Volume 3 Chapter 6 Part 4
Even though the night stalls had just started, throngs of people were lined up before these colorful stands.
In the isekai world, there were no animation, comics, light novels, or chance games. The amount of entertainment they had was little and rare. However, this underground pleasure quarter was a place away from the watchful eyes of the law. In this place, one could drink freely, fight freely, and buy whatever they wanted. The countless shops or drinking, gambling, and even brothels made this pleasure quarter the most decadent in the world.
I had been worried about the night stalls’ appeal, but it seemed like these simple shops were refreshing enough to draw customers.
「Oh, Noella!」
「Touru!」
「There are so many people here. Congratulations on the success.」
「It’s all thanks to you, Touru!」
It seemed like Noella was overseeing the entire situation instead of participating actively. Even though I could not read what had been written on the pamphlets, we made sure to emphasize the safety and security of this area meant for the night stalls.
When customers entered the sector, they would have to deposit their weapons temporarily. For anyone who protested against such a regulation, the Thieves’ Guild’s members would escort them around the place.
The large number of female customers here today probably indicated that our reassurances had worked.
「That girl over there, she’s holding a candied apple, isn’t she?」
「Ria’s helping out. Shall we head over?」
「Of course! Let’s go!」
Ria was doing her best selling candied apples.
「Ria. You’re selling tons of them!」
「Oh, Touru! Yeah!」
「Do you need my help?」
「I’m fine! I have these kids with me.」
Some of the orphanage’s children were helping Ria out with her stall. This was only possible because the Thieves’ Guild had promised the absolute safety of this location.
「Deet’s crepe stall seems really busy too. Please help her.」
「Oh, I’ll head over then.」
I wanted to help Ria, but I was also curious about Deet’s stall.
Noella brought me over to Deet.
「Ah, Touru!」
「How’s it going?」
「Awesome.」
A customer took the crepe from Deet and immediately munched on it.
「Delicious! It’s so sweet!」
「Right? This is my third time buying it.」
I expected this to be a popular sell since sweet things were rare in the isekai world.
Even though sugar existed here, the sugar used in this crepe had been brought over from Japan.
I was glad that the stalls were thriving, but I could not help feeling a sense of loneliness bubble within me.
「Well, seems like the crepes are selling well too. Thank goodness.」
「Hmm… are they?」
「Aren’t they?」
「Over there.」
I looked in the direction Deet pointed toward as she spoke. The line of people was so long that it had started snaking in layers.
「Wh-What’s that?」
「Fishing. My stall can’t even compare to that.」
「Huh???? Fishing?!」
I had been under the impression that no one would be interested in fishing.
「What’s up with the crowd?」
「You’ll understand once you get there. They’re much busier. How about helping them? The Thieves’ Guild’s members will help me with the crepe stall anyway.」
「O-Okay. I’ll go over and take a quick look.」
Noella and I passed by the long line of people and headed toward the fishing stall. While we walked by, I noticed something.
「Huh? Why are there so many couples?」
「You noticed?」Noella let out a chuckle as we reached Miri’s fishing stall.
「G-Get that!」
「Nice! Ah! It broke!」
It sounded like one of the couples had broken their paper fishing scoop.
「Meow. Too bad. Please line up again.」
「Gosh! What were you doing?!」
「I’ll get it next time!」
The couple headed to the end of the snaking line of people.
「M-Miri! Your stall’s flourishing!」
「Oh, Touru, Noella. I thought you were customers.」
「Why is there such a crowd?」
「Ugh, customers are waiting. Get behind me.」
「Ah, sorry!」
Noella and I went to stand behind Miri.
「Oh no… You were so close! I really wanted the seven-colored fish!」
「Oh. I’ll try again!」
As I listened to the couple’s conversation, I finally understood the stall’s popularity.
「Doesn’t it seem like these girls are asking the guys to get them the seven-colored fish?」
「Of course. In fact, I asked the women working on this underground level to ask these guys to get them the seven-colored fish.」
「And then this happened… So, most of the girls at this stall are unmarried young ladies, aren’t they?」
「At the start, it was just a request. But somehow, the girls now think owning a seven-colored fish makes them superior to others.」
Seven-colored fish were animals of great vitality and lived long. Hence, some noble families reared them as pets. If the common people of the isekai world were to own such fish, it made sense that these fish would make them more prestigious than others.
***
Usually, I would find it hard to believe that a poor lad like me, with only thirty thousand yen a month as my salary, had rented such a large apartment. However, this very place felt extremely cramped today.
The first step of our redevelopment plans—the night stalls—had been a huge success. Presently, my house was being used for our celebration party.
「Wow! I never thought fishing for seven-colored fish would draw such a crowd!」Enami exclaimed in wonderment.
From the looks of the person on the left of Enami, I guessed that she was Francoise. Somehow, I had managed to remember who they were. However, I had no clue who was sitting to his right. It could very well be Katarina, Lola, or Jacquelina.
「Meow! I knew fishing would definitely, without a doubt be the most popular!」
Miri puffed her chest up in pride. Even Miri’s guardian, Noella, seemed a little proud of this achievement.
「Miri might’ve even earned the most out of all the shops underground today.」
「Noella, r-really?」
「Yeah! What was that thing? The paper scoop for fishing? Renting those till they broke cost one silver piece per paper scoop.」
That’s expensive!
I remarked silently, though I swiftly pushed the thought out of my head. That was probably fine anyway. Meanwhile, Nick and Miriam were enjoying their cakes from Japan. Raica, the headmaster of the orphanage was close by. From the way she looked, she certainly looked more like a ruffian than an ordinary person. Yet, she watched the two eat with a gentle and endearing look in her eyes.
It seemed like enough money had been earned to pay those orphans who had helped out today. Beyond that, there might even be sufficient funds to rebuild the orphanage. Suddenly, the smartphone in my pocket started vibrating.
Ayame:「Shouldn’t we perform an exorcism on this room? ｱﾜﾜヽ( ‘ д ; Ξ ; ’ д )ﾉ ｱﾜﾜ」
There was a possibility that what Tateishi had said was true. The unending chaos in this place might be because this place was haunted. Yet, it was unlikely that Tateishi would be able to conduct an exorcism anyway.
「Next time, we’ll get Deet to let us try her crepes.」
「No problem! It’ll taste as great as those crepes from Don Quixote!」
Even Riri and Deet, who were always squabbling with each other, were chatting with each other cheerily and enjoying the snacks and drinks.
As I watched everyone and sipped on my cup of island yam orc wine, Shizuku climbed onto my shoulder.
「Touru, thank goodness it was a great success,」
「But you’ll have to live on salted plum chazuke for the time being.」
I had used my money to pay for the pamphlet printing and buying sugar from Japan for the night stalls.
As a result, I could only keep myself fed this entire time by making salted plum chazuke. This was the same chazuke my grandmother often made for me before she passed away.
「That’s fine. I love chazuke. Beyond that, I also love you tons!」
Even though Shizuku always told me that she loved me, this same sentence was a little special on this day of success.
「Gosh, Shizuku! She’s flirting with Touru!」
「Touru! Do you want to become a dungeon master or not? Remember the promise you made to me!」
Ria and Deet lunged at me and trapped me in their embraces.
「Wah!」
Shizuku and I were squashed between Ria’s and Deet’s breasts. It was even getting hard to breathe!
The feeling of being trapped like this felt awesome, but everything would be for naught if I died. With no other choice left, I tried to escape.
However, I was instantly hugged by someone else.
「Thank you, Touru!」
「Touru!」
「Touru!!!」
Exclamations of gratitude towards me rang out from everyone. Surrounded by a wall of boobs, I could hardly hear what was being said. Moreover, I was suffocating to death.
Perhaps it was because I was slowly getting deprived of oxygen, but I suddenly felt grateful for moving into this place and meeting everyone.
There was bound to be more trouble happening in this room in the future. However, no matter the ordeal, I wanted to work with everyone and overcome them together. As this thought flashed through my mind, I slowly lost consciousness.
Comment (0)