Chapter 84

After finishing his shopping at the bookstore, Ichirō made his way to the electrical appliance store he had visited before.

Next to Ichirō, the store clerk who had explained the generator to him before was now explaining the products to Ichirō.

"Then, I'll take the largest commercial freezer. Also, a microwave, an air conditioner, a printer, a handheld camcorder, and a small projector. Please make sure the projector has a built-in battery."

"Understood! We have some excellent models, so please follow me!"

Starting with a large commercial freezer with a capacity of 500 liters, Ichirō placed orders one by one, referring to the notes he had written during his stay in Isteria.

The store clerk, undaunted by the sudden large order, explained the products to Ichirō with remarkably sharp movements.

"How about this latest model of an inkjet multifunction printer? It guarantees superior photo printing quality compared to other models. The ink also lasts 20% longer than previous models from the same manufacturer..."

"Then, I'll take one of these multifunction printers and 10 sets of the dedicated ink cartridges. For printing paper, I'll take boxes of A3 and A4. Also, a bit of glossy photo paper, please."

During his time in Isteria, Ichirō had been making notes on blueprints and documents. To avoid marking the original documents, he had been using sticky notes. However, if he continued this, the documents would be covered in sticky notes, and if they all fell off at once, it would be a disaster. As he expected to need to make more notes on documents in the future, he decided to bring a multifunction printer with scanning and printing capabilities to make copies of the documents with notes.

Although he didn't think he would print thousands of pages, he wanted to avoid running out of ink during his stay in Isteria, so he bought replacement ink cartridges in bulk.

In Isteria, he would likely use the multifunction printer to print construction plans and photos for Narson and Zirconia, or to copy documents that needed to be written down.

He considered buying a thermal printer for large-scale printing but decided on a compact home-use inkjet printer since he didn't have plans for large-scale printing at the moment. His choice of not buying a laser printer was a matter of personal preference.

Since the parchment paper in Isteria might not be compatible with the multifunction printer, he also bought copy paper in bulk.

If the parchment paper turned out to be usable, he could cut it to the same size as the printing paper using a cutter or a paper cutter and use it.

"Thank you! Next, the small projector. This is the latest model that was just released last week, and the battery life is much better than before..."

"Sure, I'll take that one."

"Understood! Next, the handheld camcorder. This is also the latest model that was just released two days ago..."

"I'll take that one."

"Thank you! Next, the air conditioner..."

"I'll take that one."

Thus, Ichirō bought the latest models recommended by the store clerk one after another.

He paid with a card and arranged for the items to be delivered to his mansion the next morning.

While processing the purchase, he was even served tea and a piece of red bean jelly.

After buying the appliances at the electrical store, Ichirō went to the home center he usually visits.

The items he planned to buy this time were additional drums of gasoline, a large cooler, and a few tools and lighting equipment.

The last time he transported frozen food in the cooler to Isteria, the ice had melted because he took too long to take the food out of the cooler (the meat and vegetables were half-thawed).

Therefore, this time, he planned to add a bit more dry ice.

While loading several of the same coolers he bought last time onto a cart, a familiar store clerk spotted Ichirō and ran over.

The regular store clerk, who was becoming a familiar face, greeted him.

"Mr. Shino, thank you for coming. What are you looking for today?"

"Hello. I'm here to get some drums and a cooler. I also want to look at other things, so can you hold these at the register for me?"

"Understood. Please take them to the service counter, and come back when you're done choosing."

"Thank you. ...Oh, by the way, do you have a centrifuge? I want to extract oil from soybeans."

While entrusting the items to the store clerk, Ichirō asked about the availability of a centrifuge.

He planned to use a centrifuge to extract oil from the beans harvested in Isteria, although the bean planting had not even started yet.

According to Rize, the bean harvest would be just before the snowfall, so he wouldn't use the centrifuge until around December at the earliest.

It was now late August, so he had about three months to prepare.

If the oil extraction using the centrifuge went well, he could try making a similar device in Isteria.

However, he would need to pay close attention to the work precision when making a container that rotates at high speed, and he would need to prepare special parts like ball bearings.

A device that generates such high rotational force could lead to a major accident if not made properly.

If he decided to make it, he would need to design it carefully.

Incidentally, ball bearings, also known as ball bearings, are devices that assist the rotation of shafts.

By fixing the ball bearings to the base and inserting the shaft through the ball bearings, the friction generated during shaft rotation can be reduced.

Without ball bearings, the friction heat generated during rotation would damage the base and the shaft.

"Ah, a centrifuge? We don't carry such specialized equipment... However, if you'd like, I can get a catalog from a specialist manufacturer and help you with the order. For oil extraction, it might be more appropriate to look at a de-oiling machine."

The store clerk, who was initially taken aback by Ichirō's request, quickly offered an alternative solution.

Ichirō was surprised that the clerk would go to such lengths to help him.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. As a valued customer, we are happy to assist you in any way we can. However, there will be a small handling fee. Is that acceptable?"

"I would really appreciate it. I don't need the item urgently, so it's fine if it arrives in two or three months. I'll come to see the catalog tomorrow morning and place the order then."

"Understood. I will contact the manufacturer immediately and arrange for the catalog. I will also pre-select a few models suitable for soybean oil extraction."

"Got it. Thank you."

With the de-oiling machine arrangement unexpectedly settled, Ichirō parted ways with the store clerk and headed to the next section with a lighter step.

The next items he planned to buy were lighting equipment for Isteria and a few tools that Valletta had asked for this morning.

"Let's see, silicone tubing, aluminum tape, and large glass bottles... I wonder what Valletta plans to use them for."

While referring to the notes he had reviewed with Valletta two days ago, he threw the items into the cart.

Valletta had asked for a few items with unclear purposes, but when he asked her this morning, she said, "It's a secret," and wouldn't tell him.

He was curious about what she planned to use them for, but he didn't think Valletta would use them for anything strange.

Since he had forgotten to ask how many to buy, he decided to buy 5 meters of silicone tubing and 5 large glass bottles, thinking that this amount should be enough.

While wandering between the shelves, he noticed a row of drawing boards a bit away.

He pushed the cart to the drawing boards and examined them closely.

"Ah, drawing boards. I've been drawing directly on my university notebook, so this might make things easier..."

A drawing board is a flat board used for drawing plans.

The drawing boards in the store came with a movable parallel ruler, which seemed to be mainly used by architects.

Thinking that it would be useful for drawing plans in Isteria, he decided to buy one but, after consulting with a nearby store clerk, decided to buy two.

One was for himself, and the other was a gift for Valletta.

Valletta planned to make various things in the village, so she would surely appreciate it.

He also threw a few drawing tools like a slope ruler and a compass into the cart.

After finishing his shopping at the home center, Ichirō went to a drugstore.

He planned to buy a large amount of daily necessities and miscellaneous items since he would be staying in Isteria for a while.

To maintain a balanced diet, he threw vitamin supplements from the nutritional supplement shelf into his basket.

He also added easy-to-eat nutritional supplements like Calorie Mates and energy bars, as well as instant soup powder and jelly made from gelatin.

At the pharmacy section, he added disinfectants like ethanol and hydrogen peroxide, Chinese medicine, and ointments for cuts to his basket.

Since he had already transported a large amount of Lipovit D to Isteria, he decided not to buy it this time.

Just as he was about to head to the register with a considerable number of items, he noticed the cosmetics section.

"Ah, cosmetics... If I buy some hand cream, Valletta might be happy."

He picked up a white container of hand cream from the shelf and examined it.

It seemed to be a cream for preventing hand dryness, but the shelf also had various creams for UV protection and dry skin.

In addition to hand cream, various skincare products like beauty serums and moisturizing gels were lined up on the shelves.

The containers of the products were all unique, with designs that exuded a sense of luxury and transparency.

The beautiful designs, combined with the bright lighting, made him want to pick up several items.

"By the way, Rize uses some kind of mud for skincare, as Narson mentioned."

When they discussed the well in Isteria, Narson mentioned that Rize bought special mud from a well-digger to use for skincare.

Zirconia said she didn't usually pay much attention to such things, but she wasn't uninterested.

"Maybe I should buy some for Zirconia too. She's been working really hard lately."

When Ichirō first went to Isteria, Zirconia was very proactive in seeking his help, but recently, she seemed less energetic and more passive.

However, it wasn't that she wasn't focused on her work. She was busy with administrative tasks and negotiations with subordinates, which Ichirō could see.

Sometimes, Ichirō would call out to Zirconia, but she would always smile and say, "Thank you, I'm fine."

Previously, Zirconia would have likely tried to get Ichirō's help, but recently, she seemed to be trying to handle things on her own to avoid bothering him.

Ichirō, who had been a bit wary of Zirconia's proactive approach, was now worried about her being too passive.

"Maybe I should buy some bath salts too. It might help her relax and relieve her fatigue."

He considered giving her Lipovit D to quickly recover her energy, but he felt that her fatigue was more mental than physical, so he decided to give her some products that women might appreciate.

He didn't want to be pushed too hard, but he also didn't want to be too distant.

He hoped that this would be a good opportunity to have a more casual relationship with Zirconia.

He also bought two folding mirrors to go with the creams and moisturizing gels.