Chapter 27 The Man Who Got a Message From a Friend After Several Years
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I see, I see… If we include food costs, I suppose we’re looking at maybe two or three months at most, huh?” Ami-chan observed, her voice bubbling up with an almost academic interest in their financial ruin.
”Yeah, that’s about right,” I grumbled back. “Though I guess we could try to cut back on groceries even more.”
”But I still want to try out all sorts of things to take from Japan to the other world, don’t I? Naturally, some of those things have to be bought with money. We could definitely use a little more cushion here, you know?” Ami-chan wondered, tapping her chin with a playful frown.
The rumor was that as my Quester Level increased and I dedicated various items as Resource Points to the Great Phantasmal Soulstone, I’d eventually be able to create objects that held genuine monetary value. However, selling those things back in Japan was fraught with complications. That’s why I had planned to sell them in the other world’s towns to make money for the time being—that was the idea, anyway.
”Do you have any good ideas about money? Honestly, it’s going to be tough to find a part-time job here since I can’t exactly abandon the other world,” I admitted, rubbing my tired eyes.
Besides, I simply didn’t want to work in this world anymore. Ami-chan was focused on converting this world’s goods into Resource Points, but for me, living in the other world presented no problems at all.
If anything, the quality of life was superior there. I had no worries about food or drink, a much bigger house than this cramped place, and even a lover. My only issue was how harsh the environment could be sometimes; otherwise, I had no complaints.
”I’ve been thinking of a few things, yeah… But none of them are something we can start right away,” Ami-chan finally announced.
”…Like what, exactly?” I pressed.
”An apparel shop!”
Even now, I could create simple clothes. I’d been told that as my Quester Level rose and I offered more types of items to the Great Phantasmal Soulstone, I would be able to craft garments of higher quality. Once that happened, I could secure a shop, hire an employee, and leave the management to them.
All the clothing on the racks would be produced in the other world. Since the only initial cost would be Resource Points, selling them would genuinely generate cash.
”The start-up costs are a huge hurdle, though…” I sighed, envisioning the piles of forms.
”They really are, aren’t they? We’d need to file for a business license, too. Well, we could also start by selling the clothes to a famous brand, but either way, it would require your sales skills, and whatever we decide, we can’t start immediately.”
It was becoming painfully clear that our poor financial state wasn’t going to be fixed anytime soon. To save on food and electricity, my best bet was to get back to the other world as quickly as possible. And, of course, I wanted to hold Cleonora. Hearing that high school girl’s voice earlier had really worked me up with desire.
”For now, how about we just make a list of candidates for what to bring back to the other world?” I suggested, trying to regain my focus.
”Good idea! Also, I want to collect data on exactly how much we can carry!” Ami-chan exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with scientific curiosity.
”Wait… what do you mean?”
”I told you, didn’t I? This is the first time I’ve formed a domain that crosses multiple worlds while I’m physically with a person. We don’t know yet exactly what can be brought from Japan to the other world.”
Could I take anything I was holding? Or everything in my immediate vicinity during the teleportation? Or was there a size limit? She wanted to collect data on all of it. I had just assumed I could take whatever I wanted.
”Of course, there’s a chance there’s no limit at all! Let’s just try out a bunch of things!” she chirped.
”Alright, fine. But at the very least, we can take the clothes we’re wearing, right? I was wearing clothes the first time I went to the other world, and I’m wearing them now.”
I wondered if those four successful-looking, popular heroes had been able to bring their smartphones with them. No one had seemed to be using one at the time.
”The first time you went to the other world and my teleportation are two different things, you know? As for teleporting from the other world to Japan, we only just figured out you could bring your clothes now.”
”Huh… is that so…?”
That meant Ami-chan had considered the possibility of arriving in my room stark naked. Her explanation suggested that the restrictions on what we could bring from the other world to Japan were still largely unknown as well.
During our discussion, we began listing candidates for what to bring to the other world, varying in size from small to large. Plant seeds were a must-have—for the experiment of planting them over there, harvesting the resulting vegetables or fruits, and then converting them into Resource Points. The fact that seeds were cheap was also a big plus.
”If there’s no limit, I’d really love to try bringing a car…! Something that advanced in industry has to be worth a ton of Resource Points! Plus, it might allow us to create all sorts of fantastical and unheard-of things!”
”I don’t have the money to buy one, and I don’t even have a driver’s license, remember…?” I muttered, staring out the window.
Our only option was to head outside and search for cheap items with good Resource Point conversion rates. And so, we left the room.
* * *
”We bought quite a bit…”
Two days flew by. The room was now filled with vegetable and fruit seeds, along with simple metal goods like a shovel and spoons. Ever since that initial iron room I was trapped in, I hadn’t converted any metal objects into Resource Points in the other world. It was a good time to dedicate more metal materials to the system. The fact that everything could be bought at a hundred-yen shop was a welcome bonus. We also planned to bring plastic waste, like empty bottles lying around the house. On top of that, we prepared seasonings such as salt and pepper, since the meat we ate over there had no flavor on its own.
”But after spending money on meals for the first time in a while, it almost feels like we’re living extravagantly…” I confessed.
”Well, here, you need money every single day just to stay alive, don’t you?” Ami-chan reasoned, watching me carefully. We had no reliable income, so we needed to keep spending as low as possible.
”Can we teleport back to the other world yet?” I asked, impatience creeping into my voice.
”Mmm, not quite yet~”
Did the poor really have to dedicate their lives to the lottery just to turn things around? As I pondered this, my smartphone screen lit up.
”Huh…?”
A new message. The first in ages. The sender was a former high school classmate.
”Let’s see… it’s Morisaki, huh? How long has it been…?”
Morisaki had been a friend back in my third year of high school. Believe it or not, before I failed my university entrance exams and got kicked out of my home, I’d actually had a few friends. I’d kept in touch with him a couple of times after graduation, but this was the first message in years.
Shimizu, how are you? I actually talked to your brother the other day. I got a little curious about what you’re up to now. I know this might be meddling, but I can introduce you to a good part-time job. Let me know if you’re interested.
My brother must have said something. Probably that I was still unemployed and living a loser’s life in a crummy apartment. The offer of a “good” part-time job was so suspicious it made my skin crawl. Still, having no money meant I was curious.
Just then, a second message arrived:
I’m a civil servant now, managing the municipal gymnasium and pool. I usually leave the work to a contracted company, but I can get you an intro as a part-timer there. It’s not a strict shift system; you can set your own pace. Travel expenses are paid, and if you’re interested, let me know by the end of next month.
Okay, so it wasn’t some shady invite after all. My bad, Morisaki, I thought, feeling a pang of guilt. But anyone would be suspicious if a friend they hadn’t heard from in years suddenly reached out with a job offer.
Wait, he’s a civil servant now? I hadn’t known that. Morisaki must have had a perfectly smooth life. This was probably an act of charity, borne out of pity—one of those gestures from someone successful who wanted to throw a bone to a pathetic former classmate. People like that subconsciously looked down on losers like me. Not that they were even aware of it.
Even if Morisaki thought he was being considerate, being shown pity by a civil servant classmate felt like pure humiliation. A month ago, I wouldn’t have even glanced at an email like this. But now…
For the sake of a better life in the other world, the truth is, I really do need a little more Japanese yen… And if I can truly work on my own schedule, it’s not a bad deal…
Pride and practicality waged war in my head. The paid travel expenses were a huge temptation, too. If I walked for hours to get there, I could pocket the travel money.
”Agh, you’ve got to be kidding me¹…” I groaned, clutching my forehead.
”What is it? You look like you just got saved from starving by an elementary school kid giving you a piece of candy, and now you’re agonizing over whether to take their handout,” Ami-chan teased, smirking.
I struggled with the idea of accepting Morisaki’s charity, but since I had until the end of next month to reply, I decided to think about it a little longer before making a decision.
—
Summary:
Shou and Ami-chan are flat broke, stressing over their remaining cash and hatching a scheme to open an apparel shop using their Resource Point system. They buy a bunch of cheap junk like seeds and spoons to test out the limits of inter-world travel. Just when Shou’s ready to bolt back to his awesome life and girlfriend Cleonora in the other world, he gets a text from Morisaki, a successful civil servant and old classmate, offering him a perfectly legitimate, low-stress part-time job. Shou’s pride is severely wounded by the perceived charity, but he has to weigh his ego against the practical need for Japanese yen to fund his superior life in the Labyrinth Frontier. He’s torn over whether to swallow his pride and accept the ‘handout’ to get more money.
—
Character Insight:
Shou’s central conflict is his battered ego from his life in Japan versus the pragmatic necessity of money to support his better life as a Quester. His longing for Cleonora is a major driver, intensifying his need to resolve the money issue quickly and get back to the other world. Ami-chan, conversely, is purely focused on the mechanics of their system and experiments, remaining a supportive but slightly detached observer of Shou’s human drama.
—
Behind the Scene:
This chapter is the climax of Shou’s financial anxiety arc in the Japanese setting. The job offer from Morisaki is a classic literary device: the ‘temptation’ to return to a normal life, which Shou views as a step backward into humiliation, testing his commitment to his new, self-made life in the other world. The image of him pocketing the travel money is a key moment showing how far his pragmatism has overridden his pride.
—
T/L:
The phrase ‘Agh, you’ve got to be kidding me’ captures the Japanese ‘ぐぬぬぬぬぬぬぬぅ’ which is an onomatopoeia for a deep, frustrated internal groan, often used when one’s pride is being severely challenged.¹
Notes:
• Ami – A palm-sized fairy-like being from a world separate from both Earth and the isekai realm. She has light blue hair tied in a ponytail, mischievous blue eyes, and tiny wings that flutter behind her. Her outfit consists of a provocative high-cut leotard and a short jacket that looks like a miniskirt from the back, leaving her legs bare. Despite her playful appearance, she is actively searching for a contractor who can protect her from dangerous pursuers in exchange for the powers she offers.
• Cleonora – The second princess. Have a yellow blonde hair. Usually styled as hairbun.
• Morisaki – A former high school friend of Shou’s who is now a successful civil servant. He contacts Shou after speaking with Shou’s brother, offering a legitimate job. His success is a source of humiliation for Shou.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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