Chapter 83

When I went to check the store, it was almost complete.

It seemed that all that was left was to install the transfer array and other magical devices for consignment sales, and Quero was giving instructions to the magic item shop that the commercial guild had on retainer.

While a storage unit can be made by any ordinary magic item shop, connecting it to the commercial guild's consignment sales and trading counters is not possible. Therefore, for stores, the involvement of the commercial guild is inevitable. Some people order temperature-regulating magic items for their products separately because they are more expensive, but in my case, they are free!

"Lord Rengard, hello. The store has a very calm and finished look."

Quero noticed me and greeted me. We had agreed that he would call me Rengard when I was in my masked form.

"It's thanks to Trin."

"The alcohol shop is also completely finished. You used bricks for that one, didn't you?"

Quero smiled and informed me of the current situation.

"You came at the right time. The installation of the magic items should be finished while I give you a tour."

Trin said this and led me from the completed alcohol shop.

"I'm glad I can guide you. It will be a bit of a walk, so let's start from the front."

That's how it was decided.

Standing in front of the store, I saw the red brick exterior.

On the material storage side, there was a large wooden door that could accommodate a carriage. Next to it was a small door, which was unusual for a store. There were also stairs leading to the cellar, making it easy to move goods in and out.

Opening the small door, I could see a counter with wine racks behind it. This is where tasting and negotiations would take place, so there were two sets of simple round tables and chairs.

In reality, since I wouldn't be there, I would have to leave everything to them... No, I thought the commercial guild would also be involved since they had handled the consignment before, so I only had to negotiate the wholesale prices. There were no regular sales contracts, and it would end with the purchase of a certain number of barrels or bottles of wine on the spot.

I always paid in cash with a smile, and I made sure to warn against favoring specific customers too much.

Because the warehouse was spacious, this room had no windows facing outside.

Instead, there was a large window between this and the adjacent warehouse, allowing the movement of goods to be seen. When the wooden door was open, it was quite bright. Direct sunlight could damage the wine, so this was just right.

"The floor is light brown, the walls are white, and the wainscoting and window frames are light green. It's nice."

Very classical. Incidentally, the coordination was entirely left to Trin.

Near the counter, there was a door leading to the warehouse. Behind the wine racks was a break room and a mini kitchen. Opening the locked door at the back of the break room led to a hall with a staircase and a back door. If customers tried to negotiate directly, neither they nor the employees could enter the hall. The second floor had a brewing facility, and the third floor was empty. The second floor only had ventilation holes for windows, but the third floor had proper windows, and the empty floor was illuminated by the light from outside.

Exiting to the backyard through the back door, a single, thin-trunked broadleaf tree, similar to a sara tree, stood helplessly at the edge. This must be the keiju, which is known for absorbing a lot of water. The light green leaves were beautiful.

"Is this fine as it is? Or should we plant flowers at the edge and mix salt into the soil to prevent weeds? Or perhaps we should sow hardy hairgrass seeds?"

There were such options. Indeed, if left as it was, it would either be dusty or full of weeds.

"I'll go with the hairgrass."

Then, passing through the backyard, we entered the store that dealt with alchemy and medicine. For convenience, I'll call it the general store. Since I had already seen the general store before, I mainly checked the equipment, but I had already seen individual samples in the workshop, so I only needed to confirm the layout. The only change was the addition of a small room and a bath on the second floor.

"It's a comfortable and practical layout. Thank you."

It seemed that the installation of the magic items was also completed while I was looking around.

The transfer plate was already installed on the third floor, and it seemed that Ekateryna and two priests had come from the temple. Perhaps they had prayed to the gods to activate it.

There are old transfer gates that can move between countries, and in most cases, the location of such a gate is the capital. Old transfer gates were built where temples were, and countries were formed... Fast was an exception.

Was a new temple built by the gods to seal the white... or something like that? In Zears, there are two transfer gates that can move between countries: Fina and Fast.

The transfer gates between cities are connected by two temples through a grand ceremony to the gods.

After completion, Quero would oversee the payment of the full amount to Trin, and Trin would pay the commercial guild and the workshop as agreed. Normally, the commercial guild would not be involved, but since I had not directly requested this from Trin but through the commercial guild, and there were many payments to be made to the commercial guild, it was done this way.

"Everything is in place. Can I pay now? It's hard to coordinate a time, especially since Trin will likely have other requests after this."

"There's a rush of foreign merchants opening stores, but I have the necessary documents, so it's possible."

Quero responded and looked at Trin.

"I already have plans to take on the corner of this street. Since it's close, I can be called, but if you can pay now, that would be appreciated. I would like to come back to check for any issues and to sow the hairgrass seeds at an appropriate time."

Oh, I had forgotten about the additional request from earlier.

"Sure, then I'll leave it to you."

The amount quoted was four million silver, with the decimal part waived. I might have spent a bit too much on production equipment. The hairgrass seeds seemed to be a free service.

Oh, I hope I haven't overestimated. How much will the payment to Garganos be? I hope it can be covered with the remaining 3.5 million. Jewelry prices can be unpredictable, which is scary.

"Here, indeed. This is the rights document and the key."

"Congratulations on the completion. The materials for the alcohol will be delivered in the shortest time, which is three days. The storage has a cooling magic item, so it should be fine to keep them there, but please let me know if there are any issues."

I confirmed receiving the key from Trin, and Quero congratulated me, but quickly moved on to the preparations for opening.

"No, it's fine."

"When do you plan to open?"

"When will the other stores in this area be completed?"

"Probably in about two weeks?"

"Then I'll prepare the products by then."

"Understood. I'll have the employees confirm the sales procedures by then. I will be the supervisor of the alcohol shop, so if there are any issues, please contact the commercial guild. The actual staff will be three people who take turns, a man named Beik, and two women named Roll and Short."

Cake? ...Well, they're easy to remember. Baked cheesecake, roll cake, shortcake.

The front key of the alcohol shop is entrusted to Quero. I had it set up to appear as a direct operation of the commercial guild. In reality, I would leave all the negotiations and customer service to them, and I would mainly focus on making the alcohol.

"The two beastmen who will work at this store are currently working at a commercial guild-affiliated general store on a temple's request and are quite competent. However, since they are a bit older, it might be better to wait until the area is more stable and the number of stores increases."

With the frequent movement of people, the area has become more stable, Quero said.

I was thinking of renting the second-floor room cheaply to a former adventurer as a bodyguard. However, if I asked the commercial guild to arrange it, the entire area would be filled with people connected to the commercial guild, so I planned to ask the adventurer guild.

Well, since I had refused the commercial guild's consignment, I had to store the excess alcohol in the warehouse and check the consignment sales. It was very convenient to be able to use it at the production site. I had 22 silver on hand, so I bought three more to make a round number. I wanted to produce with the new equipment, but I decided to go meet Julius and Ruba.

Today, everyone is acting solo.

Petro is on night duty, and according to Leo, he is quietly fishing because he has been in and out of the toilet due to a stomach issue.

Leo's reaction was:

"Ha ha ha ha" and "Gyaaaaaaahh, Luuuuuuuu" and "!!" So, I could imagine what he was doing, but I didn't want to point it out.

Kikuhime was quietly producing, and Shin had started a delivery quest while filling in the map, occasionally asking for the location through the clan chat.

The clan chat is convenient, but when Leo's "Goooooo Big Waveeeeeee!!!" overlaps with the magic item operation instructions, I don't know what face to make.

The mask is convenient.

First, I visited Julius at the staff workshop.

"Hey."

"Homura-san!"

I called out to Julius, who was writing something in a ledger in the workshop. He looked up and smiled. He had soft, light blonde hair and white skin. Despite looking similar to Ruya, Julius seemed pure.

"Um, the staff is done, but not yet..."

Standing up, he looked downcast when talking about the staff I had commissioned.

"I've been trying different things, but it's not turning out well. I'm sorry."

When I saw the staff he showed me, it was well-made, but its abilities were not significantly better than the one I currently had.

"This is not because of your skills, but because the material quality is not high enough."

"Acquiring good materials is also part of a craftsman's job. I managed to make the base, but I couldn't make a handle that would fit the ruby you gave me. Since I'm still a beginner and lack credibility, I need to build a track record to convince people to sell me special materials. I'm sorry."

"No, I don't think you should apologize."

I had a feeling I told him to contact me if he got stuck with the materials, but he doesn't seem to be the type to ask for help.

"I'm frustrated that I can't meet Homura-san's expectations."

He had a slightly teary-eyed look.

He showed a straightforwardness that I don't often see! I don't know how to handle this type of person.

"Anyway, I didn't come to rush you today. I just came to deliver some wood that might be suitable for the staff."

I handed him ten pieces of ash, which I had obtained from three orc drops.

"Also, this."

I gave him a reinforced magic stone I had obtained in exchange with Christina.

"This is..."

He started examining the texture and grain of the ash, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

He is a very common type.

Ruba and Garganos had the same reaction. You'll become a good craftsman, boy. But be careful not to become a weirdo. I've learned that waiting won't help, so I left early.

Next, Ruba.

I wondered how the [