"So, we arrived at the royal capital..." (Kaoru)
They arrived at Grua, the capital of Balmore Kingdom. Of course, Kaoru had used potions to change her hair and eye color, and she had also changed her clothes to make her less noticeable.
Kaoru didn't just have her favorite outfits that had become her trademark; she also had a fair amount of normal clothing, and because she kept these in her item box, they didn't deteriorate—The design was a little bit old, about 70 years old, but it's not a big deal. Probably—And there were hardly any people left who had met Kaoru. She only needed to be careful of very old people, and even then, if they only met her a few times over 70 years ago, they probably wouldn't even remember her face.
Moreover, Kaoru was generally not treated as a "goddess" but as a "human favored by the goddess", "Angel-sama". Yes, even though she was "Angel", unlike the goddess's relatives, such as angels and spirits, she was considered to be just a human. Therefore, the only people who thought that Kaoru's appearance would remain the same were those who believed that she was a goddess, such as Francette and the children of "The Goddess's Eyes." Therefore, there was little chance that she would be found out.
"From now on, please call me ‘Kaoru’. Not ‘Kaoru Nagase’ or ‘Japanese Kaoru’, but just ‘Kaoru’, a resident of this world. There are no more Japanese people like ‘Kaoru Nagase’. ...Besides, here, if you have a surname, you're considered a noble, see?" (Kaoru)
"...I get it. Then I'm now 'Reiko' too, okay? With this new name and this new life, I will live in this new world!" (Reiko)
As expected from Reiko—No, Reiko. She got straight to the point. The name Kaoru had already spread quite widely by the time Kaoru entered the item box. Yes, it was popular to give newborn girls the name Kaoru, named after the girl who was favored by the goddess. So, by now, women named Kaoru should be widespread, from newborns to those in their mid-70s, and no one would think anything of it if someone named Kaoru. It's a very common name that you could find anywhere—In other words, there was no need to give a false name.
"First, let's find a place to stay. If we were on the move, it would be a different story, but we can't set up tents and camp out inside the royal capital. It would be a problem if we were late and couldn't find a good place to stay." (Kaoru)
Convinced by Kaoru's words, they both started looking for a place to stay. Reiko had obtained the money properly from Celestine. It was not counterfeit money made by Celestine, but real money made by humans, and according to Celestine it was "Completely free from human ownership."—It was probably something that had been left on a ship that sank at sea, or something of that nature. It would have been easy to make counterfeit money, but perhaps this would have gone against Celestine's pride—
Of course, Kaoru's item box contained a fair amount of money she earned a long time ago. However, it seemed that the design of the coins had changed in the last 70 years. What's more, they were completely interchangeable between several countries—It was not available throughout the entire continent, but in several countries around here, specifically the four peninsula countries of Balmore, Brancott, Asheed, and the Alligot Empire, it was fully interchangeable, and even in the neighboring kingdoms of Driszart and Eusral on the continent, where it could be used with almost the same value as the local currency. Naturally, the currency was minted in each country, but its composition—its gold and silver content and weight—were strictly determined and standardized, meaning that it was completely interchangeable as currency of the same value.
Normally, the value of a currency changes depending on the creditworthiness of the country that issues it, and it is not simply a matter of the amount of gold or silver it contains; however, perhaps they had not yet reached the stage of "national credit," or perhaps these four countries were stable as a single trading area, and they appeared to have succeeded in achieving this remarkable feat.
"...So, this is the currency we have now, right...?" (Reiko)
After checking into her room, Reiko said this and took out five types of commonly used coins from her drawstring bag—copper coins, small silver coins, silver coins, small gold coins, and gold coins—There were others too, but those were used in large merchant transactions and trade between countries, and were not something that ordinary people would see. Then, Kaoru looked closely at the coin Reiko had taken out. Apparently, every coin had the same person's face designed on the front. Still, the direction of the face and the expression had been changed, and the material and size were completely different, so there's no way there's any mistake.
"...Huh? What's with that face..." (Kaoru)
Kaoru had a bad feeling about this.
"...These days, it's not expressed in terms of gold coins and silver coins, but rather in monetary units, like yen or dollars. Well, it seems that there are still a lot of people who use the old-fashioned terms, though.
So, that 'currency' is called 'Kaorun'. It's named after a saint of the past, 'Angel-sama'..." (Reiko)
"Aaaaaah! As I thoooought!!" (Kaoru)
Yes, the face of the person engraved on the coin had a very evil look in the eyes. It seemed likely that even this was revised with great care, but—
"Well, it’s not like old currency can’t be used either… It’s not treated as old coins, it’s actually accepted in stores. It’s good that it’s not a credit currency, but a currency based on its bullion value. Well, because it will be about 3% cheaper, people won't like it because it will be a pain to calculate it at the store, and it will stand out. It might be better to exchange it for cash at a money exchange shop or somewhere quickly..." (Reiko)
Reiko tried to comfort her by saying that, but of course, she knew that that wasn't the reason why KAORU was so shocked. However, she had no other way to comfort her than to say something like that, even though she knew it was off-point...
It was still early when they found the inn. So, even though they had finally arrived in the royal capital, Kaoru could not bear the idea that this was the end of the day. Kaoru immediately set off with Reiko. Their destination was, of course, the house that Kaoru bought and gave to the orphans of "The Goddess's Eye." Kaoru had read too many stories to put off important matters and make promises like, "If only I'd come a little earlier..." It's been over 70 years, so she didn't think the house was still there. But anyway, first she wanted to see what the current state of the place was, and then, starting the next day, she planned to check on the orphans—but...
"Why is it still there... And still in active duty..." (Kaoru)
Yes, if it had been made of brick or something, it would have been a different story, but it was made of wood and was a very ordinary second-hand house. It was originally rented and later purchased, but it was already quite old at that point. It certainly wasn't something that could have been used for 70 years since then. It wasn't a well-built old house made of good building materials—
And the house was still the same—of course, it's quite dilapidated, but it's well-repaired and well-maintained—but the area around it had changed drastically. On either side were large shops, and in the back were several apartment buildings, ranging from dormitories for single employees to what appeared to be family accommodation—
"Even though the surrounding area developed and the land was bought, they continued to protect this place and didn't sell it... I told them to sell it quickly, split the money among themselves, and get back on their feet... Those idiots..." (Kaoru)
Those children must had gotten married and had children and grandchildren. Perhaps one of them had lived here and continued to maintain and care for the house. They thought that one day Kaoru might appear again. Prepare for that almost zero possibility. Thinking about this, Kaoru couldn't hold back the hot tears that streamed down her cheeks—
"Hmm? What is this..." (Kaoru)
After a while, Kaoru finally calmed down and suddenly noticed a sign next to the entrance. She went over and read it—
"True Goddess Kaoru Head Temple"
"What the hell is that!!!" (Kaoru)
Kaoru screamed out in surprise, and Reiko quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Then, after making sure that Kaoru had fallen silent, Reiko pointed to the store signs on either side.
"The Goddess's Eyes Drugstore"
"The Goddess's Eyes Souvenir Shop"
"Kaoru-sama rice crackers available."
"Are they all from their stores? And why are they selling rice crackers and not manju? Is this a reference to me, huh?!!" (Kaoru)
Translation Notes
There are 2 kinds of Reiko: Reiko and Reiko; and 2 kinds of Kaoru: Kaoru and Kaoru.