Chapter 24 Out of Karl, Into Paul
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The next day, we stuck to the plan. We were going to do some serious business, so we hit the morning market early to prep, even renting three new stalls.
At two of the stalls, we worked like machines, lining up products on massive crates with casters. The other two stalls served as our inventory graveyard.
Based on Lisha’s research, I set a flat rate for any item worth two gold coins or more: nine small golds. Everything else was marked down to a third of the market price. This kept us under the tax threshold the government officials had warned us about, and since these were just everyday household goods, there wasn’t any red tape to worry about. We were basically hosting a “resellers welcome” fire sale. I wanted the locals to buy us out completely, so I set the prices to “absolute steal” levels. Since we were moving on regardless of whether we sold out, I even threw the silver pieces into the mix.
I already had our exit strategy ready to go.
Most of the silver stuff was just small-fry – spoons, forks, and the like. I was actually shocked when Lisha told me even those should be priced at nine small golds. Apparently, the craftsmanship and patterns were so refined that they were valued at over two gold coins each.
I’d calculated that a person could live for six months on a single gold coin… The wealth gap in this world was seriously bugged. Lisha mentioned that a single high-end skewer for a noble could cost an entire gold coin. She just shrugged and said that was business as usual for his lordship.
”Talk about a massive divide,” I muttered with a dry laugh. As soon as we finished setting up, the crowd started swarming.
Word about the Sha-sha¹ brand must have spread, because I kept hearing people whisper, “This is the place, right?” Once the prep was done, I kicked things off with a shout.
”We want everyone to know the Sha-sha brand! Today only, we’re selling at a loss! It’s our final day in town, so come get it while it’s hot! Support the Sha-sha brand!”
”Everything is half-off or better! These are reseller prices, people!” Lisha added, her voice ringing out. Right then, the merchant lady from the first day came charging in, practically dragging that cool-headed sister of hers along.
”Hey! There’s plenty to go around, you don’t have to tackle people!” the sister complained.
”Don’t be stupid! How much cash do you have on you?! Give it all to me, I’ll pay you back double!”
The merchant lady started snatching money from her sister while grabbing everything she could reach. Then she stopped, stared at one of the items, put it back, and rushed over to me.
”Is this… actual silver…?” she asked.
”Yeah. Sure is,” I said.
”What do you mean ‘sure is’?! You’re selling these for nine small golds?!” she cried.
”Yeah. That’s the price,” I replied.
CRASH!
She grabbed the entire display case. “I’ll take the lot!” she screamed. Talk about a whale customer.
That set off a chain reaction. People who knew their stuff started begging their friends for loans. Seeing that, everyone else caught the fever and rushed the register.
The four of us worked like demons to keep up. We didn’t know when the authorities might show up to shut down the commotion, so we’d already agreed: today was a race against the clock. To keep the line moving, I’d even put out free wooden crates. People were just shoveling items in and sprinting to the checkout.
Man, we were moving units. It was insane.
Watching people get lured in by the crowd, check the prices, and then suddenly double their movement speed was honestly hilarious. On the flip side, it definitely confirmed my gut feeling: we needed to finish this and get out of town today.
That was the plan. Once the stock hit zero, we were hitting the road. As we were handling the chaos, a man’s voice – a rarity in this crowd – called out, “Guildmaster Shopkeeper!”
”Yeah, what can I do for you?” I called back. He gestured to the two main stalls. “I’ll buy everything you have on display.”
Hehe. Be my guest. The faster we sell out, the better for us.
”Sold!” I shouted. Immediately, a wave of “What?!” and boos erupted from the surrounding crowd.
”Wait, wait! I’m only selling the floor models to him! I want as many of you as possible to get a chance at the inventory!” I announced.
That took the edge off the crowd’s bloodlust.
The middle-aged man was being whispered to by a woman who looked like his secretary. “I wouldn’t push your luck further than this, sir,” she advised.
”Hahaha! You still intend to keep selling at these prices? Fine by me. I didn’t expect to walk away with your whole stock anyway. You’ve certainly kept me on my toes!” the man said.
While he talked, I tallied the display items at lightning speed. I signaled the other three to start restocking the stalls from the inventory boxes so we could keep the momentum going.
”That’ll be fifty-five gold coins, seven small golds, and five large silver coins. You okay with that?” I asked.
”Of course. I wouldn’t offer to buy out a shop if I didn’t have the pocket change to back it up,” the man replied.
The man nodded, and his secretary stepped forward to pay the full amount in gold. The transaction was done and I handed over the change, but the goods were still sitting there.
”Uh, I need to make sure other customers don’t try to grab these…” I said.
”Don’t worry about it. I’ve already sent for a carriage. Just carry on,” he said.
”Fair enough. Thanks for the business,” I said.
”Likewise. This was a profitable trade. My thanks,” he replied.
As I headed back to the register, the merchant lady leaned in. “Are you crazy? Do you know who that was? That’s Chairman Alexis² of the Merchant Guild Alexis! He’s got connections all over the country. You should have been sucking up to him!”
”Nah, I’m good. I just wanted to build the brand and make some fast cash,” I said.
It was a lie – I just wanted the money – but giving her a “business reason” seemed to satisfy her.
”I guess a brand-building fire sale makes a little sense. Still, your prices are criminal. Then again, if the craftsman is just trying to level up his skills, I guess high turnover is more important than profit. Still… way too cheap,” she muttered.
I gave her a wry smile as she repeated herself. Then Chairman Alexis walked over. “My carriage is here. You’ve shown me something interesting today. If you ever need a favor, come find me.” He handed me a card. Apparently, it was a VIP card for his guild.
”Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind if the need arises,” I said with a light bow. He raised a hand before heading out. I’d been worried he might be trouble, but he seemed like a decent guy.
We kept grinding at the register until every last item was gone. Our total was well over two hundred gold coins. More than enough.
”Thanks for coming, everyone! We are officially sold out!”
I dodged the groans of the latecomers and we started our “tactical retreat” immediately.
I couldn’t just use my Storage³ in front of everyone, so we each took a cart loaded with empty crates. We ducked into a quiet alley, stashed everything in Storage, and made a break for the city gates.
I’d already tidied up the house.
Actually, “tidied” might be the wrong word. Once I’d cleared everything out, I realized just how filthy that place was. It gave me the creeps thinking I’d actually slept there. I’d finished the repairs and filled in the holes, so once the lease was up, it would revert to the owner automatically. We were in the clear.
We walked to the gate, flashed our Guild Cards, and slipped through without a hitch. We followed the main road for a bit until the traffic died down, then veered off into the brush. We ran a few kilometers into the wilderness and then – finally – took to the sky.
When I’d remodeled the carriage for four people, I’d added a wind-type magic tool, making takeoff a breeze. Honestly, I’m ready to graduate from “pedal power,” but flying on pure mana alone is still a bit too taxing. Something to work on for the future.
We set our sights on the border. We were done with the Kingdom of Karl.
My plan was to push all the way to a town near the edge of the next territory. That would give us a few days’ head start even if someone tried to chase us at full tilt. It meant we could explore without looking over our shoulders for anyone from the Kingdom of Dole.
We reached the border. I wondered if they’d give us trouble, but we passed through the checkpoint of the Kingdom of Paul easily with our Subjugator cards. Dole, then Karl, and now Paul. Our third country in this world. From Dole’s perspective, this was basically the edge of the map. The farthest we could get.
Relieved, we took flight again, heading toward the mountain range known as Rock Valley⁴. Word was there’s an eternal war going on there between the humans and the demi-humans. I was curious to see how demi-humans were treated in this country. Did people see them as actual people, or just monsters to be killed? That was a make-or-break question for me, because I was seriously considering jumping ship to their side.
My reasoning was simple. Even if I built a life here, the moment the Dole Kingdom’s pursuers caught up, I’d be stripped of everything. As long as they held the “Hero Summoning” card, they held the world’s initiative. Concepts like “justice” or “fairness” wouldn’t mean a thing.
In the lands of the demi-humans, nobody knows I’m “special.” I can build up my power slowly without being put on a pedestal or treated like a biological weapon. I wouldn’t have to deal with people’s arbitrary expectations from day one.
Plus, if I ever decide to settle the score with Dole, being on the side of their sworn enemies is just better optics. If I joined another human kingdom, I’d just be putting a target on their backs.
Of course, the demi-humans probably hate humans, so it won’t be easy. But if there’s even a slim chance for dialogue, I want to see it for myself.
I kept those thoughts to myself as we flew. Even with us taking turns, the long flight left everyone exhausted.
We eventually touched down in a meadow deep within a forest. I stacked up some ten-meter stone blocks to create a makeshift perimeter wall and pulled out “My Home.”
So far, only Charlotte and I had ever been inside. I’d shown Lisha the outside for a split second, but that was it.
I led them inside, secretly eager to see how they’d react. The moment they stepped in, both of them clasped their hands as if in prayer and whispered, “It’s wonderful…”
It was exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.
The entire house featured beautiful hardwood flooring. The living room was partially covered by a rug, and the open-concept layout connected it directly to the kitchen across a counter. A dining table was set with a nice cloth and four stylish chairs, though a bed sat rather jarringly in the corner. Between the sheer size of the room and the sparse furniture, the place felt a bit hollow.
”Oof. Now that I think about it, I haven’t touched this since the early days. I couldn’t exactly pull it out in public, so it’s still in its ‘rough draft’ phase. It looks a little pathetic, doesn’t it?”
It was true. I’d really only used this setup from the time I fled the Dole Kingdom until my first day in Karl. After that, I’d been staying with Lisha-san or renting houses, so the last time I’d actually deployed this was in that basement during the Gekko-kin⁵ Subjugation.
”T-this is what you call pathetic!?” Lisha gaped at me, looking absolutely floored.
”Yep. It is. Well, I’ve got plenty of Mana to burn, so let’s give this place some soul!”
I set to work with a grin, and the girls watched me, their eyes wide with curiosity.
First things first: lighting. I crafted several lanterns and hung them from the ceiling with decorative chains. As I hung about six of them, I felt a twinge of nostalgia, remembering how I used to light the stove in the kitchen late at night and lose myself in Charlotte’s embrace under the flickering glow.
Since I’d basically stripped the kitchen from my last rental house, I just plopped the whole set down and called it a day. While I was at it, I set out a tray of seasonings-salt, pepper, soy sauce, and sugar-on the dining table. Then, to kill the “empty” vibe, I added a few chic cabinets and some houseplants. It finally started to look like a real home. If I added a kotatsu⁶, it would be the perfect Japanese living room, even without a TV.
Next was the bath. Now that I finally had my hands on a Flame Magic Tool, heating the water was a breeze. I set up a reservoir tank and rigged it to heat up with high-intensity fire, allowing me to mix it with cold water for the perfect temp. I even managed to install a manual showerhead. With the addition of mirrors and some nice containers for soap and shampoo, I had myself a top-tier wooden bathhouse.
As for the toilet… I checked it out, but there wasn’t much to do besides add a lantern. It’s a flush system, sure, but it’s still basically an outhouse. I’d already installed a weighted trapdoor to keep the smells from wafting back up.
Then, I moved on to the bedroom. I decided to keep it on the first floor. Why? Simple logistics. I wanted the shortest possible path between the bath, the living room, and the bed. That way, if the mood struck, I could just scoop a girl up and be there in seconds.
Since our numbers had grown, I made the bed hilariously massive. I figured our “family” might keep expanding, anyway. It ended up so wide that it looked like I’d gotten the dimensions backward.
Finally, I headed back to the living room. You can’t have a Japanese-style room without a kotatsu! I decided to build a horigotatsu⁷-the kind with a recessed floor.
I dug it deep for safety. Using an open flame for heat inside a cramped blanket is a fire hazard, so I used Wind and Flame Magic Tools to funnel warm air from deep underground so it would rise up from beneath our feet.
To wrap things up, I wired all the Mana-powered fixtures into a single circuit. I hooked the whole grid up to a massive tank filled with Magic Stones so that everything could be toggled with a simple switch, just like back in Japan. Now the girls could use all the amenities even when I wasn’t around. Once I add a fridge and a freezer, we’ll be set for life. I converted one of the rooms on the second floor into a massive water tank, so we should be good on water for a while, too.
”Phew… finally looks like a place people can actually live in.”
”This is your home, Ibuki-sama? It’s even more incredible than the world of my dreams…”
”I’ve never been inside a castle, but I bet this beats their guest rooms,” Charlotte added.
”Compared to a nobleman’s manor, this wins in every category except sheer square footage,” Lisha said. “Honestly, it’s a joke to even compare them.”
I’d made a custom futon that fit perfectly around the horigotatsu pit, topped with a fluffy quilt. We all settled in, letting the warm air toasty our legs as we chatted lazily.
”Well, I’ve done my work for the day. How about you girls show me what you can do in the kitchen?”
I started popping ingredients onto the table, and Charlotte and Lisha immediately jumped up. Shirley, however, stayed put, her eyes darting around nervously.
”Oho? Does this mean Shirley-kun wants to stay by my side at all times?”
”N-no! It’s not that! It’s just… I’ve never actually cooked before…”
”Whoa, easy there. You didn’t have to shoot me down that hard. It’s okay to just say you want to be with me, you know?”
”Eh!? I-I mean, of course I want to be with you! Always!”
”Good enough for me!” I chirped, flopping over to rest my head in her lap.
She seemed a little flustered, but she started stroking my hair anyway.
”Mmm. Having someone to keep me company while I wait for dinner is the best. I think I’ll leave the cooking to those two from now on. Shirley’s got her hands full with sales and combat, and Lisha and Charlotte would probably feel restless if they didn’t have chores to do.”
”Are you sure that’s alright…?” Shirley asked, looking conflicted.
”We’d prefer it that way!” Charlotte called out from the kitchen. “We’re happy to do it!” Lisha added.
”Muu… but I want to learn eventually,” Shirley pouted. I couldn’t help but smile; she was finally starting to show some personality.
”I’m glad,” I murmured. She tilted her head in confusion. “I mean, I’m glad you’re all getting along. It would suck if everyone started fighting after I fell for you.”
She looked relieved. “Yes… I was worried about that too.”
After that, we ate, took a bath, and I spent the rest of the night playing around with the three of them. Before I knew it, the day was over.
The next day, we reached the town.
Getting in was a breeze. No surprise there-we had all our paperwork from the border in order. I headed straight for the Slave Trader’s guild, picking the locals’ brains for directions along the way.
I ended up buying ten slaves there. It was a wide range, from a twelve-year-old girl to a twenty-eight-year-old woman. There were two reasons for the variety: their looks and their classes.
I specifically hunted for Combat Classes, and since there weren’t many to choose from, I had to take what I could get regardless of age. Not that I minded-they were all beauties. I mean, even if they weren’t, I was mostly looking for employees, but… hey, I’m a guy. Can you blame me? It wasn’t just for pervy reasons, though. If we were going into the frontier, I wanted a team that could actually hold their own.
The shopping spree set me back 150 gold coins. I still had over a hundred left, so I wasn’t broke, but 15 gold per head was a serious investment.
Interestingly, Shirley had only cost 8 gold because she’d been sold into slavery as a criminal. Since she’d been forced to take the fall for her whole family, her “market value” had tanked.
”So, what’s the plan from here?” I asked Lisha later that night. We were in a large room I’d booked at an inn, and I was busy using my skills to craft clothes for the new recruits.
Lisha is basically the brains of the operation. Being a former Guild Master, she knows her stuff. She always humbles herself, saying she’s just a “country girl,” but she’s the smartest person I know in this world.
She tapped her chin and looked at me. “You wanted to learn about the other races, didn’t you, Ibuki-sama?”
”Yeah. I’m curious. And since they don’t seem to care about Summoning over there, I figured it might be an easier place to operate.”
”I wonder… If you can communicate with them, maybe. But otherwise…”
Ah, right. The language barrier. If they can’t talk to each other and just treat everyone like demons, the war’s never going to end. But wait… when I first got here, I could understand everyone perfectly. Maybe I’ll be fine?
”Well, if you can actually talk to them, there might be hope. But I’m still worried they’ll just attack us on sight,”
”If we go, it’ll just be me and the fighters at first. And I’m going to focus on leveling everyone up before we even try.”
As we talked, I started handing out the new clothes. “Here, go change into these.”
The new girls looked baffled by the quality of the fabric. Charlotte and Shirley stepped in to explain, mentioning that they were slaves too, which seemed to help the recruits relax-even if they still didn’t quite understand how I was doing it.
Once they were changed, I decided it was time for a welcome feast: all-you-can-eat Ramen. I’d prepped five thousand servings the other day, so it was the fastest thing I could serve. I told them to eat until they burst, and to my shock, they polished off nearly thirty bowls. Damn. There are only fourteen of us total. A few of those girls must have put away three or four bowls of noodles. At least I knew they weren’t going to bed hungry.
”Alright! Now that everyone’s full!” I announced.
The new girls tensed up, looking like they were expecting some grueling midnight training.
”Let’s hit the hay.”
Two of them actually stumbled, they were so caught off guard. They might actually have a sense of humor.
”Look, it’s been a long day of traveling, and I’m beat.”
”Ibuki-sama?” Charlotte chimed in. “It was only a few hours of traveling. And that was yesterday…”
”Hey, those few hours were intense!”
”That’s only because you spent the whole time playing around!”
She had me there. I’d gotten the bright idea to see how high we could fly, so we’d spent the trip zooming up into the clouds and then free-falling at terminal velocity to see how much speed we could pick up. I’d used a ton of Wind Magic to push the limits, and it had drained me.
But hey, you gotta have a little fun on a long trip, right?
”Heh. You’ve grown, Charlotte. To think you’re actually talking back to me now…”
”Eh!? I wasn’t-I mean-!”
The fact that she could even get flustered like that was proof of her growth. The new girls seemed to pick up on the vibe and finally started to relax.
”Alright, one order before we sleep. None of you are to speak a word about my classes or skills to anyone outside this room. This is an absolute command. Got it?”
My guilt over the “slave” thing was pretty much gone at this point; I was just acting like a boss giving instructions to his crew. They all nodded solemnly.
”Great. Now, I’ve got this king-size bed, so let’s all pile in.”
They stared at the massive bed that had appeared out of nowhere, looking terrified. When I told them it was a skill, they looked confused-apparently, Merchant skills aren’t supposed to work like that. They hesitated, saying they’d get the bed dirty and were fine with the floor.
”I can clean it in a second with my skill, so don’t worry about it. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, and I need you rested. Consider it a direct order: get in the bed and get some sleep.”
So that did the trick. They all piled in, and so, our first night outside the Karl Kingdom drew to a close.
—
Summary:
To fund their departure from the Kingdom of Karl, the protagonist launches a massive clearance sale of his finely crafted goods, where he crosses paths with Alexis, the influential guild chairman, forging a pivotal connection that bolsters their prospects. With funds secured, the team presses on to the Kingdom of Paul, setting their sights on the rugged Rock Valley mountain range in hopes of allying with the demi-humans for the perilous frontier ahead.
There, Ibuki transforms their new base into a serene Japanese haven, installing a cozy horigotatsu seating pit and an ingeniously advanced bath system for respite amid the wilds. Bolstering their ranks, he ventures to a slave market and recruits ten fierce combat-class women to join the journey. The chapter culminates in a lavish ramen feast that binds the growing group in camaraderie, before they all pile into a magically enlarged bed, drifting off to dreams of what lies beyond.
—
Trivia:
- The protagonist is intentionally selling below market value to avoid taxes and attract resellers.
- A single gold coin can support a commoner for six months, highlighting the extreme value of his sales.
- The protagonist’s ‘My Home’ is a specialized magic construct that he can deploy from Storage.
- He is avoiding other human kingdoms because the Hero Summoning gives the Kingdom of Dole political leverage everywhere.
- Ibuki is using magic stones as a power source for the house’s infrastructure.
- Shirley was significantly cheaper (8 gold) than the others (15 gold) because of her family’s criminal status.
- Ibuki’s translation ability allows him to potentially communicate with other races without a language barrier.
- The massive bed was created to accommodate future growth of the harem/household
—
Character Insight:
The protagonist shows a growing tactical mindset, choosing to abandon the comfort of human society for the unknown demi-human lands to ensure his long-term freedom and safety from the Kingdom of Dole.
Ibuki shows a mix of pragmatic leadership and self-indulgence, prioritizing a comfortable living environment and a loyal, combat-ready team. Shirley is beginning to open up emotionally, moving past her initial timidity.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses the ‘bugged’ wealth gap to emphasize how the protagonist’s crafting skills provide him with economic power that rivals high-ranking nobility.
The author uses ‘horigotatsu’ and ‘ramen’ to emphasize Ibuki’s connection to his original world despite being in a fantasy setting.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Lisha – Mature native girl with killer curves, huge rack, brown long haired and big-sis vibes—polite, shy homebody type who calls banging Ibuki a
• Alexis – Chairman of the Merchant Guild Alexis. A middle-aged man with significant influence throughout the country. Recognized the protagonist’s talent and provided a VIP card.
• Hero – Ibuki’s upperclassman from Earth—summoned as the naive Hero with emotional, mentally fragile personality. Empathetic yet reluctant and inadequate-feeling, lacking survival instincts and political skills. Currently in despair and terrified by his situation.
• Charlotte – Short, skinny late‑teen slave girl with messy brown hair, feline eyes, and a soft, slender body. Was an Ex‑Level 8 farmer, now Level 10 and bound to Ibuki, who she calls “Master” and calls herself his wife. Wears rags at first, then pretty clothes he makes, plus his bat‑wing hairband. Blushy, clingy, protective, and easily emotional, she follows him on runs, fights, and flights while always worrying if she’s useful enough.
• Ibuki – Broke high‑schooler from Earth who got tossed into another world with the “Crafter” class he first thought was useless—turns out it’s totally busted. Black‑haired, germaphobic, and low‑key bitter but sharp as hell. Uses Synthesis, Processing, and Inventory skills to survive, craft gear, and haul loot while exploring. Currently a Level 10 otherworlder, wielding a stone axe, traveling the frontier forest with Charlotte, and just trying to stay alive long enough to find a bit of peace.
• Shirley – 14yo ex-knight family swordswoman, Ibuki’s 2nd slave (8-gold scapegoat from Karl), rocking long red hair, dignified cool beauty in tight white dress—shocked by the chill vibes at first. Fanatic loyalist, weapon tester, security guard, blunt questioner of his slave game, one of his 3 wives, combat/sales pro but can’t cook.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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