Okonomiyaki Chain Store – 12 – Let’s Welcome the New Part Timers

Part 3 – Osaka’s Auntie, Rescue the Beastmen

Chapter 12 – Let’s Welcome the New Part Timers

 

Since there were no high-end bars within Old Saxon, the cat-eared magic user and Haruna made their way to one of the cheap drinking bars nearby. It was one that Haruna was already pretty familiar with. In this world, there’s no age restriction when it came to drinking. Though it was only afternoon, it was already filled with regulars. In Osaka, it is a perfectly normal thing to see old men scattered at various bars sitting around drinking and watching life pass by, so Haruna was not too bothered by the scene.

“I don’t know why I have to speak to you, but since you insist…” the cat-eared magic user muttered.

“Generally, the Beast Clan people live in extreme poverty. A long time ago our people lost a great war and were captured and sold as slaves for many generations. Though the slavery of our people had been abolished for over a hundred years ago, we are unable to escape the shadow of our past.”

“I see, I see. When I was younger, I also suffered much hardships, wa~”

“Then… three years ago, my elder brother was imprisoned for theft…”

“Ah~ this story is getting exciting, ya~”

eThanks to those random inserts from Haruna, the conversation’s atmosphere didn’t turn into a sad one.

“Because the amount stolen was too great, I need to prepare 1,000 gold coins to bail him out. Otherwise, he will remain in prison for life…”

In this era, it was the feudal lord who set the laws that governed the land. Because of this, laws could be different from town to town. In Japan, a temple Shoen [1] or estate law may be completely different from aristocratic shoen or estate. The legal system in this world is something similar to that.

They also seemed to have a law where a bail must be paid before a prisoner could be ransomed out. For the record, 1,000 gold coins is equivalent to 5,000,000 yen.

The girl seemed to be speaking the truth. Meanwhile, the people around seemed to have mixed feelings about the story. “In order to help me become a magic user, my brother had spent a lot of money. However, because of me, he had spent every bit of his savings. My brother’s life became very hard… it is as though I was the one who sent my brother to prison.”

The witch downed a bit of alcohol to calm her nerves.

“Thus, I am a party-less adventurer. I have to help my brother. However, I refuse to join any parties that treat me like dirt!”

“Hmm, I see, na.” Haruna nodded seriously, showing that she had been listening. “As expected, still pretending to be cool ya na.”

“As I was saying, it’s not ‘pretending to be cool’! Don’t say it like that!”

However, Haruna ignored the outburst and placed a comforting hand on the witch’s shoulder.

“In short, you are in trouble, yan. If you’re in trouble, you should be honest and sincerely ask for help. Didn’t you become a magic user thanks to your brother? It is now time to honestly say what you need in order to save your brother, nen.”

The magic user seemed to be at a loss for words. Haruna’s words really touched her heart.

“Then, you’re… you’re saying that you’ll lend me money?  Actual money…? Everyone else only paid lip service…”

“1,000 gold coins. That’s the maximum I can go, wa.”

“Hah! As expected, nobody would willingly give out actual money– eeeh!?”

The magic user was completely flabbergasted.

“H-hey, it’s 1,000 gold coins! Isn’t that too much of a starting sum?”

“Maa, like I told you, this is just like raising money for a random old man’s train fare home.”

“… I really can’t understand the words you are saying.”

Haruna continued, “It’s like when an old guy comes up to you and say, ‘I need to go home by train, lend me some money, ya’ and I’ll say, ‘Ok, but only this time, ya’ and hand over something like 200 yen. Naturally, I don’t expect them to return the money. Think of it as something like charity. Oh, and by the way, how much have you managed to save?”

“About 300 gold coins, somehow…”

“Oh, so you’ve managed to save up quite a bit. Still need another 700 gold coins. Well, challenging the dungeon will earn about 50 gold coins a day. So, we can make the difference in about a couple of weeks, na.”

Of course, the money that came from [Haru-chan] belonged to the business and not meant for private use. It’s the company’s money after all.

“That’s a lie! There’s no way that anyone could earn 50 gold coins a day! They will die facing the monsters from the deeper dungeon levels!”

“You only need to reach level 30 to earn that amount, wa.”

Haruna’s words shocked the magic user so much that she was completely overwhelmed. There were very few adventurers who could actually throw out such words casually, unless they came from the Royal Capital. No, even among the Royal Capital adventurers, there were precious few who could actually make such a claim.

“J-just what kind of powerful adventurer…Only legendary heroes could…”

“Well, it does seem a little strange to let you have the money just like that. I should put in some conditions, right?”

The magic user’s face suddenly became grim.

“Very well, what is it going to be? Do I have to win a fight against you before you’ll lend me a single coin?”

“You’ll have to make Okonomiyaki for two weeks.”

“O-ko-no-mi-ya-ki?”

It looked like the magic user had never heard of this word before.

“That’s right, you’ll have to make Okonomiyaki all by yourself for two weeks while I challenge the dungeon and earn the necessary coin.”

“Though I’m still not sure what you’re saying, please take care of me…”

Although there were still some doubts in the magic user’s heart, she decided to just go with the flow for now. The truth was, even if she had wanted to protest, her magical attacks were ineffective against Haruna.

“Ah, oh yes, please do introduce yourself. I’m Haruna, ya.”

“I am Natalia…”

“Un, nice to meet you~”

Haruna grasped Natalia’s hand and pumped it enthusiastically.

“That said, I’m actually really interested in helping people from the Beast Clan as well, ne.”

Though not all adventurers would discriminate against an adventurer from the Beast Clan, the numbers who looked down on them were plenty.

“Mainly because your leopard-like appearance is really cool!”

“Ha…?”

Haruna really loved leopard patterns and tigers, and that love somehow transferred over to the Beast Clan’s animal features.

“While aunties who wear whole body leopard patterns actually exist, they don’t normally attach animal ears on their heads. If only you could come back to Osaka with me and show them how cool it looks.”

“Just what is this o-sa-ka? Also, isn’t leopard patterns ordinary?”

“While it’s not ordinary, it’s still pretty rare. Ah, but they are mostly seen in Osaka City proper. You don’t really see them at Hankyu, for example.”

To Natalia, those were just more mysterious words popping out of Haruna’s mouth. However, she thought it was a hassle to ask for explanations and decided not to say anything.

 

Furthermore, the people of Osaka place high importance on the private Hankyu Line. Its importance is only next to Tokyo’s Tokyu line. It has the meaning of ‘My home town is in Okamoto’ or ‘My home town is in Jiyugaoka’. [2]

 

[1] A shōen was a field or manor in Japan from about the 8th to the late 15th century. It describes any of the private, tax free, often autonomous estates or manors whose rise undermined the political and economic power of the emperor and contributed to the growth of powerful local clans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Den

[2] I have no idea why this sentence is here….