CH 30

Episode 4-12. After all, the word [LOVE] is in the alphabet from A to Z

The rooftop of Aion Mall’s Otherworld Store.

Even though it was a rooftop parking lot, we were drinking tea after dinner in a place that had become like a campsite.

…… Not gonna lie, this is really a good place for something like camping.

By the way, the tea is from this world, brewed by Anna-san. Apparently it is a herbal tea that calms the mind.

“I was wondering how Anna-san learned Japanese? Because I heard from Chloe that you can read it quite well.”

“That’s right, Naoya! Anna is amazing!”

“I wonder how? It’s a maiden’s secret.”

“Maiden. You’re 21 years old, but that’s your age when you are alive, and now you’re undead, and all these years have passed since then so-“

“Naoya-san? Did you have something to say to me?”

“Ah, no, nothing at all.”

Anna smiles at me, and before I know it, I’m flinching back.

Really, all three of the employees at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store have their own quirks.

“Fufu. Naoya-san, here is the secret.”

She showed me the back of her hand.

Her skin is smooth and fair, or rather pale, with a slight bluish tinge.

“Naoya-san is wearing it, aren’t you?”

“I wear ……? Oh, the translation ring!”

“That’s right. I was taught how to read hiragana and given a Japanese textbook. If I read it out loud over and over and make the correct sounds, I can read most of the meanings.”

“Huh? But is a translation ring good enough to get through what the other person has said, or is it good enough for you to just say it out loud?”

“It is not perfect, but if you repeat it until you understand it, you will be able to read most of the words. But you just have to repeat it until you understand. With this method, you can learn even if ‘you don’t have anyone to teach you’.”

“I’m really sorry on behalf of Aion. It was very difficult to study by yourself, wasn’t it? To repeat until you understand seems to take a lot of time.”

“Don’t worry, Naoya-san. I am an ‘undead who does not know tiredness’ and does not need sleep, I can handle 24 hours a day!”

Anna-san is an undead, and she is also known as the [King of the Dead].

I heard earlier that she doesn’t need to eat, and now I hear that she doesn’t need to sleep.

In addition, she has a skeleton squad and ghosts under her command.

Hiring Anna means she can work 24 hours a day, and the labour force comes with her.

“I think the black companies are going to be crying for joy. Thank god she is in Aion. The skeleton squad is for security and cleaning, and the ghosts are for surveillance. Really, thank you.”

“No problem, Naoya-san. The skeleton squad was utilized for security and cleaning and the ghosts were utilized for surveillance. It is very interesting to study in a world where magic does not exist.”

“I-is that so, I see. I heard that you are doing some research and you are a scholarly person. You look very pale.”

“That’s right, Naoya! Anna is amazing!”

“Ah- yep, I understand. I figured it out, too. It’s impossible for me to self-study things that are not necessary for work.”

“I can’t do it either!

“Don’t be so proud of yourself, former manager. But I heard Chloe can read a little Japanese too, and could do the numbers needed for sales, so did you study up on that?”

” Ah, Anna helped me out with that!”

“You two are amazing. I have to work hard too. …… and Barbera?”

“…… Carry. Hunting.”

“I see, Barbera is in charge of the tough work. Despite the fact that she looks like a 10 year old girl!”

“…… eating.”

“That’s not a job! Well, for reference, I’d like to hear what you think when you eat different kinds of food.”

“Seriously! You can always count on me when it comes to meat!”

“Eat your veggies, elf! There’s a vegetable stand at the Aion Mall right now!”

When the four of us are talking, I feel like we’re all going at it together.

Although I enjoy that, we can’t stay the way we are.

If the monthly sales target of 100 million yen is not achieved, the Aion Mall Otherworld Store will go out of business.

As the store manager, that’s my responsibility.

“So, Naoya-san, how was your first time in the city?”

I left Anna-san and Barbera in charge of the store and went to visit the otherworldly city.

Anna-san smiled and asked me what I thought.

“I was surprised to see how different everything was from what I had imagined. I guess that’s to be expected, since there is no magic and monsters in Japan.”

The one-horned rabbit cub attacked us, and Chloe’s sword, which she had slashed down, though it was a wooden sword.

Transportation was by horse or foot, no cars, and there were magical tools for storage and odour removal.

“The stores and markets are …… how can I describe? It’s not that they’re not lively, but hmm, what should I say?”

“Naoya, I don’t understand! Is there anywhere else you want to see? *Gasp! Don’t tell me that Naoya wants to go to a brothel! Moreover, after Naoya made me lead the way to the brothel, he bribed me with rabbit meat and brought me into the room with him and the hooker! Kuh- kill me!”

“That’s a big leap of imagination. Maybe it’s not her parents’ fault. Maybe Chloe’s just being paranoid.”

“Fufu. The two of you seem to be getting along well.”

Barbera is rubbing her eyelids a little sleepily.

“The guild leader of the merchants’ guild, the market vendors, the people at the restaurants, and the people who were walking around town. They’re all normal. They’re not gloomy or depressed. Except for the girl selling galettes and her mother.”

“Is there something wrong with being normal? I don’t know. What do you think, Anna?”

“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t been in town lately.”

“I’m exaggerating when I say it’s not very lively. I would say that they don’t look happy, normal, neutral, or just going about their daily lives. You know, just going about their daily lives. I guess that’s a good thing in a world where there are monsters.”

“Somehow, I understood what Naoya-san was trying to say.”

“Oh, as I expected from Anna! So, what does that mean?”

“Naoya-san, I think you felt that they lacked [dreams and hopes] didn’t you? I think you also mean lack of [despair and hopelessness].”

“Yes, that’s it! That’s what I’m talking about, Anna-san!　What can I say, people aren’t thrilled! And when you say [not enough despair or hopelessness], that sounds like a different meaning to me!”

“Fufu, thank you very much.”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment! I was just imagining that the undead, moreover, a Lich, might be attracted to a sense of resignation and despair!”

I think the city has a certain atmosphere.

Lively, deserted, joyful, dark, noisy, quiet …… different atmospheres depending on the city.

However, when I went to the nearest town, I was surprised by many things, but I didn’t feel any liveliness or energy.

“Naoya, how can that be? We’re living day by day, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Ah, well, for living a normal life, yes. But we are employees of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.”

“I see. Without hope for the future, money goes into savings and is less likely to be used for consumption. So you are saying that sales at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store will not increase?”

“Anna-san’s comprehension is at an all-time high!　You’re at a ridiculous level just from reading books and learning on your own! No, you may be right, but I didn’t mean to go that far. ……”

I’m scared of Anna-san, who not only understood my vague sensation, but also said it easily.

I think it would have been better to leave the former manager to Anna-san, not Chloe, but Chloe was the one who was dispatched by the country.

Besides, I am the manager now.

“I want customers to feel dreams and hopes for the Aion Mall, and I want them to be excited about it. Not only when they are at the mall, but before they come, after they leave, and in their daily lives. After all, ‘The word [Love] is in the whole alphabet from A to Z’.”

Anna-san, Barbera, and Chloe were all staring at me.

It seems that my words were not enough to make them understand.

That’s right, the three of them don’t know anything about Japanese Aion Mall.

So I started talking.

I began to tell them about my old days in Japan.

Maybe it was because of what I heard about Chloe’s past on the way home.