The timeline is around chapter 93.
The perspective is that of Utagawa.
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is open the curtains.
The sunlight pouring in brightens up the room, which in turn wakes up Shina-san, making it noisy, and that wakes up Hanamura-san, Ikeda-san, and Misaki-san, and then all the girls are up.
After getting ready, I head to the kitchen on the first floor to prepare breakfast.
It’s Misaki-san’s job to wake the boys. Just a knock on the door from her is enough to wake up Miura-kun and make it noisy, which then wakes all the boys up.
Kaji-kun, who is slow to get ready because he’s still half asleep, sometimes falls back to sleep, so I sometimes have to go and wake him up.
…It’s always Hanamura-san who wakes up Mr. George.
Hanamura-san is relentless, so, as expected, even Mr. George can’t stay asleep.
But he still oversleeps every morning, so all we can do is be amazed.
This is how our day begins.
“Utagawa and Kaji are on clerk duty today. Anyone else, come with me for the procurement,” Mr. George says, nibbling on bread.
Being a clerk is usually a two-person job. Aside from that, some go with Mr. George for procurement, some leisurely spend their day, some go to town to shop for groceries or daily necessities, some do house chores, and we distribute the jobs among us as needed to live our lives.
“What kind of procurement today?”
When Shina-san asks, Mr. George responds with a sly smile.
“Vases. Particularly suspicious ones.”
…He’s sure to procure something useless again.
This shop isn’t short on money.
Mr. George can increase not just money but anything, so we could live without doing any business at all.
Yet, we still run a business not just for appearances, but probably because of Mr. George’s interests and hobbies.
Otherwise, why would a pawnshop go out for procurement!
…Right. Rather than a pawnshop, this place is more like a general store that also buys goods… maybe.
“Wow, sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll tag along today.”
Shina-san also likes strange things, especially weapons.
At first, I didn’t understand her, but she’s straightforward and likable, and I admire how earnest she is about various things. I quite like her.
“I’ll pass. I’ve got a craving for terrine of mackerel today, so I’ll take my turn shopping and cooking today, okay?”
“Oh, count me in then.”
Umino-kun is good at cooking. Ikeda-san also enjoys cooking, so it seems they get along.
Thanks to these two, our dining table is always enriched.
“I’ll go with Mr. George too. What about Imano?”
“Ah, I’ll pass. I’ll clean the warehouse or something.”
Sagara-kun is, for better or worse, diligent. I think he doesn’t need to bother with procuring suspicious vases.
Even if something happens to Mr. George, Shina-san alone is more than enough firepower.
…A berserker is not for show, after all.
Imano will probably enjoy a nap in the hammock hung in the warehouse today again.
But he’ll do the cleaning as well.
“I’ll also go with Mr. George.”
Hanamura-san also likes strange things.
…I think Mr. George is at the top of Hanamura-san’s list of strange things she likes. Of course, not in a weird way.
“Kaji is on clerk duty, right? Then I’ll stay as well.”
“Oh oh, do that. Being with Utagawa alone makes me uneasy, so that helps.”
Kaburagi-kun is… well, a concern.
He’s quite attached to Kaji, but I wish he’d be more inclined towards Sagara-kun or Umino-kun.
Kaji is skilled at making the most of situations. Perhaps his being favored by Kaburagi-kun is also due to his adeptness.
“Utagawa, pass me the salt.”
Mr. George points to the salt shaker beside me.
Today’s breakfast is bread with bacon and eggs, and tea.
I think the saltiness of the bacon is enough, but maybe it’s not enough for Mr. George.
“Ah, Mr. George, that’ll be bad for your kidneys!”
“I’d rather eat what I want and die young than live a long life on a low-salt diet,”
Mr. George replies, dodging Hanamura-san’s words smoothly.
…I guess thinking he has a point means I’ve been influenced by Mr. George too. That’s dangerous.
“Then, I’m counting on you for the shop.”
“See you, we’re off!”
With Mr. George and the others gone, we all split up to do our own things.
…Ever since we arrived, Mr. George has been happy that he can go out for procurement whenever he wants.
He must naturally enjoy such things. Rather than staying in a shop with few customers all day, it’s more like Mr. George to be out looking for suspicious vases.
The doorbell rings with a clink.
“Welcome.”
…The shop, which once had few customers, doesn’t anymore.
It seems we’ve attracted more customers since we arrived.
“Oh, it’s Utagawa-san and Kaji-kun on duty today,” says Ms. Aelia, a regular visitor and the wife of the blacksmith from the shop behind ours.
“Good morning. Are you looking for something today?”
“Well, yes, do you have any wound medicine?”
Wound medicine.
…I wonder if someone got injured.
“We do. What kind would you like? …Oh, did your husband get hurt?”
“No. You see, the temple is currently recruiting people, and my husband has decided to participate. We have swords and armor at home, but no medicine.”
Kaji, pretending to search for something next to me, squats down… and he’s laughing, isn’t he.
…Currently, there’s a wide call for mercenaries from the temple.
This is because the Demon King is invading… and that Demon King is Maito-san… yeah…
Knowing the other side of the story makes it complicated…
“I see. Then, I’ll look for medicine that’s convenient to carry.”
Leaving Kaji behind the counter, I decided to go look for medicine in the warehouse.
After selling ointment medicine to Ms. Aelia, another customer arrives.
“Welcome.”
This man… has a look of misfortune about him.
“Excuse me. Do you have any charms that bring good luck?”
Kaji seems to be holding back a laugh again, but the man is quite serious.
“I’m applying for the temple’s recruitment. I’m extremely unlucky… so I at least want to be as lucky as the average person. Otherwise, I feel like I won’t survive fighting the Demon King…”
I think it’ll be mostly fine given that the Demon King is Maito-san.
“I’ll look for it. Please wait a moment.”
After finding Kaburagi-kun holding a bunch of books and asking him to stay with Kaji, I went to the warehouse to search for a “charm that brings good luck.”
…I wonder if there’s such a thing.
After waking up Imano, who was napping in the warehouse, and searching together, we found something appropriate.
We sold it to the customer… Mr. Wadi, as he said his name was… and then it was quiet again.
I borrowed one of the books Kaburagi-kun had brought with him and passed the time reading it.
…The language of this world seems unique to this world.
That’s why, when I first came to this world, I couldn’t read the characters.
But after looking at them for a while, I somehow acquired a “translation” skill, and since then, I’ve been able to read fluently… This world really is mysterious.
The book I’m reading now is a collection of fairy tales from this world.
The first one is about a proud noble who seeks a potion to resurrect the dead and meets his downfall because of it.
…In this world, resurrecting the dead is a taboo. They can heal any injury with magic, but I wonder where they draw the line.
The second tale is about a brave boy who ventures to the depths of the earth to bring back the blue sky to the surface.
However, this boy can never return to the surface. It’s a story that gives you a lot to think about.
Just as I was about to start the third one, it was time for lunch.
…I need to help prepare lunch. Although Ikeda-san and Umino-kun are in charge of cooking, I can at least help with serving.
We hung a “Preparing” sign on the shop’s door, marking the end of the morning’s business.
After eating lunch, consisting of mackerel rillettes and baguettes, salad, and soup, we reopened for business.
In the afternoon, customers came by now and then, most of them buying equipment for the temple’s recruitment. I guess this is what you’d call a special demand.
Currently, because of the temple’s recruitment, a flying ship powered with “Lost Blessing” circles Deichemoore Square regularly.
It takes half a day by carriage from here to the temple, but it seems you can get there in less than two hours by flying ship.
…I heard this from Mr. George and the others when they returned in the evening.
Why, you ask? Because Mr. George and his group had taken the flying ship to the temple to try to sell the suspicious vase they had bought.
…And then they came back to Deichemoore, which must have been quite a bother for the temple folks… Ah, this is what happens when they go out for procurement.
“So, this is the vase.”
…Moreover, this “suspicious vase”…
“Looks like it could contain pickled plums.”
“Eh, I thought it was miso.”
Well, it’s a vase that looks like that.
“…No, it’s nukadoko (rice bran bed for pickling),”
…The content was, indeed, nukadoko… Yes, I guess it would be suspicious to the people of this world.
“Ah, there are cucumbers pickled in it.”
“But they seem to be in good condition. Just the right level of pickling, don’t you think? This vase might be magical.”
…In the end, the “suspicious vase” was a “vase that keeps the nukadoko lively, preventing whatever is pickled in it from becoming overly pickled.”
Somehow… being with Mr. George lets you catch glimpses of what “otherworlders” who came to this world in the past were up to… and sometimes, it really drains you…
“Well, let’s eat, shall we?”
“What’s for dinner today?”
“Let’s try cutting up these cucumbers.”
…And so, our day generally passes by.