Shop 39.2

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Chapter 39.2. Observation Diary In The Wilderness

■■■ <Crimson Chain> Cherina Veliero ■■■

The next day.

Akira was smoking on a hill overlooking the harbor. 

It seemed quite high, but he lit the second cigarette without hesitation.

What caught my attention was not the cigarette but a peculiar aerial tool.

There are various shapes of aerial tools, but generally, there are only two common forms. 

One is a metal sphere with a handle, and the other is a container for storing many items in bags or boxes.

Of course, there are various shapes of aerial tools. 

So it might be one of those. He had seemed to be a transparent rectangular box with a metal lid. 

Is the transparent part made of the same material as a PET bottle? 

However, since it has a metal lid, that part may serve a function as an aerial tool.

However, what Akira calls a "lighter" is not an aerial tool but a reusable ignition device. 

Akira doesn't realize how amazing it is. 

With the idea of turning aerial tools into cards, what is happening to his values?

Now, while contemplating how to bring up the topic of acquiring "lighters," he unexpectedly brings it up himself. 

It's a stark contrast to when we first negotiated the PET bottle deal. 

While he was fully focused on taking the initiative then, now he casually progresses the conversation while taking a smoke break.

It's a bit frustrating. I proposed a ridiculously low amount, thinking I could haggle fiercely. 

But to my surprise, he said half of that would be fine. Who would have thought?

Let's proceed with the negotiations before he changes his mind. 

He mentioned a deal for ten thousand units under his breath. 

I wanted to jump at it immediately, but that seemed too risky. There might be something shady.

I decided to conclude the conversation by agreeing to purchase around 30. 

Finally, I understood that Akira, even in this seemingly troublesome attitude, is not to be underestimated as a merchant.

――――

It was shocking. 

I don't have words to describe it. 

If I were to say something, it felt like my head got split open with a massive hammer or pierced by a huge iron core. 

Has there ever been anything in my life that stirred my emotions to this extent?

During the discussion about exports, including my brother, Akira casually mentioned something. 

He mentioned hub port, distribution hub, economic free city, and economic special zone. That is the vision of the country I aim for. 

It's not a country like a withering old man being exploited by pigs.

A young, vibrant, beautiful country where merchants can wield their power freely.

Recalling "their" words, I shake my head. 

For a moment, "their" words and Akira's words overlap. It's different; they shouldn't be the same. 

However, at this moment, I couldn't grasp how unbelievably significant it had become within me.

If only I had realized it at that time. Maybe the future wouldn't have turned out like this. 

No, this was inevitable. I etched this ideal into the depths of my heart, and that fervor cannot be extinguished even now.

Still, if there's anything I could change, I would want to go back to this moment and redo everything. 

Let's stop the regrets. I've digressed from the story. Let's go back to that time.

After concluding the discussion with the three of us, Akira and I confirmed specialty products over a meal. 

I already have it all in my head, and I don't expect any new discoveries now, but foreigners sometimes say unimaginable things. 

At this moment, he was showing the list rather than the items on the list.

He seemed interested in the woodblock. Besides woodblocks and parchment, what else could there be for preserving information? 

I don't understand what he's saying. 

Then he seems to use that ability of his and takes out something. It's an impressive book.

He showed it to me. It was extraordinary. How can someone seal colored illustrations in such large quantities? 

How can someone draw such realistic pictures? Why is the technology explained so comprehensibly?

Ordinarily, technical books use various codes to make them incomprehensible to others. It's common for only the person themselves to understand. 

But in the first half, the technology is described in detail, easy for even a child to understand.

In the latter half, with trial and error, you can probably arrive at it. It sends shivers down my spine.

This item could be stolen or taken by force. Akira doesn't seem to understand it at all. But I am a merchant. I must use this to my advantage. Honestly, imagining something like paper or Japanese paper is difficult, but the merchant's intuition tells me this will definitely turn into gold.

Then Akira told me that "paper" refers to the pages of that book. Overwhelmed by the content, I hadn't noticed, that there were hundreds of thin pages. 

If it were a typical book with overlapping parchment, this thickness would only be about a hundredth or even a thousandth of the information.

I immediately gathered the executives and secretly instructed them to create a prototype after finally realizing the terror of this paper.

If this is successful, it might open up a loophole in this closed country. However, the exhilarating atmosphere quickly gets dissipated by the next task. 

A dinner with Baron Label awaits.