Saving 80,000 Gold in an Another World for Retirement Chapter 230

230. Do your best! Soldier-kun 2

“…ah, sorry, please sit down” (the commandant)

The commandant who finally noticed that we’re still standing said so and suggested us to sit on the reception seats.

And he also got up from his office chair and moved to the reception seat.

As expected, we can’t sit down before the commandant does, so we have to wait…

Soldier-kun, too, seemed to have received adequate education even though he is at the bottom of the rank, and he responded adequately.

Well, in the military world, it is said that when getting in a passenger car, the higher-up comes first, and when getting on a bus, boat, or elevator, the higher-up comes after… my Oniichan said that.

Then, taking up his offer, I unreservedly proceed to sit following the commandant… Soldier-kun, too, quickly sit down!

“…well?” (the commandant)

“Yes, I asked everyone who was accustomed to drinking expensive alcohol to sample. If the result shows that it’s going to be popular, I was thinking of selling it here” (Mitsuha)

“Selling it? …ah, before that, stop with that way of talking. Somehow it’s unpleasant” (the commandant)

Urusai wa!

Well, it’s not that my way of speaking is strange, it’s just that the honorifics that I’ve attached may not come out right since we used to speak casually at the bar. It would be unpleasant if a good friend suddenly spoke in honorifics one day. It’s the same as that, maybe.

“…got it. However, you can’t drag us to a court-martial over improper behavior or rudeness later!” (Mitsuha)

“Which tyrant do you take me for!!” (the commandant)

Setting me aside, I would feel guilty if I were to drag Soldier-kun into trouble as well. So I have to make sure about that…

“My family imports food, alcohol, and many other things from other countries. That liquor is one of them, and I wanted to see people who were used to drink liquor of that level to taste it. And it doesn’t help anything by just listening to compliments and words, so I observed how everyone’s reaction.

And then, we decided to import it because it seemed to be well received… but it was very popular even in the country of origin, so it was hard to obtain, and it was only affordable at a high price. So, there’s only so much amount that can be imported…

Well, there are some from other makers that have almost the same quality, so if you’re good with a similar one, it’ll be convenient… it’s roughly comparable to that one” (Mitsuha)

Right, the 12 y/o single malt from Hakushu I brought that time is out of production.

Well, there’s no way the 12 y/o product would be [rapidly mass-produced due to favorable reception], after all… Even if they were to prepare a lot now, it wouldn’t make sense if the popularity subsided 12 years later.

Of course, I still could get some if I searched on the internet and pay tens of thousands yen for it, but there’s no need to do that far.

Indeed, I think even if I get it at a super high price, I still can sell it to nobles, riches, or military officials at several times the price I paid.

But I don’t want to do that far, and I would feel bad towards all sake enthusiasts on Earth. So the other products from the same maker or the equivalent products from the other makers should do just fine.

“Please do!” (the commandant)

Immediate answer!? And I feel like I heard [kukuku…] from the foul face of his…

Aaah, he’s not only thinking to drink and enjoy it himself but also brags about it to others, absolutely…

Most senior officers in this country are nobles, so no matter how expensive they are, the price wouldn’t be a problem. The problem is to get what others can’t get, no matter how much money they have…

However, Japanese sake is already in circulation among the nobles and wealthy people of the royal capital…

Well, the number is still few, and indeed, the ones that equivalent to the Hakushu 12 y/o hasn’t been sold yet.

And, for this commandant, I’m just [a daughter of a naval favored noble family that he met at his favorite bar] and [a female friend of a young soldier who is working in the fleet]. Still, if the liquor I prepared were to spread through this person, it will be exposed sooner or later… the fact that I am the [Viscount Mitsuha von Yamano], who is now famous in the royal capital, I mean…

Be it noble or military official—if they’ve been working in this town of naval port and never got the chance to go to the royal capital, and that they haven’t attended a noble party, of course, they won’t get the opportunity to know me. And of course, about the alcohol that we’re handling, too.

But if they’ve attended a party I’ve been to, or if they’ve drunk the alcohol the Rephilia Trade handles…

If they just drank the alcohol, then they would just think [Ah, it’s the Rephilia Trade’s liquor], but I just said [we’re importing] earlier… then they would deduce that I am either of the Rephilia Trade or the Yamano Viscounty. And if anyone who knows that far hears the name [Mitsuha], then they would realize that I am the Viscount Yamano herself.

But it’s not like I need to hide that fact, so I don’t mind. If I wanted to hide it, I would’ve been using an alias from the beginning.

As long as there’s no contradiction about my actions in terms of the number of days it takes to move between the royal capital and this city, there’s no problem. I didn’t really show up in public anyway. …since I usually live in Japan or the Old Continent.

And even if there’s a contradiction, I don’t think anyone would bother to look up the number of days I’m staying and compare them. There’s no point in doing that after all.

Well, that’s that. But Soldier-kun has been in figurine state without even saying anything since we entered this room.

Well, it can’t be helped. I was the one who was called this time because there was a request, and Soldier-kun is just a sailor, so it’s not weird if he has nothing to talk to the commandant. He’s just tagging along to accompany me. He just came as a bonus, so to speak.

But I would hate it if our relationship becomes awkward after this, now that he learned that I was in a position to talk with the commandant…

“And that knife, can I get another?” (the commandant)

Yes yes. Just like Theodore-sama said, all men like knives. My Oniichan also said that, though…

But I guess it would be boring if it’s just a similar folding knife. Let’s hear if he has a request then…

“What would you like? A similar folding-knife? Or a sheath knife? Dagger knife, boot knife, tool knife, or something…” (Mitsuha)

“Hmm, for the time being, I’ll ask for a folding knife” (the commandant)

For the time being? So you will ask for more if you like it!?

Well, he might be thinking that the one that is not the folding knife wouldn’t be much different from the one that already exists in this country. Indeed, the others don’t have a unique mechanism, so he might think that the design would be just a little different.

But actually, it is quite different from the steel material used, the grip material, the ergonomic design, and so on. If he looks at the folding knife, he’ll notice that, though…

Well, except for survival knives and combat knives.

Or maybe he just doesn’t like dagger knives or boot knives because they sound like a hidden weapon. Perhaps he also doesn’t know what a tool knife is, so maybe he thought it was a shabby tool….

Even though it’s very useful, not as a weapon, but as a tool for military use…

There are many other small items that sailors and soldiers might find useful, but there’s no need to teach them what would be convenient. It’s something that is limited to those that don’t have a great influence and has to be personally handed over by me.

I will be troubled if they think that our science is that advanced.

It doesn’t matter if they think that we have good alcohol and food. It’s not like such things are deeply linked with scientific power. If this weren’t the case, Britain would be less developed than the developing countries. The same applies to the works of art.

And in fact, some of the merchandise wholesaled to the Rephilia trade include those made in our territory. …mainly the packaging, I mean.

Well, we can at least make pottery in the villages of our territory. They were able to make it in the Jomon era or Yayoi era, after all. (Note: Jomon = 14,000 – 1000 BC, Yayoi = 1000 BC – 300 AD)

If it’s not using a full-scale kiln, but just a bit better than burning on a field, and well, a little better than the Yayoi style, it’s not that difficult.

Of course, there’s no way we can make a profit just by selling such a thing as a container.

So I used it as a container for salt or spices.

I buy what the territory folks made, and put liquid, powder, and pasty products from the Earth in them and sell as a whole. The people of the New Continent who bought it are free to reuse it as a container or throw it away after they used up the content.

…so, what I’m trying to say is that it’s all good if the people of the New Continent who saw those containers thought that our civilization level isn’t that much different from theirs.

We have spices, delicious foods, and jewelry, but from their point of view, we’re just a country that doesn’t seem to have that advanced civilization.

Yeah, it’s a [good country] that they don’t have to be vigilant at all. Umu-umu.

And so, after confirming the budget for the knife and the alcohol, how many he wants within that budget, what type he wants, whether he wants stronger or weaker alcohol, whether he wants whiskey or brandy, etc.… we finally left his office…

By the way, Soldier-kun’s attitude towards me hasn’t changed at all since then.

Apparently, he seemed to think that I was a daughter of a wealthy house, and from my facial features, he thought that we were an immigrant house from the beginning.

So it’s no wonder that I have relatives in other countries, and it’s quite possible my parents are traders because of that connection. He said that it was within the range of his assumption.

Well, since I’ve been acting as a rich girl since the beginning, it’s not strange if he thinks so.

But it was wonderful of him that he doesn’t let me pay for him or try to use me even though he thinks I’m rich. As expected, a gentleman of the Vanel Kingdom!

There’s no way he has an ulterior motive or something like that, of course.

…right?