I had leveled up once again, and I could now create a store layout similar to a vendor’s booth in a department store. My selling area had gotten an expansion, and I now had more new products in stock.
And when I laid eyes upon the new products I found that morning, I couldn’t keep my voice from trembling.
“Oh my god...”
There was a certain line of plastic models that used to be sold at dagashi-ya and toy stores in Japan. It wasn’t like I’d ever seen any myself. I only knew about them. They were legendary products that were traded on e-commerce sites at exorbitant prices even to this day. They say that these products were copyca—I mean, homages to a robot anime that boasted nationwide popularity. However, the plastic models that had arrived at my shop this time were actually homages to those homages.
Product name: Mobile Force Gungalf
Description: A plastic robot model. Can be assembled without glue by slotting the pieces into place. It is possible to move it with mana.
Price: Three hundred rims
There were a total of seven types, such as the main protagonist robot, Gungalf, the enemy Mass Production Type Zako, the High Mobility Type Gugurecas, and so on... The finished product was as big as the palm of your hand, even smaller than a gnome. Their weight was a different story, though; they were much heavier than they looked. Maybe they’ve got metal or something inside.
“What is this? A homunculus...or rather, it looks more like a golem.” Minerva had stopped by again today and had taken some interest in my new product.
“It’s called a plastic model,” I said. “You build it to play with it. Although, it seems you can play with the plastic models of this world by channeling mana through them to move them.”
“Seems interesting. Give me one.”
Minerva selected Kian, a model that looked like a warrior clad in armor and a helmet. I similarly selected the main protagonist, Gungalf, and unboxed it.
“It’s easy to assemble,” I told him. “All you have to do is insert the arms and legs into the body like this.”
All of the joints were moveable, and Gungalf was way more polished than the Gungalf I knew. Only in this new world could you find something this high-quality at only three hundred rims.
Within five minutes, our plastic models were complete. According to the instructions on the box, you could establish a magic link between you and your model by touching it to your forehead. The only magic I could use were my “store, open” and “store, close” incantations, but I should at least have had mana. In which case, even I should be able to move Gungalf.
“Whoa!” The moment I touched the model to my forehead, I felt a threadlike line of electricity or something connecting us.
I stood Gungalf up on the floor and sent it my thoughts. Move one step forward! Once I did, even though my Gungalf was trembling a little, its right foot took a slow step forward.
“It moved!” I exclaimed.
While I was shaking, so moved by this display, the blue-colored Kian that Minerva had built briskly strode past Gungalf. Its movements were way smoother than my Gungalf’s.
“Is your Mobile Force a monster, Minerva?!”
“If you can give it detailed mental images, it’ll react accordingly,” he said coolly. “In order for it to remain stable, a certain level of mana needs to be maintained. Conversely, if you want it to exert more power, then you apply more strength, but it’ll stop moving if you overdo it with your mana.”
Kian moved like a gymnast, leaping and jumping with effortless movements all around the place.
I can do that too, damn it!
“Go, Gungalf!” In my head, I visualized a somersault and conveyed it to Gungalf. Although he did whack his head in the process, he put his legs together and somersaulted across the floor before gracefully standing back up. “Whoa, I did it!”
“Looks like you’re starting to catch on,” observed Minerva.
I’m getting the hang of it, somewhat! The key here was that you had to smoothly send your mana and your mental image simultaneously without interruption.
“Okay, here I come, Minerva!” I commanded Gungalf to tackle Kian. Suffering this sudden surprise attack, Kian fell over.
“Wh-What the—?!”
“It’s professional wrestling—pro wrestling,” I said. “If you pin both of your opponent’s shoulders against the floor for three seconds, you win.”
I wanted to pin Kian down, so I had Gungalf stand up holding its thighs. Kian’s body was twisting and turning, trying to get away.
“Hey, what are you doing with those dolls?! That’s obscene!”
Meryl and Mira had stopped by to hang out. When I came to my senses, I realized that my regulars had been watching my match with Minerva.
“What are you calling obscene? It’s pro wrestling,” I said.
“Pro wrestling?”
“I guess you could call it pla wrestling instead? For plastic.”
I explained the rules of pro wrestling to everyone.
“It seems like fun. It’s three hundred rims, right?”
“Yep. I think it’s a good bargain.”
“Then give me this Zako one. I kind of like it.” Meryl had a good eye if she could see the value in Mass Production Types like that.
“Please give me a Dome model,” Mira said. So, she’s going to buy one too, huh?
“I want Gugurecas.”
Garmr too?
“I’m jealous...” Rigal the porter sighed, looking longingly at his senior adventurers. “I want one too. I need to save up some money somehow.” It seemed he wanted one pretty badly.