Allen the Reincarnated Merchant: A Plan to Get Rich in Another World

“Among the noble families, the Saiōji family is widely recognized as the symbol of military power in the Sakura Imperial Nation. They handle military and diplomatic matters, and their military strength rivals that of some countries.”

“It’s amazing how a single noble family can wield as much power as a mid-tier nation.”

Several pieces of information related to the Saiōji family, all publicly available on the internet, popped up on the research lab’s monitor. The data was listed on what looked like a Wikipedia-like site, and I began reading through it one by one.

“No doubt about it. This is the same Saiōji family I know.”

The vertical kanji for *Saiōji* displayed at the top of the webpage was the same emblem as the corporate logo of the Saiōji Group, which I saw when I first met Akira-san back in Akane Village.

Out of curiosity, I asked Nias to search for “Saiōji Ryūgen,” and sure enough, the monitor displayed multiple images of the very chairman I was familiar with.

“This man is from Earth’s era, you know? Did you really come from such a distant past?”

“Yeah… I work under this guy.”

More accurately, I work under Saiōji Ryūgen’s daughter, Saiōji Shizuku, but there’s no confidentiality agreement, though I decided not to elaborate on the Saiōji family here to avoid unnecessary complications.

“Wow, he’s famous as one of the great pioneers of space colonization! An incredibly important figure.”

“…I’m pretty sure it’s the same person.”

Among the displayed photos were images of Ryūgen in his younger and older years. All of them matched the Ryūgen I knew, so unless this world was some kind of parallel universe, the Saiōji family of the Sakura Imperial Nation was undoubtedly the same as the Saiōji Group I knew.

Even in the present day, Chairman Ryūgen has considerable influence worldwide, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he played a key role in the future era known as the space colonization age. In fact, given how formidable he is, if I had sent the mysterious materials from Asphial World, he might have become a world-conquering figure.

…But that has nothing to do with me. After all, I hold the core of that mystery myself.

In fact, I deal more with his daughter, Saiōji Shizuku, than with Chairman Ryūgen. While I meet with Ryūgen about once a month, I see Shizuku almost daily.

Moreover, there’s Aria and Eurua. Although I have Akira-san and the people of Akane Village on Earth, if I consider my overall relationships, it’s clear that my connections in Asphial World are much more significant.

“Even if I know of them, it’s a one-sided thing. They don’t know me at all… I’m curious, but I don’t plan on going to meet them.”

“Really?”

The truth is, aside from Chairman Ryūgen, Shizuku, and Akira-san, I haven’t had much interaction with other members of the Saiōji family. While I’ve met some other high-ranking individuals, I’ve avoided personal relationships with them. In any case, these people lived thousands of years ago.

I certainly don’t have any acquaintances in the Saiōji family of this era, and even if I tried to reach out, they’d likely brush me off.

So while I was surprised to learn that the Saiōji family still existed in this time, the idea of contacting them never even crossed my mind.

—

“But to get back on track—Nias, what are you going to do? Governor Angreus will be eager to capture you. Although the development plans for this area are still a ways off, maybe it’s time to consider escaping to another planet?”

“If I could, I wouldn’t be worrying like this.”

The conversation had drifted slightly due to my questions about the Saiōji family of this era, but Rene refocused the discussion. It was time to figure out what Nias, the main subject of this issue, would do.

“Is interplanetary travel that difficult?”

“Well, all space travel is controlled by the government… I could try hiring some space pirates operating illegally in the nearby sector, but who knows when they’d turn on me.”

“Don’t go with the space pirates. They’ll probably turn you in for the bounty instead.”

Space pirates—this world even had those, it seemed. I listened intently as the two continued their conversation.

“Long-distance warp travel is under military jurisdiction. It’d be reckless to try escaping to outer space as a civilian.”

To summarize the current situation: a new leader had arrived on Planet Zerad, where we were. This individual had been effectively banished from the Holy Capital and sent here, and according to Rene, it was unlikely that someone with such an arrogant disposition would live out his life peacefully in a remote place like this.

Rene predicted that the governor would likely attempt something to return to the Holy Capital, and one of his first moves would be to capture Nias, who was hiding here on Planet Zerad. The bounty for capturing her was apparently quite significant.

However, escaping from Zerad wasn’t an easy option either, as all space travel was controlled by the government. While there were illegal means of escaping, they were far too risky to be considered reliable.

“So, we’re basically stuck, huh?”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m so troubled.”

Even with all of this hanging over her, Nias remained calm and answered in her usual carefree tone.