◇24 Store Summoning 4
“Ah… this store, huh…”
Level 4 Store Summoning.
A suspicious-looking store appeared in the garden of the Philharmonie family, and I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
It was a traditional Japanese house from the Heian period. An old wooden sign was mounted on the roof, with the words "Ayashino Pawn Shop" written on it.
This was the same kind of pawn shop that had been near my childhood home. It had been there since I was born, but it went out of business when the elderly owner passed away during my high school years.
He had been a mysterious old man, resembling a yokai like Nurarihyon, so I never expected him to actually die.
There were all kinds of rumors surrounding that shop, like it was a home for yokai, it sold cursed items, or was involved with the underworld... Given the store’s appearance, those rumors didn’t seem all that surprising.
In fact, I’d only been inside this store once, back when I was in middle school. I found some old coins in my grandmother’s attic and thought I could sell them here. I sold them for about five hundred yen, but to this day, I still suspect I was scammed.
“Sakuraile... is this also a store?”
“Somehow, it feels different from the other stores we've seen…”
It seems my father and mother are sensing the strange atmosphere too, as they both look slightly tense.
“This is a pawn shop. It’s a place that buys unwanted items,” I explained.
“Ah, so it’s a buy-and-sell shop. Does that mean there aren’t any products on display?” my father asked.
“No, they also sell the items they buy. It’s just that the products here are likely to be a bit... random.”
I’d only been inside once, but I remembered it being filled with all kinds of things, with no clear indication of what was for sale. There were things that looked like trash and others like expensive vases.
“Still, this store exudes a strange aura… It feels like there’s some sort of barrier around it. There’s no danger, right?”
My grandfather, who was with us for the summoning, asked this with a serious expression. I couldn’t help but feel that, based on the store’s vibe, there might be cursed items around, but... I wanted to believe there was no danger.
Let’s hope there’s no lingering resentment from the deceased shop owner. No curses, please!
Let’s open the gate!
“Excuse us…”
Despite my enthusiasm, I quietly slid the door open and stepped inside. The shop was surprisingly spacious, but the dim light from a single exposed lightbulb made the room feel gloomier than it should be, especially since the windows were covered with junk.
Whoa... Now that I really look, there are so many things everywhere.
Large vases, hanging scrolls, Japanese umbrellas, swords, armor, plates of various sizes, Buddhist statues, tea utensils, pocket watches, radios, CD players, camera strobes, opera glasses, framed Western paintings, various cooking tools, a mounted falcon, calligraphy sets, notebooks and stationery, colored pencils and highlighters, a badminton set, kendama, picnic blankets, incense holders, hina dolls, jewelry, chests of drawers, lucky cats... and so on, and so on…
At first, I thought it was all antiques, but actually, not everything seemed that way. There were brand-name handbags, running shoes, and even some musical instruments mixed in.
For some reason, there were also several manga volumes on the shelves...
The counter was divided into two sections, one for sales and the other for buying. The glass case in front of the counter displayed rings, necklaces, and high-end watches. Are they real?
“...I have no idea what kind of store this is… Oh, this stuffed bear is so cute!” My mother picked up a small yellow teddy bear from the shelf. It was a bear that loved honey, wearing a red vest.
“What is this? A rope? But it has claws on the end… Could this be some kind of weapon?”
"No, Father. That's just an extension cord," I said, pointing to the object in question. "And there's a whole box of them in the corner. Why are there so many? Did someone come to sell them all at once?"
The shop was quite spacious, but filled with so much random stuff that just keeping track of what was in there was going to take some time...
I glanced over at my grandfather, who had drawn a sword from its scabbard and was staring intently at the blade.
"Beautiful... I've never seen a sword like this before. The blade is like a mirror, with wavy patterns... Even the hilt is intricately crafted. I wonder if any of the blacksmiths in my domain could make a sword like this..."
"Be careful, okay? That one is probably real. Swords are very sharp, so it'll cut easily. Don't start swinging it around," I warned him.
Grandfather sheathed the sword and turned to me.
"Can I buy this with our currency?"
"Yes, but... are you really planning to buy it?"
"Yes, I’ve decided. I want this sword. How much is it?"
"Well..." How much would a Japanese sword cost? The items from the shop I summoned are usually marked up ten times or more. So I doubt it'll be cheap.
There was no price tag, so I had to place a coin on the counter to inquire about the cost.
Grandfather placed a platinum coin (worth a million yen) on the counter and tried to leave with the sword, but it wouldn’t let him take it.
"Wait, a platinum coin (worth a million yen) isn’t enough? ...Well, if they’re marking it up ten times, then maybe that’s too little. A sword that costs only a hundred thousand yen would be pretty cheap..."
"Grandfather... I think you’ll need a royal gold coin to buy it, which is worth ten million yen. Are you sure you want to buy it?"
"Ugh...! But yes, I still want it. I’ll buy it!" Grandfather declared, his face tense.
A royal gold coin is worth ten million yen! Ten million yen for a weapon... Could you even use it? I would be too scared to.
Grandfather is a border lord, so he has enough money, but to someone like me, who's not interested in weapons, this seemed like such a waste.
Grandfather has received a "gift" from Blade, the God of Swords, so I can understand his fascination with the sword.
In the end, he was able to buy it with one royal gold coin and eight platinum coins. In other words, the sword would cost one hundred eighty thousand yen on Earth. One hundred eighty thousand... is that cheap or expensive? I can't say. But in this world, I’m sure it’s expensive. After all, that’s Ten point eight million yen!
If it were a historical sword, maybe, but a sword sold in a shady antique shop for Ten point eight million yen... that seems impossible. Though it was technically one hundred eighty thousand yen...
I told my grandfather that it was more of a work of art than a functional weapon, so I wasn't sure if it would be strong enough for combat. He said that the sword was just a reference for him to create his own blade using high-quality iron or mithril in his domain. It seems like he doesn’t intend to use the sword for actual combat.
Still, the thought of spending nearly twenty million for that seemed undeniably like a rip-off.
"This shop has a wide range of products, from low-priced items to very expensive ones," I remarked.
Father and Mother nodded, understanding after seeing the sword grandfather bought.
By the way, the teddy bear my mother was holding cost five copper coins. That’s about five hundred yen on Earth, but here it’s five thousand yen. Compared to the sword, it’s cheap.
But knowing the cost of things in Japan, I can’t shake the feeling that we're being overcharged.
Still, there’s so much stuff here. Wow, this small radio cassette player is the same one my grandfather had. It’s so nostalgic. He used to listen to enka on it.
Oh, right, this is a pawn shop. I wonder how the buying process works here?
I bought the old extension cord my father had earlier. It cost four copper coins, or four thousand yen here, but only four hundred yen on Earth. I guess that’s pretty standard?
I then placed it on the counter for selling, but... there was no response. Hmm?
"I’d like to sell this," I said.
When I spoke up, the extension cord on the counter disappeared, and in its place, two copper coins appeared with a clink.
"Good. It's in the local currency," I thought. If it had been paid with Japanese bills or coins, it wouldn’t have been of any use here.
However, it was only half the price I paid. The buyback amount was about two hundred yen on Earth.
It went down. Well, that’s to be expected. The basics of business: buy low, sell high.
"This doesn't really make much sense..." I muttered to myself.
Then it occurred to me—could it be that the extension cord, being an item from Earth, was bought at a lower price? What if I tried selling something from this world?
I took off the brooch I had bought at yesterday’s festival and placed it on the counter. It had cost me five iron coins. Would it be bought back for a lower price? Or maybe a higher one?
"Please buy this," I said.
The brooch vanished, and in its place, five copper coins appeared with a jingle. ...It increased.
I had sold it for ten times the price. Does that mean items from this world get bought back for ten times their cost!?
When you buy something from Earth and bring it to this world, you get charged ten times the price.
But if you sell something from this world to Earth, will they buy it for ten times the price?
This is something I need to test more. If it works, I could make a lot of money...!
I told my father to bring back some things from the mansion that we could sell. Hehehe, I’m getting excited about this.
---
In the end... it didn’t work out.
Apparently, there seems to be a limit to the amount they can pay for buybacks. Once the total exceeds a certain amount, they stop buying.
Well, previous shops had a similar system where, if you bought everything in the store, it wouldn’t be restocked until you summoned the shop again. The reverse could also be true.
Even a regular pawn shop can’t pay you more than the amount they have on hand. The limit is usually around one million yen.
I thought I’d be able to make a profit, but... I mean, I am making a profit. If I sell things up to the limit every day, it’ll still amount to a decent sum.
Once something is bought, the price for subsequent sales of the same item drops. But that’s fine, since I can sell anything. For now, I’m okay with this.
That said, my family doesn’t have money problems, so there’s no real need to sell things every day.
My father had bought two cheap automatic watches. "Cheap" here still means about three hundred thousand yen.
The world here does have clocks, but they’re not as small as the ones from Earth. We only have large grandfather clocks at home. So, even at that price, it was still quite a bargain.
My father immediately went off to the castle to present one to the king. I’m sure he’s just showing off.
Since it was an automatic one, there shouldn’t be any worries about the battery running out.
I was also thinking of giving my grandmother a women’s wristwatch. Maybe I should get one for the queen as well. After all, only the king and my grandmother have one. As for Elliot? A wristwatch would be too early for him.
I think he’d be much happier with the wooden puzzle I found in the corner of the pawn shop.
My grandfather, meanwhile, had bought a suit of armor and a helmet. He must have spent quite a bit... But honestly, wouldn’t plate armor be more durable than this? It might be easier to move in, though.
Grandfather had said he was going to study armor on his land and create his own designs. Maybe in the future, a Japanese-style armor will become popular in the frontier.
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Volume 1 Chapter 25