Chapter 14

The moment the chocolate entered Clara’s mouth, it brought her a rose-colored ecstasy. It was the instant that small, black morsel seized her very heart.

“Mngh.”

She could not help the faint sigh that escaped her lips. In all her life, this was the first time she had tasted something so sweet and fragrant. Chocolate… to her, it was like food from the heavens.

“Kota… can you truly buy this for only 100 Marques?” she found herself asking.

To Clara, the price was unbelievable. She had heard that in the Royal Capital, chocolate was an extremely expensive confection because the raw materials had to be brought by ship from southern lands. If Kota and his friend wished to, increasing their fortune would be a simple matter.

The moment that realization hit her, Clara grew anxious. After all, she was employing Kota for a mere 600 Marques.

“Kota… are you truly certain about contracting with me again?”

“What’s wrong, Clara-sama? That was our promise, wasn’t it?”

A sense of relief spread through her at the sound of Kota’s voice. She instinctively felt like reaching out and hugging him. In that moment, she finally understood why she felt so at ease with him by her side: Kota was the spitting image of Volke, the dog she had owned during her girlhood.

After grueling training sessions with her father, or when her mother had passed away—whenever times were hard, Volke had always been there to comfort her. Looking at Kota, Clara felt as though Volke had returned to her once more.

“…I shall be in your care from here on out.”

“Yes.”

She felt a wave of relief at Kota’s unchanging smile. But was it really just because he resembled Volke? Was that truly all this emotion was?

As if to wash away her hazy thoughts, Clara placed another chocolate into her mouth. Sweet, sentimental, and slightly bitter—the flavors shifted one after another upon her tongue.

The morning passed in a flash as I introduced Yoshioka to Jutta-san and the others and went about the household chores.

“Senpai, where should I carry the firewood?”

“Stack it under the eaves of the barn.”

Slender Yoshioka was working hard. But did that guy always have that much stamina?

“You’re surprisingly tough, Yoshioka.”

“Well, I’ve been casting Recovery Magic on myself every little while.”

So that was it. I was jealous; it sounded handy.

“Should I cast it on you too, Senpai?”

“Give it a shot.”

The moment Yoshioka’s fingertips glowed green, my body felt instantly lighter.

“Amazing! Man, you could probably make a living with just this, couldn’t you?”

“In this world, I’d be a high-ranking Priest. Even in Japan, I could become a charismatic cult leader.”

It’s a common spell in game worlds, but seeing it firsthand really drove home how incredible it was. All joking aside, I really felt like he could become a High Priest.

By evening, I finally had some free time, so I headed out to give souvenirs to Ria and the others. Everyone was thrilled. Zotto, in particular, was overjoyed to receive a knife. Apparently, in this world, a knife is like a symbol of a grown man. It was just a 2,800-yen Morakniv, but it’s a sturdy, sharp, and reliable blade. I hope he uses it well.

“Kota-san, we cannot accept such an expensive knife!”

Ria snatched the knife away from the frolicking Zotto. Zotto burst into tears immediately.

“No, it’s not actually that expensive in my world…”

“Even if that is the case, in the Kingdom of Saxens, this is an item that wouldn’t go for less than 50,000 Marques. We simply cannot accept it.”

Seriously? So selling knives and kitchen blades is an option too, then…

“This is a dilemma… in that case, I’ll give Zotto the knife I’ve been using. I got a new one, so I’m passing the old one down to him. That should be fine, right?”

“But…”

“Oh, come on, it’s fine.”

I handed Zotto my slightly broken-in knife.

“This one actually cuts better because it’s already been sharpened and maintained,” I whispered into Zotto’s ear, and his smile instantly returned.

I also gave Noel a brush adorned with cute decorations. Noel was always smiling, but I felt like the “smile meter” went up even higher than usual. She must have been really happy.

On the way back, a smirking Yoshioka struck up a conversation.

“I didn’t know you were so good with kids, Senpai.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Though I don’t dislike them.”

Kids who get attached to you are pretty cute. If Emi and I had a child, I wonder if I would have been a doting father?

“Anyway, I’m done with all my errands. What are you doing after this?”

“I’m going to explore the village a bit before heading back. You can go on ahead, Senpai.”

“Don’t go outside the village boundaries. Monsters show up sometimes.”

“Roger that.”

I split up with Yoshioka and returned to the mansion alone. I figured I should buy some walkie-talkies for communication next time I came back. If I recalled correctly, Yoshioka held an amateur radio license.

Yoshioka didn’t return until quite late. It was a while after I had finished installing the heated grips on my bike.

“You’re pretty late.”

“Well, I was enjoying some ‘cultural exchange’ with the villagers.”

Was he always this social?

“That’s unusual for you.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m in another world? I found myself able to talk to total strangers without any hesitation.”

“Well, I guess that’s a good thing. We’re heading out early tomorrow morning, so you’d better get some sleep.”

Finally, the journey to the Royal Capital was beginning. It was decided that we would depart at 6:30 AM, right at sunrise. The packing was already done. We crawled into our beds early and closed our eyes.

“Senpai…” Yoshioka called out to me in the darkness.

“What is it?”

“It’s cold.”

There was a wood-burning stove in the room, but the building was full of gaps. There was no such thing as window glass here. Apparently, such things only existed in the homes of wealthy city dwellers—and even then, clear glass was rare.

Yoshioka wrapped himself in a winter-grade sleeping bag and finally settled down. Even in another world, it wasn’t all fun and games.

“Senpai.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s save up some money and build a proper base here. For starters, I want to live in a room with no drafts. I want to bring a down duvet, too.”

“Fair enough.”

I gave an affirmative reply, but I was actually fairly satisfied with my current lifestyle. I’ve always liked the outdoor life, after all. So, I wasn’t as troubled as Yoshioka was. Still, I wouldn’t mind a little luxury. Besides, if we earned money here and converted it to Japanese Yen, we could live a great life back home too. In fact, we might even be able to live a life dedicated entirely to our hobbies!

“Yoshioka.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know much about asset management?”

“Leave it to me! Let’s stack some cash together!”

As expected of Yoshioka, he really was a reliable guy.

“Crap, I’m getting too excited to sleep.”

I could hear Yoshioka rustling around in the dark. We were supposed to travel over 50 kilometers tomorrow, so it was best to sleep soon. I took a deep stretch and closed my eyes once more.