Chapter 369 The Craftsman ③
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
At the request of Viscount Nixfen and his son, Mr. Tail, I led them to the material warehouse ¹. Though calling it a “lead” was a bit much – it was just the room next door.
As it happened, I had just finalized a plan to purchase a massive shipment of materials from the Kingdom of Ferguson. If I could source things from the Nixfen territory as well, my inventory would be in great shape. I figured I should pick their brains while I had the chance.
”Heh… You’ve really stocked up, haven’t you?” Tail asked.
”Yeah. My funds are stable now, and the recent chaos has finally died down,” I replied. “I’m looking to launch some new products soon, so I’m putting my energy into research.”
This warehouse was crammed to the gills with materials I’d gathered since the day I opened. Part of me was still stuck in that “adventurer” mindset; some items I’d harvested myself, while others I’d commissioned with the last of my meager copper.
There were loads from the Twilight Merchant Guild ², and even some mystery items I’d snagged at the market just because they looked interesting. I’d gathered them all without a second thought as to whether they were actually usable – I was just desperate for anything that might put food on the table.
The reason I’d spent money so recklessly was because of my masters’ teachings. For a magic pharmacist or an alchemist, there is no such thing as “useless knowledge.”
The two of them had told me the exact same thing, separately, using the exact same words. It had been burned into my mind. Ever since, if I had a spare coin, I spent it on materials.
On the various shelves, suspicious furs spilled over the edges, horns jutted out at odd angles, and rows of prototype medicine bottles sat next to magic circuits that would look like junk to a layman.
It wasn’t a place I usually showed off, so I wasn’t putting on a performance, but it certainly looked the part of a “suspicious magic shop.” Honestly, a normal person wandering in here would probably be terrified, but the Nixfens didn’t seem to mind. They walked deeper into the room with total composure.
”Hm? Is this perhaps a Caramel Spider?” Ray asked. “They live in the woods near our estate too.”
”Yeah, I needed some durable silk,” I said. “I use it as the string for the ‘Fourteen-Star Anus Beads’ ³… specifically for the anal pearls.”
”Um, the ‘anal’ part is…” Ray started, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She hadn’t been embarrassed by the ‘Throb-Buddy’ ⁴, yet ‘Anal’ was the bridge too far? Given the nature of the ‘Help Stick’ ⁵, you’d think she’d be used to this by now. As I was wondering about her reaction, Tail spoke up in her place.
”The butt hole, then?” Tail asked.
”Exactly,” I replied. “I mold the same material as the ‘Throb-Buddy’ into spheres and string them together with the spider silk. After that… well, you apply some lubricant and slide them in. It’s designed to provide the pleasure of repeated dilation. It’s easier to show you the product than explain the mechanics.”
I pulled a set of Fourteen-Star Anus Beads from the cluttered shelf. To an outsider, the organization probably looked like chaos, but I had a system. I knew exactly where everything was. Tail took the beads and began inspecting them with a grim, scholarly intensity.
”…In the journals of an ancestor from several generations back, there was a sketch of a similar prototype,” Tail muttered.
”Oh… the ‘Lord of the Breaking Night,’ right?” Ray added.
”The Lord of the Breaking Night…?” I asked.
”Yeah,” Ray said. “Like my father said, he was a family head from a few generations ago. His nickname came from the way he’d research enthusiastically until the sun came up. He left all his findings in a set of journals.”
I guess there’s one in every family. Ray’s expression was a bit bitter, which was a common reaction to a researcher who had gone off the deep end. Still, part of me wanted to read those journals – just to see how far he’d gone.
”Is that ‘prototype’ not currently on the market?” I asked.
”…Umu. The backside is a tough market,” Tail admitted. “I’m sure some people use the ‘Help Stick’ that way on their own, but we hesitated to market a dedicated product for it. It’s unsanitary, and the usage tends to get… extreme. Above all, the ‘Help Stick’ is technically a food item, so…”
I suppose sticking food up your ass is a valid reason for hesitation. But then that raises the question: is sticking it in a v**ina any better? I decided not to overthink it. Regardless, it seemed the Nixfen family had tried to enter the anal-toy market and folded.
”Conversely, Master Kento, how do you manage to sell these?” Tail asked.
”Oh, we struggled with that too,” I said. “We overcame the hygiene issue by developing a specialized slime for internal cleansing. If your family has prototypes, I’d love for you to send them over. They might actually sell at my shop.”
”Incredible…” Tail whispered.
We continued our tour of the warehouse, talking shop. Sometimes they’d recognize a material I had; other times, they’d tell me about something I’d never heard of. Being able to discuss the unique difficulties of the adult goods trade was incredibly valuable to me.
The Nixfen family, who had been quietly selling these goods for generations, clearly had a lot of baggage. They kept at it because the profits were too good for the territory to ignore, but it had cost them. They had trouble finding wives, and the surrounding nobility treated them with a certain… icy distance -ssu.
Ray and Tail didn’t seem to care much anymore, though. Ray, as the current head of the house, was already looking toward the future.
”We really need new products…” Ray whispered regretfully, looking up at the storage shelves. “We should have started thinking about this much sooner.”
She was clearly frustrated that the ‘Help Stick’ sales had plummeted while my shop’s inventory was taking over the market.
As the new successor, there wasn’t much she could have done about the stagnation. Still, it felt a little awkward saying that in front of the previous Viscount, Tail. I stole a glance at him; he was just listening to his daughter in silence.
”…I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not one to talk, but product development is a massive risk. You can pour your soul into something and have it flop completely. But you can’t make something great without putting in that effort. My place started as a tiny magic circuit shop, and I’ve been lucky enough to see the growth to fund these experiments.”
”Lord Harvest…” Ray breathed.
I only managed those early developments because I was the only one who had to pay the price if I failed. Plus, I had knowledge from my previous world. I did what I had to do to survive. If I had been a lord like Tail or Ray, with an entire population depending on me, I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to push for such radical changes.
”I appreciate the comfort,” Tail said.
”I didn’t mean it as comfort,” I replied. “I’ve just been lucky. I think about that every day.”
”Luck only visits those who move to meet it,” Tail said with a mixture of regret and newfound hope. “The reason we met was not because of me, who stayed hidden in my territory, but because of my daughter, who set foot in the Royal Capital.”
He looked like a man who had finally decided to grab hold of his own fortune. Finally, he turned his attention to his daughter.
”It is clear that we must change,” Tail said. “Ray, you are the Viscount Nixfen now. What is it you want to do?”
”…I think Master Kento’s proposal is a godsend,” Ray said. “I want to protect the Nixfen territory. I want to protect the land where I was born, the people who live there… the people who are my family.”
It was a moving sentiment. The only awkward part was that the “godsend” she was talking about was building a factory for adult magic goods. I tried my best to keep a straight face as Tail turned to me with a look of absolute gravity. Ray did the same.
”…Then it’s settled,” Tail said. “Master Kento, I’ve seen enough of your character. Forgive me for testing you.”
”Don’t give it a second thought,” I said. “If I were in your shoes, I’d have done the exact same thing.”
We shook hands again, and he gave a heavy, solemn nod. He spoke slowly, his voice dropping an octave.
”I leave my territory – and my daughter – in your hands.”
…Wait, what?
—
Summary:
Kento guides Viscount Nixfen and his father, Tail, through his material warehouse. They bond over the technical difficulties of developing anal-themed adult goods and the social stigma attached to their trade. The visit concludes with the Nixfens officially agreeing to a partnership, culminating in Tail entrusting both his territory and his daughter to Kento.
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Trivia:
- Kento is still secretly sourcing materials from his time as an adventurer.
- Viscount Nixfen (Ray) is embarrassed by ‘anal’ terminology despite dealing in other adult goods.
- The ‘Help Stick’ is legally classified as a food item, causing a hygiene dilemma for anal use.
- Kento solved the hygiene issue using a specialized slime, a tech the Nixfens lacked.
- Tail Nixfen deliberately tested Kento’s character during this meeting
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Character Insight:
Ray Nixfen shows a deep sense of responsibility toward her people, choosing to partner with a ‘suspicious’ shop to save her territory. Tail displays a transition from a weary, hidden researcher to a hopeful strategist who recognizes Kento’s unique blend of luck and effort.
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Lord of the Breaking Night’ (Zanya) serves as a foil to Kento, showing what happens to a magic researcher who lacks commercial success or modern ‘isekai’ hygiene knowledge.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Nixfen – A viscount aristocrat who has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district. He is described as a ‘pretty boy’ or ‘gentle-looking man’ (yasao) but is a territory-holding noble likely trained in combat.
• Tail – Former Viscount Nixfen and Ray’s father. A master craftsman with rugged, calloused, and scarred hands. Stern expression, socially awkward, and proud of his family’s ‘specialized’ trade.
• Ray – A Viscount with flaxen-gold hair in a men’s wolf cut. Possesses a sweet mask and a prince-like aura. It is revealed at the end that Ray is actually a woman. She has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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