/
“God, Why do I have to buy it for you? It’s like I’m the errand boy. ….”
While grumbling and complaining, Canal picked up a fork and poked at a brown baked cake on her plate. Despite what she said, she made sure to buy one for us as well, which reflected her personality.
“Oh, this is delicious! The coffee was reallllyyyyyyyyyyy bitter, but drinking it with this makes it taste good too.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying. Instead of putting sugar or milk in the coffee, you should drink it with chiffon cake! By doing that, you can enjoy the original aroma and flavor of the coffee, while at the same time experiencing the sweetness of the cream and the softness of the sponge… Wait, that’s not what we were talking about!”
Canal was instantly put in a good mood by Tia’s words, but she suddenly raised her eyebrows again and pointed the tip of her fork at me.
“Hey, that’s bad manners, you know?”
“I don’t care! I’ve helped you get into town, now tell me about you!”
“Ah, that’s right. Well, let me start by introducing myself. I’m Ed. And this is …….”
“I’m Lunaritia. You can call me Tia.”
While munching on the cake, Me and Tia introduced ourselves. Then, Canal, with a slightly dubious expression, eats a slice of chiffon cake with plenty of cream on top before answering.”
“Ed and Tia, huh… Your names sound like obvious aliases, but whatever. You seemed to know about me already, but I’ll introduce myself anyway. I’m Canal. Canal B. Caroline.”
“If you have a family name, is Canal a noble?”
Tia voiced a genuine question, but Canal furrowed her eyebrows in response
“Noble? What’s that? Everyone has a family name. Well, it seems like you’re not going to tell me about yours, huh?”
“Eh? Even if you say that…Ed?”
“Hahaha, I guess that’s how it works in this world. Anyway, Canal. You seem to be mistaken, but we really are Ed and Tia… well, Tia’s full name is Lunaritia, but still, those are our real names.”
“? I don’t get it. Are you saying that you were born an orphan and don’t know your real family name or something?”
“No, that’s not it. Then I’ll answer the first question along with this. We don’t have a family name and the reason why the crystal…was it called a Fragment?…is not embedded in our wrists. That’s because we’re people who came from a different world than this one.”
“…………………… Huh?”
When I told her that head on, however, Canal’s face showed confusion and her mouth twitched.
“What…what? Are you telling me to take seriously such a tall tale even a child wouldn’t believe? You’re not trying to make a fool out of me, right?”
I’m serious”
“……………………”
Canal groaned and held her head back while looking up to the sky in response to my words.
“Wow, I thought they were weird looking guys, but they’re that type …… I wonder what I should do with these. If I throw them out in front of the hospital, will they collect them?”
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“Why do you think I would believe you? What, do you want to tell me you came here on a dimension-piercing ship, Noah’s Brain or something?”
“What is that!? There is such a ship!?”
Canal’s murmur caught Tia’s attention and she leaned in, her sparkling emerald eyes intimidating Canal.
“Huh?! Uh, well… there are rumors that the government is secretly developing something like that, but I’m not sure if they’re true or not…”
“I see, I would need a tremendous amount of mana to cross the world barrier, but to have a ship that can do it, this world is really advanced, isn’t it?”
“…Eh? Are you serious?”
“Didn’t I tell you that earlier? I’m serious. I’m not just making up things.”
Tia was seriously impressed. Canal looked puzzled and turned her gaze towards me. So, while saying that, I took out a gold coin from my bag and placed it on the table.
“Therefore, let’s start with this. It should be enough to cover the cost of the cake and coffee, right?”
“This is… a gold coin? I’ve never seen this design before… wait, a gold coin!? Could this really be pure gold?!”
“I guess so. If the country that issues it isn’t in decline, I think it has an appropriate purity. So, what do you think is its value?”
“Yes, I suppose… If it’s pure gold, it might be worth about a month’s rent for this place, I think.”
Canal answered, holding up a gold coin in her hand, examining its weight, turning it inside out, and staring at it intently. Although it seems cheaper than expected for a value of only one month’s rent, it’s probably reasonable if you consider that in this world, it only has value as pure gold.
By the way, during the first time around, I didn’t introduce myself as “I am a person from another world” so I never exchanged any of my possessions for money. If I had done so even a little, I could have said something here, but… well, there’s nothing I can do about what I didn’t do.
“That’s enough to cover the cost of the cake. What do you think?　You believe me now, at least a little bit?”
“No way. Of course, this particular coin is not plated, but Obura… It’s not a federal currency, so no crime would be committed even if it was minted. That means there’s even a possibility that it could be a souvenir for the wealthy. Something like this wouldn’t be proof of being a person from another world.”
“Hm, that makes sense. Then let’s cut another deal. The reason I knew Canal… is that I actually came from the future. Well, to be precise, I spent about a hundred years traveling through various worlds, but for some reason, I went back to the beginning and started over again. And I have memories of spending about six months with you in this world. What do you think?”
I said with a grin, and Canal blatantly frowned.
“Wow… a person from another world and a time traveler who went back to the past and started over again? That’s just too much of an exaggerated setting, isn’t it? Actually, I swear in my heart that I won’t believe you under any circumstances.”
“Right. I’ll show you the proof then.”
At my words, Canal shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly and sighed.
“Ha, now what? What’s next? Are you going to give me some vague future prediction that can be interpreted in any way? Even a fraudster or a fortune teller in a run-down area won’t do that these days, you know?”
“I won’t do such a thing. But I do remember that there was some kind of gambling game where you had to guess a number, although I’m not sure of the exact date.”
“Gambling? Oh, you mean Dice Lane?”
“Dice Lane?” Tia asked,
Canal answered my question by moving her gaze toward Tia, who has just entered the conversation.
“It’s a government-run gambling game where you bet on the outcome of rolling two or three dice. Similar to roulette, you can bet on even or odd numbers, high or low, or even on prime numbers. You can also make more specific bets such as the number rolled on one of the dice or the total sum of the rolled dice. The drawing is broadcasted on ManaVision, and you can bet with small amounts of money, like a child’s allowance, so many people try their luck with it.”
“That’s it! And I happen to know the ‘answer’ to that game.”
As I said that, I take out an additional gold coin and place it on the table.
“Cash it in and bet on the numbers I give you. If what I say is true, we can make a lot of money, and if it doesn’t work out, you don’t lose anything because it’s my money. “I was worried that it would be a more shoddy place, but if it’s a public institution, they wouldn’t be able to cheat, right? It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
At my suggestion, Canal folds his arms and ponders. I guess he is torn between the risk of having us, even for a few days, with an unknown identity and his curiosity to know who we are. But the canal I know would be ……
The gold you just gave us is enough money to put you up for a few days. …… Okay, I’ll take you up on it, but I don’t want you to be visited by the police or the police or anyone else. I’ll give you a ride, but if the police or anyone comes to visit you, I’ll turn you in before you get into trouble and I’ll claim I had nothing to do with it and won’t cover for you at all. Is that okay with you?
“Of course, if the results turn out well, you’ll never be able to treat us roughly again.”
“Then we have a deal. Don’t disappoint me, okay?”
""
As expected, I grasped Canal’s hand firmly and we succeeded in securing a hideout in this world for the time being.
(T/N: I’ll be taking a short break, will resume from next tuesday)