The next day.
“Good morning. Did something happen?” [Ryouma]
When I showed my face at the store, I noticed that people had gathered at the kitchen.
“Ah, Boss.” [Jane]
“Good Morning~” [Maria]
“It’s this.” [Fina]
The three girls cleared the place to reveal a plate of sausage atop the work table. There were three long coils of sausages on the plate. It was a considerable amount.
“The housewife next door brought these as a gift to celebrate you being able to tame a rimel bird~” [Maria]
“She also said that it’s for the deodorizing liquid you brought yesterday since she didn’t think the feed they give you for your slimes was enough to thank you for that.” [Jane]
“Seems that deodorizing liquid of yours was a huge help. She was all smiles.” [Fina]
“I see. It seems we just missed each other.” [Ryouma]
“Let’s cook this for today’s lunch.” [Shelma]
Shelma, who was in front of the fridge, said.
Is she going to fry the sausages? Or maybe she’ll cook them into a soup? Either way, I’ll be looking forward to today’s lunch.
As the three girls went back to work, I parted with them and went to the office to receive Carm-san’s report.
“Looks like the rumors are spreading well.” [Ryouma]
“Well, it was true after all, so it didn’t take much effort to spread. We’ll have to see what effects this’ll have on the situation.” [Carm]
“I see… And the store?” [Ryouma]
“Nothing has really changed. No damages too… Ahh, speaking of which, a housewife asked me if we were selling deodorizing liquid.” [Carm]
“Deodorizing liquid? She must’ve found out from Zeke-san’s place… Do you think it would sell if we can guarantee its safety and efficacy?” [Ryouma]
“There are already people asking it for it, so yes. It’s also not unrelated to our store’s business, so I propose we display them in front of the store and see how people react.” [Ryouma]
“How much of a burden will this place on the workers?” [Ryouma]
“If we put them in a bottle, anyone will be able to sell it. Caulkin-san and the others are also researching stuff in their free time, so it should be fine if we just ask them to watch over the display when they’re free.” [Ryouma]
“…Then just to be safe, have Caulkin-san and his group ensure that the deodorizing liquid is safe. If nothing’s wrong, then we’ll put them on display. I’ll prepare the slates to calculate the revenue from the deodorizing liquid.” [Ryouma]
I worked quietly in the store to prepare for the sale of the deodorizing liquid until it was lunch time.
After lunch.
“I wonder what I should do in the afternoon…” [Ryouma]
I had no work left to do. There wasn’t much work to do in the first place, but now, Caulkin-san and the rest of the manager candidates have taken them all.
If there’s nothing left to do at the store, then I guess I’ll have to work on my house (trap).
As i thought that, I went back home.
Along the way…
“If it isn’t Ryouma, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
“Asagi-san, good afternoon. Is it your rest day today?” [Ryouma]
“That it is. Resting from time to time is important, after all. Are you working today too, de gozaru?” [Asagi]
“Actually, I don’t have any work left to do, so I’m currently on my way back home.” [Ryouma]
“I see. That’s makes things easy then.” [Asagi]
Suddenly, Asagi-san unwrapped the furoshiki [1] from the thing he was carrying and revealed a bottle of wine.
“Ryouma, you’ve received the divine protection of the god of wine, right? Won’t you have some of this wine?” [Asagi]
“This smell… Is this nihonshu (Japanese rice wine or sake)?” [Ryouma]
“Oh! So you know this wine. That’s right. It’s a daiginjou (top quality sake brewed from rice grains milled to 50% weight or less) made at my hometown, a kind of wine known as nihonshu, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
“Well, thank you.” [Ryouma]
“I hear if one treats someone who has received the divine protection of the god of wine with liquor, he’ll be blessed with good fortune.” [Asagi]
Oh yeah. That’s common sense in this world.
“In that case, I’ll pray for your good fortune while drinking.” [Ryouma]
Japanese wine, huh. This sure is nostalgic. It seems I’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Japanese liquor for the first time in a long while.
“You sure know a lot about my hometown, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
“My grandparent told me stories of it.” [Ryouma]
“I see, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
“…By the way, where did you get your katana?” [Ryouma]
I didn’t want to talk about my background, so I asked him something I couldn’t ask before. Security is currently an issue I’m tackling, so I’d like to get my own katana soon.
“I use what I’m regularly sent from my hometown. Do you just want a katana, de gozaru? Or are you planning to use it?” [Asagi]
“I plan to use it.” [Ryouma]
I’ve studied how to use katanas, but this country mainly uses long swords. There weren’t any katana in Tigger’s Arms Store either.” [Ryouma]
“Unfortunately, you’ll be hard-pressed to get one in these parts. But if you go to the capital, you should be able to find a store selling them. Katanas are the weapon of choice back at my hometown. And they are also works of art we are proud to display to other countries. Katanas are the very symbol of our soul as samurai, de gozaru.
Therefore, if you wish to get one, it’s possible to have one exported, but it will take a lot of money.
You have your store, but you’ll run out of money too if you just spend it recklessly. And katanas are consumable like any other weapon, so it’s simply not an option to keep buying one.
I too reluctantly tried purchasing one from the capital, but it was simply too expensive to keep purchasing a new one every now and then.
I hear there are outsider swordsmiths who have been given permission to learn the forging method, but there’s only a handful of them, and I’ve never met one myself, so it’s not practical to rely on that option either.” [Asagi]
“Isn’t there an inexpensive way to get one regularly?” [Ryouma]
“Hmm… I believe there was a previous case wherein a disciple of a school is provided a katana, but unfortunately, I’m currently still in training and don’t have the qualification to take a disciple and a qualified person wouldn’t go here anyway.” [Asagi]
In the first place, Asagi-san left his hometown to train. It’s a custom of theirs, so he can’t communicate with his hometown that much.
At most, he could send them a letter to let them know that he is safe and to receive a Japanese wine as a good luck charm of sort. The katana is also sent to him because it is a necessity.
“Ryouma, from whom did you learn how to use a katana? It would probably be best if you get one through that person instead.” [Asagi]
“Grandfather forged katanas in the past. He was also the one who taught me how to use them.” [Ryouma]
“I see… I thought you were strangely privy to my village’s matters, so it turns out it’s because of your grandfather.” [Asagi]
Let’s just leave it at that.
“But if that’s the case, then there’s no other choice than to purchase an expensive katana or to change the way you hold your weapon.” [Asagi]
“I see… Thanks anyway.” [Ryouma]
“Sorry, I couldn’t be of help, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
It’s not his fault.
I thanked him for giving me precious sake and parted with him.
[1] –