest class of magic tools, were also excavated from such ruins . If I package these as relics found inside ruins, I bet their value will rise . I’m basically duping them, but these were ultrrare, practically impossible to obtain goods on this planet anyway, so I guess it’s all good in the end . And I don’t really have any other way to explain how I got them anyway .
Before long, Willy brought over a pitcher filled with water .
“Now then, let’s try to pour water inside them . ”
I put some water inside the limp PET bottle, and as soon as I did so, the shape memory material it was made out of did its thing, and the bottles regained their former rigid shape . They can hold a maximum of two liters of water inside them .
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“Oh! What’s this!?”
“This is their original shape . ”
I handed the PET bottle that had returned to its original shape to Tarus-san .
“How light! And how thin! Just how did the ancients manage to give them such transparency!?”
He passed the bottle over to Jonas-san . The two of them discussed excitedly for a short while . Meanwhile, I filled up the other two PET bottles with water as well .
“They will be fine even if you do this too . ”
As I said so, I dropped one PET bottle to the floor .
“”Ah!””
Goods produced by the empire won’t get damaged from something like this, of course .
“They’re pretty tough . But they’re weak to heat, and they’ll also get damaged easily if you poke them with sharp, pointed objects or cut them with a knife . ”
I poured the water from the bottle back into the pitcher . I shook the PET bottle a few times in order to get rid of the remaining moisture .
“Drain all the contents like so . Then you can easily fold them into a more compact shape . ”
I grabbed the bottle from both ends and pressed them together, returning it to its former limp form .
“Oh! That is quite amazing! Can I also try it?”
“Of course . Please be sure to pour all the water out though . ”
(How many times can the shape memory material work?)
『These bottles have passed strict imperial quality control and successfully underwent one hundred thousand durability tests . 』
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(What about the approximate service life?)
『The manufacturer boasted they were semi-permanent . 』
It should be fine then .
“Oh! It has returned to its former shape as well!”
Tarus-san and Jonas-san busied themselves with filling the bottles with water and emptying them as they repeatedly tested the shape memory material function for a while .
“I’m sorry for making you wait . And so, Alan-san . Are you saying you are willing to part with such amazing goods?”
“That’s right . If the price is right, anyway . ”
“Oh! Please wait for a moment . ”
Tarus-san and Jonas-san immediately began to discuss among themselves .
“Thank you for your patience . How does two hundred thousand Guineas for each article sound?”
Eh!? One PET bottle is already worth two hundred thousand!? Hm . Should I make the deal?
“Is the price perhaps not enough?”
“No, it’s fine . I’ll sell them for two hundred thousand Guineas each then . ”
“Oh! Thank you very much, Alan-san . ”
“Thank you as well . I’m a bit short on finances, so you’re a big help . And have a look at this as well please . ”
I took out the hair dryer I recently made out of my bag and showed it to them .
“This is a magic tool used to dry one’s hair after taking a bath . I recently became a member of the Magic Guild y’see . I learned how to make magic tools from there . ”
I pressed the switch on the dryer and showed how it worked to Tarus-san .