"Starting the engine!"
This time, there were no strange noises or odd vibrations from the pipe; the generator ran smoothly.
"The shed doesn't smell of exhaust. It worked.
Connecting the pipe to the generator was easier than I expected. If that's the case, connecting an extension tank to the generator's tank should also be straightforward."
I stored the generator and pipe again and began modifying them inside the workshop. First, I adjusted the fuel tank's filler neck on the generator and crafted a compatible pipe and a 50-liter freestanding external tank. This new pipe was modeled after a flexible pipe I found among automotive parts. The external tank features a clear resin window, making it easy for anyone to see the remaining fuel level.
Once again, I retrieved items from the item box and set them up, pouring gasoline into the external tank. I had transmuted ten-liter cans of gasoline within the item box and used a funnel to transfer it to the tank. In hindsight, I should have just created a fully filled tank from the start.
After transferring gasoline to the tank twice and adding a total of twenty liters, I suddenly remembered that I could directly draw gasoline from the item box into the tank. This made it easy to fill the external tank to the brim.
Satisfied with my progress, I pulled out another generator and connected its exhaust pipe to the already full external tank I had prepared.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Meanwhile, three high school girls were riding in a carriage on their way back from a field training session in the wasteland. Threeshiin Hana pretended to sleep while her classmates, Emily Yamada and Kazuha Tahara, chattered away, completely ignoring her.
Amidst their conversation, Hana heard a familiar piece of classical music drifting in from somewhere. The carriage they were in avoided busy thoroughfares and instead traveled down a quieter side street. On either side of the road, impressive mansions lined the way, marking the area as a residential district. The music likely emanated from one of those grand houses.
"Could it be? No, that's impossible."
The music continued for a while, then faded away. I briefly considered buying a diesel generator but ultimately settled for a gasoline engine. With two external tanks holding 100 liters of gasoline and two internal tanks with about 30 liters, I had a total of 130 liters stored in the same shed. While that might be considered hazardous, I decided it was manageable as long as I was careful with fire. Calculating from the catalog's runtime for just the internal tank, I figured that with 130 liters, I could power it for three and a half days. However, with minimal load, it seemed I could expect a week of operation.
I ran a cable from the generator to the entrance of the shed and connected it to an extension cord leading to the main house. Switching between power sources was a hassle, requiring me to change the generator's plug.
To bring electrical wires into the main house, I drilled a hole in the wall. Once I went this far, I felt compelled to run wires to each room. I wanted to conceal the wires within the walls, but since that was no longer an option, I had to run them along the wall or floor edges. Exposed wires not only looked bad but could also be dangerous. I recalled something called cable molding, a protective material that encases the wires. With a lid covering the top for easy access and adhesive tape on the back for secure attachment to walls and floors, it seemed perfect for neatly running cables along the edges.
Once the idea struck me, I knew I had to act on it. Quickly, I changed my clothes and rushed to the home improvement store, where I purchased some larger cable conduits in various shapes, including straight and right-angled pieces.
Back at the mansion, I placed the conduits into the replication box and began copying them in the alchemy workshop, then installed them throughout the house. After finishing the conduits, I meticulously fed wires into them, inserting power strips at intervals to serve as outlets. I ran wires only to the living room, dining room, kitchen, and my own room. I wanted to extend this wiring to the bathroom as well, but I decided against it—electrical work gone wrong could lead to an unpleasant shock.
Tomorrow, I plan to buy several indoor lights.
Once the main wiring was laid out, it was the perfect time for a bath. The children followed me in, and afterward, we had dinner together.
That night, before bed, I stuffed five old cars into the material box. I thought extracting gold from them would make alchemy easier, but I felt just as drained after my first attempt as usual, so I decided to forgo a second try.
Instead, to my surprise, the familiar sound of "Piro-ron!!" rang out.
"Your alchemy skill level has reached a certain point. You have gained 1 skill point. You now have 25 skill points remaining."
For now, I don't have any specific skills I want to acquire, so wrapped in a comforting fatigue, I drifted off to sleep.
The next day, after finishing my morning routine, I lounged in the living room for a while before heading to the home center. I was there to buy some lighting fixtures. The products would probably be from lesser-known manufacturers, but given today's market, even cheap items need to maintain a certain quality to sell. I planned to make a copy of the fixtures before using them, so if anything broke, I could easily replace it with a copy.
Hanging lighting would provide good illumination for a room, but since my house lacks ceiling mounts, I opted for several types of floor-standing lamps and added them to my cart.
While browsing for other electrical appliances, my eye was caught by a microwave. This was definitely a worthwhile purchase. I asked a store employee to fetch one from the warehouse to take home, and placed it in my cart. Next, I noticed an induction heater. While gas stoves are convenient for cooking, even if I could copy gas canisters, I would need a significant amount of charcoal as the base material—carbon and hydrogen. So, I looked at the induction heaters, but all the models seemed too large for my current power supply. Ultimately, I decided to forgo the induction heater and opted for a much simpler electric kettle instead.
As I wandered through the electronics section, I stumbled upon the air conditioner area. Right now, the mansion isn't too hot or cold, so I don't need an air conditioner. But who knows how things might change? The thought of needing one began to creep into my mind. However, my mansion's layout isn't suitable for installing a home air conditioner without the help of an expert.
Should I raise the walls around the estate to keep the view out and hire a few specialists to make the necessary modifications? It's not like I'm committing a crime. After all, some people are as carefree as used car salesmen, so maybe I wouldn't need to go to such lengths.
With that in mind, perhaps I should just buy an air conditioner here and arrange for the installation at the same time. I had never done this before, but I was sure there was an installation service counter nearby.
As I searched, I quickly found it. I approached a staff member and said, "I'd like to buy an air conditioner, but my house doesn't have the necessary holes for installation or reinforcements on the walls. Is that a problem? If installation is possible, I'd like to place an order for that as well."
"Let's proceed with the installation of the Air Conditioner and the drilling work. The installation itself is free, but there is a charge of 20,000 yen for sending out two workers for half a day, in addition to the actual costs of materials and consumption tax.
How about the Air Conditioner unit itself?"
"I'll buy it here, so please install it right away."
"Understood. Here are the Air Conditioners we offer. Please choose from these."
"I need one large unit for the living room and dining area, plus two smaller ones for my room."
"Just to confirm, the large unit runs on 200V. Is that alright?"
The wiring from yesterday was 100V. I could probably buy a 200V cable and extend it to the living room since the generator could handle 200V.
"That's fine."
"Then the total cost will be 443,000 yen. The payment for the Air Conditioner needs to be made in advance. If you're using a card, this is the card we accept here."
"I'll pay in cash."
I took out 45 thousand-yen bills from my item box and handed them to the staff, receiving a receipt and change in return.
"Please write your address on this form."
I wrote down my apartment address. Three Air Conditioners in a small apartment, and one of them a large unit. They might find it suspicious, but if they consider the bigger picture, any suspicion should fade away.
The worker will likely arrive in a van or light truck to load the items, so let's have them transfer everything over there and get to work.
"Since we're in the city, the quickest option is... Tomorrow works perfectly. We have Air Conditioner units in stock too, so we can come by the quickest tomorrow."
The representative didn't seem to mind that I wrote '~ Apartment' for the address.
"Then let's schedule it for tomorrow, please."
"Two workers will come to your home at 10 AM. You can guide them on the placement of the holes for the Air Conditioner installation on-site."
"Understood."
I realized I had just purchased an Air Conditioner. I was one step closer to a more civilized life.
I headed to the wire section to buy a 200V cable. Once I copy the length, I can adjust it using the alchemy box, so I can get an arbitrary length of cable.
After paying for the items in my cart at the register, I stepped outside the home center and loaded everything into my vehicle.
With my tasks here completed, I considered heading back to the estate, but then remembered there was a fast food hamburger joint nearby.
I decided to treat myself to a hamburger set for lunch. There was still time before noon, but if I stored the hamburger in my item box, it would stay warm, and the cola would remain cold.
Through the counter, I smiled at the young woman and said, "I'd like six double hamburger sets to go, please. The drinks will be Coke. Also, add six more hamburgers. Medium fries are fine, and don't forget the ketchup."
"Understood," she replied.
After settling the bill, I picked up the two paper bags filled with my order and stepped out of the store. Having ordered the air conditioner and grabbed the hamburger sets for lunch, I returned to the mansion where Lisa was starting to prepare the meal.
"I got lunch. You can take your time and don't worry about the preparations," I said.
"Thank you! So, I just need to prepare the drinks?" she asked.
"I bought some drinks too, but they're a bit unusual, so it might be better to have something else on hand," I warned.
"Got it."
"And the kids?"
"They're weeding the garden and cleaning the mansion."
"Impressive, impressive. When lunch comes, everyone gathers in the dining room."
"Of course."
After finishing my conversation with Lisa, I set up the stand lamps around the rooms and plugged the cords into the outlets. Next, I unpacked the microwave and placed it next to the kitchen countertop, connecting its power cord to a nearby outlet. The microwave had a grounding wire attached to the plug, but I chose to overlook that. Of course, I had copied the microwave as well.