Translator Corner
This is the “I
play Earthbound too much” Yukkuri demasu...
As usual,
this is not a literal Japanese translation, so there bound to be a mistake....
The Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
The Editor:
NaoSou
Chapter 19:
Another World’s Shopping Mall
「Kazura-san,
it’s morning. Please wake up.」
「Nnn....」
The morning
of the next day.
Kazura woke
up after feeling his body was shaken by someone. The sunrays shone from the
latticed window and brightened the lodging’s interior that was engulfed by
bustling of people who made preparations for the day.
The sun had
practically just started to climb the sky, so the air inside the lodging was
still cold.
Valetta,
Lodurr and the others had also begun preparations for departure just like the
other surrounding people. The one who were still sleeping while blanketed in
mantles were just Kazura and Myra.
Sometimes,
mixed with hustle and bustle were voices that screamed 「My luggage
is gone!」, from that
it can be surmised that a thief had appeared last night.
Valetta,
who seen that Kazura had opened his eyes, said “good morning” and smiled to
him.
「Good
morning..... Do you want to go out to the City?」(Kaz)
「Yes. The
merchants in the city will soon open their business, so I think we should go to
sell the goods that we have brought.」
The goods that
they had brought were firewood and Arcadian Bugs.
Kazura
didn’t know how much about the value of the firewood, but Valetta had said that
Arcadian Bug is a high class ingredients. There was also the Almar’s fur that
Lodurr had hunted, so they would get quite a lot of money.
However,
Kazura didn’t know how currency worked in this world, so he also can’t deduce at
what price the goods will sell.
「Heh... The
shops will open this early in the morning?...... About the firewood, will it be
purchased by a specialty store[1]?」
「No. Since
firewood is needed by everyone, it can be sold to every kind of store. Arcadian
Bug will be sold to Groceries, while I think we will sell the Almar’s fur to a
Tailor.」
「Fumufumu, I see, so the shop will only buy things that they need. 」
While
Kazura and Valetta are conversing with each other, Myra who had been woken up
by Tana opened her eyes and began to put on her clothes.
Without
complaining “I still sleepy”, she quickly finished her preparations. She was
quite robust, different from Japan’s children that Kazura knew.
Seeing Myra
like that, Kazura also put his mantle on his body in a hurry, and put the rack
that packed with firewood to his back.
✦✧✦✧
The party
departed from the lodging and walked at the main street that was already packed
with pedestrian traffic. They then arrived at the area where a lot of shops
lined up.
At the
center of the Shopping Area was a large circle plaza. Surrounding the plaza
were numerous kind of shop buildings.
At the
plaza that had a diameter of 50 meters, were carts that were parked while their
goods were unloaded under a canopy they installed. Among these carts were food
stalls that already start their business.[2]
The plaza was
crowded with a lot of people some shops were even getting packed out with
people.
The shops
inside the plaza were divided into section, to some extent. Like, these shops
sell foods, these shops sell clothes, and so on. The shops that sell goods of the
same categories were grouped together.
「Well then.
Let’s sell the firewood first..... Kazura-san, is something wrong?」(Val)
Valetta
asked Kazura who stare at the plaza. Since yesterday he had been captivated by
the scenery he saw.
For you
see, the scenery that only can be seen inside the films with historical genre,
was now existed in front of his eyes.
Shops that
sell food that he had never seen before, shops that sell genuine sword or
spears, and many other shops, to see these many kinds of things for the first
time in his life, Kazura was absolutely deeply moved by it.
「Eh? Ah, I’m
sorry. I never imagined that a Commerce Area will be this impressive, so I
become completely fascinated by it.....」
Beside
Kazura was Myra who eyes were shining and shuffling her gaze restlessly on the multitude
of shop.
Myra and
Kazura was similar to each other; their first time seeing this spectacle left a
deep impression in them.
「Fufu, there
are many Shopping Area that are similar to this place in the city. If we go
closer to the city center, there are Shopping Areas that deal with high-class items.」(Val)
「Fumufumu,
so that means that this area mostly deal with commoners?」(Kaz)
「Yes. If we
go to the city center we will arrive at the district where the affluent people
live.」
Apparently
this city was structured like this. The rich people inhabit the city center,
while the common people reside on separated area from the city center.
If he
remembered correctly, the houses that were built near the gate where he had
passed before and the buildings that were built in this area had the same look.[3]
「Well then,
shall we go to sell the firewood?」(Kaz)
「Yes, let’s
go.」(Val)
For selling
the firewood, the party went to the nearest shop.
The
two-stories shop building was made from stone, its big entrance had its door
opened. The shops interior had a lot of big sheet of fabrics, straw footwear
like Kazura’s group wore, and footwear from thick clothes were displayed to be
sold.
When the
group entered the store, a middle aged man that might be the shop’s proprietor
came out from the inside.
「Welcome. Are you searching for something?」
「No, we thought you may want to buy firewood from us, so we decided to stop by, but d you want some?」 [4]
Valetta
said that while picked up some firewood from the rack that Kazura carry and
gave it to the shopkeeper.
The
shopkeeper seemed to measure the weight of the firewood in his hand, and then
nodding his head several times as if he was satisfied with something.
「Fumu......
This is quite good quality firewood. How much do you want to sell this?」
「How about
80 Ar[5] sounds to you?」
Valetta
answered to the shopkeeper who questioned the price of the firewood that Kazura
carried. After he heard her answer, he was taken aback for a moment before making
an exaggerated laughs.
「Ojou-san[6] that price is way too high. The
market price for these firewood is, at
most, only 50 Ar.」
「Is that
right? Then in that case, should I go to another place?」
Valetta said
it as if she was going to leave the store, then...
「Wait, I’ll
buy it at 55 Ar. Really, Ojou-san is good at business.」
The shopkeeper
stopped her while smiling bitterly and raised both of his hand in what can be
called surrender pose.
「It’s too
cheap. I can only reduce the price to 70 Ar. It can’t go any lower than this.」
Valetta
stopped her feet that faced the store entrance, turned her face and smiled
while offering 10 Ar discount.
The
shopkeeper made a hopeless expression as he had finished thinking with a little
groan.
「60... No,
62 Ar for the price. I can’t buy if it’s more than this. If you can’t accept
this, you can try at another place.」
Hearing the
shopkeeper answer, Valetta put her hand on her mouth and made a thinking pose,
then as if she had decide an answer, she opened her mouth.
「I am sorry.
It looks like I need to try at another place.」
Valetta
apologized while showing a remorseful expression on her face.
「That’s
fine. If there is no one who buys it, come to me, I will buy it at 62 Ar. You’re
so skilled in this, do your best.」
Valetta
smiled.
Valetta
said her thanks to the shopkeeper, and walked out from the shop.
✦✧✦✧
「Valetta-san
is really skilled in this, since you have made a deal to sell the firewood for
62 Ar in that shop.」(Lod)
「That’s
true, I also need to learn from your example.」(Tan)
「Waaa, I’m
so nervous...... But, since I give him a little discount, I am afraid that he
will find out that I am still inexperienced in negotiation.」(Val)
Lodurr and
Tana congratulate Valetta who replied with a bitter smile.
Kazura who
had seen the price negotiation thought that it was indeed impressive, but did
the professional merchant really saw through her concealed nervousness?
Honestly,
Kazura thought that he couldn’t negotiate price as well as what Valetta had
showed.
Though
maybe it related to Valetta’s appearance, since Kazura is a male, it will be
hopeless to expect the shop will respect him.
「What is the
market price for this firewood?」
「For this size,
it’s roughly about 60 Ar. Although the price will be higher in the winter, but since
it’s currently summer so the price is only at that level.」(Lod)
Kazura asked
while he point at the firewood that he was carrying. So, Lodurr, who fixed the
position of the rack that he was carrying, answered to Kazura.
「Well then,
we will go sell the firewood and the fur. Myra, come here.」(Lod)
「Father, can’t I go together with Kazura-sama?」
Myra, who
without anyone seeing, put a Drop in her mouth and inflated her cheeks while
she moved her eyes between Lodurr and Kazura.
She quickly
grasped Kazura’s mantle with her left hand. Stubbornly want to go together with
him.
Was she
just tamed through being fed with a can of Sakuma Drops? In quite a short time
she became considerably emotionally attached to Kazura.[7]
......Perhaps she thought that if she stay together with him, then she will receive something? [8]
「Ah, it’s
not a problem for me. Since I will be watching her closely.」 (Kaz)
「But....」
Maybe
because they were worried it will be a burden for Kazura, Lodurr and Tana had an
apologetic expression in their face.
But after
he saw the pleading expression of his daughter, who was clinging on Kazura’s
mantle, Lodurr made a wry smile.
「Then, since
we will return as soon as possible, until then I entrust her to Kazura-sama.」
So Lodurr
said while entrusting her daughter to Kazura. Everyone decided that the
rendezvous point will be in front of this clothing shop. Lodurr and Tana then
went to sell the goods and vanished from sight among the crowd of people.
「Then, we
will also go and sell the goods.」(other villagers)
「Yes, see
you later.」
Following
Lodurr, the other villagers also vanished from sight among the human swarm,
leaving Valetta, Kazura and Myra in front of the shop.
The goods
that they could sell are firewood and Arcadian Bugs, but they will sell the
firewood first. Those 3 people then entered the neighboring store.
✦✧✦✧
One hour
had passed.
After they
exited the tenth store, Valetta made a small sigh.
To make
sure Myra didn’t get lost, Kazura held her hand.
「Fuh, as
expected it’s very hard to sell for more than 62 Ar.....」(Val)
「You’re
right..... Although there are place that
could buy it for 61 Ar, but it’s hard to surpass 62 Ar.」(Kaz)
Just like
what she did at the first store, Valetta skillfully negotiate the cost, however
there are no store who want to buy it over the market price of 60 Ar.
Although at
first Myra had fun seeing the shops, she has now closed her mouth in silence.
It seems that she was tired.
Eventually,
since if they keep searching for a place that will buy the firewood at a higher
price it will interfere with the time to sell Arcadian Bugs, so they returned
to the first shop to sell their firewood at that place.
Since the
distance to that shop was only several tenths meters, they quickly reached the
first shop.
When those
three enter the shop together, the shopkeeper came o meet and greet them with an
expression as if saying: “What had I said?”[9]
「How is it? The
other shop only buy it at most at 61 Ar, right?」
「Yes.....
I’m sorry, but will you buy it at 62 Ar?」
To Valetta
sorry request, the Shopkeeper replied
「A-aah.
Since I had promised, I will buy it.」
He then took
out 8 coins and gave them to Valetta.
「Six 10 Ar
coins, and two 1 Ar coins.....It’s the correct price. Thank you very much.」
Kazura put
down the rack and with Valetta help, unloaded the firewood from the rack and pile
it on an open space inside the shop.
✦✧✦✧
「Now we will
sell the Arcadian Bugs. The grocery shop is on that direction.」
The three
people that had finished selling the firewood, without taking a break, went to
the grocery store.
In the area
where the grocery store was located there were a lot of shops and people in
there.
In front of
the shop there were wooden boards or stone slabs that described the price of
the things that the shops sold.
Since
Kazura had just arrived in Isteria, he learned only some of the character of
this world from Valetta; more or less he could read the numbers and could only read
a small amount of the worm-like letters.[10]
「Emmm, Summer
Potato, one for 5 Ar...... Huh? One potato is 5 Ar? That much firewood is only
60 Ar, and yet this potato is expensive. Is this potato a high class food?」
「No, this
potato is the ordinary potato that can be harvested in the villages even in
this time...... How could it become this expensive....?」
It appears
that there is a food shortage that caused the price of food to suddenly rise
steeply.[11]
Kazura peeked
at the inside of the store, the 5 Ar potato was displayed in the inside of a
box, mingled with the other food.
The potato
length was about 10 cm, had a shape like sweet potato[12], and the diameter was
only as big as a circle made from an index and a thumb.
Even if you
use all the money from selling firewood, you can only buy 12 potatoes, so it
was a really steep price increase.
Didn’t this
mean that Arcadian Bugs would be sold at even higher price? With this
expectation, they entered the shop, but the result from negotiation with the
proprietress was that she only will buy 8 of them for 12 Ar.
「I’m sorry, there
is only a small demand for Arcadian Bugs, unlike potatoes or legumes. If you go
toward the city center then I think you can sell it for higher price. Why don’t
you try it?」
「Is that
so?....... I understand, we will go and try it. Thank you very much.」
Because
they had come to Isteria from a faraway distance that took 2 days of walking,
it’s better for them if they could sell the Arcadian Bugs for a high price.
The three
people went towards the closest Shopping Area in the City Center and left the
plaza behind.
☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽
I will aim
for double release of Mira’s story today! (most likely this will not happen).
Also can anybody recommend a good offline grammar checker that's not GingerSoft?
[1] Specialty store, a store that only sell a limited
range of goods. Like Sports Shop only sell Sport-related goods, or Hardware
Store only sell tools-related goods, etc.
[2] Just imagined it as an open air market
[3] For the people who get confused by this line, what
Susukinokuro-sensei means is that since the gate was in the outskirt of the
city and far from city center then it is a commoner district, and since the
plaza where Kazura now go had the same building type so the plaza also is also
commoner district.
[4] I like Kemm sugesstion, using his idea.
[5] Ar = Aru, maybe come from Argentum or Silver. Since
you know, most historical coin is made from silver...
[6] The Shopkeeper use Ojou-san to refer Valetta
sarcastically not because he respect/polite to her.
[7] Kazura: Loli-tamer armed with candies... He will be
likely get reported to police if he stands in front of elementary school.
[8] Resolved per Slimev1 suggestion.
[9] The shopkeeper had said that they will not find another
shop that will buy higher than 62 Ar.
[10] Worm like character? I guess... Arabic and other
abugida of south asia?
[11] Remember reader that there a prolonged drought befalls
Nelson-sama domains, so most crops are ruined and harvests failed. With reduced
supply (lack of good harvest) and increased demand (increasing number of peasants
that came from another Feudal Lords domain), economic law said that the price
will be higher than usual.
[12] Ipomoe batatas. Sweet potato. Satsuma Imo. This
usually used in my house to make sweet desserts.
Thanks for the new chapter!
ReplyDelete一緒にいれば何か貰えるかもと思っているだけかもしれないが
ReplyDeleteMaybe she is thinking that she would receive something if they are together
Well I bad explaining so I'm not going to hahaha, but I hope that it helps you to understand
Oh your right, since this sentence didn't introduce new subject then this sentence is still talking about Myra... so the person who think that if they together may receive something was myra and not her parents...
DeleteThank you for the translation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Great work
ReplyDeleteWhat a short chapter but thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for all your hard work!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter.
ReplyDeleteSince Slimelv1 has already given a good translation on [8], then one thing less to comment on.
From [3], one can guess that the town is neatly divided in homogeneous sections, instead of being a gradation from slums to high-class district where housing get better the closer you are to the posh section and worser as you go to the outskirts.
いえ、薪を買っていただけないかと思って立ち寄らせていただいたのですが、幾つかいかがですか
No, we thought you may want to buy firewood from us, so we decided to stop by, but do you want some?
^-This is the closest I can get to that door-to-door vendor spiel.
Using your idea.... Thanks.
DeleteYup. I think the city is made from blocks. Sadly the author didn't provide map, or that just one of my TRPG compulsion...
Hard work for him
ReplyDeleteReading through this novel, there's something I want to point out. It might be just me, but I think your use of ruby text is kinda obnoxious. Leaving aside my own preference, if you're translating a word, don't be indecisive; pick either the English equivalent or the original Japanese. It feels clunky. I know your reasoning, you want to leave the original phrasing while making sure everyone understands them, but like I said, it feels obnoxious. Just make footnotes if you really need to.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if you really want to keep you ruby text I can't do anything about it anyway, but I just wanted to give my two cents.
Hahaha... sorry.....but I dont think I could stop it... but I think I will try to limit it.... hahahahahah.....
Delete