The Soap Shop Opens
They wanted companions. Albert decided to open a small shop in the territory. At first, he had planned to distribute soap for free, but only to the residents of Legrian Territory. It was his way of offering them a special privilege. However, Elena objected.
“I don’t think we should keep giving things away for free.”
“Why not?”
“Things are different now.”
Elena explained in detail so that Albert would understand why free distribution was no longer appropriate.
“In the past, the residents couldn’t earn money, so we had to keep supporting them. But it’s not like that anymore.”
The residents were now working. They labored in the forge, on the farms, or during repair projects, and they received wages in return. Unlike before, they were working specifically to earn money. Since they now had spending power, it was only natural that they should also consume.
“Continued favors only breed dependence.”
“If the favors keep coming, they’ll turn into Dooly?”
“Dooly? What’s that?”
“Never mind. It’s just a thing.”
“Anyway, now that the residents have started earning money, we need to get them consuming as well.”
It was a reasonable argument. Humans were fickle creatures. They accepted favors with gratitude at first, but over time they began to see them as something they were owed. Eventually, they would treat those favors as obligations, and if the favors stopped, they would complain instead.
Knowing when to stop is important too.
“That’s a good idea.”
When Albert praised her, Elena’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment. Finding the sight endearing, Albert gently patted her head. In front of others she was a dignified lord, but before Albert she was endlessly adorable—an younger sister he always had to protect.
Not long after, a small shop appeared in the territory. Curious people approached the sudden new establishment.
“What’s this?”
“They say it’s a shop.”
“What kind of shop?”
“I don’t know. But… something smells really nice.”
Soon the owner of the shop, a dark elf, stepped forward. It was Ivy. Albert had made a separate contract with her and allowed her to open the shop in the territory. While the other dark elves mass-produced soap, Ivy had come out to handle sales.
“Hah!”
“A dark elf… came out of the district?”
“Goodness…”
People’s gazes gathered on the beautiful woman with healthy, glowing skin. Their stares were like those directed at a beautiful yet mysterious work of art in a museum. Ivy was momentarily flustered by the attention, but she soon made up her mind and gathered her courage.
“Welcome! Welcome to Ivy’s shop!”
She smiled brightly. Though she usually wore only a cynical expression, her practice had paid off. The smile was a little awkward, but it was a proper sales smile. The crowd asked with curious voices.
“A shop? What are you selling here?”
“Are you selling soap?”
“Soap?”
“Soap, you mean that expensive stuff only nobles use?”
At the mention of soap, the people showed slight disappointment. It was understandable. To them, soap was a luxury item that cost a hundred gold each. On top of that, it wasn’t something you bought once and used forever—you had to replace it as it ran out. It was a consumable. For commoners earning two hundred gold a month, it was simply too much of a burden.
“Eh, soap is…”
“It’s just expensive…”
The crowd looked reluctant. They knew soap would be nice to have, but buying it felt too heavy on their wallets. Ivy quickly continued, following the advice Albert had given her in preparation for this exact situation.
Now’s the time to use it!
“Special discount! Only residents belonging to Legrian Territory will receive a special discount!”
“Discount?”
“Did she say discount?”
The ears of the people whose interest had been fading perked up. A special discount limited to territory residents was impossible to ignore. It was a magic word that made even the uninterested take interest.
“That’s right! A discount! Everyone, you thought soap was too expensive, didn’t you? There’s no need to worry! If you’re a resident of Legrian Territory, you can buy it cheaply.”
Ivy recited the lines Albert had taught her word for word. As the crowd’s attention focused on her, Ivy smiled brightly.
Just like Albert said. They’re starting to get interested.
“Ahem, so how much is the soap?”
At that moment, a man asked cautiously. He was one of the plants Albert had placed in the crowd to ask the questions others were too hesitant to voice, drawing out responses. The strategy worked perfectly.
“One gold.”
“One gold!?”
“Goodness, it’s that cheap!?”
The people were shocked. The soap sold on the market cost a hundred gold per bar. Yet here was that same luxury item available to territory residents at one-hundredth the price.
“Oh my! I have to buy this!”
“I’ll take one!”
“One gold, really!?”
The crowd surged forward. With soap at one gold, they no longer had to worry about food poisoning or other illnesses. Not only that—
“Wow! We can finally wash properly!”
“Nobles use this to clean their bodies, right? They say it makes you smell nice.”
“Ugh, at least the sweat smell will be gone.”
They could also get rid of unpleasant odors. No matter how thoroughly they washed with water, there were limits. But with soap, everything changed.
“Ah! It really smells good.”
“Is that the scent of flowers?”
“Oh… your hair smells so fresh.”
“Ugh! Don’t tell a guy to smell another guy’s hair!!!”
“Bwahahaha! I feel alive again!”
“Mom! My hands are clean!”
Once soap became available, the faint stench that had lingered throughout the territory disappeared completely. Instead, a pleasant fragrance filled the air. Washing with soap also removed stains that water alone could never get rid of. As expected of soap made by dark elves, its cleansing power was exceptional.
“We won’t have to worry about food poisoning anymore!”
Aiden, captain of the guard, also came to buy soap.
“Give me some soap.”
“How many would you like?”
“Thirty, please.”
Aiden stated the quantity without hesitation. Ivy, who had been watching his expression, handed over the soap.
“You don’t need to pay.”
“Take it. I don’t like receiving things for free.”
“No, this is repayment.”
“Repayment?”
“You helped us before. This is for that…”
“No.”
Aiden forced the money into her hand. Looking at her with serious, deep eyes, he spoke.
“I am the captain of the guard who protects this territory. Protecting the residents is simply my duty. There is no need for repayment for something that is expected of me.”
His voice was firm, as strong as his muscles. His right pectoral muscle twitched, flaunting its presence. Aiden smiled faintly.
“Braum agrees as well.”
“……You can talk to your muscles?”
“When your bond with your muscles deepens, you can hear their voices.”
This time his left pectoral muscle twitched.
“Bry says the same.”
“……”
Ivy couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Still, she asked just in case.
“Do… do your other muscles have names too?”
“Of course.”
He flexed his trapezius.
“This one’s called Rater.”
Next came his abs.
“This one is Alter.”
Then his thighs. When he tensed them, powerful muscles bulged out with vigorous life force. Thick tendons like pythons and thighs twice as thick as an average person’s displayed their presence. It was the first time Ivy had ever felt so overwhelmed by muscles.
“This one is… ah, I don’t have time for this. My apologies, I’m busy.”
Just as he was about to name his quadriceps, Aiden remembered his duties and hurried back to the guard post. Ivy stared blankly at his retreating figure—sculpted yet powerfully built, especially his broad back muscles.
“……He’s cool.”
Someone once said that a man spoke with his back. When Ivy first heard that, she had thought, With his back? Like… back-X? But seeing it now, she realized it wasn’t a joke. Look at Aiden’s back muscles. They were speaking.
[My name is Kaizen.]
Soap production began, and sales started. But Albert didn’t stop there.
“Faucets? What are those?”
Grandel tilted his head at Albert’s words. It was the first time in his life he had ever heard the word “faucet.”
[They don’t have that concept here.]
Of course not. This world still draws water from streams, lakes, or wells.
Since the very concept of running water didn’t exist, there was no way they would know about faucets. Albert explained in detail what a faucet was.
“So you’re saying hot and cold water both come out through this faucet?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm. That does sound useful. I always had to heat water over a fire whenever I needed it hot… So with this faucet, it just comes out when you turn it?”
It wasn’t quite that simple. To get hot water, you first had to heat the cold water using a boiler. However—
That’s something magic can easily solve.
Fifty years had passed since hunters appeared in that other world. During that time, magic had advanced greatly alongside science. At first, magic had focused on “attack” to conquer gates—killing monsters more effectively, hunting more efficiently, protecting the body, healing. But human greed knew no bounds, and the drive for improvement never reached a limit. As magic developed, people naturally turned their eyes toward using it in daily life. Magic and science merged, giving birth to magic engineering.
Cars, ships, and airplanes that ran on magic stones instead of oil appeared, and magic began to seep into everyday life.
“This is the finished product.”
Albert took a faucet out of his extradimensional storage. He had brought one with him before returning.
“This is……”
The moment Grandel saw it, he couldn’t help but be shocked. As a mage, he instantly recognized what kind of magic had been concentrated into the faucet.
“Th-this is… s-surely… magic engineering…? That’s impossible. Magic engineering was lost long ago and no longer exists… I’ve only ever seen it in old texts……”
Grandel’s eyes widened and began to sparkle. Those two eyes, shining like stars in the night sky, brimmed with intense curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.
“Wh-where did you get this!? Items made with magic engineering were lost during the Great War long ago! How!!”
Albert frowned slightly as he watched Grandel spit out questions in an excited, raised voice.
[Hmm, it seems there’s history here we don’t know about.]
[So magic engineering did exist.]
Apparently.
[And you didn’t know even though you’re from this world?]
People don’t pay attention to things they’re not interested in.
Back then, they had lived just fine without magic engineering, so he hadn’t cared. Whether it existed or not didn’t matter. There had been no real inconvenience. But now it was different. Having experienced modern conveniences in the other world, Albert was starting to find this world’s way of life increasingly bothersome. No microwave, no air fryer, and most of all, the poor bathing facilities were truly unbearable.
This world never had these things to begin with… So…
[You’re going to make them?]
Exactly.
If there was no rice, eat bread? Albert’s thinking was different. If there was no rice, he wouldn’t settle for bread.
I’ll just make rice.
Feeling inconvenienced because the facilities didn’t exist? Then he would simply create them.
“Is that really important right now? Rather than where I got it, what matters is what’s right in front of us… and the fact that you can study it is even more important.”
“……You’re right! That’s the correct answer!”
Grandel was quick on the uptake. He knew that if he pressed further, Albert would take the faucet away.
I want to study it. I want to understand it. Who on earth made this……
His passion for research surged. An opportunity to study an item of magic engineering—something that had completely vanished without a trace—would never come again.
This is mine now. I won’t let anyone take it from me!!
Grandel didn’t know it yet, but once he succeeded in researching the faucet and reproducing it, a hellish workload would be waiting for him.
This is a heaven-sent opportunity! I will definitely study it, understand it, and create the same thing!
While Grandel burned with passion—
Once this guy can make faucets, I’ll lay down water pipes and install one in every house. Then mass-produce them and sell them through the merchant guild……
Albert grinned. He was already planning to mass-produce and sell them. He had been displeased that Grandel, who received the highest salary in the territory, was just lazing around.
Time to squeeze every last drop out of him.
A hell of manual labor awaited Grandel. In the distance, the first dark elf to fall into that hell waved at him. They were calling out.
Welcome……
First time here too……?
Welcome to the hell of manual labor……
They wanted companions. Companions who would fall into hell together with them.