Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 99: Making Gold (3)

In this world, a copper coin holds a value of about one thousand won. A silver coin is worth a hundred of those copper coins, and a gold coin is worth a hundred silver coins.

Simply converting it, Noah’s salary was roughly ten million won. An annual salary of one hundred and twenty million won.

Considering that a farmer in this world would be considered quite well-off if they earned ten silver coins a month, it was a significant amount.

On top of that, with room and board provided, along with materials needed for research? Refusing this would be utterly foolish. Noah even saw Dojin as an angel.

Although it’s a bit awkward to say, if he asked her to suck on his pepper, she was ready to open her mouth without hesitation.

Of course, that never happened.

Dojin took her to his mansion. Upon arriving, Noah felt a slight sense of fear.

“You can live here now.”

“Ah, yes…”

She felt the stares directed at her. The moment Dojin brought her in, she felt the piercing gazes of three women, the curious looks from two women, and the indifferent expression of one woman.

‘What is this person? A harem master or something?’

The gender ratio in the mansion was insane. All the residents were women, the maids were women, the cook was a woman, everyone was a woman.

There was supposedly one other man living in the mansion besides Dojin, but Noah had never seen him.

As a result, she took it as a lie meant to reassure her, and Noah carried on with her research, constantly worried that Dojin might enter her room at any moment.

“We’re currently hunting werewolves…”

“What are its characteristics? Yes, a wolf that walks on two legs… Good sense of smell, you say? Roughly how much…?”

Fortunately, when she was immersed in research, all other thoughts would vanish. After long hours of research, when she got tired, she would indulge in expensive experiments she couldn’t usually afford.

Dojin’s expression often hardened at the mention of research costs, but even so, she never stopped.

“Hmm, this is a failure.”

She always succeeded in the research Dojin requested, but most of her personal projects ended in failure.

There was no helping it. Dojin’s commission was work, while her experiments were a hobby. A hobby could fail—but she couldn’t afford to mess up her work.

Then one day, Noah met a man wandering around the mansion. He looked a bit haggard, but Noah quickly approached him and spoke.

“Dojin!”

“…?”

“The request you made… Uh, who are you?”

“That’s what I want to ask.”

The person she met was Deokgu. He looked her up and down, then noticed the item she was holding and exclaimed, “Ah.”

“So you’re the alchemist.”

“Yes, but you are…?”

“Didn’t the others tell you? I’m Deokgu.”

“Oh, you’re the other man besides Dojin…”

It was the first time she saw him. Noah quickly scanned him and roughly assessed his occupation. Seeing the pen calluses on his hand, he seemed to be someone who used pens a lot.

There aren’t many jobs that require holding a pen enough to develop calluses. A scribe, a treasurer, a playwright, or a novelist, perhaps.

It’s unlikely a scribe or treasurer would be in this mansion, so he’s probably a novelist or playwright.

“Are you… by any chance a novelist?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Ah, I noticed you have a pen callus on your hand…”

“I’m a journalist. A newspaper journalist.”

Deokgu said this, muttering that he never imagined he would end up like this. However, he wasn’t particularly dissatisfied with his current life.

Working all day, he would occasionally roll around in bed with a slave maid he had acquired, and when an idea came to mind, he would jot it down for the newspaper.

There’s no need to explain how wonderful it is to earn money without stepping outside while enjoying the company of women.

“Oh, right. You… said you’re an alchemist, right?”

“Huh? Yes, but…”

“Then try making a tool that’s convenient for writing, like a typewriter or a computer… Ah, that might be a bit too much. Anyway, something easy for writing.”

“What exactly do you mean…?”

“You know, a tool where you press something with ink on metal, and it inputs the predetermined letters.”

That was a concept that didn’t exist in this world. Pre-stamping letters onto a tool—was he talking about metal type? It didn’t seem like that was what he meant.

In Noah’s mind, Deokgu had a more precise and clear tool envisioned.

‘Fascinating.’

Noah instinctively realized that the knowledge he had was a concept no human had ever created before. She tugged at Deokgu’s sleeve.

“Why?”

“What’s a computer?”

“A computer is… a machine that calculates for you?”

“Calculates for you? How?”

“Uh… the principle of a computer…”

Deokgu didn’t know the details, but he remembered the general principle. A tool that draws out results by infinitely connecting lines that can distinguish only between 0 and 1.

A binary system that views the world in black and white, 0 and 1.

The arrogance of thinking everything can be calculated.

While explaining the von Neumann architecture that made it possible.

“This is…”

Detailed information wasn’t necessary. As long as there was a rough outline, it could be followed.

Noah instinctively realized that the concept Deokgu was talking about was technology at least centuries ahead.

“…Let’s give it a try.”

She thanked Deokgu and quickly returned to her lab. She cleared away all her previous research and began drafting a new design.

Someone else does the calculations. Doesn’t it seem like a structure seen before? It’s precisely a magic tool.

A magic tool functions by imbuing a pre-inputted magic circle with mana.

But that had been the limit until now. A magic tool capable of performing various spells hadn’t been invented. It was physically impossible.

Noah was breaking through that impossibility. Just as a mathematician easily grasps the concepts of quantum physics, an alchemist was pioneering the forefront of magic.

“Ah.”

And then she failed. It was only natural. If it were something that could be easily achieved with mere genius, countless geniuses throughout history would have discovered it.

What was needed was a small idea that could serve as a spark.

And persistence and money.

“It’s fun…”

Breaking new ground is always enjoyable. Ecstasy bursts from the brain.

Noah had an instinctive feeling that she would complete this research. And her instincts were usually right.

“Hey, what on earth did you do?”

I went to Deokgu and asked. He looked at me with a face that seemed to say he was too busy to deal with nonsense.

“What nonsense…? What did I do?”

“You asked Noah for something, didn’t you?”

“Noah? Who’s that– Oh, the alchemist?”

“Yeah.”

Noah had been holed up in her room recently, not stepping out at all. Although the maid would bring meals, the empty dishes would somehow end up outside…

It had been days since anyone had seen her face. When I asked around to find out what was keeping her inside, I was told it happened after she met Deokgu.

Deokgu shrugged as if it was no big deal when he heard my words.

“I just asked her to make a computer because writing the newspaper was tough.”

“A computer? So she’s locked herself up to make that?”

“Do you even know how to make a computer?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Neither do I. So how would she make one?”

“…True.”

Even Seoyoon, the most knowledgeable among us, wouldn’t know how to make a computer. We, who came from the 21st century, didn’t know, so how could a fantasy resident make one just by hearing a few words? It was absurd.

“Then why isn’t she coming out?”

“Who knows? Oh, maybe it’s because of the typewriter?”

“Typewriter?”

“Yeah, I explained a typewriter to her. She could probably make that.”

“Really? Hmm… Still, does it take this long to make a typewriter?”

“Do you know how to make a typewriter in a few days?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then it’s the same.”

We joked around and laughed as we parted ways. Yes, whatever she was making, I had to stop her for now.

What Deokgu mentioned was cutting-edge technology even in modern times, like semiconductors, which require dedicated labs and astronomical amounts of money from big companies to produce results.

There was no way she could create something like that all by herself. Besides a typewriter or a computer, there was a mountain of other requests piled up.

Her abilities were so remarkable that she could create anything she wanted just by speaking, like Doraemon.

I stood in front of Noah’s door and knocked slowly.

“Noah?”

There was no sound at all. Considering the soundproofing of this house, it was strange that it was so quiet that even my level 3 hearing couldn’t pick up anything.

Feeling a sense of unease, I knocked again.

“Noah, I’m coming in?”

I pulled on the doorknob. Click, it was locked, but it didn’t matter. The Extreme Yang Body, the intense yang energy, enhanced my strength.

Crack! The lock shattered, and the doorknob loosened. I lightly pushed the door open and went inside, and a strange chemical smell rushed out all at once.

“…Noah?”

Being in this kind of room, she might have fainted without realizing it. Covering my mouth, I slowly went inside and saw Noah hugging a long stick, giggling.

I was relieved. I let out a sigh of relief and tapped her shoulder.

“Noah, why didn’t you answer?”

“Oh, Dojin…”

Dark circles and spots were under her eyes. Yet she didn’t lose her smile.

“Look at this. I made it…”

“…What is it?”

“A computer…”

“…What?”

What she handed me was a 1.5-meter long rod. It was so different from the computers I knew that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s not a computer.”

“No, it is…”

“Uh, so…”

“Look… boom.”

She thrust a staff at me and shouted. I didn’t quite understand what it meant, but soon the concentrated magic at the tip of the staff flew towards me.

Wham!

It was such a sudden attack that I couldn’t react at all and was flung out of the room.

“Uh… Uh?! D-Dojin!”

Noah was startled and ran towards me. She worriedly touched my stomach, but I had no time to care about that.

“Noah, are you… a mage?”

“What? No…?”

“Then this just now…”

“Oh, this? I told you, I finished it.”

Seeing her grin as she said that, I had an intuition.

“This is a tool that can substitute for any mage.”

I’ve picked up a genius.