Chapter 46

"See you, good luck."

"Okay."

I conveyed the future plans to Merzia and Katharine, gave them the money, and left Fotren.

The basic plan consists of three main points.

First, the Maple Katharine Magic Tool Shop will be under the Maple Guild.

According to Merzia, Katharine's skills are quite good, possibly even top-notch in Fotren, so it would be a waste to have her just manage the store.

Second, even if I'm not there, the store should aim to be profitable or, at worst, maintain a small deficit. For now, even with ample funds, the scale of the business will not expand too much.

At most, we'll hire 5-6 people. Once the business stabilizes and becomes profitable, we can consider expanding.

Of course, other stores are also competing seriously to make profits, so it won't be easy to beat them, given their established foundations.

This is where I come in. If I can bring some items at prices much lower than other stores, or even at cost, the profit margin will be significant, providing a substantial advantage.

While selling items I bring at a lower price won't directly increase the profit margins of other items, it can help reduce fixed costs.

Additionally, if the Maple Guild processes and sells the items I bring, it will be even more advantageous.

For example, in the case of making dried meat, the usual process is: adventurer → guild → dried meat processor → grocery store. The grocery store has to pay two middlemen before the product reaches the shelves. In my case, the process is: adventurer → Decibator grocery store → me = guild, eliminating the middlemen.

Moreover, the procurement cost in Decibator is about one-tenth of that in Fotren, so it's a significant advantage.

Incidentally, the meat from Decibator is inedible in its raw form, but it becomes safe once it's made into dried meat, as the toxins are removed.

Even the meat from Fotren, while not as severe, can exhibit similar symptoms, so it is also made into dried meat.

The meat that shows symptoms deteriorates very slowly until the toxins are removed, making it easy to identify.

However, if the environment for making dried meat is not properly set up, the meat can rot before the toxins are removed.

In Decibator, the meat is not transported or processed because the effort doesn't justify the cost, but the meat from Decibator is of high quality and can be considered a premium product here.

If it could be easily transported, it would be a treasure trove.

However, if the business expands too quickly, the advantages might be diluted.

It's better to observe and gradually expand.

Finally, the type of business.

For now, it will focus on groceries, and possibly monster materials.

Naturally, the meat will be processed into dried meat before being sold, requiring the necessary equipment and personnel.

This is to maximize my advantage.

Selling monster materials or meat from Decibator while running a furniture store would make no sense.

Moreover, a grocery store can process the food I bring and even transport it back to Decibator.

Monster materials, on the other hand, will primarily be sold to local blacksmiths and armorers, requiring no additional processing equipment and thus no extra costs.

I can simply sell them, and they are not essential.

So, for the time being, this is the plan.

I gave Merzia 40 million to secure the personnel and equipment, leaving everything to her.

I will provide the basic guidelines and ideas but won't interfere with the actual management.

I'm a novice, and it's also a hassle.

I decided to buy about 10 kg of bread and return to Decibator.

Bread is light but takes up a lot of space, and it's hard to find in Decibator.

It's better to bring it for bartering with monsters.

On the way back, I flew at near supersonic speed, but not as fast as on the way there.

I found it fun to see the scenery fly by, but it might be bad for my ears and the environment.

I arrived in Decibator without any issues, and it was already evening.

It was a good decision to handle my business in Fotren while I had a full day.

I visited the grocery store to check on the progress of the monster collection.

"How's the monster collection going?"

"Quite well, we have about 1 million Tel worth of monsters at Fotren prices."

Is that a lot?

Let's do the math.

If converted to dried meat, it's about 3,333 kg, which is a significant amount.

Assuming a cow weighs 600 kg, that's more than five cows.

"Is it mainly food or monster materials?"

"Mostly food. The parts that can be used as weapons are profitable even if brought back normally, and the materials that can be used for equipment here are also brought back, so there's not much left."

That makes sense.

"Where are they?"

"They're piled up outside. The inedible monsters don't spoil easily."

The store owner pointed outside, and I saw a pile of monsters, though not a huge one.

"Since it's one-tenth of the Fotren price, 100,000 Tel for everything, right?"

"Sure, the debt for the Giant Spider Claws is now 900,000 Tel."

"Alright. By the way, I brought about 10 kg of