Jigglypuff's Diary

Also no chapter tomorrow just as I mentioned yesterday, I have some errands to run.

Volume 2 Chapter 10 Part 1

Day 12

Since morning, Ryouma had been strenuously working to prepare for the store and the party.

At a time right before noon, a carriage was heading towards Ryouma’s store. Inside this carriage were five people.

They were the members of the merchant guild, Grisela, Pioro, and Serge. And along with this three members, Serge also brought his subordinates, Karma Norad and Karla Norad.

These two, Karma and Karla, are twins. Today, Serge brought them for the purpose of introducing them to Ryouma as his future assistants. But what Serge doesn’t know is that these two are actually stressed out and anxious over what’s to come.

Although these two twins are young, they’ve been picked up by Serge and have been serving him as his right-hand men for a long time.

This kind of people, who could be said to be experts, have been ordered to go to Ryouma’s store to help him out as his assistants. But while it may be true that these two are happy that they are being trusted with work, at the same time they can’t help but feel worried when the store that they have been told to go to is a laundromat whose future prospects for profit normally aren’t bright. On top of that, they aren’t being told to handle the store. They are being told to support the manager who happens to be an 11 year old kid.

When you think about it, it’s only natural for an 11 year old kid to need assistance in managing a store. There’s no way that an 11 year old could possibly handle a store by himself. The life of a merchant isn’t that easy.

Actually, in order for Serge to get the trust of these two, he informed them of Ryouma’s close relationship with the duke. But it was because of that, that these two misunderstood and has assumed that Ryouma opened the store as a noble child’s toy.

Amongst the children of the nobles who received educations as nobles, there are some amongst them who consider the lives of the commoners to be easy and wish to imitate it. And then amongst those, there are those who are spoiled by their parents and are able to use money as if it were water and are able to use that money to play commoner.

Naturally the businesses of those pretend commoners see little success. Even if one were to provide them with an exceptional assistant the business will most likely fail. To begin with the gap between the sense of values of a noble and a commoner is simply too big a gap to bridge.

In such cases the one at the most disadvantage is the person in charge. If one listens to the advice of the children too much and the store gets shut down, the one to take responsibility is the person in charge. And in these cases there are those who have been made to pay reparations.

Although there are also cases where the parents of that child won’t pursue the matter and ask for payment. The thing is even if you say that it was just a child’s toy, the fact that a store handled by one was closed, will cause that person’s reputation within the guild to plummet.

Alternatively, if one were to just ignore the children’s opinion and go with whatever the person in charge wants. Even if the store were to flourish, there are cases where the parents would come and take the store away because the children’s wishes weren’t fulfilled. So with all this in mind, this kind of job is very difficult.

“We should almost be there, right?” [Pioro]
“Yeah. Just two more corners.” [Serge]

Hearing the words of their superior, the two children couldn’t help but think about how close they are to what might become their graveyards as merchants. Because of that their hearts sank and their countenance visibly darkened. They hung their heads down, and like that they continued to wait until the carriage stopped. But when Serge spoke up another time, they steeled their hearts and looked out the window. What they saw shocked them.

“I can see it! Over there!” [Serge]
“Ho Ho, not bad at all kid..” [Grisela]
“Wow! What a splendid store! He was actually able to make this in one week? Amazing~” [Pioro]
“Sister, this…” [One of the twins]
“Yeah…” [One of the twins]

What spread before their eyes may have simply been a white square building with some windows here and there, but the surroundings were covered by a bright green lush along with some flower beds here and there, giving off a strong sense of cleanliness. As the splendor of that scenery unwrapped itself before the eyes of the guild members, they couldn’t help but leave their mouths agape. While Karma and Karla suddenly felt as if a ray of hope had just thrust itself into their dark and dreary future.

When they entered the store, the first thing that caught their eyes were the four statues of the gods on the shelf near the ceiling.

The warm atmosphere the wooden interior exudes along with the simple but lovely reverse L shaped counter, complemented by other furniture, struck the five with admiration. But as Karma and Karla felt their future getting brighter, the next instant crushed their hopes.

“Welcome to the Bamboo Forest Laundry Agency!”

As soon as they had entered, Ryouma quickly came out from inside.

Karma and Karla’s first impression of Ryouma was that of a normal kid with an honest and a decent face. Unfortunately, though this might be poorly put, Ryouma also looked like he had no ambition, and his docile impression wasn’t the kind that suited merchants. If it was just one of the neighboring kids they wouldn’t care, but as they thought that this kid was going to be their boss, they couldn’t help but grimace in fear of their future troubles.

“Thank you for inviting me today, Ryouma. I’m really happy to have been invited.” [Pioro]
“This store gives off such a good feeling, I guess we can expect much from you in the future.” [Grisela]
“You’ve finally completed your store, congratulations.” [Serge]
“Thank you very much. Speaking of which, these are…?” [Ryouma]

“Oh, right. I almost forgot, these are the two assistants I was planning to give to Ryouma-sama.” [Serge]
“Karma Norad.” [Karma]
“Karla Norad. It’s a pleasure to meet you, please take care of me and my younger brother.” [Karla]
“Thank you for your courtesy. My name is Ryouma Takebayashi. Please take care of me as well.” [Ryouma]

The two breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts as they noticed that Ryouma didn’t act haughtily. Unfortunately though, while it did not show on their faces, anxiety continued to stir within their hearts.

But in the next instant they couldn’t help but let some of their anxiety show when Ryouma acted rather vaguely in response to Serge’s introduction.

“Even amongst my subordinates these two are quite exceptional. You could consider them my right hand men. I believe they will be able to serve Ryouma-sama well.” [Serge]
“Oh? They are Serge-san’s right hand men? That’s …” [Ryouma]
At that the two let it slip.
“Is there a problem?” [Karma & Karla]

At those twin’s words, Ryouma hurriedly rationalized.

“No, there are no problems. I was just quite surprised as I hadn’t expected Serge-san’s right hand men to be the ones coming as my assistant.” [Ryouma]

Having been convinced by Ryouma’s answer, at their last murmuring the twins asked another question.

“Is there anything inconvenient about us?” [Karma]
“If there’s anything, then please let us know. After all Ryouma-sama will be our superior from now on.” [Karla]
“While there are no problems in regards to the job. I believe you two are overqualified. Work in the shop isn’t difficult and because of that you two won’t have plenty of opportunities to use your abilities. If I may as to be so blunt, your abilities are wasted here, and so I believe it would be better for you two to work at a more suitable environment.” [Ryouma]

Actually all Ryouma was looking for was someone who would serve as a receptionist and another to carry the clothes. So when he saw Serge bring some exceptional merchants with him, he couldn’t help but think it to be a waste. But at the same time, because of what Ryouma said, the two couldn’t help but to feel down.

Although Ryouma said what he had said out of concern, if someone were to tell you that your abilities weren’t needed, it’s only natural for you to feel down, right?

Seeing the downtrodden look of the two, Grisela and Pioro asked Serge.

“Serge, did you properly explain to these two?” [Grisela]
“Aren’t these two misunderstanding something?” [Pioro]

Serge, having just realized, quickly went to the twins to explain. He then explained that Ryouma’s store isn’t a noble’s toy, and is in fact a business endeavor expected to make a huge profit. So much so that even the head of the merchant guild, Grisela, and the president of another large store, Pioro, were interested. As the twins came to understand the situation, they couldn’t help but shiver at the honor of working here and the amelioration it will bring to their future. As Serge-san finished explaining to them, they turned towards Ryouma, and with great vigor, apologized.

“Please excuse our previous behavior!” [Karma & Karla]
“Because of our inexperience we were unable to fully comprehend Ryouma-sama’s true motive.” [Karla]
“I’m truly sorry for my behavior until now.” [Karma]

“There’s no need to be like that, it’s not like you’ve done anything rude in particular. Besides I understand just how unusual it is for a child my age to hold a store. Also, I too know just how absurd the nobles’ children can be.” [Ryouma]
“You two can stop now. If you guys apologize it will just trouble Ryouma instead. Ryouma really looks like he doesn’t mind so if you really feel sorry just work to the best of your abilities as an apology.” [Grisela]
“Understood!” [Karma & Karla]

When he saw that enthusiasm, Ryouma chuckled.

“But no matter how enthusiastic you are… just like I said a while ago it’s really not that big of a job, you know?” [Ryouma]
“A job to this extent will definitely make a lot!” [Karla]
“We can also take care of the account book and manage the expenses.” [Karma]

But even if they say that, to someone like Ryouma who knows a little of Japan’s ridiculous earning calls and accounting, such things didn’t seem complicated at all.

Moreover, though Ryouma’s store may have plenty of income, the only expenditures his store really has are the bags and daily necessities bought from Serge’s store. Compared to other stores, the accounting here is far simpler.

While he was thinking that, the surrounding were suddenly filled with chattering as 11 people entered the store from two different entrances. They were the members of the adventurer’s guild. 

Today I went to buy a lot of ingredients. I bought vegetables and fruits from the grocery, beef from the butcher, and from a slightly high class store I bought pepper. Lastly, I went to the liquor store to buy alcohol.

Since it’s a rare occasion, I thought I’d splurge a bit on the wine. I told the clerk that I had 3 small gold coins and would like to purchase enough wine for 30 people. Hearing that she recommend to me the wine called, Jamis Spring. 3 small gold coins of that would get me a barrel of it, enough for 1 or 2 drinks per person, so I decided to buy it just as she had recommended me to.

After that I went to the store and did the preparations that I could do for the meal tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s menu includes salad, meat sauce spaghetti, and steak. And for dessert I’ll be serving apple pie.

I was troubled over what to serve but since there was pasta and steak in this world, I went with that. It’s better to choose something safe so as to not unnecessarily cause trouble for myself. Unfortunately though this kind of food doesn’t really feel that suited to parties.

When I think of a party, what generally comes to my mind is pizza. But that food doesn’t exist in this world. 

I went back to the town and decided on the contents of the advertisement. However, there was one thing I couldn’t quite make up my mind on, the name of the store. For some reason the only thing I’m able to come up with are simple stuff…

“Umumumumumu…”

While I was being troubled, Sebasu-san came.

“Ryouma-sama have you come back?” [Sebasu]
“Yes, I’m here.” [Ryouma]

While I was saying that I opened the door.

“Ryouma-sama, the Ojousama would like to know if you’d like to have tea with them.” [Sebasu]
“Alright. I’m not really making any progress now anyway, so I guess I’ll gratefully accept that offer.” [Ryouma]

As I said that, I went to where Elia and the others were.

“We’ve been waiting, Ryouma-san.” [Elia]
“Come, sit, sit.” [Madam]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]

As the teas were distributed, I took a sip. Then Rheinhart-san asked me.

“Looks like you’ve been working hard. Aren’t you overworking yourself?” [Rheinhart]
“A little.” [Ryouma]
“I heard you were making a store. How is it?” [Madam]
“The store’s been mostly completed already. Tomorrow I plan to plant some flower seeds for the lawn and raise it with my wood magic. And then after that, all that’s left is the store’s signboard and the ‘Open’ sign.” [Ryouma]
“Ehh!? You’ve already finished that much!?” [Madam]
“Ryouma-kun, aren’t you pushing yourself too much after all?” [Rheinhart]
“Not at all.” [Ryouma]
“I heard that Ryouma-sama made the building with earth magic, but I wonder how much magic you’ve been using every day?” [Sebasu]
“I stop using magic just a little before the symptoms of magic exhaustion show up. And as for manual labor, I just do what I can.” [Ryouma]

When everyone heard those words, they all sighed.

“Ryouma-kun, that’s exactly what we call working too hard…” [Rheinhart]
“Ryouma-sama’s magic power is right next to Elia-sama’s. For someone who possesses that much magic power to use magic just a little before the symptoms of magic exhaustion show up, would mean that Ryouma-sama is in fact pushing himself too hard. That amount of magic power is equivalent to at least 40 people exhausting their magic. For that amount of work to be carried by one person, it’s definitely too much.” [Sebasu]

Oh yeah, my magic power is abnormally large.

“You’re making a face saying you just realized it now.” [Rheinbach]
“Now I’m worried. Is it really ok for you to work by yourself?” [Madam]
“It’s fine. Something like this can’t be compared at all to the work I did in my previous job.” [Ryouma]
“Previous job? Did you do some kind of work before?” [Elia]
“Eh?” [Ryouma]

Oops! I accidentally said it, but even if I tell them now that I worked as a programmer they wouldn’t understand, right?… I guess I’ll tell them about my part-time job.

“I did quite a few things… like carrying stuff, or making dolls…” [Ryouma]
“Ryouma-san, you don’t think working is difficult?’ [Elia]
“There were also times where I thought it was difficult… but if I don’t work I won’t be able to live. And also, it’s not like everything is painful. When I said I carried stuff, it was actually the raw materials in a construction site. And though it’s tough work, I think it’s interesting to see the building slowly being constructed. There’s also that feeling of achieving something whenever something was completed. And as for my work involving dolls, all I did was color the parts in the color that I was told to, but even then, whenever we were able to complete one I felt happy.” [Ryouma]
“I see. In the future I’d also like to do those kind of work.” [Elia]

Eh? Elia is going to work? Even though she’s the daughter of a duke?

As I was thinking that, Elia said something unthinkable.

“Oh right! Ryouma-san, since I want to see you making a doll anyway. How about making me one?” [Elia]
“Eh? Ah, umm, that’s…” [Ryouma]

Not good!! I made some for my hobbies and sometimes for profit, but this is really bad for all sort of reasons! While it’s true I accepted any requests and made a bunch of dolls, there’s no way these people will understand. Besides there are things that shouldn’t be shown to a young girl like Elia…

“Is something the matter?” [Elia]
“All I did was paint dolls, so making the doll itself is a bit…” [Ryouma]

Please give up with this!!

“But isn’t Ryouma-san really good with earth magic? In that case, why don’t you just make the doll’s body with earth magic?” [Elia]

… All of the sudden earth magic doesn’t seem all that convenient…

I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s try to make something that won’t offend anyone.

“I understand. I’ll make it next time.” [Ryouma]
“Really!? Thank you so much” [Elia]
“Sebasu-san, where could I purchase art materials?” [Ryouma]
“If Ryouma-sama is in need, then I’ll have it prepared tomorrow.” [Sebasu]
“Thank you very much. I also want to use it for my shop’s signboard, so please provide plenty of paint. Of course, I’ll pay.” [Ryouma]
“Understood.” [Sebasu]

After that we spent the rest of the time together chatting, then I went back to my room. They reminded me again not to overwork myself so I guess I have to be careful.

Speaking of which, what should I do about the store’s name? I should probably make it simple, huh?

‘Clean a goblin’s filth, cheap and easy! Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest’
… yeah, let’s go with this.

Day 8 of the Construction

I thanked Sebasu-san as I got the materials I asked for, then I went to the guild.

When I entered the guild, the receptionist, Meilin-san, called out to me.

“Oh! Ryouma-kun, how are you? I was quite worried, you know? You didn’t drop by the guild at all after the subjugation request finished.” [Meilin]
“Sorry about that. I was really busy.” [Ryouma]
“You’re making a store, right? I heard from the guild master. That’s really amazing for someone of your age.” [Meilin]
“Thank you very much. By the way, there was something I wanted to ask regarding that.” [Ryouma]
“What is it? [Meilin]
“I heard it was possible to advertise somewhere in the bulletin board of the guild. Is it true?” [Ryouma]
“Advertise? There’s no such service in the guild. Most likely what you heard was, ‘that’.” [Meilin]

As Meilin-san said that, she pointed her finger over to a corner of the guild where a small bulletin board stood.

“It’s a bulletin board for recruiting parties. Whenever you need a party, you can write about yourself and the kind of people you need there. As for a bulletin board that advertises stores, we don’t have any.” [Meilin]
“I see, thank you very much.” [Ryouma]

Since things turned out this way, does that mean I don’t have any choice but to laboriously advertise by word of mouth? I can’t distribute leaflets either…

While paper is cheap enough in this world to be used daily, there’s still a problem with producing lots of it, so if I were to use up a huge amount of it, it won’t be cheap.

Toilet papers are an exception though. In the past there was a man (most likely an other-worlder) who created a magic tool that creates toilet paper and tooth brushes, which spread throughout the world.

But I digress… going back to the topic.

“Oh, right. Can you go over to the guild master? He told me to tell you to go there the next time you dropped by, you see.” [Meilin]
“Alright. I’ll go the guild master now then.” [Ryouma]

When I got to the guild master’s room, he welcomed me with a smile.

“Ryouma! You finally came!” [Wogan]
“I’ve been devoting myself to the store, still, it’s only been a week, you know?” [Ryouma]
“Right. I’m sorry for the short notice, but mind taking care of the cleaning job for the latrine pits again?” [Wogan]
“What’s wrong?” [Ryouma]
“I talked to you about it before, right? About those guys who start complaining early. The thing is, in only one week those guys came and started complaining again.

Do you still remember the Fang of Orbtem? I made those guys clean as much as the penal regulations would allow, but as soon as the subjugation request ended, those annoying guys came and started complaining saying it’s no good.

A week passed and their grumbling just got worse. Looks like the five months before you came here was really tough. Having had enough of that experience, they came here desperately complaining that they want the latrine pits so clean that there’s no smell.” [Wogan]

Uwaah… did I make it too clean? Maybe I did, and because of that their living environment leveled up. And now they don’t want to go back to the way it was before anymore. Then again… they did suffer for 5 months…

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand. After all, that smell really was horrible. I understand, I’ll set off immediately.” [Ryouma]
“I’m counting on you.” [Wogan]

I was planning to take the job from the start anyway, so I accepted it, and then quickly cleaned up the latrine pits.

After I finished cleaning it, I reported to the guild, got my recompense, and headed back to the store.

I then ordered the scavenger slimes to use, ‘Return Nutrients’, making it spit out the nutrients it got from what it’s eaten in the form of fertilizer. I mixed it with the soil around the store, planted the flowers in the lawn, and after watering the soil, I went back to my lodging.

I’ll raise it tomorrow.

Day 9 of the Construction

I go to the store in the morning, and water the soil with my water magic, ‘Water’. Then afterwards I use the wood magic, ‘Grow’, on the seeds I’d planted yesterday, to make them grow faster. 3 hours after I started using the magic, the area surrounding the store blossomed into a fresh and green lawn, finally allowing the store to have that lively feeling I wanted it to have.

Though this magic is quite useful, it takes quite a bit of concentration to use. Moreover, if the nutrients and moisture of the soil is insufficient, then the practitioner will have to make up for that with his magic power, increasing the magic cost. Naturally, by using this magic to speed up the growth of the seed, the soil’s nutrients will be used up faster. In the end, without being able to make the seeds grow up, the practitioner is left with no choice but to wait some time for the seeds to grow. It’s really not easy to use. If it wasn’t for my scavenger slimes, there’s no way I would’ve been able to turn this wide of an area into a fresh and green lawn.

After that I cut the part of the lawn that grew too much with the wind magic, ‘Circle Saw’. At the same time, I had the scavenger eat the cut parts. With this I’ve finished preparing the surroundings. All that’s left is for me to start working on the signboard.

So I take out a plank of wood, and coat it in white. On it I write, ‘Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest’. On its two sides I drew 竹林 (Takebayashi) and on its base, I drew the picture of a slime. Afterwards I dried the board and coated it with the waterproof treatment, giving it a polished exterior.

At the same time, I prepared the price list of the store, created various things for the store, and then ran some final checks to make sure everything’s good to go.

Hmm… everything’s almost complete, but I think I should run some actual tests. How about calling Jeff-san and the others over? Right! Let’s go with that and call over the people I know. Also I might as well include with that the celebration for completing the store.

Having made up my mind, I stopped by Serge-san’s store before going home. He did prepare the essentials for starting the store.

“Welcome Ryouma-sama.” [Serge]
“Good evening Serge-san. Going straight to the point, today I’ve finally completed the store.” [Ryouma]
“Is that true!? That is really quite fast Ryouma-sama…” [Serge]
“Yes. I was told by the people I know at the adventurer’s guild that they were anxiously waiting for it, so in these past week I’ve been doing my best building the store. Since the building’s already been completed, I thought I’d gather the people I know for the store’s debut and to test it out.” [Ryouma]

“In other words, the last checks before opening the store for business, right?” [Serge]
“Exactly. I plan to open the store the day after that, and afterwards I thought of having a light meal while celebrating the opening of the store. If you don’t mind, I’d also like for you to come, however, is your schedule free on that day?” [Ryouma]
“Thank you for inviting me. As for my schedule, I have something planned for tomorrow, but I don’t have anything planned for the next two weeks starting the day after tomorrow. At that time, I’ll be perfectly fine with whatever schedule is good for Ryouma-sama.” [Serge]
“Thank you very much. I’ll decide after speaking with my acquaintances.” [Ryouma]

“Ryouma-sama, would it be alright if I were to bring two other people with me?” [Serge]
“Yes, there won’t be any problems. By any chance are you referring to Pioro-san and the guild master?” [Ryouma]
“No, actually, I wanted to take two of my employees. Ryouma-sama is working as an adventurer, so I thought I’d introduce some people who can assist. And so, in order for them to get used to the work quickly, I thought it would be good to introduce them early.” [Serge]
“Thank you for your kind efforts.” [Ryouma]

Oh right… there was that thing, wasn’t there? Where I decided I’d make a place for the employees to sleep in. Ah… I forgot about the things regarding the employees. As an adventurer I can’t do everything by myself, so this is really quite important. I am really grateful for this.

After that I gave my thanks and then left the store. The next stop was the adventurer’s guild, where I talked the same thing with Meilin-san and the guild master. Hearing about their schedule, they’re apparently free 3 days from now. I also called over to Jeff-san’s group and everyone that participated in that epidemic prevention operation, and it seems that they’ll be coming too. I’ll drop by again tomorrow.

After that I went to the merchant guild. As I was about to ask the receptionist to send a message to the guild master, I was instead brought into the reception room. It seems that this accommodation is the result of paying a lot for the business rights.

“You came. It’s been a week since then. Is your work going well?” [Grisela]
“Yes, thanks to your help. In fact I’ve already finished the building.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? You’ve already finished it? Although it also depends on the quality of the building, still, you’re quite a good carpenter, huh?” [Grisela]
“I can’t build anything else aside from simple constructions you know?” [Ryouma]
“That’s more than enough. After all, there’s no one who’d ask for elaborate houses outside of nobles and eccentrics.” [Grisela]
“So that’s why.” [Ryouma]

“Did you come to report the completion of the store today?” [Grisela]
“Yes, but other than that, three days from now I’m going to test out the store by taking jobs from only the people I know. And then afterwards I thought to celebrate the completion of the store while having some snacks. I’ve been taken care of quite a bit by guild master, so if you wouldn’t mind.” [Ryouma]
“You’re inviting me?” [Grisela]
“I can’t prepare anything special, and there will be other people too, so if it’s alright with you.” [Ryouma]

“Hee hee hee, an easy going party is good, right? It’s happier that way. Because of my position, I haven’t been called into something like that for a while now. Even if I do get invited into a party that seems carefree, that’s only on the outside, and it’s actually really stiff. But since adventurers are going to be coming, it’s going to be a real carefree party, right?” [Grisela]
“Yes, besides I’m also bad with formal events. In those cases even people’s kindness are just to keep up appearances.” [Ryouma]
“Alright, I got it. 3 days, right?” [Grisela]
“Yes. That’s the plan. I still have to confirm it with the others, but once I’ve confirmed it, I’ll leave a message here at the guild. Also, could you tell me how to contact Pioro-san? I’d also like to invite him if he has the time.” [Ryouma]

“Pioro? If it’s three days from now, then he’ll be fine. That guy holds a different town, you see. But he’s staying here using tomorrow’s meeting as a pretext to come here and get a vacation. From tomorrow onwards he won’t have anything to do for a while. So I’ll just let Pioro know for you.” [Grisela]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]

I give my thanks to the guild master, and then leave the merchant guild.

After that I went back to the lodging and then invited Elia and the others to the store’s preopening. When I did so, they were delighted and it was decided that all the four members of the duke’s household, along with Aro-ne-san, Lilian-san, and Sebasu-san will be coming. Oh, and the four guards, Jill-san and the rest, will also be coming.

With this the people attending will be Elia’s 11 + adventurer guild’s 11 + merchant guild’s 5, totaling to 27 people. If you include me, then it’ll be 28. As for where we’ll be holding the celebration, I figured it would be fine if I used the employee’s lounge for that.

After that, I confirmed the schedule with the adventurers, and then contacted the rest.

Day 10

As I went to the guild to confirm, it’s been decided that everyone will be participating. The guild master and Meilin-san were a given, but as for the 9 it seems that they took tomorrow off and are also coming.

Hearing that, I left a message at Serge-san’s store and the guild that the preopening will be in the morning the day after tomorrow, and the celebration will be the afternoon of that day.

After that, I ran some rounds in the mine, killed some monsters along the way, and then went back to the lodging. After I let Elia and the rest know about the plan 2 days from now, I retired to bed. 

I’ll update the previous chapter shortly after I post this chapter.

Volume 2 Chapter 7

Day 3 of the Construction

From what I’d thought up last night with my architecture skill, my store will be two stories high with a basement underneath. Since according to my architecture skill that’s the limit.

Using my earth magic, ‘Create Block, I dug a basement and made some rocks for construction at the same time. Afterwards I let the some slimes carry the rocks.

And then with my earth magic, ‘Create Block’ and an application of the architecture skill’s knowledge, ‘Pavement’, I changed the surface of the earth into a strong foundation.

It feels like I just pushed the earth together, creating an entirely flat surface of land without any cracked or hollowed parts. Anyway with this I’ve finished preparing the foundation.

Back in Earth, it was still necessary to arrange the bars in between the base concrete and the levelling concrete, but according to my architecture skill this world doesn’t have that. Hmm… I wonder if it’ll be alright.

… Well, it’ll probably be fine. After all, the knowledge I have in construction just came from my part-time so it’s shallow to begin with, and that kind of stuff doesn’t seem to be present in the knowledge of this world. Anyways, for the meantime, it’s good that I’ve finally managed to complete the foundation of the building. And also, the other buildings around here also use the same knowledge, so it’ll probably be fine. If I do something strange I’ll just get attention, and if it’s half-baked and something bad happens it’ll be a problem, so let’s just say that it’s fine.

After that I used the rock I’d just made a while ago along with the sticky slime’s hardening liquid to serve as replacement for cement. This part of the construction proceeded smoothly without magic.

Next, I used magic to create some stone pillars. I also used magic to create the basement and its walls, the floor of the first floor, and the part that will become the wall outside.

Magic is really useful. To actually manipulate lumber this much, and I hadn’t even used one suit. I installed the walls and the stone pillars inside the box of stone and then reinforced it. It’s simple, but I know that’s its durable enough.

When I saw the pillars made of stone, for a moment I thought of turning it into a pillar like those in the old temples I’d seen in a text book once in my student days, but then I decided not to. There’s no point even if I were to put something that pompous in the basement.

Lastly, I used ‘Smooth Pavement’ on the area that was going to be the stores interior. This magic is different from ‘Pavement’. This is a magic that focuses on smoothness rather than durability. With this magic I can make the floor look as smooth as marble.
Anyway, it’s late now and I’ve used up quite a bit of my magic power too, so I guess I’ll end today here.

Day 4 of the Construction

I divided the first floor with walls made out of rock and hardening liquid. After that I also went to make the second floor. I made it smooth just like I did yesterday. After this I went back home.

Day 5 of the Construction

Today I’m going to make the ceiling and arrange the interiors. So I cut down a tree from near the mine and then shaped it with magic according to the knowledge from my woodworking skill.

I remove the water of the tree using alchemy little by little. Then using the wind magic, Wind Cutter, I imagine the chain saw back in Earth inside my head as I create a new kind of wind magic called, ‘Circle Saw’. With that I cut off several planks of wood. After that I combined earth and wind magic to use the magic, ‘Polish Wheel’, and using that I made the surface of the planks pretty.

With ‘Polish Wheel’, I imagine ‘Break Rock’ making sand, and the wind magic, ‘Circle Saw’ rotating quickly on its surroundings. This magic can’t cut things, it can only polish. There’s sand inside the wind that is spinning very quickly, which will polish the surface its acting on.

Anyway, next, I dried the trees with alchemy. Unfortunately, though, because I took out all the water too quickly, there were many whose shapes have been warped. Well I’m not going to turn these things into pillars anyways, so I guess it’ll be fine.

After I managed to turn them into lumbers, I ended the day.

Day 6 of the Construction

I made some shelves and counters with the lumber I made yesterday. Then I used the sticky liquid to varnish it, and then I dried it.

I also stuck some planks to the walls with the sticky liquid.

While a building made out of stone is fine. For a store, the kind of feeling a building like that exudes is just too heavy.

Along with sticking some planks to the walls, I also used earth magic to modify the affixed planks. Like this I was able to make the interior feel like it’s made out of wood.

It was around this time that I suddenly noticed the cleaner slimes acting strange.

Eh, it’s eating the trash and the wood cuts from the construction? Although they eat filth, they’ve never eaten trash by themselves… scavenger slimes have, but… huh? Isn’t it eating right now? Wait, it’s eating it, then throwing it over to one place… wait a moment, it’s cleaning!

As I quickly used ‘Identify Monster’ on the cleaner slimes I noticed that it had a new skill called, ‘Cleaning Duty’. There was actually this kind of skill? Or rather, slimes were able to learn skills? To think I that would find out just now. Oh wait, there were slimes that learned how to use staff techniques, right?

Ah, whatever. I don’t really have any problems with it.

After that, whenever I ran out of planks I cut them, and then left the size and shape up to the acid slimes. Because of this the pace sped up again.

Looking at the lumbers the acid slimes had made, I felt like they did a good job.

Day 7 of the Construction

I arranged the part of the interior that can be seen by the customers. Then after that was the exterior. The exterior is exactly the same color as the color of a hardened block of soil. Although there’s nothing particularly wrong with it, when it comes to business I kind of want to change it.

A laundromat. In other words a store that does laundry. When I imagine that kind of store, what comes to my mind is a white store. I want to paint the outer walls white. I can’t do anything about this with earth magic, so I went over to Serge-san’s place to ask.

“You want the walls painted white?” [Serge]
“Is it not possible?” [Ryouma]
“It’s possible, only, it’s not a color that gets used a lot by stores. White stones are expensive, and it’s easy to get dirty, so it’s mostly used in the nobles’ mansions.” [Serge]
“That’s true… but thinking about the current color of the walls, I think white looks cleaner compared to the color of the soil.” [Ryouma]
“I agree with you on that point. However, because there aren’t really plenty of demand for it, there’s not much in stock.” [Serge]
“I see…” [Ryouma]

I wonder if white is impossible… wait a moment… isn’t this town a mining town with a mine?

“Serge-san, does this mining town also have a place that deals with iron?” [Ryouma]
“There is, however, what are you planning to do with it?” [Serge]
“If there is, then they must use quicklime in their manufacturing process, right?” [Ryouma]
“As expected of Ryouma-sama, you’re well informed. They are using the quicklime to remove the impurities from the iron.” [Serge]
“Would it be possible to acquire some of that quicklime? If possible, cheaply.” [Ryouma]
“Yes, it’s possible. Since it isn’t expensive to begin with, and my store actually deals with quicklime.” [Serge]
“I see, that’s good to hear. If I were to harden quicklime with my earth magic, I might be able to make white stone cheaply.” [Ryouma]

There won’t be any problems with the color if it’s quicklime. It’s also used in Japan as ingredient for mortar, so there shouldn’t be any problems with using it. While it’s unfortunate that I don’t have any knowledge regarding how to make mortar, it’s good enough that I can turn it into a block with my earth magic. After that if I were to varnish it with the sticky slime’s sticky liquid, it should become quite easy to clean.

It seems Serge-san didn’t’ think of this.

After that I received the quicklime from Serge-san. As I tried out my idea it turned out that just as I had predicted, it was possible to turn the quicklime into a building stone with ‘Create Block’.

Serge-san showed a little interest when he realized he could get white stones at a low price and bought what he could as he quickly took his leave. He’s a nice guy, but right now I want to focus on building my store.

Today, I ended up buying a huge bulk of quicklime from Serge-san.

When I got back to the store, I was just about to stick the white stones on the wall when I suddenly thought of something.

I took out one normal building block and lightly spread on it the sticky slime’s sticky liquid. And then on top of that, I used the magic, ‘Smooth Pavement’, on the quicklime. As I did so, as if it was wrapping itself around it, the normal building block became a smooth white building block.

Quicklime coating success!

Right after that I quickly mobilized my sticky slimes and had them creep the walls to cover it in sticky liquid. And with my ‘Smooth Pavement’ I was able to coat the outer walls white.

I was able to finish it way easier this way than by making blocks, but because of that I ended up not using most of the quicklime. Because I had a surplus of quicklime, I decided to stop coating the outer walls with the sticky liquid.

Since it would be hard on the slimes if I were to do the whole thing one more time, and since it also won’t take that much effort, then I guess it’ll be fine to just recoat the wall when it gets too dirty.

Like this I put away the large excess of quicklime inside my Dimension Home.

The pace was ridiculously fast and the store’s been mostly made now… only, now that the store has been made, it’s kind of lonely to just leave the surrounding land bare.

I want to plant some plants on the lawn, but… oh yeah, why don’t I go ask my neighbor with a flower shop? I might be able to buy something. If I do buy, I should take care of it with my wood magic.

As soon as I got to the store, a voice called out to me.

“Welcome–! Ah, Ryouma!” [Lenny]
“Good morning, …Lenny-san” [Ryouma]

I almost forgot her name.

“You don’t need to attach a san. Besides I’m also younger, so just call me Lenny. Well, what’re you here for?” [Lenny]
“Then, Lenny, I want to buy some seeds to plant in my lawn.” [Ryouma]
“Alright, we have several kinds. Just wat a moment. Mooooom!” [Lenny]

As Lenny went inside the store, she called out in a loud voice. Poline-san was talking by the counter with two other women when she heard that loud voice.

“What’s all the ruckus for? It’s immodest you know?” [Poline]
“It’s because mom’s too caught up chatting! But forget that, we have a customer!” [Lenny]
“Oh? Well if it isn’t Ryouma. Did you come to buy something?” [Poline]
“Oh, so that kid’s Ryouma?” [Woman]
“Even though he’s this small, amazing, huh?” [Woman]

For some reason even the women Poline-san was chatting with, came over. For the meantime let’s greet them.

“Hello, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? You really are polite. I’d also like my kids to learn that. I’m Chiara by the way.” [Chiara]
“I’m Mary. It’s nice to meet you. Also, I’ve been hearing rumors of you.” [Mary]
“Rumors?” [Ryouma]

Eh? What kind of rumors?

“You’ve always been building a store around here, right? Well it turned out to be better than expected, so it got spread around that you’re an amazing magician.” [Poline]
“I’m not amazing, you know? I’ve always been using magic that could be used in day-to-day life, so this kind of job is my specialty.” [Ryouma]
“To be able to make something that robust, that’s plenty amazing. There’s also the rumor that you have a lot of slimes with you.” [Poline]
“Oh that one’s true.” [Ryouma]
“We know. After all we saw it with our own eyes.” [Chiara]
“We saw a lot of slimes carrying the stones Ryouma-kun was using.” [Mary]
“Oh, so you saw that.” [Ryouma]

“It was my first time seeing slimes move like that. They just kept coming.” [Chiara]
“There’re plenty of slave magic users other than you, but I’ve never seen any slave monsters like yours. By the way you said that you wanted to buy something, right? What do you want to buy?’ [Poline]
“I want something I can plant in my lawn. Do you have any?” [Ryouma]
“We do. The price will depend on what kind you buy. If it’s for your lawn, a bag will cost you 130 suits. How much do you need?” [Poline]
“I would like to purchase enough to cover the land around the store I’d just built.” [Ryouma]

As I was trying to think of how much I actually needed, Poline-san offered to help me.

“Mind showing me the store? I’ll give you advice.” [Poline]
“Oh, thank you very much.” [Ryouma]

As I said that, I brought Poline-san over. Lenny, Chiara-san, and Mary-san also came.

And then when the four saw my store, they stopped in their tracks and closely stared at it.

“Is something the matter?” [Ryouma]
“I was just a little bit surprised. This morning, the store had a different color, right?” [Poline]
“When we came around before it still had the color of the soil.” [Mary]

Ahh, so that’s why.

“Just a while ago I painted it with magic. It’s a laundromat after all, so I thought its color didn’t feel ‘clean’ enough. So I bought some quicklime and with earth magic painted it.” [Ryouma]
“Haa~ you’re really skilled.” [Poline]
“Certainly, this way is prettier.” [Mary]
“You’re opening a laundromat, right? I wonder if I should also try it out. After all if I could save time on washing clothes, then I could have more time doing the chores.” [Chiara]
“By all means, please do come. Since we’ve just gotten to know each other, I’ll offer to let you use the laundry free of charge, once.” [Ryouma]

As I said that, I took out 2 bags from the item box and distributed it to them. After all, making use of opportunities like this to get customers is a must.

After that I got from Poline-san the seeds I needed. 15 bags of seeds for the lawn, and 2 bags of flower seeds.

I’ll sow these tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I feel like I’ve heard from someone before that it’s possible to advertise on the bulletin board of the guild…

I also need to get the scavenger slimes make me some fertilizer… so I guess I’ll go to the guild tomorrow.

Since that’s the case I’ll have to go home quickly and think of an advertisement… 

Also I’m not sure whether that girl talking right underneath Miya is Mizelia or Wereanna. She’s not doing any of Wereanna’s pattern (アタイ, カイ, もん… those kind of stuff), so I just wrote it there as Mizelia since that’s the only other female in their group that speaks colloquial.

Volume 2 Chapter 6

Day 5 of the Monster Subjugation
Day 1 of the Construction

As I was having my lunch break, Wereanna-san and the others came over. Behind them, were Asagi-san, Jeff-san, and Raypin-san. Everyone seemed to be covered in blood.

“Ryouma, please save me, nya…” [Miya]
“Can you get rid of all this blood with your cleaner slime? It’s so stinky, I can’t stand it.” [Mizelia]
“Goblins? You did something showy again, huh?” [Ryouma]

As I said that, I ordered the cleaner slimes to clean all seven of them.

“Ah~ I’m finally clean… Ryouma-kun, your slimes are really convenient.” [Mizelia]
“You’ve saved me, de gozaru. Leaving it like that would have made it really difficult to get lunch, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
“Good grief, Jeff makes these things so complicated, de aru.” [Raypin]
“Didn’t I already apologize?” [Jeff]

I waited for them as they went to get some food. When they came back we chatted over lunch. Apparently they found a new goblin nest built by the remnants of the goblins we killed, and went to crush it. The nest was around the size that could be destroyed by seven people along with a few others.

Part of the reason why they were covered in blood was the goblin subjugation. But more than that, while they were dealing with the corpses, Jeff-san gathered the corpses by piercing a corpse, dragging it, and then throwing it over to one place.

It’s great that he was able to quickly gather the corpses, but it just so happens that while they were planning to go back, that pile of corpses suddenly fell over, and came crashing at them.

Even though they had tried to dodge the falling corpses, they were unable to dodge the spurts of blood. Raypin-san in particular, who couldn’t be said to have good motor reflexes, took a direct hit.

“It must have been rough…” [Ryouma]
“Seriously. If it wasn’t for Ryouma, we would have eaten our lunch while we stank and continued our job like that.” [Jeff]
“To be able to clean a goblin’s filth this easily, that’s really amazing.” [Syria]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]

At that, I remembered that I haven’t talked to them about the new events regarding the laundromat, so I decided to talk to them about it.

“By the way three days ago, I talked to you guys about a laundromat, right?” [Ryouma]
“I remember. What about it?” [Jeff]
“It’s been decided that I’ll be doing that from now on.” [Ryouma]
“Seriously? From what time?” [Jeff]
“I haven’t made the preparations for the store yet, so it’ll still take some time. As for the price, it’s just as we’ve discussed before, it’ll be at 1 medium copper coin.” [Ryouma]

“Store? So you’re going to have a shop, de aru?” [Raypin]
“When I went over to the place of a merchant I knew, to look for some bags. We talked for a bit, and because he expects me to make a lot of profit from this business, he feared that a problem might come if I don’t register to the guild.

I had some reward for subjugating bandits in the past, so when I went to register at the guild, I used that to buy a plot of land. As for the employees, I can get them from the guild, but I’ve also been told by the merchant I’ve talked with, that he’ll be providing them for me. Like this, I’ll still be able to continue working as an adventurer.” [Ryouma]

“I see. I’m a bit surprised to know that you have a shop at that age, but when I try thinking about it, it seems obvious, de aru. Adventurers like us who know about Ryouma’s slime’s ability will undoubtedly come to make use of your services, de aru. Moreover, if word of it were to get out, there’s no way you’d be able to accommodate that many people without a store, de aru.” [Raypin]
“I don’t think anything is impossible, but even so, you’ll definitely find less time to work as an adventurer.” [Syria]
“I was really surprised to see it become far bigger than I’d expected, but it would be nice if I could keep up my job as an adventurer. The store hasn’t opened yet, but please do make use of my services. There’s also a discount for those that come in groups.’ [Ryouma]
“Really? Then I wonder who I should invite…” [Mizelia]
“Ryouma-kun already looks like a merchant, nya.” [Miya]
“Because he’s always been talking politely, there’s nothing unusual at all about the way he talks, de gozaru.” [Asagi]

We chatted like that while we ate. After I finished my job in the afternoon, I went back to the town. Then, I paid Serge-san a visit and went over to check out the plot of land I’d bought.

“This will become Ryouma-sama’s.” [Serge]
“It really is big, huh?” [Ryouma]

What was in front of me was a two story building that has crumbled. The empty space was only slightly smaller than that of an elementary school’s baseball practice area. I guess it’s around 20m x 100m? If it’s just the size, then it should be even bigger than Serge’s store.

I thought it would be a bit narrower when I’d seen it from the map, but…

“I believe Ryouma-sama is already aware that there was a bar here before, but aside from that there was also an inn. The cause of the fire was apparently a customer’s carelessness.

They tried to split the land and sell it, but when the prospective buyers had thought of the cost of removing the debris, they all declined. Because of that, it wasn’t bought for a long time, and as time passed the state of the land became even worse, making it even less desirable to buy. This vicious cycle continued until Ryouma-sama finally purchased it.” [Serge]
“I see… is it really ok for me to do as I please with this?” [Ryouma]
“Yes. Please feel free to do as you wish, as long as it is within your premises. Are you going to start today?” [Serge]
“Thank you very much. I think I’ll start working on the weeds and the demolition a little bit now.” [Ryouma]

I took out the scavenger slimes from my Dimension Home, and had them eat the weeds. While they were doing that, I entered the building and put up a sound proof barrier. I then went up to the upper floor and started slowly destroying the roof. After that, I used the magic, ‘Break Rock’, on the stone walls on the side, turning it into soil as I threw it out.

And then I used the wind magic, ‘Wind Cutter’ to cut the pillars and disassemble the building little by little. Because of the effects of the Lv. 3 skill, ‘Architecture’, I was able to know where I should do what, in order to demolish the building.

My ‘Architecture’ skills came about from my part-time job where I just did what I was told, but since coming here, even the knowledge regarding designs have been included. Because of that as long as the building is simple enough, if I put in effort I can demolish it.

The architecture skill is amazing. And as for magic? Super useful.

After around an hour, I managed to get rid of half of the weeds, as well as finish half of the demolition work. It’s gotten quite late already, so I decided to go back home.

By the way, Serge-san had been watching me do my work intently right from the start. Seeing the pace at which I worked at, he was greatly shocked. Thanks to my slimes and my huge magic power, I was able to bulldoze my way through. Of course it’d be fast.

6th day of the Monster Subjugation
2nd Day of the Construction

The monster subjugation in the mine has finally ended today.

“A lot of things happened, but with this, the request has been completed,” [Wogan]
Said the guild master to everyone.

From here on, this will be under my management. I’ll be very busy, but I have to do my best. At the very least, until I start leave on the other side, I need to patrol this place at least once a week.

As I was thinking that, the guild master called me.

“Ryouma, come with me for a bit.” [Wogan]
“Yes.” [Ryouma]
“Good job today. The corpses of the monsters are at the usual place. And also because you’ve completed this request, you are now officially an E Rank… Lastly, from what I’ve heard from the butler of the duke, you’re going to be managing this mine, right?’ [Wogan]
“Yes, that’s correct.” [Ryouma]
“If it’s you, then I think it’ll be fine, but be careful. If you can’t do something by yourself, say it. That report is also a part of your job after all.” [Wogan]
“Got it.” [Ryouma]
“Still, to actually refuse the duke’s support and become independent, you sure make some crazy decisions, huh?” [Wogan]
“I realized that I’ve been depending on others a bit too much, so I thought I should try focusing my mind.” [Ryouma]

“You’re a brat you know? Don’t push yourself. Also, I heard that you’re apparently starting up a laundromat with your cleaner slimes… is that for real?” [Wogan]
“It’s true, but how did you find out about it?” [Ryouma]
“It’s become quite a famous rumor amongst the adventurers here who took the subjugation request. They know about your cleaner slime, so they seem to be waiting for the store to open.” [Guild Master]
“I see, then in that case I’ll have to hurry up with the construction. It’s being built with my magic, so please just wait a little bit more.” [Ryouma]

“I can also use your services, right? In that case, I want to know what the price will be.” [Wogan]
“Of course, anyone can use it. The price is 1 medium copper coin per bag. And then, there are two options targeted at groups of people. Those options provide a discount.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? Then putting it bluntly, if I were to gather my staff, how much of a benefit will those options be?” [Wogan]
“Comparing the payment one would pay in a week for the individual course to the biggest course, the price one would pay person will go down by around 20%.” [Ryouma]
“It’s that cheap?” [Wogan]
“Yes. Since to begin with I thought of this as a way to make some extra coins, at least enough to live on, during my spare time as an adventurer. Because of that I’m selling my services at a low price. Also, the discount isn’t limited to first timers. As long as one takes the course, then one will get the discount as many times as they use it.” [Ryouma]
“Then in that case, I guess I’ll have to call a bunch of people over, huh?” [Wogan]
“Thank you for your consideration.” [Ryouma]

After we finished talking, I went back to the town and continued disassembling the building. Because I was able to get more time today compared to yesterday, I was able to completely finish the building’s disassembly and the weed’s removal. After that I looked over the direction of the street and noticed that several kids were surrounding me from a distance. I ended up going nuts over my work again, so I didn’t realize them at all.

Trying not to scare them, I walked towards them, and then spoke up.

“You need something?” [Ryouma]

Within that group of kids, a remarkably young boy replied.

“You’re not from around here, right? Who are you!?” [Boy]

Because of those belligerent words, the young girl beside the boy scolded him and the boy who seemed to be the oldest among them apologized.

“Rick! That’s rude!” [Girl]
“Sorry all of the sudden. Rick is a bit of a rascal you see. Also, sorry for getting in the way of your work.” [Oldest looking boy]
“Not at all. Actually, I hadn’t notice you guys at all because I was too caught up in my work. And I’m almost about to finish, so it’s not a problem.” [Ryouma]
“Really? Thank you. You’re quite amazing, huh? Even though you don’t look that much older than me, you can actually use magic to that extent.” [Oldest looking boy]
“Oniichan, magician?” [Child]
“Adventurer?” [Child]

The children around me bombarded me with questions.
As I was about to answer them while I was panicking, a woman’s voice flew over.

“Calm down for a moment! If you all ask at the same time like that, that kid won’t be able to answer!” [Woman]

Facing towards the direction of that voice, what stood there was a woman with a good physique.

“Sorry about that. My kids and the kids in the neighborhood bothered you.” [Woman]
“Oh, there’s no such thing, please don’t worry. And also, thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? You’re quite polite for your age. Are you an adventurer?” [Woman]
“Yes, I’ve just registered some few days ago.” [Ryouma]
“I see, do your best, ok? Did you receive some sort of request today? It seems the rubble here has been cleaned out, but…” [Woman]

“No. I’m going to be opening a laundromat here to make money during my spare time as an adventurer, and so I came here today to build that store. Are you perhaps living near here?” [Ryouma]
“Yes. We’re all living in the residential area near here. Also, I work at a flower shop near here.” [Woman]
“I see. Then in that case I guess we’ll become neighbors. It’s a pleasure to meet you. In the future please feel free to call out to me.” [Ryouma]
“It’s fine it’s fine, no need to mind me. Rather than that, you said you were making a laundromat, right? If I were to pay, you’d wash my laundry?” [Woman]
“Yes.” [Ryouma]

I take out a bag that’s catered to individuals from my ‘Item Box’ and then begin explaining.

“This is a bag for home use. I will wash the clothes you put in this bag for 1 medium copper coin.”

As I said that, the woman appeared to show interest.

“This 1 bag for 1 piece of medium copper coin? That’s quite cheap.” [Woman]
“If you’d like, when the laundromat opens I can give you some service and wash one of these bags for free. Your neighbors as well.” [Ryouma]
“Really? Then, I guess I’ll try it out once. I’m Poline by the way. And this rascal of a boy is my son, Rick. While this tomboy over here is Lenny.” [Woman]
“I’m rick. I don’t mind making you my henchman.” [Younger looking boy]
“What stupid thing are you saying!? I’m sorry. My name is Lenny, it’s nice to meet you.” [Young girl]
“And I’m Toll, nice to meet you.” [Older looking boy]
“I’m Ryouma Takebayashi, It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” [Ryouma]

After that we talked about the neighborhood around here. When we finished, I gave my thanks and then went back home.

At the lodging I began the design for my building. As I thought about it, I figured that making the entire land a store would be too big. So I decided to make half a store, a quarter of the land as lodging for the employees, and the remaining quarter as a backyard.

Well even though I say it’s a backyard, I’m not really going to do anything with it. At most I’ll just make some walls and get rid of the weeds. 

Don’t know if this is a coincidence but:
Grisela from (グリシエーラ)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grisela

Also the deposit-reward thing is like a tip to the person who helped you get housing or something, I think.

Volume 2 Chapter 5

4th Day of the Monster Subjugation

Just like yesterday, I went to the mine to kill off some monsters, then went back to the town. As soon as I got back, I went straight to Serge-san’s place.

“Good evening Serge-san.” – Ryouma
“I’ve been waiting Ryouma-sama. Shall we go?” – Serge

We rode the carriage that Serge-san had prepared. And with it we went to the merchant guild that was just a little bit south of the town’s center. The merchant guild’s building was big but plain. When we got in, there were people, but they were sparse.

We walked towards the receptionist lady, but as soon as we got to her, she immediately let us go into the back room. It seems that this guild treats Serge-san very well. Then again he is the president of a huge firm, so I guess it’s a given?

After a while, a thin man and a woman with a humped back entered the room. As soon as we saw them, I stood up with Serge-san while the old woman covered her mouth as she laughed. At that, the man spoke.

“Well if it isn’t Serge. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been hearing some rumors so I was wondering what you were up to.”

The man started talking with a somewhat Kansai Dialect-esque manner of speech.

“It’s been a while, Pioro.” – Serge

Looks like the man’s name is Pioro.

“I wonder what your business is Serge. It’s truly quite rare to see someone like you who doesn’t show his face around save for the meetings. Oh, and what do we have here? Little boy, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Grisela, an old hag and the guild master of this merchant guild.” – Grisela

“My name is Ryouma Takebayashi. Our business today is to register at the merchant’s guild. I may be inexperienced and young, but please take care of me.” – Ryouma

“Oh? My thanks for such a polite greeting. Serge, is this kid your place’s new servant? You’ve taught him quite well considering his age.” – Grisela
“True, true. There are very few kids who are able to be as polite as you. I’m Pioro Saionji, nice to meet you. When you talk to me, there’s no need to be stiff.” – Pioro
“Ryouma Takebayashi. A pleasure to meet you too.” – Ryouma

Pioro nodded.
“Ryouma-kun, right? I’ve properly taken note of it. Madam Gli had just mentioned it, but why did you guys come here again Serge?” – Pioro
“We just came here to register Ryouma-sama. I’m just accompanying him.” – Serge

Hearing that, the two people’s eyes moved towards me as the guild master took a good look at me.

“Fumu, fumu… alright, wait a moment.” – Grisela

As she said that, she held her cane with her hand and with a thundering voice, poked Serge-san’s head.

“This moron! What are you doing fussing over a kid!?” – Grisela
“It hurts. I’d like you to please stop hitting me guild master…” – Serge
“I don’t know what the situations is, but this child is an earnest child. Even if he shows respect to you who is obviously an old man, all I feel is shame and uneasiness.” – Grisela

Why does she think he’s concealing something!? Is there also a mind reading skill!? 　

“Ryouma, right? I can’t read your mind.” – Grisela

Aren’t you reading it right now!?

“I may have put on some years, but my insight as a merchant hasn’t dwindled one bit. You seem to be an honest individual, so I can at least do something this much.” – Grisela
“Is that so?” – Pioro
Pioro-san chuckled.
“This old woman is scary, right? I mean that’s what she always says, but she’s probably actually really reading our minds.” – Pioro
“Rather than being scary though, I think it’s amazing. Unfortunately I’m not very good at discerning people’s intentions.” – Ryouma

Grisela smiled.
“Something like that, you’ll get used to it. As long as the circumstances permit it, you’ll learn it as you put on some years. You still have plenty of years ahead of you. It seems something happened in the past, but don’t worry, you still have a future.” – Grisela
“Thank you very much, however, can you truly not read minds?” – Ryouma
“There’s no way I can. I already knew that you were wondering whether I could read minds the moment I saw you make those eyes that looked like you were looking at something far away.” – Grisela

Seriously!?

“My eyes did that?” – Ryouma
“Those eyes were like the eyes of an uncle in his middle years remembering something.” – Grisela

Bull’s eye!

“Anyhow, you may be a bit surprised, but you came here to register, right? Shall we hurry up and process your papers?” – Grisela

Having been told that, I filled up the registration forms.

“Hmm… what is ‘occupation’? Isn’t the occupation supposed to be a merchant?” – Ryouma
Pioro replied.
“Write the trade you want to pursue. If you want to sell weapons, then write weapons merchant. But you can add to that later, so there’s no need to make that much of a fuss and write so many things now. Also there’s a list of the basic occupations written at the back, so just take look at that, then write that into the blank.” – Pioro
“I understand.” – Ryouma

Now that he mentions it, I remember hearing something about the adventurer’s guild also dealing with peddling… well for the mean time I guess we’ll go with that, and then… I guess I’ll also write, ‘a shop keeper of the store I want’.

… By the way, what is this, ‘minstrel’ occupation? I understand what the word means, but is this also considered a merchant?

While I was thinking that, I handed the registration forms to the guild master. The guild master looked over the form, and then said this.

“Oh? So you’re an adventurer? Then in that case you should take care of your body. It’d be a waste after all. And also, you want to have a store?” – Grisela
“Actually I’ve been thinking of a slightly different occupation. At the start I had wanted to have a job on the side that I could do in between my jobs as an adventurer, but then Serge-san told me that I should make my plans bigger.” – Ryouma
“Serge, did?” – Grisela
Pioro chuckled.
“Heh, that’s quite interesting. What kind of work is it?” – Pioro
“A laundromat.” – Ryouma
Pioro glanced at me, then to Serge-san.
“A laundromat? You plan to receive money and wash clothes? Serge, why did you have to go through all the trouble of registering for this? While it’s that there isn’t any loss in registering, but the same time it doesn’t really matter for something like this, no?” – Pioro
“I also thought that at the start. But after hearing from Ryouma-sama, I thought that his idea was nothing short of a gold mine! And so, since it will become a problem if he makes too much money without registering at the guild, I urged Ryouma-sama to register.” – Serge
“Can a laundromat really make that much money?” – Pioro
The guild master made a curious face.
“I’d also like to hear about that laundromat. In all my life, I’d never heard of a laundromat that will earn so much money that it would have problems with the guild.” – Grisela

After that we finished the registration. Serge-san was the one to explain about the managerial policies we discussed yesterday. When Pioro-san and the guild master heard that, they started to groan, then they started to laugh.

“Hee hee hee! Living a long life is interesting because things like this happen from time to time! Ryouma, your idea is really interesting. There’s never been a guy like you who’s attempted to make a profit with those methods.” – Grisela
Pioro nodded.
“Certainly, if this were implemented it would certainly reap great profits. And if you don’t register, it would certainly cause a huge commotion in the guild.” – Pioro

But as Pioro was praising me, he said this.
“But you know… In order to implement this, you need to increase the effectivity of your laundry. If you just increase the number of employees, the expense will just pile up. Do you have some sort of plan? You have some kind of secret, right? Mind telling it? Don’t worry I won’t copy you.” – Pioro
“Alright.” – Ryouma
“Is that really ok? Even if I say I won’t copy you, it may be a lie, you know?” – Pioro
“Well, you’re an acquaintance of Serge-san, so you probably won’t lie. And also…” – Ryouma
The guild master gave me a quizzical glance.
“And also?” – Grisela
“Even if you try to fake it, I don’t think you’ll succeed with my method.” – Ryouma

As I said that, I got permission from the two. I then opened the Item Box and the Dimension Home, and took out a cleaner slime and a goblin’s loin cloth from inside. After that, I explained to them in the same way I’d explained to Serge-san.

First, they were shocked by the fact that I could use a mid-level space magic. And then they were shocked by the fact that I was in possession of a new type of slime. Lastly they were shocked by its abilities.

“Ha~ Never thought I’d be shocked this much today. This shock is probably worth 8 years of shock. But now I understand. That kind of business is impossible for us. Those business policies aside, unless one has those slimes it just won’t be worth it. But since you have those, you can definitely do it. You should puff your chest up, you have a great opportunity in your hands.” – Pioro
The guild master chuckled.
“I’ve come to take a liking to you. At this age, I don’t get surprised by trivial things anymore… and also you have quite a promising future, so you should go show your face around here lots. I’ll bring out some sweets and tea and we can have a good chat.” – Grisela
“Thank you very much. I’ll do my best.” – Ryouma

“Then, let’s decide on the temporary store next. Guild master, please.” – Serge
“Good grief, you shouldn’t be use old hags roughly, Serge. Pioro, see that shelf to your left? Take the second bundle of papers in the upper section of that shelf from the left.” – Grisela
“If you’re going to complain about being used roughly, shouldn’t you move!?” – Pioro
“Just hurry up and get it.” – Grisela
“Yes, yes. I’m on… wait, what is this? Isn’t this the collection of the documents of the problematic stores? Since Ryouma’s store is quite promising, shouldn’t we take out something else? If anything I can even invest some of my own money.” – Pioro
“Moron. Weren’t you listening to Serge? The kid’s unusually serious. If you bring out your own money, he’ll obviously turn you down.” – Grisela

Ah looks like she’s managed to figure me out in this short time that we’ve met.It’s true that I’ve always been called too serious, or stupidly honest. But that’s not all, she has actually also managed to understand that I don’t want to borrow other people’s money to make my store. A merchant’s insight is scary… in this way, even though it’s not brute force, it’s still quite scary.

“Well then, this document is a collection of the buildings with some sort of issue. But it’s thanks to this that the prices are cheap. Also, for you, you’ll be fine as long as it has a reception and a stock room, right?” – Grisela
“Yes, since I’ll be leaving everything up to the slimes, there won’t even be a need for a watering hole.” – Ryouma
“Hah! Normally, if someone said something like, “I’m going to make a laundromat, but I don’t need a watering hole.” You’d go, “What are you saying!?”… anyway, how much money did you bring with you again, boy?” – Grisela
“I have 700 small gold coins with me.” – Ryouma
“Oh? You unexpectedly brought quite a bit, huh?” – Grisela
“There were some bandits near the place I lived in before. I beat them with poison and because of that I got quite a bit of cash.” – Ryouma
“With that much… guild master, couldn’t he take an empty plot of land near my store?” – Serge
“Right… If I’m correct there should be one…” – Grisela

As she said that, the guild master started looking through the documents.

“…Ahh, there is. A place facing the residential area. It has a huge bar and lodging, and then it also has a storehouse for storing furniture, but because of a fire, more than half has been burnt. Right now, there’s plenty of grass growing all over, and the building can’t be used anymore.

Before building, you need to demolish the current building, and then prepare the soil. So it’s going to take quite a bit of time. What’s more is that the land is wide, so demolishing and preparing the land will both take quite a bit of time and money.

Another reason it’s expensive is because it’s in a good location. In the end, no one’s bought it, and it’s been left there like that for some years now. But aside from preparing the building and the soil, there’s no other problem.” – Grisela
“Ryouma-sama, I’ve heard that Ryouma-sama is an accomplished earth magician. This land is wide, and Ryouma-sama can change the land as he wishes.” – Serge

True, it’d be nice to be able to make it to my liking.

The guild master hearing that, said.
“Since you can use earth magic, given the time, you should be able to do something, right?” – Grisela
“That’s right…” – Ryouma

Earth magic’s ‘Create Block’, and the sticky slime’s ‘Hardening Liquid’… yeah, I can definitely do something.

“From what I can see from the map, this is close to the residential area, making it a good location for a laundromat.” – Ryouma

The Town of Gimuru is surrounded by a sturdy wall.
There is a main street that connects the center, the north gate and the south gate. To the left is the residential district, and to the right is where the steelworks and the likes are, the industrial district so to speak.

The lodging that people come here to stay at, can mostly be found near the south gate. The lodging I’m staying at right now is also there.

The north gate leads to the mine. It’s mainly used by workers and so it isn’t really used much by other people. When that mine became an abandoned mine, even miners had stopped using it.

In the east gate, there’s another road leading to a mine. That mine isn’t an abandoned mine. And since it isn’t abandoned, the miners decided to live at the eastern district to make it easier on themselves to get to the mine.

The plot of land that has been introduced just now, is east from the center of the town. It’s located right in the space between the residential district and the main street. From here it’s close not only to the residential district, but also to the adventurer’s guild. This place is probably the best I could ask for.

As I said that to the guild master, she gave me her approval.

“That’s right, in the past it was a very popular bar. The location was good, and the people would come in after finishing their work. It was always packed. Even now, if you open a store here, then it will surely attract peoples’ eyes.” – Grisela
“I see… then in that case I’ll take it.” – Ryouma

To be honest, I don’t really know much about land. But I don’t think its location is bad. Not only is it close to the residential district and the adventurer’s guild, but I can even make the place as I please. Also, these guys were introduced by Serge-san. They seem to be nice people. So it’s fine if I trust them, right?

The guild master asked me again.
“Is it ok?” – Grisela
“Yes. There’re no problems with its location, and I can deal with all the preparations with my magic and my slimes. What makes it even better for me is that I can make the store as I wish.” – Ryouma
“I’ve already said it before, but it’s quite expensive. First of all it costs 580 small gold coins. Then on top of that because the land is wide, the land tax is 10 small gold coins. And then in order to earn the right to put up a business you have to pay an additional fee of 60 small gold coins, totaling to 650. Even then, is it ok?” – Grisela

“Yes. There’re no problems. After all I still have some allowance for my living expenses.” – Ryouma
“True, with 50 small gold coins left over, you’ll still be able to live like a noble for a year. Also I forgot to mention it, but the fee to start a business is a one-time fee you have to pay during registration. The land tax, while not a one-time payment, is doubled when you purchase land for the first time. So from next year onwards, you’ll only have to pay 5 small gold coins.” – Grisela
“I understand, thank you very much.” – Ryouma

After that, I was taught all sorts of things, but from what I gather, owning a store in this world isn’t that difficult. You just have to go through the guild, buy a land and property, and start your trade there. Then all you have to do next is record your income and expenditures, then calculate the tax in line with your profits and your land tax, and then pay that to the guild. If you can do that, then it doesn’t matter what your age or gender is.

Furthermore, the doubled tax can be considered to be the same thing as a reward-deposit back in Earth. As for the fee for the right to open a business, it changes depending on the size. Stalls go for 5 middle silver coins. Buying land like I did, will go for 2 small gold coins at the minimum. Then, how come I’m being charged 30 times that? Aren’t I being ripped off?

The fee for the right to own a business has a minimum fee, but there’s no maximum fee. If one were to pay a lot, then it will go to show that, that person has that much assets. And the accommodation and information that the merchant’s guild will give, will respond to that.

By the way, the price they used as reference, was the price the owner of the bar who owned the place before me had been paying for a long time now.
After that, I finished all the procedures, gave my thanks to the three, and then left the guild.
It would appear that in the near future, Serge-san will have to attend the meeting at the guild. In relation to that, the guild master and Pioro-san seemed to have something they wanted to talk about with Serge-san, so we separated there at the guild.

After I finish my job at the guild, I guess I’ll start constructing my store… this reminds me a bit of the part-time job I had in my previous life. I’m a little excited… Although the job was difficult, I think being able to see the result of your work easily is really fun. 

This little excerpt down here is in fact related to the chapter, just some extra tidbits about what Ryouma is talking about in case you don’t know:

Some are expensive and some are cheap. The stores Ryouma are referring to are the cheaper ones. They go for like 250 yen to somewhere around less than 500 yen. Of course, there are also more expensive versions. Oh, and they also sell other stuff too, of course. Not just Gyudon.