Reinvention Project
Three Months since the Last Death (Three Deaths)
"… With this signature, the agreement between the Hoshin Trading Company and the Reinvention Association of Subaru Natsuki, Leith Hendar and Otto Suwen, is official." Considering the agreement between Anastasia Hoshin's company and the association of Subaru, Leith, and Otto to be official, the man who was supervising the process took the contract with six signatures and rolled it up, then carefully stored it in a wooden cylinder.
The man who was supervising the procedure had the position of acting supervisor of the Hoshin Company, and was in charge of informing all the countries involved in the trade agreement about its officiality; in this case, it would be Karagari and Lugunica. Next to him was Russell Fellow, a man who was dressed in a wine-colored suit with a tie and had his dark blond hair and beard trimmed perfectly.
Russell Fellow is the leader and treasurer of the of the Merchant Guild in Lugunica, and his position there was that of a legal witness to the agreement and an intermediary in case a disagreement arose in any of the parties.
After exchanging words with Anastasia and Otto, Russell Fellow and the Hoshin Company supervisor left the room. And it wasn't until that moment that Subaru was able to relax. He let out an enormous amount of air that he had subconsciously been holding, and his shoulders dropped. The past few weeks had been especially stressful for him and his partners, because before they could form an agreement with Anastasia and her company, their commercial alliance needed to become legal before the Kingdom of Lugunica and the Chamber of Commerce.
In the absence of a royalty to take charge of the country, while the procedures of the Royal Selection are carried out, the country's Council of Sages is the one who has taken the reins of it. Considering all the problems that political power shifting entails, the speed at which legal applications, such as obtaining licenses, are processed has slowed considerably. Therefore, what would have been a process of a couple of days, became one of two weeks.
Finally, after several days of having presented the request for their commercial alliance to become official, an officer from the Lugunica Chamber of Commerce arrived at the workshop. There, similar to just moments ago, the three signed a contract and named their business alliance in honor of how Subaru had been selling his ideas in the days when he met Otto, and allied himself with him and Leith: reinvention of the "new world" artifacts.
Reinvention Association became the official name of its commercial alliance, its business, and its project. After that, they met with Russell Fellow and joined the Merchant Guild to cement the business. Now, as a legitimate business entity before the Kingdom of Lugunica, its Chamber of Commerce, and the Merchant Guild, the three were finally able to officially sign their agreement with Anastasia Hoshin.
Thus, Subaru couldn't help but smile. The signatures of Anastasia Hoshin and the vice-president of Hoshin Trading Company, the signature of the legal witness, Russell Fellow, and the signatures of him and his colleagues, marked the true beginning of his journey to reach his happy ending.
"Ya seem quite satisfied, Natsuki-kun. Not surprisin', though. After all, of the three of ya, members of Reinvention Alliance, ya were always the one who showed the most interest in formin' a business alliance with us." With a satisfied smile, Anastasia approached him.
On the opposite side of the room, Leith and Otto were discussing something with the second in command under Anastasia, his name being Finn Ryuushika. And from what Subaru had heard from him, he was the former owner of the company before handing it over to Anastasia. Finn was dressed in a full suit and appeared to be no less than fifty years old. Over his already gray hair, he wore a top hat, and his face was covered by a mustache and a beard that expressed refinement and status.
"I guess I can't deny it. Unfortunately, I'm not like Otto or Leith, who're better at hiding what goes through their minds." Slightly embarrassed, Subaru replied to the girl while glancing at his companions.
"Hmm… I don't feel that's entirely bad. If anythin', doesn't that make ya someone more genuine?"
"I don't think that's very useful in business discussions. And besides that, I'm also quite impulsive... It's true that I'm the worst at negotiations." With a depressed gesture, Subaru rejected Anastasia's kind comment. "It would only serve to make anyone with whom I am negotiating take advantage of my shortcomings. That is why I wanted to thank you, Anastasia-sama. I know this will sound pathetic, but I truly appreciate that you didn't take advantage of us and forced us to part with Otto." Striving to speak as formally as possible, Subaru ducked his head as he thanked his now business ally.
"Ya don't have to thank me, Natsuki-kun." Shaking her head with a tender gesture, the girl placed her hand on Subaru's right shoulder, causing him to look at her again. "I didn't do it out of kindness or anythin' like that, I just wanted to earn your and your colleagues favor. I hope ya to return it when the time comes." From the way she spoke, anyone would think that she was only being modest, but Subaru, who had her so close that he could feel her breath, knew that she was being sincere, of that he was sure. Even so…
"Still… I appreciate it. I'll make sure to pay you for that by coming up with all the possible reinvention artifacts. I'm sure, together, we'll make this project a huge succeed." Inspired, Subaru let himself got carried away, as he spoke with great expectation of what his ideas would accomplish being now in the hands of the great businesswoman, Anastasia Hoshin.
"Hmm… I see I wasn't mistaken with ya. I'll be waitin' anxiously for that." The girl gave him a flirtatious look, then indicated the end of the conversation. With a wave of her hand, she motioned for the other three involved in signing the contract to come closer. "Now, what do ya think if we go over how we'll carry out the procedures from now on? I think it's already quite clear, but I wanna go back to it so that it's completely clear."
Since no one refused, the girl signaled them to sit in the chairs located in front of the elongated table place in the middle of the room. At the time, they were in Anastasia's mansion, specifically her office; the one where they first met her almost a month ago.
Sitting at the table, Subaru could see Mimi, who was once again acting as Anastasia's bodyguard, sitting in a chair, fiddling with one of his creations; a puzzle cube. The image of the kid with a strange job, frustrated at not being able to put the toy together, was considerably cute. Still, this wasn't the time to be distracted by it, so he refocused on the conversation that was about to unfold.
"To summarize it; Leith-san will be placed as the leader of the craftsmen factory that we want to place right here in the capital. Thanks to his experience with the elaboration of the artifacts devised by Subaru-san, his role will be essential." Hearing Finn's words, Leith nodded in agreement. "Otto-san will be assigned the commercial coordination tasks related to Reinvention Project; which will make him the first to know about everything related to the distribution of products generated by that department of the company. A role worthy of the merchant who recognized the value of Subaru-san's ideas." Otto, like Leith, indicated that he agreed. "And finally..." However, the man, who until now had been sweetening his words about the positions assigned to each of them, was interrupted by Anastasia.
"Natsuki-kun will be the mastermind behind the enterprise. He'll serve as a counselor and guide, and help us bring to life the great ideas that swarm in his head." Anastasia looked at each of those present, and noting that no one intended to add anything, continued. "For this reason, I'd like Natsuki-kun to accompany me to Priestella. There he'll be able to meet with several of our designers and engineers, with the aim of helpin' them better understand the operation behind his ideas, in order to improve them. Of course, I'm aware that Natsuki-kun's new to the country, so I'm willin' to take him with me. Do all three agree?" That last question was directed at Otto, Leith, and Subaru.
"Anastasia-sama, you don't need to ask that question to both of us. Subaru is our partner, but we cannot interfere with the decisions he makes. Whether for better or for worse." Leith was the first to respond. "Still, I see no problem with Subaru going. Especially, now that we're part of the Hoshin Company, his ideas need to be understood by more than just us."
"I agree with Leith." Otto said. Then with that, the gazes of everyone else, including Mimi, fell on Subaru.
"Truth be told, I've no idea which city's that, but if it involves speeding up the making of the reinvented artifacts, then I'm in." And so, the five switched to more focused topics in the commercial agreement that merged their newly founded Reinvention Association with the Hoshin Company.
Four Months and Two weeks since the Last Death (Three Deaths)
The contract between Hoshin Trading Company and the newly founded Renovation Association was established on the terms agreed between Anastasia Hoshin, Natsuki Subaru and Leith Hendar on the day of their first meeting. The conditions demanded by Anastasia turned out to be simple: seventy percent of the income produced by their business project and that they agreed to be absorbed by her company. There were a few more conditions, but those two were definitely the ones that stuck the most in Subaru's mind.
Basically, what Anastasia was asking was that their business, the result of their commercial alliance, be annexed to the Hoshin Company; in short, the company would be absorbing them. If their project had been a fully consolidated business for years, the very idea would have been an insult to them. But Leith and Subaru had barely a total month of work, and everything they had produced had been with a few materials and tools that were paid for with their own money.
Becoming part of Anastasia's company, as agreed, would imply that she would assume all the costs of the project and that they would receive a salary; in other words, they would be hired. But it's not as simple as that. Since their Reinvention Alliance would become part of the Hoshin Company as a department apart from the existing ones, one focused only on reinvented artifacts; named Reinvention Project.
Within that department, the three would have administrative positions, which would come accompanied by certain freedoms that a simple employee wouldn't have. In addition, the three would still receive part of the net income generated by the sale of products, a not negligible ten percent each, completely separate from their salary.
Of course, some of the characteristics of their positions are due to the conditions Leith and Subaru came up with during the meeting. As an insurance that prevents Anastasia from simply firing them, appropriating products that could have been designed based on Subaru's ideas. Possessing freedom of choice and opinion regarding the future of that department was also one of theirs terms.
Overall, Subaru couldn't deny that he was satisfied with the result. Even more, considering that he has barely more than four months of having arrived in that world and already holds an administrative position in the department with the greatest potential, of one of the most important companies in that world. Subaru was convinced that impulsively accepting Anastasia's proposal was the right action.
"Amazing! Even though you talked to me along the way about what we'd see, the view is still shockingly incredible." Subaru spoke to the woman next to him, as he saw through the window of the carriage in which he traveled, the city that unfolded before his eyes.
After a few weeks of preparation, the trip that Anastasia had proposed was finally carried out, and after more than three weeks of carriage travel, they had finally reached the Water Gate City of Priestella. The name of the city was due to the fact that it had been designed as a trap to kill witches and mabeasts, beings believed to be created by the Jealous Witch, drowning them.
The city was built in the shape of an inverted cone, and was surrounded by four gates that serve as a dam to stop the water that surrounds the city. Inside, it was made up of streets surrounded by canals, similar to a famous city in Subaru's world: Venice. In itself, the image that the city gave was enough to leave everyone speechless due to its splendor.
The reason why Anastasia chose that city was because it's the closest Lugunica's city to Karagari. It's located in the middle of the Tigracy river, which functions as a border between both countries. Thus facilitating the meeting between Subaru and the designers and engineers who work at the headquarters of the Hoshin company, located in Karagari.
But, on top of that, Otto, Leith, and he suspected Anastasia was interested in finding out more about him and his past; something that he confirmed throughout the trip to Priestella. From the first day they met, it was obvious that Anastasia was intrigued by Subaru's existence, of which she probably had only the basic information that he himself revealed. So it wouldn't be surprising if the whole trip were, partly, an excuse to discover part of Subaru's past and the origin of his valuable ideas.
Of course, it wasn't that he personally felt upset about it. What's more, knowing that an important and beautiful woman like her was interested in him, even if it was in that way, made him feel nice. Although it was inevitable to think that all that was a useless effort, since it wasn't that he was hiding his place of origin; just that no one believed him. And aside from that, Subaru really wasn't interested in talking about his personal past. So for him, that was just a business trip and nothing else.
"Ya're absolutely right, Natsuki-kun. This's nowhere near the first time I come 'ere, and yet this place still manages to take my breath away." While stroking her soft hair, Anastasia looked out the window on her left side and responded to Subaru's comment.
Inside the carriage were Anastasia and him, in addition to Mimi and her two brothers, Hetaro and Tivey; which were triplets. And though all three were very similar, they all had very different personalities. Mimi being the hyperactive girl, Hetaro being the calm and overprotective brother, and Tivey being the intelligent and cunning boy. They all dressed similarly, but in Tivey's case, he possessed a monocle similarly to Julius' brother.
For his part, Anastasia's best knight was in charge of handling the reins of the carriage, and accompanying him as co-pilot was Ricardo, the werewolf demi-human. Joshua and Finn stayed in the capital, as they would be working with Otto and Leith to have everything ready as soon as possible, in order to start the Reinvention Project.
At that point, all it would take to get started would be a couple of material handling permits. So it's likely that when they return to the capital, they have already started working with the designs that Subaru elaborated with the help of Leith, through the three months they worked together before signing the agreement with the Hoshin Company.
"Mimi's already lookin' forward to exploring the city! Miss, Mimi can do it? Right?" As energetic as ever, Mimi expressed her desire to tour Priestella.
"Onee-chan, I'm always tellin' you that you shouldn't let yourself get carried away! You can't leave our lady alone, just to go around the city! I always tell you that and you always act the same every time we visit a place that appeals to you." For his part, her brother, Hetaro, rebuked her for her attitude.
"But, Onii-chan! The captain and Julius will stay with the lady! So we don't have to stay aaaall the time by her side!"
"Hetaro's right, Sis. You can't let go of your obligations like that every time we get to a new place." Staying on his brother's side, Tivey adjusted his monocle while expressing what was a given fact for him.
"It really isn't a problem if the three of ya go for a walk around the city." Breaking into the triplets' discussion, Anastasia agreed to allow Mimi and her siblings to tour the city. "For today I only plan to hold a short meetin' between Natsuki-kun and several of the design department employees, so that they can get to know each other and work together comfortably for the next few days. So I don't plan to leave the inn."
"Yeiii! Did you see, Onii-chan, Bro? The lady gave me permission to explore the city, and you'll come with me!" With expressions of defeat, the two brothers accepted that there was nothing to do to prevent their sister from taking a break from her duties as a guardian.
Seeing everything from the side, Subaru did nothing but doubt even more about how those three small demi-humans with feline ears were part of the vice-captaincy of Anastasia's guard. From what Subaru was able to find out throughout the trip, said guard was made up of a mercenary group hired by Anastasia, called Fang of Iron.
The group is generally made up of demi-humans of different races. With Ricardo, the werewolf, in the lead. From what he heard, the group is known for its effectiveness. Supported by the fact that since Anastasia became the head of the Hoshin Company, she hasn't suffered a single attack that has compromised her life. And although the group is hired by her, the relationship between its head members and Anastasia is closer than just that of an employer and its employees.
Of course, Hetaro, Tivey, and Mimi are part of the Fang of Iron, and all three are their vice-captains. Although, unlike his brother and sister, Tivey also serves as the group's treasurer. In this way, the three children that Subaru had not yet seen fight, continued chatting in a carefree way. Seeing that, Subaru said to Anastasia.
"It's hard to believe that they're vice-captains of a mercenary group. Are they really that strong? Or do their abilities lie in another area? Something like distracting the enemy with their cuteness."
Laughing lightly, Anastasia glanced at the triplets, while answering. "They're definitely strong, I can assure ya of that. I'll not deny ya that their cuteness's unmatched, though."
After that short conversation, the group crossed the city boarding gate. In doing so, a guard asked about their objective within the city. And after receiving the answer, the man made them sign a paper that had written the multiple rules that had to be followed within the city. Initially, Subaru was upset, as many of them were incredibly strict, but Anastasia assured him that signing was enough, that he didn't need to bother thinking too much about the matter.
After half an hour of navigating the streets of Priestella, the carriage, which was being pulled by a lizard-like being, but several feet long, stopped in front of an inn that gave Subaru a rather familiar air. The architecture of the place was extremely similar to an architectonic style from his native Japan, known as Wafuu. And although this would've taken him by surprise at another time, Subaru already knew about it.
In fact, Subaru was quite satisfied with the amount of knowledge that he gained from his companions, but especially from Anastasia, about that world, and mainly about Karagari. Sure, the information he obtained would be no more than basic knowledge, but even so, for someone like him, that would be the most valuable type of information.
During the trip, he heard Anastasia talk about her native country, its culture, and its history. Curiously, everything resembled the culture of the Edo period of his country. But the most interesting thing was to discover that all this came from a man known as Hoshin of the Wilderness. The same one from which Anastasia adopted her last name and the name of her company.
Apparently, Hoshin was a revolutionary merchant who traveled through the lands that now are Karagari, and brought to life multiple artifacts similar to those in the Subaru world, but especially similar to Japan's. For this reason, and the relationship between Hoshin and Japanese culture, Subaru deduced that Hoshin most likely was someone who went through the same thing as him; someone from his world who ended up in that world.
That being the first hint of someone else who went through the same thing as him, Subaru finally convinced himself that he wasn't alone. The real question was if at the time, was there someone else like him. Luckily for him, if that were the case, Subaru was convinced that his recreated objects would appeal to anyone whose birthplace was the same world as his own. So for now, all he has to do is go ahead with his project, as he already planned, and wait for time to bring the answers.
The group entered the inn, named Water Plumage Inn, while an employee of the place took the carriage and its earth dragon to the area designated for them. Once there, Subaru identified more traces of the culture of his birthplace, such as tatami rooms and a Zen garden located in the courtyard. Something that made him feel particularly nostalgic was seeing that there were no beds in the rooms, but futons. That night he would definitely sleep like a baby.
I should ask Anastasia where I can buy a futon, he thought, as he looked inside his room. Subaru was already aware of most of the things he would encounter at the inn, as Anastasia had told him that it was a place inspired by the culture of Karagari.
During that same conversation, as expected, Anastasia asked him in a roundabout manner about his place of origin. Subaru, feeling that there wasn't need to lie, said the same thing he had said to everyone who asked after getting tired of hiding it. Since the girl seemed to be disappointed by his answer, Subaru added that the culture of his place of origin and Karagari were extremely similar, which caught the girl's attention.
Then he told her a little about the technology of his world and how he brought his ideas from there. And although Anastasia didn't seem completely skeptical, it was clear that she didn't believe everything he said. However, whether she believed him or not, it really was of no interest to him. Whether she believes him or not, that wouldn't change where he came from or who he was before he got there. Just thinking about who he was before, had made his mood drop a bit.
"Natsuki-kun, everyone's gathered in the room that I reserved exclusively for meetings. May ya come with me?" Knocking on the door to his room, Anastasia called to him from across the paper walls. Without making her wait, Subaru put down the bag he was carrying, but not before taking some papers out of it, and left the room.
"Sure, Anastasia." He said as he left his room. "Let's go."
After several months interacting with her, Subaru ended up getting used to her presence, so, with it, his formal way of speaking ended up being replaced by a more casual one. She didn't seem to mind, so Subaru never bothered to correct that.
Together, they walked to another tatami room and entered it. Inside, sitting on their knees on a tatami seat, on the edge of a small table, were five people; three were men and two were women. At the end of the room, standing, was the ever-composed Julius. Ricardo was nowhere to be seen and, apparently, the triplets had already left for their walk-through Priestella.
"Natsuki-kun, they're Alba, Zeilt, Lance, Yand and Alexa. They all belong to the design department and, as the name says, they focus on designin' new products. They're also in charge of improvin' the product designs that we already trade with. During the next week, they'll work with ya to better understand the designs of your reinvented artifacts."
The five designers looked at him expectantly, causing Subaru to get slightly nervous. At times like this, letting people know that his ideas came from his world, and not from himself, was truly a relief. Otherwise, chances are everyone would start to believe that he's some kind of genius like Hoshin of the Wilderness.
And even so, those five people were looking at him as if that was exactly the case. It was possible that they believed that, the fact that his ideas emerged from a place after the Great Cascade, was no more than an excuse due to enormous modesty; and just thinking about it caused him a headache. Therefore, during the first meeting with Anastasia and during the signing of the contract with the Hoshin Company, Subaru made sure not to leave unremarked the fact that he's only reproducing objects from his world and nothing else. The very name of his business made that clear.
"It really is a pleasure to meet ya, Subaru-sama. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that your work is simply amazing. Nothing remotely similar has been seen since the time of the Great Hoshin." It was the woman sitting to his right who spoke on behalf of everyone. Her skin was brown, she had reddish eyes and her orange hair fell over her shoulders.
With gestures of approval, the remaining four nodded. Sighing, Subaru sat down on the side of the table, with Anastasia opposite him, and began to explain about the designs he had worked on with Leith. Using the plans drawn by himself, Subaru discussed the functionality of each artifact...
"This's the Lighter. It consists of a strong metal frame that contains a piece of fire crystal, which's the one that allows ignition. With this switch located on the top, you can turn the flame on and off, which comes out through this hole located in front of the switch." That was the third design he presented, and until then all the attendees had been listening in silence. Therefore, he was surprised to see that one of them was raising his hand. "Ehmm… yes?"
"Sorry to interrupt ya, Subaru-sama. But I wanted to hear what ya think of what I just came up with to improve this design." The one who spoke was Yand, a young man with brown hair who was wearing glasses. Subaru, intrigued by what he had to say, motioned for him to continue. "Perhaps if we replace the cylinder-shaped metal frame with a cone-shaped one, we could facilitate control over the flame output."
"A cone? How'd that shape facilitate control of flame flow?" The one who asked wasn't Subaru, but another of Anastasia's employees, Lance. A demi-human with fox features.
"I agree with Yand. If we place the switch close to the base and design it in such a way that, dependin' on how much it's pressed, a flame of greater or less intensity is released, then I'm sure that it'll work. The conical shape may not influence the flow of the flame too much, but I do think it'd facilitate its control, as Yand says." Alba, the woman who spoke for everyone at the beginning, also gave her point of view. At the time, the four who had given their opinions were analyzing the design lying on the table.
"Ahem! Guys, don't ya think ya should let Subaru-sama speak?" It was Zeilt, the only one left to share his opinion, who pointed out that they had taken the reins of the conversation, leaving Subaru out. Zeilt was a man well into his thirties, he was bald and had a calm but firm demeanor. Repentant, the others lowered their heads in apology.
"N-no need to apologize. I'm really pleased with the development the conversation was taking. Anyway, our goal this week will be to make you understand as best as possible the idea behind my partner's and mine's designs, with the aim of improving them. So if we can start doing it now, we'd take advantage of it."
The five smiled gratefully and continued to brainstorm, this time including Subaru, whom they consulted every time they proposed a design change. Out of the corner of his eye, Subaru could see a satisfied smile on Anastasia's face. In this way, the six analyzed the ten designs that Subaru brought for that meeting, accompanied, in addition, by fleeting comments from Anastasia.
After a couple of hours there, the five of them retired and Subaru stayed with Anastasia and Julius. The former indicated that lunch was about to be served and invited him to accompany them. After eating, Subaru announced to Anastasia that he was going for a walk around the city. Nodding, she said him that she was about to meet some people related with her company and said goodbye.
Smiling, he went to the exit of the inn; now that he was so far from the capital, he felt that after a long time, he would be able to have a relaxing walk, without needing to always be on the lookout for muggers or Elsa. Once outside the inn, Subaru sighed heavily, before beginning to walk in the direction of the nearest canal.
While there, Subaru stopped to appreciate the beauty of the city he was in. Multiple canals that interconnected with each other were navigated by boats that were pulled by beings similar to a bluish-colored Asian dragon. Each street in the city was connected by multiple arched bridges, which rose above the crystal-clear water canals.
Looking at the level of crystallinity of the water, Subaru understood several of the rules written on the sheet that made him sign when entering the city; like not dumping any kind of waste in the canals. While appreciating the beautiful scenery, Subaru continued to walk the streets of Priestella. He was enjoying the beauty of Priestella from one of the bridges that allowed passage between streets, when a shiver ran through his body.
On the roof of one of the houses next to the canal that he was looking at, there was a figure. A figure that Subaru was quick to recognize. Her slim body was covered by a black dress that revealed much of her abdomen and cleavage. Her beautiful black hair was tied in the form of a braid that reached to her waist, and her face was made up of plump red lips and purple eyes that conveyed an aura of gentleness; although that was only in appearance.
"S-Shit! W-What's that woman doing here?" Trembling, Subaru stared in terror at the assassin who, months before, had cruelly ended his life twice. The person who taught him the feeling of dying.