Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! Volume 1

Peddler in Another World (Light Novel) #1

by Hiiro Shimotsuki, Takashi Iwasaki (Illustrator), Bérénice Vourdon (Translator)

After quitting his job at a toxic company, Shiro Amata moves into the house his grandmother left him in her will. There, he soon makes two life-changing one, his grandmother was really a witch from another world, and two, said other world is just on the other side of her closet door! Thanks to a book she left for Shiro, he also manages to obtain an all-powerful skill called “Equivalent Exchange,” which allows him to turn money from his world into otherworldly currency and vice versa.

With this, Shiro decides to set up shop and sell convenient items like matches to the colorful inhabitants of the other world. His make a massive profit on the goods he brings from home to become so rich that he never needs another job ever again!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Slice Of Life, Adventure, Comedy

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2022

Reviews

[Yev · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 25 year old guy finds a portal to another world in his grandparent's house and decides it's a great way to get rich quick without effort. All other considerations are put aside. Nothing matters except bypassing all the usual requirements to be successful enough to do whatever one feels like without much consequence. Simply put, this is blatant wish fulfillment. All he has to do is bring cheap and useful goods from his world to theirs and they all but sell themselves. Right away the fantasy of being an entrepreneur without any of the risks or problems is explored. There's minimal consideration of the repercussions would. I can't help but extrapolate from that. For example, many buy his goods to resell them elsewhere. What would a local economy that's entirely based on reselling goods look like? There's also the issue of the coin supply. He keeps getting coins from the villagers but doesn't put much back into circulation. Perhaps the flow of coins from elsewhere is enough to where they don't run out, but coin shortage has historically been an issue due to hoarding in frontier areas like where he is.

That isn't the only type of wish fulfillment provided here. The first girl he meets is 8 years old and he wishes that he'll have a daughter like her someday and that she'll make a great wife for somebody eventually. Soon after, she becomes his assistant. Next he meets the town's mayor, a young and beautiful woman, where marriage is brought up. Then the guildmaster of the adventurer's guild, a bunnygirl, tries to seduce him. There's also the catgirl adventurer and the sickly woman that only he can save. It's quite the procession.

While there are many moral and ethical questions that could be considered, among much else that arises from these circumstances, that isn't what this is about. Instead it's all about providing good vibes, comfy times, and the easygoing life. None of that is unusual in Japanese media and it arguably dominates the light novel and web novel scene, which then affects anime and manga through adaptations.

I've already read all that's been officially translated of the manga for this and so I thought I'd go to the source material. As is the usual for light novels, they're short, simply written to be easily read, and there's a lot of them. In my experience, these sort of originally serialized works live and die based on how much the audience enjoys their gimmick and/or tropes. These sort of stories are very much an indulgence. I'm not going to pretend that I don't love to excessively indulge. Much like how this sort of book does, I'm going to sidestep any concerns about that.

When it comes to rating something like this the foremost question to me isn't how enjoyable, let alone how good it is. What matters is how well it fulfills a specific need. Being otherwise personally tolerable is the height of aspiration.

[Benjamin Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad simplistic and generic, but filled with gentleness, happiness and good vibes. This slow paced slice of life meanders like a gentle river that doesn't end, and I'm not mad at it. The story doesn't dip or climb, but that's not a bad thing if one enjoys this kind of pacing. The characters were pretty compelling and colourful, but the world building was practically non-existent. The language and prose was quite simplistic and juvenile, but it didn't detract the enjoyment, at least for me.

Overall, with so many Isekai stories out and about, this was a nice change of pace and feel for me. Will probably continue on this series for quite some time to come.

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best light novel series that I have read in a long time. It's about Shiro and his love for his grandmother that takes him to do everything he can to save her home (when she goes missing) and then one day finding a portal to another world there. Once he crosses to the other world he receives the "peddler skill" and finds creative ways to sell mass-produced items of low cost from Japan to the Adventurers and locals of this other world. Shiro lacks vision and ambition, because, for example, if he would have hired the adventurer group to escort him to the town close by, he could have started his business ventures in both towns.
Shiro acted violently to the man from the guild with a bad reputation, instead of turning him in for his corrupt and depraved acts to the Governess of the region. It would have been better to not lower himself down to the level of the bad man...
Overall, it's a feel-good/do good, believe in the Law of Equivalent Exchange and use the Golden Rule to treat others how you would like to be treated. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for something different, along the lines of a small town store, with beast-kin in another world.
The Law of Equivalent Exchange is necessary in a Fiction Fantasy world because it states that to be able to "get something" something of equal value/equal weight/etc. must be exchanged. Most of today's authors make Over-Powered (OP) main characters, without them having to earn the merits of the abilities and skills they yield or paying to purchase those abilities or skills. Other authors lose the system's balance and do not give the same conditions to everyone. In either case, by not dealing with the consequences of their actions, their stories lack balance, logic and common sense. Most are filled with too much realism (pathologies, blood-gore and violence) But lack balance, lack ethical values, lack vision, ambition and being "right with the Law of Equivalent Exchange...
Kudos to the author, the illustrator and publisher for this new series. It has a map, it has inside illustrations, it just lacks character summaries, and vision and ambition to grow for the main character Shiro, because, the bigger and more markets he has in this other world, the more he can help the "good people" of this other world.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read at JNC pre-publishing)

Shiro is young man, fed up with working at a black company in Japan, who takes it upon himself to take care of his late grandmother's house. There he learns grandmother is from another world, and left a portal open for Shiro to travel into that world and back again, and granting two skills to help: most notably one to turn the coins of one world into yen from the other. Shiro decides to open a shop, selling simple things from Japan while enjoying a quiet life. It isn't long before his products draw the attention of the locals.

The story is a light-hearted slice-of-life story with likable characters set in what appears to be a fairly typical LN fantasy setting with skills, magic and monsters (but not a true system). The MC is not overpowered, no action, just a bit of trade and interaction with the people around him. The reaction of the powers that be on both sides towards odd products on one hand and a sudden influx of yen at another seem a bit timid, but things might change in future volumes in this regard. Still, an entertaining quick read, slow paced and without much of an overarching plot, but different enough from similar LN series for me to enjoy.

[Natt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Light Novel I read that genuinely made me love the format.
I'm a sucker for Isekai, especially ones that have lower "slow life" stakes, and this fills all the boxes for me.
Instead of a super powerful main character with godlike skills, he's just a regular person looking to take advantage of the modern amenities he can bring with him into this fantasy world.
The supporting cast are full of life, and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

[Mistress OP · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stink of almost harem is extremely on this. There's almost always a random new girl in this series. Male characters that are not the MC aren't develop well. Which again another harem sign. But until 10 books in doesn't really put it's foot in it. It does act as a decent story for the most part little shallow but that's ok. I kinda wanna see more of the world. I want more of the grandma. I want more of the IRL world interacting with the other world.

[Richard G. Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very light and feel good story

This a relatively peaceful light novel. Its taking an overused trope and trying to put its own unique spin on it. If your looking for an action pack story, I wouldn't recommend it but if your more into a slice of life kinda story, this one is for you.

[Enzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Shiro Amata discovers that his Grandmothers closet has a Narnia vibe and crosses over to another world he feels as if his head would explode. But he has figured out the powers his Grandmother left him and he is up for adventuring.
He is ready to do Inter-World commerce. Why not get some money and help the people from that other world.

[Sammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a little generic but still a decent read. Some of the scenarios are just a little too convenient for the main character but I enjoyed the world that the author created and the characters within. It won't hurt to pick it up.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice mix of slow life and fantasy-adventure isekai done perfectly acceptably. Nothing massively special yet, but fun, relaxing, and good enough to want to read the next one.

[ReadToBreathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea of him being able to travel to both worlds. It's something quite different from what I'm used to.

[angelbratv · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

Love this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . thank you for this book

[Yudi Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable read

[Shady Lubbad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.
Its everything I need right now.. business, new start, and a romantic sub-plot..

[Victor Sanchez · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a piece of bullshit. Garbage premise and terrible writing. Slop of the worst order. Waste of my damn time. 0 stars

[Fat Frog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic.
Kinda silly and dumb.
But I still read the whole thing.