LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 99
In the original plan, crafted between Nias, Rene, and me, we intended to use Nias’ funds to gather information about the governor who’s been making waves lately. The idea was to approach an information broker based in the Bozon settlement. That was still part of the plan, but once I introduced alcohol to this world, Rene suggested a more efficient way to gather intel—by leveraging the liquor I had brought with me. This led us to meet her acquaintance, Gil.
“You’re not lying, are you, Rene?”
“Do you think I’d tell a boring lie like that?”
Rene and Gil, both Gaia Lizardfolk, were eagerly discussing the metal flask I’d handed them, Gil occasionally flicking his tongue in and out—a behavior that seemed typical of their kind. Though there was no one else around to witness the scene, their exchange was quite eye-catching.
“Rene, calm down for a second.”
Having seen their excitement, it was now confirmed: Rene, like many others, enjoyed alcohol. I figured I should step in before things got too rowdy.
—
“You’re still as good at business as ever. You must be one of the top merchants in Bozon by now,” Rene remarked.
“Nah, compared to the Sears crew, I’m still small-time.”
We had moved to Gil’s shop after leaving the large warehouse full of containers. It was a large space, seemingly rented out like a tenant business on the first floor of a massive building. Outside, there were several peculiar objects on display.
“Gil, you’re a merchant?” I asked.
“Yep. Just an old junk dealer, though.”
Though my speech was still a bit broken, I tried to communicate clearly as we walked through Gil’s shop. The place was fairly spacious, but with so much packed inside, it felt a bit cramped. The chaotic array of variously-sized goods reminded me of the stores I visited in Akihabara with Shou-san.
“This is… a *light saber*?”
On a shelf near me sat a cylindrical metal device. At first glance, I thought it was just some mechanical part, but after further inspection, I noticed it had a grip, a trigger, and buttons.
“That’s a ‘Fault Saber.’ It uses particles called ‘Fault Particles’ to create a blade of light that can cut through things. It’s pretty powerful, though not very energy-efficient.”
“Yeah, that model can only run for about five minutes. It’s sharp, but tricky to handle.”
The name was different, but the concept seemed remarkably similar to what I knew. I was intrigued, but Gil explained that these Fault Particles were highly dangerous and could be hazardous to one’s health. On top of that, mishandling them could result in an explosion.
“Fault Particles used to be used in mobile weapons centuries ago. But they were so dangerous that they were eventually banned by treaty. Despite that, people still research them because of their potential.”
Hearing “mobile weapons,” I thought of the giant robots in sci-fi anime. But in this world, these “mobile weapons” were apparently transforming aircraft, more akin to *Macross* than *Gundam*.
With that useless musing out of the way, I focused on the matter at hand.
“So, what do you plan to do with this? If you want to sell it, I can ask the higher-ups for you…”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you for that. After that, we’ll handle the negotiations ourselves. Does that sound good, Allen?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
By “this,” Gil was referring to the whiskey inside the metal flask I’d brought. After tasting it, he confirmed, like Rene, that it was incredibly close to the original whiskey they knew. Rene, who had already had a taste earlier, seemed to have taken a liking to it and asked for another round with Gil.
(Well, it *is* the original whiskey, but I’ll keep that to myself for now.)
If “original” means something from Earth, then the whiskey I brought was undoubtedly the real deal. But revealing the full truth would only confuse things further. Rene, who understood the situation, had deliberately framed it as “close to the original,” so I chose to follow her lead.