Part 9: Osaka’s Auntie Battles with the Carp God
Chapter 41: Let’s Go to the Old Capital
Translated by Gumihou
Edited by Onionpi
The growth of [Haru-chan] group went very smoothly.
All dungeon-type stores that were opened near the Royal Capital recorded very good sales, proving that there was a need there that had gone unfulfilled for far too long.
Merchants who witnessed this progress could only stare in envy as opportunities to make money slipped from their fingers. They must have thought about doing a similar sort of business, but they just could not put that thought into practice.
After all, it was almost impossible to open a dungeon-type store without an experienced Adventurer to back you up. Not only that, they would need the backing of Adventurers strong enough to regularly traverse in and out of a certain dungeon depth. However, Adventurers with this kind of skill would not wish to involve themselves with merchant-like work.
Generally, Adventurers thought themselves to be above merchants. If they have to work under merchants and look after stores in dank dungeons, that would defeat the purpose of being a free agent Adventurer in the first place.
Haruna was different in the sense that she was already acknowledged as a top-class Platinum Level Knight by the Royal Capital. Therefore, it was no shame to work for her. Rather than money, most Adventurers saw it as a chance to earn more experience as Adventurers.
In other words, only Haruna was in a blessed position to make this happen.
Moreover, [Haru-chan] stores within the Royal Capital have increased as well.
First, there are various Konamon[1] restaurants within the Royal Capital proper; three Okonomiyaki restaurants, three Ball-yaki restaurants, two Udon, two Gyoza, and two Pork Bun shops. These new shops with their delicious, cutting edge recipes were attracting a lot of customers not only from the Royal Capital, but also from neighbouring towns. [Haru-chan] ended up establishing Konamon booths at these neighbouring towns and sales were going through the roof.
With the business expanding so quickly, they even set up a human resource management centre at the Royal Capital area with people to sort out employment and do background checks. Potential employees with referrals from the Yakomai family were given hiring priority.
At that time, including part-time workers, [Haru-chan] had a total of 600 employees with Haruna at the top as president and Natalia as vice-president. Of course, being the number two leader of a huge organization, Natalia was given all due respect as the vice-president. However, she was still not quite comfortable about being addressed as ‘Natalia-sama’ or ‘Vice-President Natalia’.
“Life sure has changed, hasn’t it?” Natalia had reached the point where the amount of salary she got didn’t matter anymore. It was quite a huge difference from the time when she had to skimp and save every single coin to bail her brother out of prison. She had had to face dangers alone in the dungeons to maximise her income as a Solo Adventurer. Right now, the only time she had to fight was when she did her inspection rounds on their dungeon-type stores.
That day, Haruna happened to accompany Natalia on her way to check out the Employee Management Centre at the Royal Capital. Having a dragon-taxi was incredibly convenient. The time it took for them to reach the Royal Capital from Old Saxon was similar to taking a shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. In other words, about three to five hours depending on the weather.
“Hmm, I wonder if this world has anything like chilli peppers, na. If they do, I could make things like kimchi. But then again, since it’s a fermented dish, naa… I guess it will take time for people to accept it, na.”
“What’s this ki-mu-chi thing you are talking about?”
“Also, it would be great if we have potatoes, na. There’s a type of Okonomiyaki that’s made with potatoes. If I’m not wrong, there’s a shop called [Nikuten] in Takasago City that sells this version of Okonomiyaki.”
In fact, [Nikuten] is what the people of Takasago City, Hyogo prefecture calls what we recognise as ‘Okonomiyaki’. It starts out with a thin batter and then layered with cabbage and grated potatoes as well as tenkasu[2].
“Where’s this ta-ka-sa-go City?”
Haruna went on talking, as though Natalia had not said anything. She really didn’t care whether Natalia actually understood what she was talking about and was mostly just rambling for her own sake. This slightly selfish nature was something that she carried forward from her past life into this world, as other people’s lives never really interested her. While she might have a general feeling of wanting to make people’s life better, she had no real interest in their personal lives.
“I haven’t been there too many times, but I’m pretty sure it’s slightly east of Himeji.”
“And where is this hi-me-ji place!?”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal Karen.
“Today’s weather is very fine, naa. So fine that I was a little worried that Lake Biwa might dry up. Here are some provisions for you, waa.”
Karen placed a box of cookies onto the table.
“Aah, thank you very much, wa.”
Karen dropped by quite often, so this wasn’t a rare occurrence.
The cookies she brought were sprinkled with a lot of sugar, and since sugar was a valuable item in this world, it was fair to assume that this was high-quality stuff. Haruna instantly helped herself.
“I came today with an invitation, wa.”
“Is it that kind of invitation again? The ones that would make me regret as soon as I stepped into the room?” Haruna clearly had no faith in Karen.
“Of course not! I personally came over to give you the invitation, and I can guarantee that there’s nothing wrong with it, wa!” Karen was extremely high strung and easily irritated. Perhaps this was due to her being a former Kyoto person.
“Let’s go on a trip together!”
“A trip?”
“Listen, there’s a place called the Old Capital Hower, south of the Royal Capital, wa. There are lots of interesting and historical building there, ya.”
“I really don’t know the geography of this world, nen. Natalia, explain, ya.”
Natalia made a vaguely irritated face, but still properly answered Haruna’s question. “The Old Capital Hower is located south of the current Royal Capital. Up until 400 years ago, it held the seat of power of this world and was the centre of a religious and economic stronghold. Because of this, there were a lot of temples constructed there. While most of them are in ruins, there are still quite a lot of buildings left standing. Because of its historical significance, it received quite a lot of visitors over the years.”
“Fu~un, what about the monster situation? I’ll be fine, of course, but it will be dangerous for Karen.”
“The monster situation is still under control. However, Old Capital proper gets smaller and smaller as time goes by. Even so, the most dangerous creature you could encounter there are wild deer.”
“I see, ya. That’s exactly like Nara, yan!”
“What is this na-ra…”
“I’m fine going, but is there really anything to see at Nara?”
For some reason, the people of Osaka seemed to look down on Nara.
There are several reasons for this. First, though it was not well known, the prefecture of Nara was combined with Osaka during the Meiji era. In terms of economy, Osaka was in a better position as a port city versus landlocked Nara. One should not look down on the power of money and information that a port city could obtain. Because of this, the merchants of Osaka often looked down on Nara as a city filled with sticks in the mud fuddy duddies…
Moreover, despite belonging to the same prefecture, Osaka saw Nara as a subordinate city. Aside from being old, there are no large cities in Nara. Without large cities, major companies are less likely to invest. Because of this, a lot of people from Nara actually travelled over to Osaka to find work. Compared to Osaka, Nara felt more like the suburbs.
Osaka also looked down on Wakayama for the same reason…
“While it’s true that there are more deer than people, that just means that it’s more relaxing there.”
Even now, there’s a tendency to treat Nara like a loser in a fight, even though that fight had occurred in the past. The battle now seemed to be based on population sizes. Whichever city has the larger population wins, because a large population equals prosperity.
“Well? What do you think, Haruna-han? Shall we visit the Old City? Look, wouldn’t it be nice to take a break every now and then, waa?”
“A break… I guess you’re right, ya na. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Nara anyway.”
“It’s not Na-ra, it’s Hower…”
“I’m so happy, wa! I’ll get the carriage,” Karen made to rush off, but Natalia’s voice stopped her.
“Young lady of the Yakomai household, may I also participate in this trip?” Natalia said, as she raised her hand up. She had a feeling that if she did not say anything, she would be left in the dust.
Karen’s face had a rather pinched look, but it quickly disappeared behind a smile. “Well, well, it’s a two-seater carriage, but I think it can fit three.”
“Very well, I shall go as well.”
And that was how the three of them ended up going on the trip to the Old Capital together.
[Gumihou: … please don’t look down on Nara, it’s very fun. Especially in summer ~]
[1] Konamon – Floured items. Things cooked with flour
[2] Nikuten – Hyogo prefecture okonomiyaki made with potatoes
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