Chapter 25

I picked up Yoshioka, who arrived at nine o’clock sharp, and we set off. We got onto the Kan-etsu Expressway from Nerima and headed toward Kawagoe. Taking the highway was the best way to save as much time as possible. We expected to arrive in about an hour.

“I called my parents’ place earlier, and it turns out they definitely have a trailer that isn’t being used,” Yoshioka said.

“Oh! Nice going.”

“And it even comes with a motorcycle hitch!”

What a convenient turn of events.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. It looks like my late grandmother bought it. She didn’t have a driver’s license, so she used to hitch it to her motorbike to haul farming tools.”

I see; I guess there’s a demand for that kind of thing.

“But apparently there were weight limits when attaching it to a moped, so in the end, she hardly ever used it.”

“Did your grandmother run a farm, Yoshioka?”

“Yeah. The family did part-time farming, so she kept at it alone until the day she died, even after my grandfather passed away. It was pretty much a hobby for her, though.”

If I had met her sooner, I might have been able to help her out with my “Sowing” skill.

“Ah, turn left at that signal, please.”

“Copy that.”

“You’ll see a narrow road on the left. Pull in there.”

“On it.”

I drove exactly as instructed.

“We’re here. It’s the building on the right. Just pull the car right through the gate.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Just head right in.”

Is this actually okay? This place is a ridiculously massive estate!

It had an old-fashioned Japanese double gate, with a cobblestone path stretching far into the distance. The path curved gently, lined with large stone lanterns and gnarled pine trees that obscured the view of the main house. It was so gorgeous it almost took a level of courage just to enter.

Hang in there, my “Courage x6”!

The nameplate said Yoshioka, so I assumed it was fine… but man, Yoshioka was a total rich kid.

I greeted Yoshioka’s mother and gave her the souvenir I’d brought. It was just some sweets I’d picked up at a nearby shop, so I felt a bit embarrassed. I hope they’re to your liking…

Because Yoshioka introduced me as his superior, she treated me with incredible politeness. Strictly speaking, that was true, but I really wished he’d kept things a bit more casual.

Once we’d settled in, we went to see the trailer immediately. We were led to a large storehouse—a magnificent building with black walls and black roof tiles. I believe they’re called kura.¹ It was my first time entering a real kura. It had an atmosphere that made you feel like treasures might be sleeping inside.

By the way, I was told the walls were black because during the war, people were instructed to paint them that way. Did white walls make them targets for bombing? Come to think of it, during World War II, households were careful not to let light leak out at night. They would block windows and put covers over lightbulbs. I think they called it “blackout protocols”.

Though, since American bombers were already equipped with radar by then, it apparently didn’t mean much.

Feeling the weight of history, I stepped into the storehouse. Just inside was a wide dirt floor, and in the corner sat a motorbike and a small trailer.

“Oh, is this it?”

I’d been imagining something ancient, but the trailer was relatively new.

“My late mother had it custom-made by a company in Kita-Senju. Apparently, it has a rather sophisticated design,” Yoshioka’s mother explained with a wry look.

Indeed, the black-painted steel frame looked incredibly robust, and there were even shock absorbers at the base of the wheels. Yoshioka burst out laughing.

“That’s so like Grandma. Wouldn’t a used minicar have been cheaper than this?”

“Yes. It cost over 300,000 Yen. I told her I’d carry the loads to the fields for her, but she wouldn’t listen to a word of it.”

“She probably just had too much fun during the design meetings. She was never one to skimp on money for things like that.”

Yoshioka definitely inherited his grandmother’s blood.

“No one was using it anyway, so it’s fine, but what on earth are you going to use this for?”

“I’m planning to go fishing and camping with Senpai. We were looking for exactly this kind of thing.”

Not a complete lie… probably.

Yoshioka’s mom brought out the specifications for the trailer that had been kept. According to the documents, it was constructed with welding capable of withstanding a 2.8-ton pull test. With that, it should be perfectly fine to hitch to the bike.

The loading area measured 134 centimeters in length by 92 centimeters in width. It was a bit narrow, but definitely better than riding double on the bike. It weighed about 55kg, so Yoshioka and I could easily lift it together. Taking it with us during the summoning wouldn’t be too much trouble—it was a breeze compared to the time I had to lift the bike by myself.

There was even a spare tire, so we decided to take that too. I already had a pump for my bike, so we were set on that front. Since the trailer wouldn’t fit inside the car, we lashed it to the roof rails with some rope. Between the two of us, we managed to get it up there.

After that, Yoshioka handled the radio preparations while I went out to buy supplies in the neighborhood. I intended to buy the souvenirs for Clara-sama here as well. Yoshioka’s mom had already given me a lecture on the best shops for delicious sweets and imo-kenpi.

By the time we ate lunch, bought fuel and spare batteries, and made it back to the house, it was past 4:00 PM. Despite what I’d said before, I ended up buying a flashlight from the same manufacturer as Yoshioka’s while we were in Akiba. I just couldn’t help myself after playing around with his. To differentiate mine, I bought a slightly longer model.

I also stopped by a 100-yen shop. This was preparation for doing some business over there. In that world, bladed tools are traded at high prices regardless of quality—and to be blunt, the quality isn’t great. Even Clara-sama’s sword doesn’t actually cut that well. Frankly, it’s a blunt piece of junk. I’ve actually been secretly sharpening it little by little every night to improve it. I’ve put in over three hours of total sharpening time now, and it’s starting to feel pretty good. Clara-sama uses magic to reinforce it, so she doesn’t technically need it, but I’ve found that sharpening blades is actually quite fun and addictive.

Regardless, blades are valuable in the other world. So, with an initial investment of 3,240 Yen, I bought thirty kitchen knives. Even a “dull” knife from a 100-yen shop would be considered a decent blade over there. In fact, a stainless steel knife that doesn’t rust might as well be called a “magic knife.” Since regular knives sell for around 5,000 Marques, if I can move the whole stock at that price, I’ll make 150,000. We discussed it and agreed that since the initial investment was only a few thousand, if it fails, we’ll just think of a different product.

With various other purchases made, preparations were complete. Once we reach the regional city of Bremen, I’ll try wholesaling the goods immediately.

As usual, the underground parking lot of the apartment was deserted. We took the trailer down from the roof and loaded the spare tire. Everything else was tossed into my Spatial Storage.

“Huh? Is it just me, or has the Spatial Storage gotten bigger?”

“Really? It looks the same to me…”

I was curious, so I checked it with a tape measure—it really had expanded, if only by a tiny bit! When I measured it before, it was 32cm high, 37cm wide, and 63cm deep. This time it was 32.5cm by 37cm by 63cm. It had only grown by 5 millimeters in height, but still.

“Heh, so skills can actually grow.”

“Yoshioka’s magic probably grows with practice, right? It makes sense the Spatial Storage skill would be the same.”

It seems skills improve gradually the more you use them. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to handle a Spatial Storage large enough to fit this entire trailer? No telling when that might be, though.

“It’s almost five o’clock.”

“Right. Let’s start lifting fifteen seconds before.”

I gripped the pipe frame of the trailer and stared at the timer. As the beep of the timer echoed through the underground parking lot, we were transported back to the small room in the gap.