As a modern man born and raised in a society always surrounded by tests and exams—high school exams, university entrance exams, all manner of certification tests—I was used to tackling a single task over the span of years. Since picking up a guitar as a hobby, a few years had passed in the blink of an eye.
“I know it’s early, but can you teach me other magic, too?”
“Indeed I can. Next…”
Peeps generously taught me more spells.
I took these and created folders on my PC, neatly separating them into such fantasy-esque categories as attack magic, healing magic, fire magic, and water magic. It felt almost like I’d become a novelist. Memorizing these spells would be my daily task, it seemed. One was over a page long.
Peeps, you’re really something. How did you memorize all this?
I spent nearly an hour organizing the text files I’d be studying for now. Then once my magic studies were complete, it was time for a short stay in the otherworld.
“Now then, we shall hurry on to the otherworld.”
“Oh, about that. Do you have a second?”
“What is it?”
“I wanted to know what happens here while we’re over there.”
It would be no joke if I ended up being late for work after returning. Today was Tuesday, tomorrow was Wednesday—for the next three days, I had to show up at my desk at the office at nine AM every day. Morning roll call was set in stone at my company, and they timed it very strictly. If I missed roll call, I’d immediately be marked as late. The management—led by the company president—seemed to have it a little easier, but it didn’t take much for us rank-and-file employees to get a bad reputation. This rule has been instated five years ago, when our profits started to plunge.
“Time does not flow equally there. Last time, I calculated the difference. If my estimation is correct, the long needle on that clock moved about three times.”
When had he figured that out? Peeps was just such a clever bird. I didn’t have the disposition to think that far ahead. It felt like we’d been over there for a little under an hour to me. If that was right, three minutes in this world was one hour to theirs. In other words, an hour here was around twenty in that world. That was a bigger gap than I could have anticipated—almost an entire day.
“…Peeps, that place is incredible.”
“Is it?”
If I ever collapsed or caught a cold, I could ask Peeps to take me over. I could get a few days’ worth of rest and refreshment, and only a few hours would have passed here. That was literally out of this world!
But wait, wouldn’t that mean my life span would be shortened at the same rate? In that case, I would probably be better off not doing it too often.
“There’s still more than an hour before the date changes, so let’s get going. Thank you again.”
“Mm. Let’s be off.”
His beak popped open adorably, after which a magic circle emerged in front of him—the same effect as before. And the next thing I knew, my body had been moved from my apartment without a trace.
The first thing I did upon arriving at the otherworld was to start trading the merchandise I’d brought with me.
Since this world was lax about currency management and taxation, I’d carried along as much as I could. I put it all in a large backpack I’d bought a few years ago after deciding to make a hobby out of mountain climbing. I’d used it once, after which it had sat there gathering dust—until now, at least. Now it was packed full of goods.
I’d already had Peeps check the things I’d stocked up on. As an observer—and a former local of this world—he had pointed out last night what items would probably sell for a high price. Most were things I didn’t have in the apartment, so on my way home from work, I’d stopped by the neighborhood superstore and bought them.
The goods included the following: ten kilograms of chocolate bars, ten kilograms of white caster sugar, one thousand sheets of printer paper, and five hundred ballpoint pens.
After having lugged it all here, I was struck by how insanely heavy the load was. The five hundred ballpoint pens, which I’d picked up last, were especially conspicuous. With one being ten grams, that meant five hundred weighed five kilograms. I never thought the day would come when I’d be measuring pens in kilograms.
All of it, though, would apparently sell at a high price in this world.
I wondered if it was all right not to quarantine the goods, but according to Peeps, that was likely not going to pose an issue. Since I had no familiarity with this world, I had little reason to doubt him.
Besides, these days, even common items get antibacterial treatment. Big manufacturers have clean, hygienic manufacturing processes. In that sense, my body was probably far more dangerous than any of my wares.
On the other hand, caution was probably advisable when I ultimately brought things back home. Even a single bug on my jacket could be catastrophic. A clothing brush, at least, as a precautionary measure would likely be a good idea. I’d have to grab one the next chance I got.
“The nobility has great influence in this world. If you wish to make large sums of money at once, you will be dealing primarily with them. Commoners form the majority of the population, but their total wealth is far less than that of the nobles.”
“Not much different from my world, then.”
As I walked down the street, I saw the same sights as before. If I recalled correctly, this was a provincial town in the Kingdom of Herz called Baytrium. Though night had fallen in Japan, it was still midday here.
“Still, it will be too difficult to trade with high-standing nobles right away. It will be easiest to form relationships with nobles of lower rank, then have them introduce you to others. Thus, I would like you to meet the lord of this domain.”
“An acquaintance of yours?”
“Not precisely, but I can vouch for his character. However, I would like you to keep my return to this world a secret for now. This will be very important to help secure your own safety.”
“Wait, does that mean…?”
“Do not worry. It is not what you are thinking.”
“Are you sure?”
I didn’t want to think about my pet having a criminal record. I wanted him to be clean in body and soul, so I could love him unconditionally.
“The world consists of many types of people. It’s not possible to forge harmonious relationships with them all. Even simply maintaining a normal lifestyle is bound to produce unwanted discord. It was as a result of this that I had to cross over to your world.”
“……”
Despite his looks, maybe Peeps has had a really rough time of things. Maybe I could splurge on some slightly more expensive meat for dinner the next day. Perhaps a roast?
“That building is home to one of the trading companies run by the nobility. If you do business there, word will spread quickly. You should be able to raise money to make a start using the items you brought today.”
I followed Peeps’s gaze to a large building made of stone. Five stories high, it had an extremely pretentious design, and its architecture was similar to the gothic styles I’d seen in social studies textbooks. At its entrance stood an armor-clad man holding a spear, overseeing those going in and out. It looked like some foreign embassy building you might find in a city.
Before the heavily ornamented facade, I hesitated over whether I should really be going inside. Most of those entering and exiting had a high-class look to them, beyond what the others I saw on the streets were wearing. This place was probably like Japan’s Isetan or Mitsukoshi, both lavish, upscale department stores.
I had come wearing a suit, though, so while I did stand out from my surroundings, I trusted I wouldn’t be in violation of the dress code. Peeps, perched on my right shoulder, however, still made me hesitate.
“Should I really be going inside with a sparrow on my shoulder?”
“There should be no issue if you refer to me as a familiar.”
“I see— Those exist, huh?”
It looked like I’d have to study more than just magic—I’d need to acquaint myself with this world’s rules and sensibilities, too. Taboos would be the highest on the list of things to learn.
“Let’s go inside.”
“What’s this place called anyway?”
“The Hermann Trading Company.”
“I see. Hermann, then.”
Urged onward by the self-professed familiar, I let my steps take me inside the trading company.
To sum up, my dealings went far better than anticipated.
“This is incredible…”