Chapter 105 Magic Furniture and Ihomono
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A few days before the new year, during the 14th week of Harvest Month, me, Diana, and Mei arrived in Denar’s city.
”Wow, it’s pretty lively here,” I said.
”Well, it’s almost the new year. There are stalls lined up in the square,” Diana replied.
The city was different from the last time I came here, and the people on the street seemed to be itching for the new year, which made me long for the end of the year.
”By the way, when is the final week this year?” I asked.
”It’s the Wind week. How about you remember it properly instead of asking me every year?” Diana replied.
”It’s hard to remember because it changes every year. It would be easier if it shifted by one day or something,” I said.
It is currently the dark week, which cycles through fire, water, earth, and wind, so four days from now will be the New Year’s Eve equivalent in the world where I used to live.
I’ve been so absorbed in brewing alcohol with Mei in the laboratory that I’ve completely lost my senses, and to be honest, I’d forgotten about the end of the year until just now.
”However, it does feel quite cold this year, maybe because we’ve been living in a warm settlement,” I said while trying to warm my hands with my breath.
As I gave a half-hearted word, Diana whispered to me from behind, “Master Neil, this is where you hold her hand and say ‘Let me warm you up.’”
”What kind of cheesy line is that? It doesn’t suit me,” I replied.
If I say something like that and try to hold her hands, Mei will suspect me of having eaten something strange.
Nevertheless, we’ve finally reached the point where we can talk to each other without tension, so let’s not do anything unnecessary and create an awkward atmosphere.
”What are you guys talking about?” Mei asked.
”Nothing much,” I replied. “Let’s hurry up and go buy what we came for.”
As we walked towards the shop, I explained to Mei that I had asked the Harvest Hoe to take care of the furniture delivery as a carriage would be too crowded. We chatted about how useful the Harvest Hoe had been lately and how we were considering getting them a gift.
When we arrived at the shop, Mei stopped in front of it and I read the sign aloud. “‘Chaboshi no Kyarou (The butler in a brown hat)’… is this the shop you’re looking for, Mei?”
Mei confirmed it was the right place and we entered. The shop was quite cramped with numerous large pieces of furniture crammed into it. I couldn’t help but comment on the expensive prices.
”These shelves are pretty expensive,” I said. “I thought this was an upscale store for aristocrats.”
Mei explained that the furniture was enchanted with magic, making it more valuable. I was surprised to learn that it was a specialty shop for magic furniture.
”Magic furniture?” I asked. “Are these magical items?”
Mei nodded. “Yes, they are. But they may not look like it.”
As we browsed the store, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the hidden magic behind the seemingly ordinary pieces of furniture.
”Well, well, this is rare to see a noble like yourself in a place like this, may I ask what you are looking for?”
”Oh, I’m not the one looking for something, it’s my companion over there,” I said, pointing towards Mei who was looking at furniture in a distance.
The shopkeeper seemed a bit disappointed but quickly recovered and put on a smile, “I see. Well, it must be boring just waiting for your companion, so let me show you some of our products.”
I wish they would pitch to Mei instead of me, but I gave in to the shopkeeper’s push and listened to their sales pitch.
The first item they showed me was a plain-looking wooden dresser.
Only one coat was hanging inside, and there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about it.
”With this dresser, if you firmly press the doors closed for about three seconds–” The shopkeeper demonstrated by pushing the doors with both hands, and suddenly, a sound of rushing water could be heard from within the dresser. The whole thing shook and vibrated slightly.
”It might be hard to tell what’s happening inside since you can’t see, but this is a magical tool that washes clothes that are stored inside. The amount of time it takes to wash the clothes in it depends on the amount of clothes stored in it.”
The shopkeeper paused and watched the dresser shake for a moment.
Soon enough, it stopped, and the shopkeeper opened the doors to reveal the wet coat inside. “As you can see, it’s done washing in about twenty seconds.”
”Excuse me, where did the water go? Did you just teleport it somewhere and dump it?” I asked, making a face.
”No, the water is drained from the back of the wardrobe through a pipe to the sewage system,” the shopkeeper reassured me.
”Oh, so this part has nothing to do with magic,” the shopkeeper tilts his head at me with an indescribable look on his face.
”Well, is there something you’re dissatisfied with… ah! I understand! You don’t like the fact that your clothes are still wet, do you?”
”Well, it’s true that it bothers me that they’re soaking wet, but it’s not that,” I denied, but the clerk quickly moved to another piece of furniture.
”This is the same clothes cabinet as before, but with an added function. If you tap the side three times like this…”
Knock knock knock – clang! Boom!
”The side of the cabinet will open and hot air will blow out. It has a drying function, which makes it more expensive, but I guarantee it’s worth the price,” the shopkeeper continued with their sales pitch while smiling, but I could only muster a forced smile.
While it may be convenient to have furniture with various functions, pursuing functionality to the point of neglecting other aspects made it a surreal object.
Because of this surrealism and the idea that it is safer and more reliable to have servants do the work than to have magic tools, this kind of furniture was not accepted by the nobles.
Thanks to this, I had never seen this kind of furniture even though I knew it existed… Well, it is true that I am a little hesitant to put this in my house.
There is the problem of noise, but it is also difficult to see it in operation, with the mysterious deformation mechanism that opens the sides.
While I was making such a subtle reaction, the shopkeeper introduced me to one product after another.
A table with uneven heights that matched the sitting height of the person sitting on the chair, a bed that detected sunlight and forcibly woke up the person sleeping on it, and a garbage can that detected trash and automatically burned it. They introduced me to various products, but all of them were subtle and difficult to say whether they were good or not.
”Well, if this doesn’t work, how about this last resort? This is called the ‘Sofa that makes people dependent’!” the shopkeeper exclaimed, introducing yet another strange piece of furniture.
The name sounds familiar, there used to be a product like that in the world I used to live in.
It looked like a beanbag, with the only difference being a mysterious protrusion on top that was shaped like an onion, perhaps?
”Is this, by any chance, an illegal item―”
”Dear customer!”
The shopkeeper shouts, interrupting my words.
”Please don’t say such a thing! What will you do if there is a strange rumor and the Church gets interested in us?”
”I-I’m sorry.”
”Please, there are more and more people from the Church in Denar these days.”
I apologize for the grumpy attitude of the shopkeeper, and turn my eyes to the sofa that makes people dependent on it.
From the matching name and appearance, this sofa is obviously from the world I know.
It is not unusual, but not strange, to see such a familiar object in this world.
This is because people and things from other worlds often come to this world.
Such people and goods from other worlds are collectively called “Ihomono” in this world.
It means “a person” or “a thing” from another world, but in the Church, it is called “illegal” instead of “foreign,” and the name encompasses several meanings.
According to the Church, this world used to be a peaceful world without any monsters or labyrinths, but it became chaotic when people and objects from other worlds entered it.
Well, I didn’t trust the religion’s propaganda and blamed everything on Ihoumono, as they tended to shift the blame onto them for everything.
”Excuse me, dear customer?” the shopkeeper spoke to me, and I snapped out of my thoughts.
”Oh, I’m sorry, I was just thinking…” I apologized.
”I see, well, please have a seat here.”
The shopkeeper spoke to me, and I snapped out of my thoughts.
They urged me to sit on the sofa, which I did. The elastic fabric stretched and fit my body snugly, like it was sticking to my skin.
”What’s inside this sofa? It feels like it’s really sticking to my skin.”
”Well, there’s actually about thirty percent of a light stone called Ukiishi (floating stone) inside that floats in the air. It lifts the customer’s body up and gives the sensation of sticking to the body. “
”I see, that’s why the top part of the body is pushed up to form an onion-like shape. By the way, if it’s only about 30 percent, the remaining 70 percent is something else?”
”Yes, the rest is all a stone called Makoishi (magic stone) that has the property of absorb magic power. Dear customer, do you know how to use magic?”
”Yes, I can.”
”Then try wrapping magic around your waist, but only a small amount, please?”
I followed their instructions and wrapped magic around my waist. The sofa began to move and wiggle underneath my lower back.
”Oh, wow!” I exclaimed as I plopped down onto the sofa.
Squish squish…
”Ah…this feels amazing,” I moaned in pleasure.
The shopkeeper, explained to me, “The floating stones were pushed back by the magic ore, which reacted to your magical power. The stones then increased their buoyancy with the magic power and tried to float up again, pushing back the magic ore repeatedly, creating this indescribable sensation.”
But this was bad. As the name implied, this sofa was addictive. It felt too good.
When I heard that there were stones in it, I had an impression that it would be hard and painful, but the finely crushed stones are appropriately hard to receive the body, and while stimulating it, it sticks to the body more than before and rubs the whole body.
The amount of force can be adjusted according to the magic power I put into it, and I was completely relaxed by the performance that is a combination of the beanbag cushion and the electric massage machine in my previous world.
”Master Neil?”
”Oops!”
Diana’s chilly voice brought me back to myself from my slack-jawed state in front of others.
As a noble and a decent human being, I couldn’t let myself be so undignified in public.
I regained my senses, but I was so captivated by the sofa that makes people dependent on it that I bought two sofas, one for myself and the other for the people of the Harvest Hoe that I am indebted to.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.