Mitsuha Chapter 53

Surprise!!! I finished it earlier than i thought.

Good work me. (giving myself pats on the back)

you lonely bast….(shut up)

By the way, this chapter contains Japanese proverbs that doesn’t sit well with English so sorry for the confusion.

Now…. here comes the (scheming-Loli)

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53 Next item is….

 

Next is mountain village.

Before going to Randy’s shop, I requested the village chief of mountain village to gather the handicapped adults.

For a moment I thought that I should use a bicycle, but I stopped.

The mountain village is a bit hilly, because it felt like I’m making weird noises, climbing sure is hard. What I need now is not a cross bike, but an electric-assisted bicycle!

It’s fine, I’ll just walk for now.

When she arrived at one of the mountain village, almost 30 adults were gathered at the village chief’s house, together with people from the other mountain village.

There are 21 of them in 2 villages (handicapped), so 1 – 2 per house. Well, some people are going to work in the mountains, so maybe they gathered a lot.

Let’s not waste the time and proceed to the talk immediately.

「Thank you for coming. Today, I came to explain about the job that I want to get done in Mountain village.」 (Mitsuha)

Because the other party is an Elder, she should use a [polite, polite, polite, polite,] language, but as the feudal lord she must not. (TN: polite 4x in the raw)

However, it’s not suitable for a young lady to speak high and mighty, but in a composed and appropriate manner.

Eh?.. somehow, everyone in the village have a subtle expression.

Ah…….

「Er.., it’s not a free service like a heavenly role. We will properly reward you for the job.」 (Mitsuha)

As soon as they heard about it, the expression of relief appeared on the faces of the villagers.

As I thought, were you all worried that you will only just work?

We pay money properly except for military service.

「Actually, I want you to make something like this. The amount paid is based on quantity and quality. So then, how many sets can you make? 」 (Mitsuha)

That’s right, I showed the Othello and the Shogi, and then explained it.

Othello is easy, but the pieces of Shogi has a complex size, shape and the characters written on it. Well, the characters will be added later, so it doesn’t concern the people in the village.

「…is it, a tool for entertainment?.」 (Village Chief)

The village chief who heard my explanation, made a subtle expression once again….

「Yup. It will definitely sell. And even if it doesn’t sell, I’ll properly pay for the work so It’s okay!」 (Mitsuha)

He finally nodded (satisfied), after hearing the words she said.

If it sells, it will be a good domestic job for women and children.

I finally came up with it, a smile also began to appear.

「Try to make cheap items for the common people, and fancy ones for the aristocracy. With a good material, or put in some lavish decorations and carvings, so that we can sell it expensively.」 (Mitsuha)

Yup, it seems that everyone started thinking, that they’re going to make money.

But this is not the only one! (TN: But wait there’s more!)

I took a printout from my bag.

「This, this plant, have you seen it around here?」 (Mitsuha)

The printout is a photograph of 4 kinds of plants. Gumpi, Kozo, casino, Mitsumata. (TN: just google it..)

Yes, these are raw materials for Japanese paper.

I will finally start to manufacture paper!.

Western paper seems difficult, so let’s do Japanese paper first.

Boil, dissolve, melt, strain, drain, dry and finish. No, the details are good because, I checked it on the net!

「Well, I have a lot of this one and this one. But I haven’t seen this one. How about you guys?」 (Mitsuha)

「Oh yeah, I feel like I saw this, but I don’t know if it’s the same…」 (Villager)

Oh, you think there’s a lot of Kozo and Mitumata?

All right, let’s start a small-scale experiment!

She asked for a sample collection of Kozo and Mitsumata and then returned to the Viscount Mansion.

 

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「Mitsuha, please play with me more!」 (Colette)

Colette-Chan is complaining, she said that they are together, but no one wants to play.

Ah~, Colette-Chan has become a troublesome child….

Did I left you for too long?

Today, I’ll be with you the whole day, after this.

「…So this is just an ordinary review meeting?」 (Colette)

「Ehh~~, I’m not playing around!」 (Mitsuha)

The members of the review meeting were Me, Colette-Chan, and my general staff, Miriam-san.

Of course the agenda of the meeting.

「… So, please think about how to make these two games popular so we can sell them.」 (Mitsuha)

…Usually, you have to popularize an item before you can sell it. right.

In addition, playing cards was left in Japan, for the time being.

Because there is no technique to make an even sheet of paper that is completely indistinguishable from each other, and because the paper is easily damage, it will become easy to distinguish between individual cards if it is used for a while, along with the disproportion of the paper being made.

Even if you try to shuffle, it will be difficult to use because it has poor strength and rough texture, etc. And also, of course,… I do not have prototype paper yet, but when I do will it be…

Anyway, it’s Othello and Shogi.

Othello is very similar to a game called Reversi, but the position of the pieces placed in advance at the start is free and there is no limit of the board, and the degree of freedom is vast.

「If you do not show it first, it will be pointless no matter how many times you advertise it verbally.」 (Miriam)

Miriam-san got to the core.

「Because Shogi is so difficult to tackle, it should be spread to the nobility and high-ranking military personnel first, and then spread from there to the general public. On the other hand, Othello can be played immediately. Well, it seems simple and easy but ….」 (Miriam)

Yup, when you start playing it, you will get easily addicted, (unable to stop)….

「I don’t know if it’s good or not, but. To solve the problem of whether or not buying it, first let’s do it for free, or…」 (Miriam)

「Or?」 (Mitsuha)

「By buying this game, you can get some benefits, something like a reward or a prize.」 (Miriam)

I see. Miriam-san is logical, it’s logical!

「So, what’s the [merit] to prepare?」 (Mitsuha) (TN: merit in english)

「Please think about it yourself. My specialty is research on popular psychology, not the practical aspect. 」 (Miriam)

Miriam-san, you’re more useless than I thought ~ ~!

At that time, Colette-Chan who was silently listening, suddenly opened her mouth.

「A competition, Mitsuha!」 (Colette)

Eh?……

「 Back in the village, the thing that excites at the festival is the competition like strength comparison and log cutting competition. And the luxury of prizes! [Oh the veal and wild boar, the chubby prizes when the log was cut off], it’s very exciting… 」 (Colette)

「Opening an Othello Convention and then put a very delicious bait…. Certainly, since everyone will start as an amateur, the conditions are the same, there is a possibility that everyone can win since strength doesn’t matter. And because it is not so expensive, they will buy the game and practice… It’s amazing, Colette-chan!」 (Mitsuha)

Colette-chan’s coming-of-age, is cute!

「However, the prizes, what should I… If you use a lot of money, your profit fly away, and the participants will not be able to catch it with a basket……」 (Mitsuha) (TN: a proverb, maybe)

While she was suffering for a while, Colette who had been staring on wood boards, gave her the wood board.

「Yes, this!」 (Colette)

Yup yup, you remembered a lot of characters. I will come and see your studies later. But now is not the time to…

「Mitsuha, isn’t it a good prize? Everyone will be pleased and It does not cost money!」 (Colette)

Eh?…… Is this, a prize proposal?

Let’s see….

1. Mitsuha will treat you to a meal.

2. Shake hands with Mitsuha.

3. Take a walk with Mitsuha.

4. Patting Mitsuha’s head.

5. Give a hug to Mitsuha.

………You’re a genius!！

But, I’m a little worried about Colette-chan’s future…

However, looking at the prizes, the first place and the second place, I think they would rather lose?

「It’ll be fine, it will definitely be fine!」 (Miriam)

Well, if Miriam-san gave her approval, then it’s okay… right?

In the end, the patting of the head was moved from the 4th to the 6th place, and the handshake was moved to the 7th up-to the 10th place. Well, it’s not going to be reduced, but….

Also, in order to Eliminate the use of self-made Othello, and the imitations (TN: made in China) (1), the conditions for participating in the tournament, are as follows: [as a proof of participation, you must bring the Othello that is made in the Yamano territory. The ones without the bamboo marks of the Yamano Family’s crest are invalid.] will be implemented.

Counterfeiting the family’s crest of an aristocrat is a felony, equivalent to Forgery and comes with a heavy punishment. So, no one would dare. Besides, with this, 1 Othello for 2 people will suffice and will be sold one at a time.

… It’s truly an evil move.

Well~ then, [the creator of Othello is the Viscount Yamano family], and [the one’s without the crest of the Yamano family is a fake.] [It is a shameful act to buy a fake], we should spread this.

That’s all for today’s meeting. After that, let’s build a concrete plan.

I slept in the workshop this past few days, so I’d rather go sleep in bed this morning. Even though it’s not going far, it’s unnatural to say that there are only so many nights out. (遠くへ行っているわけでもないのにあんまり外泊ばかりというのは不自然だし。)

OK, let’s sleep with Colette-chan after a long time.

But before that, I should return to the capital for a moment to check if there are problems with the stall.

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「……So, you sold it all out today?」 (Mitsuha)

「Yes, I prepared a little more than usual. As expected, it did not become a too crowded, like yesterday. It’s just….」 (Philip)

「It’s just?」 (Mitsuha)

「There are many people who complain that the Princess Shrine Maiden is not here…. And there are people who stare in the stall from the side all the time……」 (Philip)

The report of Philip-kun, who was still part of the staff today, was almost as expected.

The person who has been watching for a long time is probably the one who came to steal the secret formula. They’ve tried it themselves, but it didn’t work out.

But unfortunately, it is useless to see how we make it. After all, the corn which is not explosive species, the hardness of the outer skin is insufficient so it will not go well and it will be useless, unless it is dried properly.

If you pick up the fallen grains and cultivate it, you will have a steady amount of explosive corn, but it will take a very long time to grow, then further cultivating the harvested grain. By that time, popcorn will be branded as Yamano cuisine along with other items.

Besides, I don’t intend to sell popcorn exclusively…. You know?

I simply hope, popcorn will spread and sell the [explosive corn] as Yamano territory specialties.

So, the [explosive corn] from the Yamano territory are being sold normally. But then, the amount of food sold at the stall is only for it to be known. It is not an amount enough to contribute to the finances of the territory.

What I want to brand is not the [explosive corn] of this stall, but the [explosive seeds] of the Yamano territory. This stall is only used to promote the [explosive seeds].

If there are explosive seeds, you may start growing them from the seeds you bought, but that is not the case. There is no other choice but to maintain the market share with the merit of being a predecessor and brand power as the [Founder]. It’s going to be a bit far from the royal capital.

If you start selling in other places, will it decrease the sales of the stall?

No, originally I do not think that I will make a profit in this stall. The orphanage will be able to earn enough money to spend on food every day, and I’m not doing another charity work. It happened that the interests just coincided.

「So, these are all of today’s sales, for the lightning corn.」 (Philip)

The results shown by Philip-kun’s……, Eh.. wait, what did you say?

「Eh?  ….What corn?」 (Mitsuha)

「[Lightning corn]. Before I knew it, everyone was saying things like….. [This is the site where the princess shrine maiden of thunder descended, the corn which exploded with thunderous roar originated] have spread and, the story of [The Princess of thunder, The Princess Shrine Maiden’s corn], until it became known as, [Lightning corn], and…..」 (Philip)

Too short! 　My abbreviation is [thunder]! 『雷』(2)

All right, let’s go home and get some sleep.

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(1.) Sorry can’t help it.. just let it go..

(2.) I don’t relly understand this, the japanese difference between thunder [雷] and lightning [雷].

Next chapter.. I will say next week.. But who knows might be another suprise.

 

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