AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 139
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Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 11-4
“W-W-What!? We can take whatever is here for free!? Are you out of your mind, Naoya!?”
“Well, these are display items, and it’s just a loan. But I absolutely need your feedback and thoughts after using them.”
“I see… So this is what you call ‘futoppara’*? Does it imply having enough wealth to eat as much as you want, even to the point of gaining fat? Naoya-san, your stomach looks quite slim, though… perhaps—” (* dunno what does this mean, maybe Fat paradise?)
“Please stop! That word is starting to hit me where it hurts since I’ve become more conscious of my waistline. But I’m not overweight! I’ve been living a healthy lifestyle since I got here.”
“…Tasty?”
“These are furniture, not food. And no, you can’t eat my stomach either.”
On day 32 of my time as manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, I found myself leading the employees up to the yet-to-be-opened third floor after finishing today’s business. Not the third floor of the tenant space, though.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful, Mom!”
“Yes, truly. Is this some sort of dreamland? Perhaps I’ve already passed on and entered heaven. If I can experience dreams like this, being undead wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Please stop. You’re very much alive. This is reality.”
“Oh… The precision of the woodwork and fittings is remarkable! Naoya-san, you must know some excellent craftsmen!”
“Craftsmen, huh? More likely, it’s factory-made… but let’s not ask too many questions about that, shall we, Peddler-san?”
We were surrounded by furniture and electronics displayed on Aion Mall’s third floor.
“Naoya, is this the next big thing!? It’ll sell like crazy, for sure!”
“That’s going to be tough. We don’t have much stock, and even if the ‘small-scale transfer gate’ connects every two weeks to a month, we’re only able to bring in three cartloads at most, so supply is pretty limited.”
“Oh, so Naoya-san, the divine messenger, is generously lending us furniture out of their own goodwill… Colette, let’s offer prayers again tonight.”
“You didn’t quite correct yourself there… Please stop, there’s some calculation behind this too.”
“Calculation?”
“Yes. Even if we can’t sell large furniture, by watching how all of you live in the employee apartments and seeing what you want, we might gain insights into what this world’s people actually need.”
“Oh! As expected of Naoya! The manager of Aion Mall thinks of everything!”
“Hehe, Chloe-san, even so, I believe it’s mostly out of Naoya-san’s kindness. After all, furniture is considered a luxury item here, especially brand-new pieces.”
“Well, rather than letting the display items gather dust, it’s better to have them used.”
And it’s true that I want to observe the lifestyle here and learn about what people desire. There could even be a “best-seller” waiting to be discovered up here on the third floor.
It was me, Chloe, Anna-san, Barbera, Colette, Francine-san, and the Peddler-san’s family. Even with all nine of us exploring the newly lit third floor, the vast, empty space still felt a bit lonely.
“Naoya-san, what is this? The letters seem to be from your world…”
“Oh, that’s an electronic dictionary. You input a word, and it gives you the meaning or translation.”
“Wow! It’s not furniture, but can I borrow this!?”
“It doesn’t support this world’s language, though? Oh, right, Anna-san, you’ve been studying Japanese on your own, haven’t you? Sure, go ahead.”
“Thank you so much, Naoya-san!”
“Anna-san, this one here has a rechargeable battery. Since Aion Mall has electricity, this model would be more convenient for you.”
I untangled the cord tied to the shelf and handed over the charging cable along with the electronic dictionary. Anna-san accepted it with a beaming smile. She’ll probably end up mastering English and German at this rate. Maybe I should ask Iori to order some medical and pharmaceutical textbooks.
Anna-san continued browsing the electronics section with great interest. Although Aion Mall Otherworldly Store has electricity, these products can’t be sold to the general public. Yeah, I’m saying it casually, but “Aion Mall Otherworldly Store has electricity” sounds absurd. Yet it’s incredibly convenient.
“Wow! This bed is huge, Mom! It’s so big that the two of us wouldn’t even use up all the space!”
“Hehe, that’s right, Colette. But wouldn’t it be warmer if we snuggled together in a smaller bed?”
Colette was wagging her tail excitedly in front of a double bed, clearly delighted. Her mother, Francine-san, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be particularly drawn to the large bed. Hopefully, it wasn’t because she was trying to be modest. Even though we hadn’t used the fireplace yet, the chimney’s heat should be enough to keep the upstairs bedrooms warm.
“A bed big enough for two to have space left over… Wait, Naoya, could it be? You put this kind of bed in your room so that you can do whatever you want to me in any position! Disgrace me all you like, then! Kuh, just kill me already!”
“Uh, Chloe, maybe the issue is that you shouldn’t be coming to my room in the first place? Doesn’t that seem like the root of this problem?”
My words didn’t seem to reach Chloe, whose cheeks had turned red. Embarrassed, she dashed off. Well, Chloe wasn’t going to be living in the employee apartment anyway, so I decided not to worry about it.
“Maybe it’s time I upgraded my furniture. I’ve got no other use for the nearly doubled salary.”
Until now, I’d just been using the furniture that had been brought over from the place I’d been staying at before. I figured I could lend out the sample pieces to the employees and buy new furniture for myself. After all, the ground floor of my new place had a dirt floor, meaning I’d be living with shoes on.
“And who knows, I might invite some people from this world over, unrelated to Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. If there’s anything weird in my place, it could be a problem.”
I was trying to justify it to myself—Taniguchi Naoya, 24 years old, single, no girlfriend. A little bit of dreaming is harmless, right? Sure, I haven’t really talked to anyone other than employees and customers since coming here, but you never know what might happen!
“Alright, now that I’ve made up my mind, I’m going all out! Time to get that sofa I’ve always dreamed of, an L-shaped work desk, maybe even a high-end office chair! …If they have them, that is.”
Alongside the employees and their families, who were marveling, cheering, and occasionally scratching their heads at the furniture, I wandered through the furniture and home appliance section on the third floor of Aion Mall. The skeletons swiftly transported the items we decided to buy or borrow. Thanks as always, you guys! You’re doing great work!
By the way, they did have the sofa, L-shaped desk, and a rather fancy office chair. Everything the employees wanted was there too. As expected of Aion Mall, “from A to Z, they have everything you need—and love too!”
…Given that they even had spare faucets, showerheads, and toilets for the employee apartments, I couldn’t help but think, did Iori from the HR department foresee all of this and prepare the spares in advance?
It would’ve been nice if she had given me a heads-up! Though, I have to admit, it’s been incredibly helpful!