The generator I purchased this time ran on gasoline, which probably makes a large tank quite risky. If it were a diesel generator, I could find larger tanks that seem safer to connect directly to an external source. But that's a discussion for later. Tomorrow, I'll start by negotiating at the commercial guild.
After stopping the engine and filling the gas tank, I took a bath and had dinner. Of course, that night I transmuted some gold and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, after finishing my daily potion-making, I completely forgot about stopping by the commercial guild regarding the purchase of the rented house. Instead, I hopped back to my apartment to adjust my schedule and then transported to the precious metals shop to sell some gold. This would result in several million being deposited into my account again. I need to keep some money aside for next year's tax return. According to the explanation I got at the shop, there's only a small deduction, and anything beyond that will be taxed alongside my other income.
If I keep selling gold like this, I'll have to brace myself for the highest income tax rate. That means the gold price would effectively be cut in half. This country has excessive taxes—it's like the 50-50 system from the Edo period.
Yesterday, I bought a used car for metal materials, but I wish I had more resources. The reason is that I thought I could temporarily borrow a parked car to create a duplicate in my alchemy workshop. Once I make a copy, I can just return the original to its spot without any issues.
Of course, a parked car wouldn't have its keys, but since I can generate the car itself, I figure I can easily create a key too. Riding around in a copied car in Japan might be a bad idea, but in New World, it should be a breeze. Given the road conditions there, an off-road vehicle would be the best choice.
I wonder if I could buy around ten junk cars? Maybe I should head to that used car lot from yesterday and grab some more.
With that in mind, I hopped over to the bank and withdrew about a million yen, then transferred the cash to the used car lot. The sedan from yesterday, priced at 120,000 yen, was still there.
As I walked through the lot, the old man from the used car shop spotted me and said, "Oh! You disappeared with that car yesterday; I was surprised! What kind of magic did you pull off?"
"Just the ups and downs of life," I replied.
"That sounds both clear and confusing. So, what brings you here today?"
It seemed the old man rationalized my transfer as some sort of trick, so I figured I could get away with a bit of reckless behavior.
"I'm looking to buy some more junk cars, if you have any," I said.
"If you're taking them with magic, that's fine, but how many do you want?"
"As many as you have."
"That's quite generous of you. Since you have five in the yard, feel free to take them all."
"What's the price?"
"Is 100,000 yen per unit too high? There's a decent amount of procurement cost for those five."
"I'm fine with that. If you have a few more, I'd appreciate it if you could hold one for me at that price."
"I can't keep too many on hand, so ten is the limit. Are you really buying that many?"
"The more, the better. But I'll set a limit, so let's say around twenty more."
"Are you some kind of dealer exporting to Southeast Asia?"
"Not exactly. In that case, I'll take them for 500,000 yen. No receipt needed, so I'll just take the cars now."
"That works for me."
Before the old man's eyes, five cars vanished into thin air. And with a casual, "See you," I jumped to the video rental store next.
I grabbed a basket from near the entrance and headed to the used section, looking for non-adult DVDs to toss in.
What about this one? There was a game titled 'P〇gu.' At first, I didn't understand what clay animation was, but I saw it featured clay penguins. Clay—that's what they meant!
Then, I spotted 'Lio〇King' and added it to my basket as well.
The foundation for children's entertainment is animal-themed animation! Since animals can't talk, watching their movements is more than enough.
After filling my basket with about twenty animal-themed items, I thought, "Music could be a good addition too." So, I randomly selected some second-hand classical CDs and tossed them into the basket.
After settling the bill at the register, I remembered I needed to check in at the commercial guild. I stored the discs in my item box and then teleported near the guild.
At the reception, I stated my purpose, and like last time, they directed me to the meeting room where the same woman who attended to me before welcomed me.
"I have a question about the mansion I'm renting. Am I allowed to make alterations?" I asked.
"If the layout is going to change, we'll need to discuss it in detail. However, we're not precisely keeping track of the property's interior aside from the layout, so as long as the property isn't damaged when you vacate, it shouldn't be a problem," she replied with a well-rehearsed answer.
It was clear that in a world without photographs or copy machines, it was not easy to verify the condition of rental properties.
"By the way, is it possible to buy that mansion?" I inquired.
"For properties over fifty years old, we'd sell them for three years' worth of rent. Since that mansion has also surpassed fifty years, it can be sold. The rent for that property is two hundred fifty gold coins, so the sale price would be seven hundred fifty gold coins."
I have 750 gold coins on hand.
"Can I still make the purchase?"
"You've already paid a year's rent, so since less than a month has passed, I can only accept 20 coins for the usage thus far, and you will receive the remaining 230 coins back, which brings the selling price to 520 coins."
"I can pay right now, correct?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm ready to pay, so let's finalize the paperwork."
As I laid out a pile of 500 gold coins and two sets of 10 Koyama coins on the table, the clerk was visibly stunned.
"Uh, let me just get the paperwork," she stammered before quickly exiting the room.
When she returned with the documents, she explained some important details. Since I hadn't considered these aspects, it was quite informative.
"As you may know, in the city, land rights only grant usage rights, so the land cannot be sold. Additionally, starting next year, you'll need to pay the land usage fees to the local government. The annual fee for that plot is 30 gold coins. Our guild can also assist with the payment of land usage fees if you'd like. The service fee is 5 percent of the payment amount."
"In that case, I might as well ask you to handle the fee payments for me. I can pay for next year's fees here, right?"
"We can take care of fees for up to 10 years. If you pay for a decade upfront, there's a 10 percent discount."
"Then, it's settled."
"For ten years' worth, that's a 10% discount on 300 gold coins, bringing it to 270 coins. Adding in the service fee of 13 coins and 5 silver coins, the total comes to 283 gold coins and 5 silver coins."
I slammed the discussed amount down on the table. The woman in charge confirmed the count and said,
"This is the sales contract; please sign here. This document is proof of payment for the land use fee for ten years."
After signing the paperwork and receiving the certificate, I left the guild. With the mansion purchased and the land use fees settled, I could finally proceed with renovations without worries.
Once home, I set up the generator and entered the living room, calling for the kids and Lisa.
"Hey everyone, it's time for some anime!"
As I gathered everyone, Lisa asked, "Lunch is almost ready; what do we do?"
I had completely forgotten about it, but I was hungry too, so I replied, "Let's have lunch first, and we can watch anime after we clean up."
"Okay!"
With that, we moved to the dining room for lunch. Today's meal consisted of pumpkin soup, thick-cut ham, a vegetable salad, and bread. Back in Japan, I had never ordered salad when eating out, nor had I ever made it while cooking for myself. I couldn't help but feel like I was enjoying a surprisingly healthy diet.
While Lisa and the kids were cleaning up after dinner, I prepared to watch a disk. The chosen film was a safe bet: an old Disney animation titled "Fantasia." Since it was primarily a music-driven animation, I figured there wouldn't be many moments for me to commentate.
Once everything was set, Lisa and the kids joined me.
"Alright, let's begin!"
I fiddled with the remote and hit play. The room filled with rich music, and both the kids and Lisa were entranced, their mouths slightly agape as they watched the screen. Since it was a music animation, I cranked up the volume. The living room windows were open, likely letting some sound spill out, but it wasn't loud enough to be a nuisance. I kept the playback going.
...
When the film ended, I asked, "So, what did you think?"
"Master, it was incredibly moving!" Eva exclaimed.
"It was so amazing that I could hardly comprehend it. I'm convinced!" said Olivia.
"I feel so lucky to have seen such wonderful animation and music. As expected of you, Master!" Kiria added.
Finally, Lisa said, "Even royalty couldn't enjoy such magnificent moving pictures and music. Thank you, Master."
One child remained a bit dazed, but overall, everyone seemed genuinely moved, which was a great relief.
"That's it for today. Look forward to tomorrow!"
"Yes!"
After finishing the anime, Lisa and the kids began preparing dinner.
I put away the generator for a moment, pondering how to protect it from the rain and wind.
"Guess I'll have to build a shelter around it and put a roof over it. There's a storage shed out front; maybe I can keep it in there."
When I checked the shed, I found it empty, with just a dirt floor — perfect for what I needed. There was even a skylight near the ceiling, so ventilation wouldn't be an issue. I could connect a pipe to the exhaust and direct it outside the shed.
Having gathered a substantial amount of materials, I decided to craft some pipes right away in my alchemy workshop. The pipe's outer diameter needed to match the inner diameter of the generator's exhaust, with the main section slightly thicker, about 50% more. I stored a section of the wall in my item box to create a circular hole, then threaded the pipe through, securing its end into the generator's exhaust.
"Starting the engine!"
Once I fired it up, the expected vibrations were transmitted through the pipe, causing it to bang loudly against the wall where I'd made the hole. Eventually, the pipe slipped out of the generator's exhaust.
I stopped the engine and stored the generator and pipe in my item box. In the alchemy workshop, I slightly flared the end of the pipe and cut male threads into it, then threaded the female end onto the generator's exhaust outlet. I also fashioned a rubber gasket with a central hole to fill the gap between the wall's opening and the pipe, allowing me to secure it in place.
"That should do it."
I took the generator, pipe, and rubber gasket from the item box, fitted the gasket onto the pipe, and connected it through the wall's opening to the generator's exhaust. Finally, I adjusted the rubber gasket to seal tightly against the wall, completing the assembly.