Chapter 14

I entered the daily ranking at 48th place!

Thank you!

I will continue to work hard on my work,

so please support me!

(It's a bit long)

On the second day in town, I was quite refreshed thanks to the bed, which I hadn't slept in for a while.

I still had some muscle aches, but it wasn't too bad since I wasn't going to be walking through the wilderness anymore.

What was more concerning was my remaining money.

I only had 9,549 yen left.

Considering the cost of staying for today and tomorrow, that left me with about 1,500 yen.

I needed to find a way to earn money, no matter how I tried to save.

I got ready with renewed determination.

Yesterday, I had fallen asleep like a log, still in my clothes.

First, I took off all my clothes and decided to wipe my body with a damp handkerchief.

There didn't seem to be any towels or anything like that.

Yesterday, I had asked Hagg, and apparently, there were no baths or showers in this region.

He said if I wanted to bathe, I'd have to go to a river or the sea, but that was too much to ask for a beginner in a different world.

So, while I was performing the acrobatics of wiping my body with a small handkerchief, the door suddenly opened.

Without any warning.

"Customer! Do you want to order breakfast... aaaaaah!"

I had one foot on the bed, and I was just wiping my crotch area.

Narnia, the daughter of the Whale Inn, burst into the room with a loud bang, ready to deliver her usual greeting, but it turned into a scream halfway through.

"...At least knock first."

It wasn't a big deal to be seen naked by a child, but it was embarrassing to be caught in such a pitiful pose...

I calmly finished wiping and changed into the clean underwear and shirt I had kept.

I had no spare pants, so I had to wear the same ones, but I had brushed off as much dust as possible during the night.

"Here you go."

"Are you okay now?"

Narnia peeked into the room, opening the door just a little.

After confirming I was dressed, she slowly came in.

"Customer... at least lock the door, it's a shock."

"Huh? Is it my fault? Ah, I'll be more careful from now on."

"What do you think the key is for? If the door is unlocked, it means it's okay to enter, right?"

"Is that so?"

"At least in this country, I think it's normal. Other merchants also lock their doors, so I think it's the same in most places."

I see. That's on me.

And I understood why Narnia was so knowledgeable.

She must have learned from talking to merchants from various countries.

"So, what do you need?"

"Oh, since you haven't left yet, I thought maybe you'd like to order breakfast."

"Is there a dining room?"

This building wasn't like the typical fantasy inn with a bar on the first floor and rooms upstairs. When you entered, there was a counter, and the rest were tightly packed rooms. There was a small courtyard, but I don't think there was a dining room.

"You can order delivery. The price is the same as eating outside, but if you go through us, you won't get any weird additives."

I see.

They probably take a cut, but it's not a bad system.

"If possible, I'd like to eat somewhere more spacious, but if you recommend a place, will it come without any additives?"

"Oh, that's fine. There's a restaurant called Lizard's Tail across the street and three doors to the left. You can recognize it by the wooden sign with a red lizard. Just order 'Whale Inn breakfast' there."

"Got it. I'll go there... and by the way, I'd like to stay here again today."

"Then please tell my father on the first floor."

"Understood."

I paid the unsmiling innkeeper a silver coin and stepped out onto the main street.

Remaining balance: 5,549 yen.

I was way over the red line.

---

I easily found the Lizard's Tail. It had a wooden sign the size of a notebook with a red lizard carved on it.

Inside, the place had a more fantasy-like atmosphere.

There were six round tables and twelve counter seats, making it quite spacious.

There was a staircase leading to the second floor, but I wondered if it was for lodging or something else.

If it was for lodging, they wouldn't offer a delivery service to a competitor.

There were few customers, only three: one at the counter and two at the same table.

I sat at a counter seat away from the three.

A grumpy-looking old man approached me lazily.

"...What will you have?"

"I heard I can order breakfast here if I come from the Whale Inn. Can I order?"

"...300 yen."

No smile, no nothing. Was this the standard in this world?

I took out 30 coins from my pocket and lined them up on the counter. The old man disappeared into the back without a word, probably recognizing the weight.

As expected, it was quite cheap.

Remaining balance: 5,249 yen.

Looking around the place again, the pillars were wooden, and the walls were made of sun-dried bricks, a structure I had seen before.

All the wooden windows were wide open to let in light, but it was a bit dark where I was sitting at the back.

There were candle stands along the walls, though they weren't lit at the moment.

The candles were removed, but the melted wax stuck to the stands, so they were definitely used.

The entrance was also wide open, and I could see carriages and people with large loads passing by on the main street. There were also dwarves other than Hagg.

Upon closer inspection, there were clearly non-human creatures with animal-like ears and bipedal lizard-like beings. Were they considered human as well?

Seeing the strange creatures in a culture that didn't quite fit Europe or the Middle East, I realized I was truly in a different world.

"..."

Placed silently in front of me were bread and soup.

The bread was placed directly on the counter, and there was no spoon.

I was supposed to drink the soup directly from the bowl.

The bread was dark brown and about the size of a fist.

The soup... had a few slices of what I assumed were onions in a cloudy broth.

I had grown up poor.

My parents were not good people.

I didn't want to remember, so I had no intention of talking about it.

So, I was fine with most simple meals and had no particular likes or dislikes.

Finding something I couldn't eat was more difficult.

There was only one time, at a seedy bar, when I couldn't eat the hoya (sea pineapple) they served.

After joining the company, I occasionally had high-end meals during business dinners.

Of course, I didn't pay for them.

Even if I were asked to pay, I couldn't afford such places.

No one paid in cash, and the credit cards used were the kind most people never see, like gold or black.

So, I had experienced both high-end and low-end food.

After eating something so delicious that it made me sad to eat at home for a while, I would get used to it again in a few days.

I was just used to being poor.

...Anyway, I wanted to say that I was strong with simple meals.

So, I managed to eat this hard... or rather, unchewable bread and this salty, flavorless soup.

The bread was bearable, but the soup could have been much better with just a little more effort.

If this was normal in this world, there was nothing to complain about.

While I was struggling with the unchewable bread, another customer came in.

A young couple. Were they on a morning date?

The man had long, droopy eyes and was tall and lanky but muscular.

He wore a linen shirt and long pants, but they were mostly black and dirty.

His hands, in particular, were stained black.

The woman was quite flashy.

By flashy, I don't mean she had heavy makeup or an avant-garde hairstyle.

Her hair was bright red, which was flashy enough, but her real standout feature was something else.

First, the thin red chain she wore.

She wrapped the red chain around her body.

The chain crossed over her chest in an X-shape, emphasizing her large, prominent breasts... in other words, she had huge breasts.

She wore a short red skirt with black spats and red leather long boots.

It would be impossible not to stand out.

The moment they entered, the four people in the restaurant, including me, were taken aback.

Ignoring the curious gazes, they sat at a table, and the grumpy old man approached them unenthusiastically.

"...What will you have?"

It seemed that his attitude was the default.

"Something not too heavy but filling, not porridge, and proper bread. Also, two glasses of properly watered-down grape wine, please."

The red-haired woman rolled a silver coin, and the old man silently grabbed it and disappeared into the kitchen.

It seemed that a smile was not part of the service in this world.

"...I heard the taxes are going up again. At this rate, our trading company might not survive. To be honest, if there were a more impressive port facility, I would move our base immediately."

"I know we're making a lot of money, but it's inevitable that taxes will go up, right?"

"That's not the point. There are taxes on goods, port usage fees, income tax, and property tax, and the property valuation is increasing daily. Most of the profits we risk our lives for are being taken away."

"Is it that bad?"

"Please, brother, take more interest in the company's management."

The woman sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, which was quite sexy.

"I'm fine as long as I can be on a ship."

"That's why other trading companies look down on us."

"I don't mind being looked down on. The company belongs to Father and Cherina, after all."

"You are the only son of the largest shipping company in the Western Sea. I want you to take more responsibility."

"Ah, I wish I could freely explore unknown seas."

The man dramatically spread his arms toward the sky.

"Going out into the rough Western Sea is just suicide. Do you know how many years it took to develop relatively safe coastal routes?"

"Father was always a man of the sea."

"But he also doesn't neglect the company's operations."

"Heh, that's a double-edged sword."

It seemed to be a bittersweet morning scene... or rather, a harsh conversation between the siblings.

"In the first place, the constant tax increases over the past few years are clearly targeting our company. Do you know how many competitors have disappeared in the past year?"

"They're not trying to put us out of business, are they?"

"They might think we won't go under... or maybe there's nothing left to take from others..."

"The port has become so quiet. My best friend, Bolvono, went to look for a southern route to make a comeback. He hasn't returned since leaving the Liberian Bay, where the currents are crazy..."

"Brother, that's how our rivals and friends are being whittled away like the teeth of a comb. And the more they disappear, the more taxes are imposed on us. This country might be on its last legs."

"Cherina..."

"I spoke out of turn."

Cherina, the woman, scanned the customers in the restaurant, including me, but everyone pretended not to be listening.

I wanted no part in their troubles.

"..."

The old man brought their food.

Two pieces of bread and soup... it looked the same, but the bread seemed a bit better, and the soup had some ingredients, probably potatoes.

He also placed a ceramic bottle and two cups, the diluted grape wine they had ordered.

...Diluted grape wine? How could that be good?

The two of them, unlike before, ate silently.

"...All the hard work of transporting it was for nothing. The potatoes available in the city are this bad."

"I was the one who transported them. They were bought at a low price to distribute to the citizens..."

The two of them sighed deeply.

I had been planning to look for a trading company today, but I had just heard valuable information.

It seemed that this brother and sister's company was one of the most powerful in the town... or rather, the country.

If I wanted to introduce plastic bottles, their company would be the only choice.

Of course, I wouldn't approach them here.

Imagine if you were having a meal with a colleague at a restaurant, and another customer tried to pitch a business deal.

It would be suspicious.

So, I caught the old man and slipped him a few copper coins to ask.

"Where is their trading company located?"

Of course, I did it with a full business smile.