Chapter 49

--- Three days until opening.

Our store is near a restaurant called "Kourin-tei."

It was around noon.

I, Ram, Bagoz, and Uga, the four of us, were having lunch there.

The other members had already finished eating and were discussing the interior layout, while the four of us arrived late.

"Hey, look."

Then, we overheard a conversation from some customers sitting nearby.

They looked like ordinary citizens of the royal capital, a pair of young men.

"Isn't that them? The ones who... "

"Yeah, the rumors say that the beastmen are bringing low-quality goods from their village and trying to sell them at high prices."

At this, Ram and the others reacted.

I listened silently.

"The pack of wolves that attacked the farms and ranches near the royal capital a few days ago and were driven away—that was apparently a setup they orchestrated themselves. They did it to be able to do business openly in this town..."

"I thought they were strange. So that was their goal. They're a nasty bunch."

"Beastmen can't be trusted, after all."

"Why is that woman with them? She's human, yet she's hanging out with those beastmen. Suspicious."

At these words, Uga started to stand up, but I calmed him with a look.

It seems that bad rumors are spreading.

It must be the work of those Blados.

Their method of attack is either direct violence or indirect violence.

This time, they're using the latter to tarnish our reputation before the store opens.

"Engaging with people who are swayed by rumors won't end well."

"Mako, but..."

I understand why Uga and the others are frustrated.

But if we act out of anger, we'll be playing right into their hands.

"Imagine the little piglet rolling around in your head. It will help calm your irritation—"

At that moment,

A waiter from the kitchen of "Kourin-tei" approached the young men who were spreading the rumors.

He wasn't carrying any food, just his hands empty.

"Excuse me, but please leave without paying."

He was the leader of the trio who had come to our store before, the one with the distinctive long bangs.

"What?"

"Other customers are feeling uncomfortable."

He bowed and said this.

His bowed head was subtly turned towards us, and he winked.

Perhaps he came to warn us out of consideration.

What a good person.

"Uncomfortable?"

The two young men frowned and stood up.

"What's wrong with telling the truth? Are you protecting the beastmen?"

"U, eh? No, that is..."

The chef, cornered by the young men, stammered.

The atmosphere was getting tense.

I was about to stand up and intervene—

"Hey! What do you know about it!"

Before I could, other customers from a different table shouted.

"Oh."

It was the two middle-aged men who had introduced us to the ranch owner a few days ago, the ones who had told us about the wolf pack attacking the farms and ranches.

They were from a store that gets goods from ranches and farms.

"We commissioned her to deal with the wolf pack! The ranch owners are now happy because they have guard dogs protecting their land!"

"Don't be swayed by baseless rumors, you fools!"

The middle-aged men defended us and confronted the young men.

The young men, taken aback by their intensity, hastily left the restaurant.

"Damn, what a bunch of idiots."

"Yeah."

"Everyone..."

The three of them turned to us and smiled.

"Hey, Mako. It seems there are some strange rumors spreading around here, but don't worry about it."

"We're on your side."

"...Thank you."

There are people who support us and cheer us on.

This battle is not at all unfavorable for us.

"Thank you, Chef."

"Heh... Well, it didn't end very well in the end."

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

The basic layout is decided.

In other words, the store setup is practically complete.

All that's left is to display the products as planned.

I'll leave that to everyone else—

"Alright, let's go. Garai, Iksa."

"Sure."

"I'll come along, Store Manager."

I decided to go out into the city with Garai and Iksa.

Of course, it's not just for shopping.

This is my time.

The time to implement various ideas to boost sales and popularity for the store.

I need to gather various materials for that.

By the way, the store's bodyguards are Suaro, Entia, and Kuro.

"But, Iksa, this is a proxy war between me and those yakuza. Isn't it a bad idea for you to get too directly involved?"

"The discretion lies with the supervisor who is recording this battle, but so far, I haven't received any warnings, so it should be fine to participate as staff. If Nero were to lead his royal guard to destroy that store, it would probably be stopped, though."

Iksa said, pulling out a map of the royal capital and spreading it out.

"So, Mako, where are we going first?"

"Yep, I've already decided on our destination."

Saying that, we headed to our destination.

It was—

"Oh, we're here."

"Here is..."

A bright and mysterious alley, even in the daytime.

Yes, it's the pleasure district where Mau and Meala got lost the other day.

"Mako, what business do you have in a place like this? You're not thinking of scouting beautiful women to stand at the store and attract customers, are you?"

"No way."

There's a legitimate reason for coming here.

This time, my plan is to use my knowledge to recreate popular modern home center goods using materials from this world.

I'm sure I can find the necessary tools in this city.

"Alright, first—"

We headed to our first destination.

Since this is a pleasure district, I'm sure there's one somewhere...

And sure enough, we found it.

"It smells good in here. What is this place?"

"It's an oil shop."

A store that sells various oils, including lubricants.

Why is there an oil shop in a pleasure district?

......

Good children should ask their fathers!

We entered the store immediately.

There was a wide variety of products.

It seemed to sell all kinds of oils from all over the world.

"But, we're selling fruits and vegetables in our store, right? Why do we need oil?"

Iksa, looking at the colorful oils in small bottles on the shelves, was puzzled.

"There are uses for it. Excuse me."

I called out to a store clerk inside.

"Does this store have 'clear oil'?"

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

After finishing our shopping at the oil shop, our next destination was a liquor store.

"Well, of course there would be one in a pleasure district."

"A liquor store... Indeed, drinking is one of the specialties of that village."

Inside, there was a wide variety of alcoholic beverages.

As expected of a liquor store in the royal capital, especially in a pleasure district.

The selection was extensive.

"Ah, I see, Mako. Your plan is to serve drinks to customers, get them drunk, and sell them products at high prices, right?"

"No, no, it's not a hostess bar."

Iksa, your imagination is too limited.

Ignoring Iksa, I confirmed the types of alcohol with the clerk.

I even found some types of alcohol that are used in cocktails in the modern world.

...Maybe I'll incorporate Iksa's idea, not exactly as is, but a bit.

"By the way, clerk."

Putting that aside, I asked the clerk about the main reason I came to this store.

"Do you have carbonated water here?"

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"Hmm, it's looking good."

I nodded, checking the list I had written on paper.

We have enough products and information.

With these materials, we can do a lot.

Of course, we won't just sell them as is.

That would be reselling, and we'd probably lose money.

We'll use these materials to create new products.

Combining them with crops from the village and my skills.

"Have we got everything we need?"

Garai carried the items we bought, and we returned to the store.

We spread out the collected materials in the inventory warehouse behind the store.

'Hey! Hey!'

Then, a familiar voice came, and something poked my feet.

"Hey! Little one?! Didn't you go back with everyone else?"

'Hey, hey!'

Looking down, I saw Little one jumping up and down.

I told him to go back with the other boars today...

...Actually, Suaro was watching from the shadow of the warehouse entrance.

"Well, there's no helping it."

I picked up Little one.

'Hey~♪'

"Um... Yeah, I think we have most of what we need... But there's one more thing."

"Still missing something?"

Garai asked.

Yes, one more thing.

"There's one more thing I really want."

"What is it?"

"It's 'glass.'"

This is something that even the pleasure district doesn't have.

"If we have glass crafts, the variety will increase significantly."

"Glass, huh."

Iksa put his hand to his chin and muttered.

"There should be a few stores that sell glass crafts on the main street. Let's go check them out."