AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 142
Check my other translation works for other interesting stories
Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 11-7
On the 33rd day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store…
I rub my sleepy eyes and sluggishly rise from the sofa.
“Hm? Oh, right, I moved.”
I sit on the sofa and glance around. The stone-walled room feels a bit chilly, and cardboard boxes filled with furniture waiting to be assembled are scattered everywhere.
“…I guess I’ll at least put the bed together after work today.”
Yesterday, after shaking off the excited peddler-san and Francine-san, who was looking at me more with reverence than respect, I returned to my room. I was so drained that I ended up just securing a place to sleep and left the unpacking unfinished. I could’ve gone back to the tenant space I’d been living in, which was more comfortable, but I didn’t have the energy. I didn’t even use the secret passage.
As I absentmindedly recalled yesterday, I started getting ready. There’s no separate sink in this employee apartment room. Even at the “Aion,” where everything from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ is available, and there’s ‘love,’ they don’t sell separate sinks. To be precise, they do, but there’s no stock. If you need one immediately, please head to the hardware store next to the Kasugano branch.
But when I turn on the kitchen faucet, water comes out. Magic is amazing. I wash my face, shave, and quickly tidy up my hair. Hot water comes out too. Magical tools are incredible.
“It’s a lot easier now that I don’t have to go all the way to the customer restroom.”
The tenant space was clean and comfortable, but it wasn’t really meant for living. Of course not. It’s nice to finally have a place that has everything I need.
I quickly get dressed and step outside.
There was a skeleton.
It wasn’t the usual apron-wearing skeleton responsible for cleaning at Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, but a skeleton in armor. Without moving an inch, it stared outside, and perhaps hearing a sound, it turned its head towards me. It has no ears, though.
“You’re keeping watch for monsters, huh? Thanks for your hard work!”
When I greeted it, it gave me a polite nod with a clink. Since the forest is closer than at the mall, it’s reassuring to have security. Though technically, skeletons are also classified as monsters…
I walk around the U-shaped employee apartment from the north wing to the central wing. On a whim, I step outside from the entrance hall at the back. The courtyard side seems to be the main entrance, but there’s a door here too. Anna-san had said somewhat reluctantly, “We might need to fight back sometimes.” I wonder what we’re supposed to be fighting. The security setup for the employee apartment is intense. It’s like a fortress.
“Take that! Hah!”
As I step outside, I see a knight swinging a sword. The fortress vibe gets even stronger.
“Spirit Sword Épée du Poids! Answer my prayer! Ultimate move! Elf Slayer!”
“Is ‘ultimate move’ really necessary when cutting down trees? Also, isn’t that an attack to slay elves?”
In the forest outside the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store grounds, Chloe stands with a wooden sword. Her trusty wooden sword is faintly glowing. With a high stance, she swings it down, and a tree is cut diagonally and topples over.
“Setting aside the whole naming thing and the fact that elves are supposed to cherish forests, your skills are impressive. Good morning, Chloe.”
“Hm? You were watching, Naoya! Good morning!”
“The view’s more open than yesterday… Did you do this, Chloe?”
“Indeed! Anna asked me to! I’m cutting down trees, and Barbera is hauling them away!”
“Chainsaw and heavy machinery roles, huh? I didn’t know you could chop trees with a wooden sword.”
“What are you talking about, Naoya? I’ve shown you before, haven’t I?”
“Oh, right, when we were discussing food containers, and you cut one down to use as a plate. Otherworld is wild. Magic and mana are beyond comprehension.”
It’s still early morning, and the depths of the forest, where sunlight doesn’t reach, are dim. However, near the employee apartment, it’s much brighter—after all, there are no trees left to block the light.
Yesterday, there were still a few trees here and there, but now, all that’s left are stumps and a few slender trees left for later. You couldn’t really call the area around the apartment a “forest” anymore. However…
“Chloe, what are you going to do about the stumps? Can Barbera pull them out? Or maybe some magic could—”
The remains of the forest are littered with numerous tree stumps.
“The stumps will stay as they are, Naoya-san.”
“Anna-san? Ah, good morning.”
“Good morning.”
“Is removing stumps a hassle here too? Is that why you’re leaving them as is?”
“No, that’s not the reason.”
“I see.”
“If we don’t leave the stumps, the land would become ‘usable.’ In some cases, people might even suspect it’s being used for a hidden field.”
“I see. …Wait, what?”
“That’s why the stumps stay. It’s a way of ‘appealing’ that we’re not planning to use the land for farming.”
“Ah, I don’t really get it, but… so that’s the idea. Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard of a similar episode from Japan’s Edo period? Or maybe not.”
“Oh my, even in different worlds, rulers tend to think alike, don’t they?”
Anna-san chuckles softly. I can’t quite grasp what’s so funny. Laughing at this moment feels a little unsettling, even eerie.
“Magic can’t just conveniently solve everything, huh.”
“Indeed. There’s a difference between what can be done and what should be done.”
“I get that. Aion Mall Otherworldly Store has a lot of things we could sell, but whether we should sell them or whether I want to sell them is a different matter.”
That’s been my headache. Just yesterday, ideas like selling plastic bags, cardboard, furniture, rechargeable appliances, nails, and metal fittings were brought up. Even the equipment and construction knowledge for the employee apartments could be sold. But whether we should sell them or whether we want to, that’s where the hesitation comes in.
“It would be easier if we could just solve everything with magic, like when we reinforced this fort—er, employee apartment.”
Anna-san glances back and mutters quietly.
Just then, I see Colette, Francine-san, and the peddler family leaving the apartment, heading towards the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. It must be almost time for their shift. It looks like Chloe is wrapping up and heading to the store as well.
“Oh, so this building is magically reinforced? That’s a relief. I was worried that since it’s stone and was built so quickly, it might be weak against earthquakes.”
I start walking too, and Anna-san follows along.
“No need to worry, Naoya-san. It’s well-reinforced. It can even withstand Barbera-chan’s breath. As long as it’s just one blast, that is, since we’d need to reapply the magic afterward.”
Anna-san’s voice sounds upbeat from behind me.
I stop in my tracks.
And hold my head.
“Ohhhhh! Magic is so convenient, but it’s also not reassuring at all! Do situations that require that level of strength actually happen!? The Otherworld is terrifying!”
My lament echoes beyond the newly cleared area and into the forest.
This is the 33rd day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
The otherworld remains business as usual.
Though the employees at Aion Mall Otherworldly Store seem far from “usual.”
I need to head back to town soon for more market research.