By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 34

Chapter 5 Episode 34: Follow-Up #2—The Change in Gimul and My Resolution

“Your shop is in this city, Master?” Ox asked.

After leaving the divine realm, I had returned to Gimul accompanied by Fay and now Ox. We powered through the journey with space magic and our above-average stamina and made it here from Gaunago in the record time of two days.

“It is...” I answered with trepidation. “But it seems different than before, somehow. A little louder, maybe? There are more people out and about.”

“Yes, it seems more unruly than before. Probably because of that.” Fay turned back towards the gate we had just passed through, where construction of a new city section was taking place. “More people going in and out means more law-breaking.”

“So it is normally a quieter city, then?” Ox confirmed. “I find this level of activity nostalgic.”

“I’m sure your former residence was quite a bit livelier than this.” He was an ex-gladiator, after all. I was sure that any city with a colosseum was a center for gambling and entertainment; the new district currently being constructed was going to be just that. They had decided to build it separate from the main city to keep the old town safer, but no one could prevent the increase of foot traffic in the city while the district was being built. Upon closer inspection, I could see the city guards making frequent patrols through the streets.

“We should talk to Carme,” I proposed.

“Good idea,” Fay agreed.

Walking slightly faster, we made our way through the streets, which were familiar and yet seemed a bit unfamiliar.

■ ■ ■

We arrived at the shop. Since customers made a line out onto the street, we entered through the back door, and found Carme frowning at a document, a cup of tea in hand. It didn’t exactly look like he was taking a relaxing break.

“Hi, Carme,” I called.

“Oh! Welcome back, Boss. And Fay.” He must have been too engrossed in the document to notice us when we came in. In any case, Carme looked exhausted. “May I ask who this is...?”

“Pardon me. This is Ox Roade, a former gladiator and level 5 dual blader. He’s our new employee and slave.”

“I’m sure he’ll be a great asset to the shop’s protection.” Despite the polite remark, I saw Carme shoot a glance at Ox’s left wrist—the one devoid of a hand.

“Master has practically given me a new arm already. I will earn my keep.”

“No sweat,” Fay reassured. “I saw first-hand that he’s cut out for the job.”

“Not sure what you mean by ‘a new arm,’ but if Fay trusts you, then I trust you. I’m looking forward to us working together.”

We were off to a good start, I supposed. Now that introductions were done, I said, “Fay, thank you for guarding us along the way. Please show Ox to the dorm, and orient him on what to expect moving forward. Then get some well-deserved rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does Ox...?”

“A room has been prepared for him, with a nameplate on the door.”

I turned to Ox. “There you have it. We rushed through our journey, Ox, so please get some rest.”

“I will.”

“Thank you both.”

Then, Carme and I moved to the office. “You seemed troubled when we walked in,” I started. “What happened here while we were gone?”

“Well... You might have noticed already, but crime has gone up a bit with the influx of laborers. The Merchant’s Guild has provided an advisory. And according to a tip I’ve purchased from a trustworthy source, it’s very likely that some of the labor groups are run by the mafia, so that’s driving crime up further.”

“The mafia...”

“The district they’re constructing now is scheduled to host a colosseum to drive tourism. Which, of course, will generate massive revenue. The mafia must be trying to get their foot in the door so they can be the first to establish profitable businesses. The city guards are aware that the mafia has infiltrated the city, but they’re professional criminals. By day, the families work as a perfectly legal labor agency.”

I see. So they’re front organizations.

“Any damages on our end?” I asked.

“Perhaps an argument or two between a regular and an obstinate customer, but I’ve seen a few people scouting out the place. Mafia or otherwise, there are plenty of people with sticky fingers out there; I was just thinking about ramping up security until things calm down. Roade and his impressive physique will be a deterrent, so I’m glad to have whatever added security we can get.”

I felt like I’d seen his facial expression somewhere before. My office from my previous life in Japan, perhaps... He must have been overworked.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t think you’re lying, but I get the feeling you’re trying to keep something from me.”

“You’re quite a sharp one sometimes, Boss... It’s true that I believe Roade’s physique, along with his aura of a veteran warrior, will become a deterrent for shady business in the shop. However, I couldn’t help wondering whether his missing hand would be a liability. He certainly looked like a competent fighter, but I still have my doubts, all things considered.”

“It’s true that he lost one of his hands. But if you were to see him fight just once, I have no doubt that you’d be as confident about Roade as I am. I didn’t choose him sight unseen, after all... Why don’t I showcase him in front of the team tomorrow?”

“Splendid. If you two don’t mind, could that be scheduled during peak hours after today?”

Carme explained that he would have some reprieve during peak hours, thanks to the part-timers. Apparently, he saw value in introducing Ox as our new employee and demonstrating exactly how powerful he was, in addition to spreading rumors to discourage anyone from messing with the shop. Carme was really good at this aspect of the job, not that I’d ever felt otherwise.

“My twin sister has always been more skilled than me at running businesses and negotiating. I strove to find what I could excel at, so I started learning how to gather and manipulate information, especially in the dark. Of course, I have what it takes to run a business successfully, if I do say so myself, and my sister has sufficient tools for information management.”

“I have no doubts about that; I feel completely safe leaving the shop with you.” I certainly wouldn’t have left him and the shop if I didn’t feel that way.

“At any rate, I’m glad we haven’t had anything too egregious happen. Let me know if anyone tries to cause trouble in the shop, or more importantly, tries to harm any employee, including yourself. If that does happen, or even if you just need an extra pair of hands in combat, then call me straight away. I have a few adventurer contacts who could help us. To be honest, I think I’ll be of greater use when push comes to shove than in any kind of negotiation.”

My hope was that everything could be talked out, but I had to be honest about my abilities. Besides, being too much of a pacifist could result in blowback for us, and my priority was to mitigate the damage or inconvenience caused to us and the shop to a bare minimum. In two weeks’ time, I would head out to Sikum to hunt mad salamanders. Maybe I’d refrain from long trips after that... Well, at least until the new year.

“Oh, right,” I remembered. “I almost forgot to tell you this, but my little introduction to the duke and duchess went better than I could have imagined.”

They had encouraged me to build a branch in Gaunago, since our business was helping to prevent the spread of diseases. They offered to help me buy the land and build the shop there, as well as send some of their maids to help with any work and teach my employees proper etiquette so that they could serve the nobles of Gaunago. That was generous enough, but Reinhart even dropped the hint to me (quite directly, I might add) that he could also support my endeavor with waste management and fertilizers which I had discussed with him while I was there, or any other venture that benefited the general population.

I parted ways with Serge and Pioro on the understanding that we would continue to help each other out with the waterproof fabric factory and fungi farming respectively. Everything had worked out perfectly.

I explained all of this to try and ease Carme’s mind a bit, but...

“Is something the matter?”

Carme looked increasingly concerned. “It’s wonderful, and most reassuring, that we are in the duke’s good graces... But I can’t help feeling a bit of pressure. What if I can’t live up to his expectations...? No, I mustn’t think this way.”

He shook his head, as if to chase the negative thoughts away. “If the duke encouraged us to build a branch in Gaunago, then that settles it. We’ll send someone to run the shop, of course, but we should get the rest of the employees hired sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, about that...” I produced a booklet from the Item Box.

“Is that from the Moulton Slave Trading Company?”

“I was given this on my way out after purchasing Ox, and there’s a section on new businesses.”

The booklet, which Orest had handed to me as we practically high-tailed it out of there, outlined a ‘staffing’ program. Orest had apparently started renting slaves out for short-term work that paid by the hour. Apparently, this arrangement would be a win on three fronts: for customers who needed working hands but couldn’t afford to purchase slaves, or only required them for a few months; slaves whose prices were driven up by their debt and wanted their freedom quicker; and slave traders who had to pay for the upkeep of slaves, or may have had slaves who were overvalued. The booklet went into more detail about other secondary benefits for each party. In fact, there was an enclosed letter celebrating the establishment of the program, after overcoming numerous hurdles—those like me who wondered what the program could offer over hiring workers through a guild; other slave traders denouncing the program as a waste of money compared to selling the slaves; and internal pushback about the risks of the slaves making a run for it. Still, I was considering taking advantage of the program.

“We interviewed a few others before settling on Ox, and while they weren’t up to snuff when compared to him, Fay had determined them competent enough for guarding the shop under normal circumstances. This program may not be a bad idea when it comes to staffing our new branch. It says here that they offer temporary leases, and if we like their work, we can purchase and keep them on as permanent staff.”

Though the line about how “Your interviewees are available for this program!” that was included in the letter did make me wonder if I was being strung along...

“They don’t have many clients yet for the new program, and it says that we can negotiate the price and terms if we’re looking for several workers... Moulton’s a bit of a curveball, but I’ve been told his work ethic is excellent.”

“I see. We shall definitely keep that in mind.”

“Thank you. And while we’re on the subject, I was wondering if we could build two branches in Gaunago. I would appreciate it if we have people willing to travel to the shop, but I’m sure some customers would be deterred if they have to walk too far. Gaunago is an even larger city than Gimul, after all.”

“Good point... We’ve just received some new customers because they only decided to come once it became too cold to do their laundry at home.”

“In addition to growing our clientele, I would love to reach a wider demographic of customers in a more convenient way... I considered setting up carriages to collect orders through town, but when taking into account costs of maintaining the horses and carriages, not to mention the risks of misdeliveries or bandits attacking the carriages, I’m not sure that would be worth it. I figured building another branch might be easier.”

Besides, building more branches in a concentrated area would allow us to gain more shares of the market in that city to the point of dominating it. We were steadily growing our customer base as we were, but if we had intentions of branching out, then surely it was prudent to try and get a monopoly on laundry services in the city. That way, when people wanted clean clothes, they’d come to Bamboo Forest. At the very least, I wanted to make the most of promoting our unique selling point—cleaner slimes.

“Speaking of,” I asked Carme, “do you remember those laundry shops that popped up after they saw our business was growing? I heard that most of them were unable to make a profit and closed down. Are any of them still active?”

“Haven’t heard anything about them lately... Do you want me to look into it?”

“That would be great.”

I had always considered branching out in case my cleaner slime population grew out of control. If any of the copycat laundry shops were run by honest people, I could see the possibility of buying out their shops and having them staff another branch for us. Looking into their current state of affairs couldn’t hurt.

I expressed this idea to Carme, and he asked me to elaborate on branching out and taking control of the market. As someone who’d dreamed in his past life of making it out of that wage cage and starting a business on more than one occasion, I passionately passed on everything I knew...to which Carme returned a shocked look.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“It’s all very interesting... But I can really see you’re putting a lot of effort into this.”

What was that supposed to mean...? Why do I feel like a bum who just got his first job in years? Did Carme think I wasn’t putting a lot of effort into things until now? Considering how I left him to run the shop and do some odd tasks here and there... I couldn’t really respond to that.

Now, though, life had returned to Carme’s eyes, driving out the exhausted shadow that had been there when I walked in. He’d looked like an overworked new hire about to have a mental breakdown.

“Thank you again for doing this. Please let me know what you find out,” I reiterated as Carme left the office looking re-energized.

Maybe I ought to put some more work in around here...