Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included. S006

Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included.

ACT 2: UNION
S006: Tomii’s Life Story Part 2

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“The inn… Hmm, maybe I should get a meal first.”

Though I’d eaten lots of fruit provided by Haruka-san and the guys, it had been quite a few hours ago and my stomach was rumbling. If only I could get a cheap meal somewhere…

“Meat sure is expensive here, but I guess that’s because industrial farming isn’t a thing in this world?”

Raising livestock had long been a part of civilization, but until the birth of industrial farming, meat didn’t come cheap. On one hand, it was because good meat was hard to produce, since the animals were fed with low-quality grass that humans wouldn’t eat. On the other hand, animals raised on a good diet of corn and yams were rare, since farmers would make more money just selling those items by themselves.

There was even a point where the profit of raising cattle got so bad that the United Nations actually recommended eating insects as the most efficient source of protein. However, it was near impossible to get people to accept that idea, so a compromise would have to be reached. Maybe people could farm insects, then feed those to animals or fish? I wonder how well that could work out.

I mean, that’s what happens on silk farms, where the pupa of silkworms are used to feed carp, and then people living in those areas eat those carp, right?

Sounds like an ideal scenario. Growing mulberry bushes with edible berries, then using the leaves to feed silkworms. And once silk has been produced, the pupa are used as feed for carp, which are farmed for food. Nothing is wasted!

Sure, the carp were fed on insects, but it was easy for humans to stomach it since we were technically eating the fish. I mean, there were people who didn’t mind eating insects, but those are quite rare…

“Dammit, now I’m worried.”

While I didn’t mind people adopting insects as part of their diet, to really do so myself was another story. It was just too difficult to imagine.

I knew that some countries in our previous world served up insect dishes like it was the most normal thing in the world, but it was always something that happened somewhere else, and not of my immediate concern.

Anyway, if I encountered any insect dishes in this world, I’d avoid them if I could. If it was cooked into a dish, I guess I could eat it, as long as nobody told me that there were insects inside.

“Either way, I’m going for bread and some fruit juice today.”

I’ll be fine as long as I didn’t keep thinking about it. Otherwise, I’d be suspicious of each dish, wondering if they were secretly made with insects.

That decided, I quickly located a cheap eatery and paid 10 Reas for rye bread and fruit juice.

“Mmm… This should fill me up well enough.”

The fruit juice was mostly watered down, while the bread was dry and tasteless. However, the bread was as big as the size of my palm, and combined with the drink, it sated my hunger nicely.

I wondered if rye bread was a type of black bread. However, it wasn’t as hard as I expected, and the taste wasn’t too bad either. The only problem was that it probably lacked vitamins to make it a good nutritious meal.

“I guess I should purchase a change of clothes too.”

I would most probably be doing lots of physical work, so my clothes were sure to get dirty. I was quite sure I wouldn’t have the luxury of having any work clothes provided for, so I’d have to prepare an extra set on my own.

Returning my cup to the eatery owner, I asked the location of the nearest secondhand clothes and general goods stores, and made my way over.

~

The work clothes available in the secondhand clothes store were much more expensive than I’d anticipated.

I’d planned to buy at least two sets so I would have time to do laundry, but it turns out that durable clothes that fit my size and stature was pitifully limited in number. On the bright size, these smaller clothes were priced cheaper, so the prices weren’t too outrageous.

That said, there were almost no choices for selection, I guess because the store didn’t see many dwarf customers. Oh well, as long as the clothes were wearable and the price low, the design didn’t bother me much. Even so, I did fork out much more than what I’d expected.

At the general goods store, I purchased a sack to use as my bag, as well as some fresh undergarments. These turned out to be cheaper, but I was now left with less than half of what I started out with. If Haruka-san and the others hadn’t lent me some money, I would be in so much trouble now.

“I wonder how they did it, since they didn’t have anyone to lend them money at first…”

I counted myself lucky, since I started out with four times as much money as any of my other classmates. And while it was true that the three of them transitioned together and had three times the amount of money, they also had to purchase three times as many items as I did.

“It must have been crazy hard for them…”

No wonder they weren’t keen when I requested to join their party, especially since they probably knew that I would be more of a freeloader than a contributor to the group. Even so, they generously lent me 3,000 Reas, despite not knowing if I could ever repay them.

“…I’d better work hard.”

I finally reached the inn recommended by the Guild, and it was quite rundown, to say the least.

I paid 100 Reas, and was shown a room where ten people were to sleep packed like sardines. I had about the space of one tatami mat allocated to me, and was given a smelly blanket. The food served was edible, but nothing enjoyable at all. After gulping it all down quickly, I hurriedly went to bed.

The next day, I got up as early as I could, wolfed down breakfast, and headed to the Adventurers Guild with haste. There were already several people lined up outside in the dim light, and I quickly joined the queue, hoping I was not too late. Everyone present turned to stare at me, and I smiled awkwardly, and people soon lost interest. Nobody bothered trying to chat with me.

In the end, I waited for an hour, or was it two? More and more people soon arrived and lined up behind me, and once the Guild doors opened, the queue started to move forward quickly.

Initially, I’d expected the process to be a mess, with everyone clamoring to be first without any order, but that didn’t happen at all. Though most of the people in the queue looked a little rough (to be brutally honest, most of them looked like punks), they behaved in a really civilized manner.

It was only afterwards that I learned that anyone who kicked up a fuss was immediately removed from the premises and not given any jobs. I guess the Guild liked to keep its members on a tight leash. By keeping a close eye on conflicts between its adventurers, the Guild was able to lower the rank or kick out any member who gave them trouble. Maybe it was also because they had to uphold their reputation of providing a trustworthy workforce to society.

It was the same as recruitment agencies back in the previous world. If you gave your recruiting agent any trouble, they wouldn’t be as willing to help you secure a job.

“Next.”

“Hello.”

Thanks to my early arrival, it was soon my turn. After watching the people before me apply for jobs, I carefully copied their actions. First, I took out my Guild card and placed it on the counter.

“Good morning, Tomii-san. Are you willing to take on manual work for higher wages?”

“Yes, I’m confident in that.”

The staff serving me was the same lady I spoke to yesterday. Flipping through a stack of papers, she quickly selected two pieces and passed them to me.

“This job needs you for only three day’s work, but the wages are high. This one is a job for ten days, but the wages are slightly lower. Which would you like?”

Both seemed to involve manual labor at a construction site, but the former definitely sounded better. I desperately needed to earn enough money to stay at a better inn.

“I’ll take the first job.”

“Sure. Please take this form and report at the job site.”

“OK.”

I took the form and threw a glance at the rough-looking men lined up behind me. The last thing I wanted was to get in someone’s way. Heart thundering, I silently slipped past the line of people and escaped outside, making my way to the job site indicated on the form.

The work at the job site was slightly hard.

Slightly? Yes, just slightly.

To be honest, compared to the other workers around me, I had a relatively easy time.

I guess I had my Toughness Lv.3, Enhanced Physical Strength Lv.2, and Fortress Lv.2 to thank. Despite my shorter stature, I was able to complete the tasks I needed to, and paired with my enhanced physical strength, I did well enough to receive praise from my site manager.

Most of the praise came from my pile driving work. There were various areas on the job site that needed such work, but once I took on the responsibility, all the work was suddenly brought to me. In the end, there were people who even asked if I was a professional trained in pile driving. It must be my Smithing Skill coming into effect.

And while I was glad to receive praise and be useful, it didn’t diminish my wish to become a blacksmith someday.

The work ended at sunset, and after receiving my wages for the day, I headed back to the inn, changed out of my work clothes, did laundry, and started getting ready for bed.

I was also getting used to the bland food, gulping it down quickly to get some energy. Besides, I’d already had a good lunch at a nice eatery, recommended by the workmates at the job site.

Work the next day was largely the same, and now that I was familiar with things, my efficiency also went up, and I was even able to cooperate with the other workers to get things done smoothly.

Finally, the third and last day of work came. Physically, the work wasn’t tough for me at all, so the site manager invited me to join his next project as well. And though there wasn’t much work on this last day and we managed to finish early, I received even higher wages and a good performance review for my hard work.

“Hey, Tomii. Wanna go for drinks after this?”

After three days of working together, I’d grown close to this particular workmate. I imagined an evening out with him, drinking cheap ale and trading jokes at some pub. Yep, that image really suited a dwarf. Not bad.

“Sounds good! So-”

“Tomii!”

“Huh? Naga-… I mean, Tohya-kun.”

But before I could say anything, I heard Nagai-kun, I mean Tohya-kun, shouting my name. Yes, he’s Tohya-kun now, and Kamiya-kun is now Nao-kun. I had to be careful not to slip up.

Haruka-san was much easier to remember, since I didn’t speak to her much in the previous life anyway, so I hadn’t much chance to address her as Azuma-san.

“May I talk to him for a minute…?” Tohya asked my workmate, who happened to be at least twice my age.

“Sure, no worries. Tomii, we’ll go drinking together next time!”

“Of course!”

My workmate smiled and waved goodbye as he walked off to join another group of workmates.

“Sorry I spoiled your plans.”

“It’s OK, we’re not really close friends. I just wanted to go get a drink.”

I mean, here I was in a fantasy-like world, and I’ve yet to try any ale. Aren’t dwarves and ale supposed to go well together?

“Was that why you got the Drinker Skill? Well, I can buy you a drink if you-”

“Really!?”

“Calm down! Have you already forgotten the evils of the Drinker Skill?”

“O-Oh, right. I may not get drunk as easily, but my body’s ability to process alcohol is still the same?”

“Exactly. Since you won’t get drunk and feel bad, you basically won’t know your body’s limit.”

“True…”

Normally, when people started to feel bad after drinking alcohol, or not have any memories of the night before, it was a sign for them to regulate their alcohol intake the next time. However, this was no longer true for me. Aside from taking a blood test, I really had no way to knowing how much alcohol was in my system.

“Anyway, since you can’t get drunk, is there still any purpose in drinking ale? Why not drink juice?”

“Erm… Well, I was just curious about the taste of ale!”

Of course, some people drank to get drunk, but there were others who just liked the flavor and taste. Besides, since I couldn’t get drunk, I could really savor the taste of alcohol calmly, just like an adult.

“Well, the taste of alcohol isn’t anything special to me, but since you have the Skill, maybe it’ll taste different for you…? Just to warn you, ale tastes disgusting to me, and there isn’t much alcohol in it anyway.”

“Huh, really?”

“Yeah, its alcohol content is even lower than beer. As for the taste… It tastes like room temperature beer with all the bubbles gone, only a little more sour… I guess?”

“It doesn’t sound good at all.”

“Nope, but maybe some people really enjoy it? I see loads of people drinking it happily in the pubs. Maybe it’s just me, since I didn’t really drink much beer back in our previous world.”

I’d heard that black beer and craft beer were sometimes drunk at room temperature, so the temperature shouldn’t be a problem?

“Either way, you should try it once for yourself. As for us, we usually just drink water, since it’s free.”

“Money is a concern, huh… But since you’re treating me today, I’d like to try ale!”

“Wanna come to my inn, then? There’s food there too.”

“Sure!”

——

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