The Story of Prosperity of C-mart in Another World

(Welcome to C-mart in Another World)

Chapter 1: Visitor

“Alright, let’s quit.”

It was the first day of Golden Week. As far as the eye could see the sky was high, blue, blue and… blue.

As I stared up into the sky for several minutes, something sounded inside of me and cut off immediately.

Enough. I quit.

As that thought crossed my mind it suddenly brought a sense of ease to my heart. The heart which had become heavy with stress over this past month had suddenly become free. Just like that blue sky, filled with sunlight and clarity. I felt like I had finally returned to being myself.

guuuuuu~

My stomach sounded.

My immersion in that feeling of freedom and release lasted just a moment.

For now, I’m hungry.

Or rather, it was just at that moment that I realized I was hungry. That’s how stressed I was.

Come to think of it, I was in the middle of going to the neighborhood convenience store.

I have just 2000 yen left, and there are several days before I can get more money. I thought to myself that I’d survive off pastries until then. I moved my legs like a robot, walking to the convenience store.

2000 yen huh… I thought to myself. With this much, I could afford to eat some delicious food.

I’m free. I’ve already quit. I didn’t submit the documents yet, but the fact that I quit doesn’t change. In that case I obviously cannot keep living here. I have to vacate my room, of course.

I might be told to return home and inherit the family business. Well, that’ll be taken care of somehow, and if not, I’ll worry about it when the time comes. For now, I’ll eat then think.

Ever since that something sounded in my head, I had become free. I had become a light and free existence. Instead of budgeting the remaining 2000 yen to buy pastries, spending all of it at once on a delicious meal is, for a free person, an obvious idea to come up with.

Instead of walking to the convenience store along my normal path, I took a step away from the roads I knew. Without a care in the world, I turned the corner.

At that time there were really no thoughts in my mind. I just walked along the road I’ve never passed through before.

If I remember correctly, there should be a ramen shop further down this road. I don’t really care what kind of place it is, a diner or anything else. As long as I can eat food, even a cafe would be fine. As long as I keep walking under this blue sky, there should be at least one restaurant somewhere. Under this blue sky, with a light heart, without a single care I walked.

Eventually, I realized there was a change in the surrounding scenery. There is a lot of green.

Huh, just by walking along this side road a bit, the amount of greenery increases by so much. I had no idea.

I continued walking. I kept walking. I kept walking and walking without a care. Eventually, the number of houses increased. It felt like the corner of a shopping street. The surroundings are a bit different than what I’m used to seeing, but it had a lively feeling in its own way.

But…?

I finally stopped walking, and looked around at my surroundings.

Isn’t this kind of weird?

The stores and houses lined up along the road were all constructed as if they were out of a fantasy novel. If you looked, the name boards for all of the shops were written using letters I had never seen.

It seems I’ve actually wandered into a fantasy world. To convince myself it took me 5 minutes, or 10… or maybe even longer… well anyways it took a long time.

“Hey you, you’re a visitor right?”

Someone called out to me as I stood in the middle of the road. When I turned back to look, nobody was there.

“Here, I said here! Where are you looking?”

When I turned my gaze downwards, there was a little girl. She was wearing an apron and a bandanna tied on her head while holding a ladle. Right by her was a cafeteria-like shop.

She must be the child of the owners of that shop.

She looked a little past 10. Helping around the shop at that age, what an admirable child.

“You’re a visitor right? Are you troubled by anything?”

This is of course the first time I’ve seen this girl. However, as if she were talking to an old friend, smiled brightly while calling out to me. I crouched down and matched my eyes to her level.

“What’s wrong, ojou-chan?” I asked her.

“Who’s an ojou-chan?!?”

She smacked my head with the ladle in her hand. It didn’t hurt that much but… did that just make an amazing sound?!

“Even though I look like this I’m in my 30s. I’m a half elf so my growth is slow, you got a problem with that?”

“Ha-half elf?”

By half elf she means… that? The thing that comes up a lot in fantasy, with mixed blood between a human and elf? Ahh right, this is a fantasy world. In that case, having a half elf is not strange at all.

“Try calling me ojou-chan again. I’ll make your skull ring again ok?”

I’ll pass on that one. It doesn’t hurt, but I’d rather not become an instrument.

“Ummm, then onee-san?”

“I’m long past that age too! Call me Oba-chan!”

The girl…or rather, oba-chan said with her chest puffed with confidence. Well, I guess since she herself says so then it’s alright.

“Your response?”

“Y-yes… oba-chan.”

No matter how you look at it, she has to be in the upper grades of elementary school, that self-styled oba-chan. When I responded to her, she smiled brightly. No matter how you look at it, she’s definitely a bishoujo in her early teens.

“Hey you, you got lost and wandered here didn’t you?”

“Huh? You understand?”

“Of course. You were just kyorokyoro’ing while standing there like poka~n, so it naturally occurred to me. Also, clothes. Those clothes… they’re not clothes you normally see around here.”

I looked at the clothes of the people passing through the road around me, then looked at my own clothes.

Ahh, my clothes certainly are different.

Everyone was wearing western style clothes. The shirts, pants, skirts all looked old, like clothes in a fantasy setting.

“Are there a lot of people like me?”

Since I was talking to a self-proclaimed 30’s woman, I asked her politely.

“Well, from time to time.”

As expected of a fantasy world. People wandering in from other worlds doesn’t seem to be a rare occurrence.

“Oh! Come eat some food here, I run a cafe. You must be hungry by your expression. You can’t fool this cafeteria oba-chan eyes with 30 years of experience!”

“No, um…”

I put my hand in my pocket. I have 2000 yen which I thought I would use to pay for one meal, but… I certainly am hungry but… using Japanese Yen in a different world is something even I wouldn’t think of doing.

“No, um… I don’t have money so…”

“You’re a dumb one aren’t you!”

She smacked my back.

“Young people shouldn’t be worrying about such things! You can pay me back later when you’ve become successful, so just come and eat.”

Oba-chan kept hitting my back over and over. Even though her hands were small, the snap of her wrists made it hurt quite a bit. Without my consent, I was dragged into the cafeteria.

“Here, eat this”

A bunch of this world’s food was before my eyes, and I unconsciously leaned my neck forward.

Soup? Stew? Zousui? Porridge? It’s something that doesn’t exactly match any of these. It’s a dish I’ve never seen before. As expected of a different world.

“Hm? Does it taste bad?” Oba-chan asked me

Whether it’s good or bad, I haven’t even started eating yet. There’s no point in judging the food, I have to eat it first to know if it tastes good or bad.

I-I’m gonna eat it! I’m gonna eat it! I’m gonna eat it! I’m gonna eat it!

I-I’m really gonna eat it…!

I used a spoon-like object to scoop up the food and bring it to my mouth.

*gulp*

“How is it?” Oba-chan sat on the other side of the table and stared at me with her while resting her chin on her hands.

Mogu mogu, gulp.

Hmmm.

I tilted my head.

“Ahh, so it didn’t match your tastes after all? Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s OK if you don’t eat it you know. What’s the food like in your world? If you tell me, I’ll try my best to make something similar.”

“Ahh, no…” I said as I tilted my head.

It’s not an issue of tasting good or bad… How do I say it, this is… there’s no taste?

“Oba-chan, is there salt?”

I searched the table, looking for that seasoning that should be in every cafeteria. However, there was nothing of the sort. To tell the truth, what I really wanted was soy sauce. But in this fantasy-style world, I doubt there would be any soy sauce. That’s why I asked for salt, but…?

“Oba-chan?”

“What are you saying? Salt? By salt you mean… that salt?”

“Salt or that salt, when you say salt you always mean that salt right? Umm, it couldn’t be that this world doesn’t have salt?”

“Ah, well… it’s not like salt doesn’t exist, but…” Oba-chan spoke with vague words.

I have no idea what’s going on.

“Such a luxury item… there’s no way a cafeteria like this would have any!” Oba-chan shook her chin from side to side cutely, matching her young appearance.

“Luxury item…?”

“You… Which rich family’s son are you?”

“Eh? Rich family’s son?”

“Sprinkling salt on your food is something limited to royalty or aristocracy, or perhaps big merchants, those kinds of people.”

“Eh? Rich people?”

“That’s why I’m asking which rich family’s son are you?”

“Nonono” I shook my head from side to side.

“I’m not anything like that! Ah, it’s ok, it’s ok. I’ll eat oba-chan’s cooking ok?! Because it’s delicious! I’ll eat it!” I said as I waved my hands in panic. There are a lot of objections floating around in my head, but in order to put oba-chan at ease, I quickly wolfed down the food that didn’t have much taste. Putting aside the issue of not having enough salt flavor, it was actually pretty good.

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

Oba-chan’s smile reached into the farthest corners of the shop.

“If you get hungry again, come back! But be sure to find some work! I bet visitors like you have a lot of troubles, but still!”

After finishing eating, I was kicked out by oba-chan.

I still don’t understand that visitor thing, but… I guess oba-chan is busy working at her cafeteria, and people who wander in from other worlds isn’t so rare here, so I can’t ask for special treatment.

I waved to oba-chan and then turned my back to her and started walking.

Hmm, but no matter how you look at it… oba-chan has got to be in the latter half of elementary school.

Her behavior was completely like an oba-chan though. Her mysterious oba-chan’ness was to the point where she’d probably say “Here, have a candy” while insistently pushing one onto you.

Alright, I’m no longer hungry.

I started walking aimlessly around the town. The fact that I didn’t really mind even though I realized I was in a different world was strange even to myself. It must be because I’ve become free, and because I’m full and satisfied. However… I really did just eat for free. This world is amazing!

This world’s streets were lively. The people walking down the street looked busy. The people passing by were also from a variety of races. As expected of a fantasy world, it’s not only humans, but also demihuman-looking people walking by as well. There was even a pretty onee-san with elf ears walking along the road.

Someone who looked like a merchant had a four legged beast that I’ve never seen before pulling a full load. Along both sides of the road, people started setting up stalls. It looks like I managed to wander into the central part of town.

I didn’t notice any familiar goods for sale, so I looked around but… there really isn’t anything familiar is there? When I say familiar, I mean items from my world, but… everything was from people who were originally from this world, or people who got lost and wandered in like me, what was the term for it? Visitor? I have no idea whether that’s true or not, but…

“Oh well.”

I stopped caring.

I’ll just accept what I see as I see it.

Around this time I should start worrying about not being able to return to my world, seriously. Strangely though, I didn’t worry at all. To explain why, if I look up, the sky is blue.

“Well… things will work out somehow.”

I was free from everything.

I slowly veered away from the main road, and took a step. And another step. Without a care in the world, I turned the corner. At that time I really wasn’t thinking about anything. Then, my surroundings changed back to familiar scenery.

Flustered, I looked back. I returned along the path I had just taken. I run along the street. There are sidewalks and cars. What was there was scenery you could find anywhere in modern Japan. Not the market bustling with humans and demihumans. There weren’t beasts pulling loads for merchants, or that pretty elf onee-san.

I had returned.

“…what the heck?”

I had gone back to reality… returned to reality.

The world I was just in… was that a dream?

No, there’s no way that’s true. As proof, I’m full.

I felt around in my pocket. My 2000 yen… was still properly there. If my money is still remaining, that must mean I ate for free…

Chapter 2 →

This chapter has translator’s notes available