I am back – Chapter 53

“What should we do to make money starting tomorrow?”

“…Huh?”

Kalia suddenly said something strange, leaving me momentarily dazed.

“Well, we need to make money so we can be of help to you. There’s no way we can live in your personal house without paying a single penny.”

“No, I really don’t need to pay for anything.”

I quickly shook my head.

“When I was in the kingdom, no one ever asked me for anything.”

“That’s because everyone knew what you were trying to do in Irrelaysia. It’s not like we could accept money from a noble sent to save the world.”

“By that logic, you all came here with some requests from the Goddess, right?”

If I’m not mistaken, that request probably wasn’t something that could be easily fulfilled. Though they didn’t come over with the power of a hero, each of them had strength that couldn’t be ignored.

Kalia held the impressive title of the youngest commander of the knights. It wasn’t a position she got simply because she’s the duke’s second daughter; she earned it through her real efforts. In terms of swordsmanship, she was above me, and seeing her wielding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other on the battlefield was the very definition of a “knight” from old tales.

Of course, that’s because she was my teacher back in that world.

“I haven’t heard the reasons you all came here yet, but you must have come to achieve something as well, right? Then I have no intention of receiving anything from you. It’s not right to ask for something from those who came to help this world.”

“….”

At my words, Kalia silently stared at me for a while before finally breaking into a smile.

What can I say, it’s a smile that’s pretty cute or strikingly handsome, somewhere in between.

“Then I’ll gladly accept your kindness. But if you ever run into financial issues, just let me know. I’ll make up for the extra amounts somehow.”

I have no idea how staying here could put a strain on my finances. With enough wealth to buy each of the four of us a luxury sedan, there shouldn’t be any major problems just living here. Of course, from Kalia’s perspective, not knowing how much money it takes to live here might be why she said that.

“Well, money isn’t something I’m worried about. Oh, by the way, is there anything else you might need?”

I intended to ask the other party members too, but for now, Kalia was the most straightforward person regarding such matters.

Pia would clearly say she was fine to avoid making others uncomfortable, while Dana wasn’t the type to openly express what she needed or lacked. Arna, on the other hand, would probably find almost anything uncomfortable given her position as an elf who had come out of the World Tree.

So in this case, it would be better to ask Kalia, focusing on her needs before checking in with the other party members. In fact, this approach was one I often used when in Irrelaysia.

“Um, maybe clothes?”

Kalia answered immediately, as if responding to my belief.

“It’s not just my clothes, but Arna’s, Pia’s, and Dana’s outfits here seem too eye-catching. In fact, it wasn’t just the clothes; we looked completely out of place in this world.”

That was something I also felt when I went to Irrelaysia. Someone who looked like me—well, if I had to put it bluntly, someone who looked ‘Asian’ was almost nonexistent among those risking their lives selling goods from the East. Rather, I might as well say I looked closer to someone from India. So I often wondered if there was something even further east than the ‘far east’ region they referred to in Irrelaysia. Of course, I never got to confirm it.

At first glance, we gave off the impression of typical European white people, and hair as vividly red as Kalia’s was probably a color that could exist in nature. While it certainly wasn’t a common look, it wasn’t out of the question either.

Even in a city like Seoul, which has a considerable foreigner population, our party members’ appearances definitely stood out.

Pia’s pink hair was a natural trait. In Irrelaysia, there were often people with hair colors like green or blue, which don’t exist here.

And Arna’s pointed ears weren’t just slightly pointed; they looked at least twice as long as human ears and were impossible to ignore. In fact, elves were almost non-existent in the kingdom, so they always stood out among humans.

But still… well, it would definitely be best to figure out how to change our outfits first.

“As for clothes… I’ll lend you mine for now. We can go out and buy some together when we have time.”

“Isn’t it possible to order clothes with that device we used earlier?”

“It’s not impossible, but sizes are important.”

I could buy a measuring tape and try, but even then, buying clothes online without trying them on could lead to disaster. Besides, women’s sizes are generally much more complicated than men’s.

In my case, since the Goddess had prepared clothes for me in advance, it shouldn’t be a big issue. And at a glance… um, it feels a bit off to say this, but at least when I threw on my clothes, there wouldn’t be anyone whose bust size would be too small to fit.

Did the Goddess reference her own body when she created mine?

…Having such a slightly irreverent thought in mind, I continued talking with Kalia to check if there was anything else uncomfortable.

*

“Once we got in here, I couldn’t feel it much, but… the air outside is quite murky.”

It seemed for Arna, the difference due to her race was substantial.

In fact, even I, as a human, could distinctly feel the pollution in Seoul’s air. My throat would hurt without a mask.

“I’ll make sure to prepare masks, just in case.”

“Masks? You mean like a mask?”

“No, more like something you wear over your mouth… um, maybe I should say it’s like a face mask. However, it’s not intended to cover the face; it’s purely for medical reasons. You use it to prevent transmitting diseases or for the opposite reason.”

“Oh, you mean something like what the medics wear on the battlefield?”

Although Irrelaysia had developed its civilization mainly around magic and divine power, basic hygiene concepts still existed. Thanks to divine power, widespread epidemics were almost nonexistent, yet everyone knew it was dangerous to let foreign substances enter wounds, and it was widely known that those treating injured soldiers could easily get infected themselves.

“But if the air quality is bad enough that we need to wear something like that, doesn’t it mean I’m sensitive to it just because I’m an elf?”

“Well, yes. You could call it the pollution that comes with technology.”

There are plenty of other reasons besides that of Korea, but I decided to leave it at that since my knowledge wasn’t detailed enough to explain everything.

“It seems that technology in this world isn’t all good, huh?”

Nodding at Arna’s words, I agreed.

That’s why I looked into this and that for other ways forward, but it seemed there were still quite a few obstacles to solving the various existing problems.

*

After introducing everyone to their rooms and explaining all the features of the buttons in the house, time had flown by.

“Having a small golem or something would have made things much easier.”

Dana said that with a hint of regret.

Indeed, well, calling it a robot might be an overstatement, but nothing beats magic when it comes to creating something that can move autonomously. The mana of magic itself serves as the power source, and the common materials are usually stone, dirt, or wood, and if necessary, they could be made of iron.

Moreover, it could even float in the air, moving in a way similar to a propulsion system without any complicated machinery involved… Oh, thinking about it again, isn’t that kind of similar to superconductors?

I slightly anticipated how excited Dana would be when she gained knowledge related to that.

“Tomorrow, I’ll have to go out to work. I hope you all can wait at home for a day. I’ll show you around for things like buying clothes and how to spend money tomorrow evening.”

“What do you mean when you say you have to work…”

Pia spoke up with a worried expression, so I quickly waved my hand.

“It’s not about the money. Like I said, I have more than enough, so there’s no need to worry about it. But this job… um, my older sister is working there with me.”

“Ah….”

As soon as I said that, all the party members nodded as if they understood immediately.

“Thanks for understanding. I’ll be back tomorrow… oh, and I’ll let Dana know in advance how to treat dinner.”

Since I would likely arrive late, I needed to prepare. At my words, Dana displayed a noticeably happy expression.

Well, it was still around the time the large discount store would be open. Even if the clothes weren’t fancy, we should still have enough time to buy some casual wear.

…But going to the church at that hour might be a bit tricky?

Would it be alright to postpone it a bit?