A New Business Venture
“Satou here. Investing capital at the end of the fiscal year usually just seems like a tax-saving strategy, but I think investing surplus funds for the sake of future profit is an important part of being in business. Besides, it’s good for the overall economy.”
“““Lord Kuro!”””
As soon as I emerged from the teleport room in the Echigoya headquarters, the head staff all greeted me with great excitement.
They always welcomed me, of course, but this time seemed much more intense than usual.
“Welcome back, Lord Kuro.”
The manager, Eluterina, finished checking her long blond hair in a mirror before flying to my side.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“The rune light gems we just started carrying sold out completely on the first day.”
“We would like to request more inventory.”
As the manager grinned proudly, Tifaleeza appeared next to her, her silver hair bouncing in a short bob cut.
The other girls on the executive staff all nodded vigorously, too.
“I guess the name I suggested really was good.”
Louna, the short-statured noble girl who was always riding a stone wolf, giggled and puffed up her small chest proudly.
I had forgotten that she was the one who gave the name “rune light gems” to the light stones with runes carved into them.
I patted her head lightly, then produced a box of more rune light gems from my Item Box and handed it to Eluterina.
They explained that in the morning when sales began, only a few regulars picked them up in passing, but some Ougoch Duchy nobles and merchants heard about them and started scrambling to buy them up, and by the end of the day they were sold out of all except the display model, with plenty more reservations besides.
The fact that the rune light gems flew off the shelves for ten gold coins a pop, despite not having any particular effect, must have been because of the skills of the engravers we employed.
“Also, the ‘mental training toy’ magic tools you gave us the recipe for have been selling almost as quickly as the rune light gems.”
They hadn’t sold much at first, Eluterina said, but once the staff made announcements and gave out some free samples to the nursery at the royal academy, that led to their selling like hotcakes to noble children. Evidently there were tons of reservations for these, too.
This particular product was actually a magic power manipulation practice toy that I originally developed for the kids at our private orphanage. The toys came in many forms, like a wooden sword that made a noise when it was swung, a crystal lamp that lit up in different numbers, depending on the amount of magic power provided, and an instrument made with wind stones that produced different sounds when charged with magic.
I made the ones at the orphanage myself, but they were now being manufactured at the Echigoya Company using my recipe. The complicated core parts were made elsewhere and assembled with the rest here.
“And that isn’t all. I showed the gauntlets and bracelets you gave us that produce Practical Magic shields to just a few valued clients, but…”
Pushing Louna aside, Manager Eluterina gave me a report about the trial products I’d given her. These shield bracelets were magic tools that I’d initially made to protect Zena and her friends.
“Well, we ended up saying that we’ll take reservations for them at three hundred gold coins apiece, and there are at least twenty customers who want to be contacted when preorders begin…”
Since no one could make these but me, I had suggested testing them to see if there was any demand for them at an absurdly high price.
I figured they might sell to collectors of unusual things, but I certainly wasn’t expecting so many interested customers.
Unlike the shield bracelets I gave to Zena and other friends, the ones being sold at the Echigoya Company were downgraded versions that only produced a Shield about as strong as a begining Practical Magic user might make, but I guess the unusual nature of the item won out over its lackluster performance.
“What kind of customers were interested?”
“The gauntlet was popular with imperial knights and upper nobles for self-defense. The bracelet was the same way, but there were more upper nobles and wealthy individuals who wanted to give them to their heirs or daughters.”
That was more or less what I expected.
“Lord Kuro…before we deliver on the preorders, I’d like to present one of the bracelets that you gave us for the storefront window to the royal family. Is that all right?”
When I asked her the reason later, she said that it was not only a matter of noble manners and accepted business practice, but also a way to potentially use the king and royal family to advertise.
“That’s fine. If you think you can use them, you’re all welcome to wear them, too.”
Since I could mass-produce them relatively quickly with my magic production device, I had made a bunch of prototype samples.
The samples I gave them before were simple brass bracelets, with decorations by the engravers employed by the Echigoya Company.
“““Yes, Lord Kuro!””” the staff all exclaimed happily.
“A-are you sure it’s all right, Lord Kuro?”
“Sure.”
I nodded at the worried-looking manager.
The price was high, since I was currently the only person who could make them, but the actual materials cost only a few gold coins apiece.
“As far as the actual sales—how many will we be able to produce?” Eluterina asked hesitantly.
“Probably about two hundred a year.”
“““Two hundred…”””
The other staff all widened their eyes along with the manager.
“The cost price is fifty gold coins. I’ll let you determine the selling price, manager.”
“Then let’s sell a limited amount to upper nobles at first, then reduce the price when their popularity has died down a bit.”
If we sold two hundred in a year, they shouldn’t seem too rare after a while.
And since they were being sold on consignment, they wouldn’t have an effect on the Echigoya Company’s cash flow, either, I hoped.
“Lord Kuro, would it be possible to change the material of the bracelets?”
Tifaleeza proposed that if we were going to adjust the price, we might want to change the appearance accordingly.
“All right. Make a list of how many we should make with what materials. I’ll bring that to the magic tool craftsman and get them made. Don’t forget to list order of priorities, too.”
It was a pain to figure out fine details like that, so I left it all in their capable hands.
“As it stands, the Echigoya Company’s income is significantly in the black, even excluding your sales of the Magic Swords and airships, Lord Kuro.”
After I caught up with the executive staff, I accompanied Eluterina and Tifaleeza to a parlor connected to the manager’s room to discuss the company’s current income and future developments.
“And the payment from the kingdom?”
“We were told that it exceeds the amount of the kingdom’s gold reserve, so we’re receiving it in the form of money orders for five hundred gold coins at a time.”
Money orders from the kingdom could be exchanged for money at government offices, or even used directly as payment at large companies and business guilds.
“All right. I’ll deliver the skypower engines for the rest of the airships soon after this.”
With the kingdom’s shipbuilding capabilities, new large-scale airships could only be produced once or twice a year, which is why I intended to produce one at the Echigoya Company’s shipyard, too.
Starting in the next year, we would take on the tasks of updating older airship models and creating smaller-scale airships, too.
I had enough materials to make skypower engines for more than a hundred airships, but I had decided to sell only a limited number for large airships for now.
According to Mukuro the Bone Lord, who I met in the Lower Stratum, the act of constructing things like railroads and radio towers was considered taboo by the gods. Given this, I wanted to avoid producing too many large airships that would allow for mass transportation.
Besides, airships required a great deal of monster cores to run. Cores were necessary for the production of magic tools and potions, too, and it would have a serious effect on the lives of ordinary citizens if they suddenly went way up in price because of a sharp increase in demand, which I was trying to avoid.
“We’ll need a use for all this capital…”
I gazed at the columns full of enormous numbers that we’d received through money orders.
Saving money was important for individuals, but for a corporate body, I felt that putting away a huge amount of money without gaining any significant interest was no better than hoarding.
I had bought up a large amount of the metal ingots, scrap gems, and so on that I needed for my crafting hobbies by way of the Echigoya Company, but those costs were so trivial compared to our massive profit that it hardly seemed like I’d used enough.
“Then how about we expand our business?”
“Hmm,” I murmured, prompting the manager to continue. “Do we have enough people?”
“Merchants, craftsmen, researchers, and intellectuals have all come to us seeking employment with the Echigoya Company. We’ve finished sorting through them, so if you give us permission to hire them, we can increase our staff immediately.”
“All right. Show me a list later. As long as there aren’t any problems, I’ll let you employ them at your discretion.”
I figured I could check them on the map, just to make sure we weren’t hiring any demon lord worshippers or weirdos like that.
“We’ve also had requests for investments from artists and scholars. What do you think?”
Basically, they were looking for patrons.
I looked over the list Tifaleeza handed me of names, representative works, areas of expertise, and other materials prospective candidates had submitted. There was even a column with the staff’s opinions and impressions from interviews and interactions.
I did a quick map search and crossed out any names that came up with problems.
“You can invest in anyone except the names I’ve crossed out. I’ll let you decide how much to pay each of them.”
“Shall we base it on a value assessment?”
“Take their future potential into account, too. Besides, it’s difficult for basic researchers to produce easy-to-understand results. Try to invest in them for the long term, even if it’s only a small amount at a time.”
“Understood.”
With that, the conversation ended.
I certainly never imagined that I’d become a patron to artists and scholars in another world, though.
“Shall we fund anything else?”
At Eluterina’s words, my thoughts went to the poor people and refugees we saw in the slums of the lower capital.
“The standard of living and safety seems poor in the low-income areas. I’d like to give jobs to the people there.”
“Understood. When we present the bracelet to the royal family as we discussed, I’ll speak to His Excellency the prime minister and let him know that we plan to start working to reduce unemployment, and perhaps I’ll request favorable treatment as far as taxes go, accordingly.”
Eluterina and Tifaleeza immediately nodded and began discussing how to carry out my vague request.
“While we can certainly hire skilled laborers at the Echigoya Company…the issue is the majority who may only be suited to general labor.
“We’ve already hired as many laborers to work on building the shipyard as we can manage, and once the airships are in production there, I’m afraid we can’t bring in any workers with unclear backgrounds. Even if we were to open up food stalls or cafés like in Labyrinth City, we could only hire a few dozen to perhaps a hundred people at most, which wouldn’t solve our problem, either.”
I remembered the broken-down factory I’d purchased from an unsuccessful business.
“How about a new factory?”
“Ah, the former cotton mill. We purchased the equipment along with the building, but we won’t be able to resume operations there right away since the machinery has degraded with time. Besides, the raw cotton we would need as material is produced in the southern parts of Vistall Duchy, but it has currently increased in price due to the demons that wreaked havoc in Lessau County recently, so we wouldn’t be able to make a profit, even if the factory was currently functional.”
I see. So that’s affected a lot of things even outside Lessau County.
“What’s causing the price jump?”
“Shipping expenses. Some of the roads have been destroyed or become unsafe, making transportation difficult.”
The only options were to take a longer route by way of Eluette Marquisate or hire an increased number of guards, hence the rise in price.
“And there are problems even within Vistall Duchy, to the point where war could break out at any moment.”
“Wow, you pick up information fast.”
That probably had to do with the airship attack the day before yesterday…
“Thank you very much, Lord Kuro… Since the place where raw cotton is produced might become a battlefield, it’s possible that the fields will be burned, making it impossible to acquire cotton next year. In the worst-case scenario, the war might go on for so long that we would have to import it from elsewhere.”
There were other territories that produced cotton on a smaller scale, but Vistall Duchy and Ougoch Duchy were the only places that produced enough cotton to meet the needs of the royal capital.
In the case of the latter, there was a significant distance by land, and transportation by sea was dangerous; they usually only exported processed cotton goods as a result.
“So, that means there’s an excess of cotton in Vistall Duchy, right?”
Tifaleeza nodded.
“Do we have anyone in the company who might have connections with cotton farmers or wholesalers in Vistall Duchy?”
“We do. Merina’s mother is from the southernmost city there.”
Eluterina opened the door to the parlor and called in Merina from the gaggle of executive girls who were clearly eavesdropping outside, then explained the situation to her.
“My aunt is involved with the cotton industry and knows other nobles who are involved, as well as some wholesalers and farmers in the area.”
“Perfect. Then we’ll send you to Vistall Duchy, Merina. Buy up as much cotton as you can wherever it’s not overpriced. I’ll transport you there myself.”
She probably needed time to collect her things, but I could just put it all in Storage and have things taken care of within a few hours.
This might cause trouble for other people who made their money off cotton, but it was better than letting it get burned up in battle, or having farmers get stuck in unfair trades and lose money.
“I’ll get ready!” Merina exclaimed, and rushed from the room.
The hallway grew noisy, probably because I’d told her she could bring two people with her.
“Lord Kuro, am I to assume that we should begin preparing the cotton factory for use by repairing the building and machinery?”
I nodded at Tifaleeza. “We’ll employ anyone who can’t get work at the cotton factory for welfare work with the Echigoya Company.”
“Welfare work?”
“That’s right. We can do a soup kitchen like that Pendragon kid was running in Labyrinth City.”
Since I was in charge of a corporate body, I was hoping to put someone else in charge of welfare work and other such things.
“Separate from the soup kitchens offered by the kingdom and temples, you mean?”
“Yes. Just to be clear, the charity aspect is just a bonus. We’ll send out people with skills like ‘Analyze Character’ and find anyone with hidden, useful skills.”
“I see. We can use that for when we need to hire temporary labor, too.”
“And for gathering information. Although we’ll need to take care not to infringe on the rights of the beggars’ guild.”
When I made up a vague excuse, Eluterina and Tifaleeza were surprisingly quick to go along with it.
I had never seen beggars in modern Japan, but in the Shiga Kingdom it was considered a real profession. Though it was hidden in the downtown area in the royal capital, there was even an association; in addition to begging by the roadside, they also ran side businesses like information-gathering and stakeouts. It was sort of like a thieves’ guild in a video game.
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Once I gave them general direction, it was probably fine to leave the details up to them.
We discussed a few other details like property-buying and leasing. Then I brought Merina and company to Vistall Duchy to arrange for the purchase of cotton, and finally the day’s work was done.
I searched the map while we were in Vistall County, but I didn’t see any rebellion underway. Still, the armed forces were preparing for war, and I saw armed knights and soldiers running around in the city looking busy and tense.
The citizens seemed to be aware of this situation, too. There were less groceries available in the markets than usual, and the prices were beginning to rise.
I guess war causes trouble for everyone, no matter what world you’re in.
“Huh, so this is the Echigoya Company’s royal capital location?”
“It’s a very fancy building, more so than the branch office in Labyrinth City.”
Arisa and Lulu looked up at the building, impressed.
Today, I was visiting the Echigoya Company as a customer, with the rest of my group in tow.
Nana’s sisters seemed to be in shock after seeing her in action at the Holy Knights’ headquarters the day before: They had taken up jogging to improve their stamina on Liza’s recommendation, and so they weren’t around when we left in the morning.
“Lots of peeeople…?”
“Very crowded, sir.”
Tama and Pochi seemed impressed with the bustling state of the storefront.
It made sense, given the sales numbers Tifaleeza had shown me, but I wasn’t expecting it to be thriving to this extent.
“Master, there are many cute accessories, I report.”
When there was enough room to do so, we split into small groups to look around the shop.
The first and second floors focused mainly on goods made in Labyrinth City and on accessories created by royal capital craftsmen; the third floor had magic tools like rune light gems and the Shield gauntlets; and the fourth floor was a private area for nobles and our best customers.
The hand-cranked electric fans, juicers, and mixers I made in Labyrinth City were also on sale on the third floor.
“Mia! There is a rabbit doll, I report.”
“Where? Show me.”
Mia pushed through the crowd to get to Nana.
“Cute.” She hugged the doll and rubbed her cheek against it.
“You like it?”
“Soft.”
Mia held the rabbit doll up to me.
It was made with monster materials that created an unusual texture.
“That is nice. Makes you want to keep touching it.”
“Mm. Agreed.”
“Master, I wish to touch it, too, I declare.”
I let Nana experience the strange texture, too.
“It is squishy and fluffy and crumply, I report.”
Nana seemed to like it, too, given that she was now refusing to let go of the rabbit doll.
“Huh, is it really all that?”
“You want to touch, too, Arisa?”
“Sure, if you insist—owwie!”
Arisa reached toward my stomach, but I smacked her hand to stop her.
I wish she wouldn’t try to sexually harass me so casually.
“Jerkyyy…?”
“Frog jerky, sir.”
“They have rock lizard jerky, too.”
The beastfolk girls had found the explorers’ section of sorts, where they were staring intently at a shelf of packed meals for explorers.
As always, they were far more interested in food than in anything else.
The salesperson told me that this explorers’ section was very popular with royal capital kids who admired explorers.
“Checking out the accessories, Lulu?”
“Hmm?”
I saw Lulu through the crowd and went over to greet her.
Peering over her shoulder, I saw that she was actually looking at some kind of gemstone, not an accessory.
“Oh, no, I was just admiring this cute rock salt.”
There were all different colors of rock salt carved into different shapes.
Most of them were transparent, pink, red, or yellow, but there were a few rarer colors like blue and green.
I wasn’t sure if they were natural or if an alchemist had changed the colors, but they were all very pretty.
“I’ve heard that they taste a little different, depending on where they’re from.”
“Huh, that’s interesting. Want to buy some from each region and test out what dishes they’d go best with?”
“Yes, that sounds wonderful!”
Lulu nodded with a big, beaming smile.
It was so adorable that my heart almost stopped.
“Sir Pendragon…?”
I turned around to see Tifaleeza, who had beautiful features in a different way from Lulu.
“Oh, hello there. Don’t mind us.”
I was careful to avoid talking like Kuro as I greeted her.
“I’m terribly sorry to disrupt your shopping, but would you happen to have a moment to spare?”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
I told the rest of my group to keep shopping and followed Tifaleeza to a room on the fourth floor.
But I certainly wasn’t expecting the topic that Eluterina brought up.
“…Maid outfits and women’s undergarments?”
“Yes, I saw what Lulu was wearing in Labyrinth City. It’s far cuter than the Shiga Kingdom’s usual maid outfits, so I think it would be popular here, too…”
Oh, thank goodness.
I thought she’d seen Lulu’s underwear for a second there.
“And then there’s the custom-made underwear that Nana was wearing. Arisa showed me a sample, and I think the royal capital nobles would love them, too.”
“You mean you want to sell them through the Echigoya Company?”
“Yes. If they’re made in the Muno Barony, perhaps we could import them, or—”
She was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Tifaleeza came into the room with Arisa and Lulu in tow.
“Ms. Lulu, Ms. Arisa, I’m sorry to call you up here while you’re shopping.”
Eluterina gestured for them to sit on a sofa.
“What can we help you with?”
“As I was just explaining to Sir Knight, I’d like to sell tailor-made underwear and maid outfits through the Echigoya Company. I spoke to Vicount Lottel to ask for permission, and she said that Arisa was the one who made them and that I should get permission from her and Sir Knight instead.”
“Okey-dokey, it’s fine by me. It’s a dream of mine and master’s to spread cute bras, undies, and maid outfits throughout the world. Right, master?”
Don’t make me sound like some kind of maid fanatic. I mean, I do love maids, though.
“Yes, I agree with Arisa.”
“Thank you so much for giving permission so readily. If I could possibly trouble you for the patterns…”
“Way ahead of you, girl. Here, take these. There’s lots of bras, but I think nobles would probably like these kinds the best.” Arisa was already pulling out sewing patterns from her Fairy Pack and putting them on the table. “Those are originals, though, so I’ll need ’em back once you copy them.”
“R-right…um, thank you.”
Eluterina looked like she was having trouble keeping up with Arisa’s high-speed actions.
She reached for the patterns, but Tifaleeza stopped her.
“This is what we had in mind as far as payment for the use of the patterns.”
Tifaleeza held out a written contract detailing that a certain percentage of sales would go to us.
Ah, I see, she wants to get the contract figured out before accepting the patterns.
“Payment? You can have them for free if you want?”
“No, we couldn’t possibly,” Eluterina said smoothly. “You’ve already kindly helped us out for free in Labyrinth City, but now that our business is on track, we simply cannot accept all the profits one-sidedly. We believe that profits should be fairly distributed.”
“Ooh, aren’t you professional. I like your style! All right, I’ll accept the payment.”
Arisa scratched under her nose and agreed to the manager’s proposal.
“By the way, this is a pretty unusual way to calculate payment, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it may be a bit unconventional, but we chose to calculate payment based on a percentage of sales instead of on a flat rate per garment,” Tifaleeza answered.
“I like it. That way it won’t get in the way of the products becoming popular with the general public, and we’ll both get plenty of returns if you sell them to nobles at a nice premium.”
“I’m honored that you understand our approach.”
Tifaleeza gave a rare, satisfied smile.
“I do have one condition for the contract, though. Is that all right?”
“What might that be?”
“I’d like to add a clause that it has to be clear when they’re sold that the place of origin is Muno Barony, and I’m the designer. Anything else, master?”
“No, that’s fine with me.”
Tifaleeza got permission from Eluterina to add the condition to the contract, and they rewrote it and signed it on the spot.
“We’d like to arrange payment to your account at the guild of commerce…”
“Oh, I don’t have an account. You can just send it to master’s, please.”
Despite what she said, Arisa was the copyright holder for the undergarments and maid outfits. I thought it was only right that she should get the payment for them directly.
“We can just make you an account.”
“Sir Knight, I’m afraid slaves cannot open accounts with the guild of commerce,” Tifaleeza informed me.
“Wait, really?”
“Yes, since Shiga Kingdom law treats slaves as property of their masters.”
Oh, that’s right.
“Hmm. What to do, then…”
“It’s fine, master. We’re like husband and wife anyway, so we might as well share a bank account.”
Arisa smiled and joked to lighten the mood.
“If you really must have the money sent to Arisa’s own account, perhaps you could make her an explorers’ guild account instead?”
Once things settled down, Eluterina made a suggestion.
“An explorers’ guild account…?”
“That’s right. The fees are higher than they are at the commerce guild, and you can only make deposits or withdrawals in Celivera or the royal capital, but anyone with a mithril badge or higher is allowed to open an account with the explorers’ guild, regardless of their social standing.”
It sounded a little inconvenient, but we decided to make an account for Arisa with the explorers’ guild and deposit the payments there. I figured we could stop by the Ministry of Labyrinth Resources office on the way back to open the account.
“So, since you wanted to talk to Lulu, too, were you maybe hoping to buy cooking recipes as well?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Eluterina explained that they wanted to open food carts and cafés in the royal capital like in Labyrinth City and hire low-income workers and others looking for jobs.
We had no reason to decline. Lulu agreed to sell her recipes and receive a percentage of the sales in her own account. Lulu wanted to refuse payment, but I flexed my rarely used authority as master to insist that she accept it.
I agreed to order some cooking magic tools from Akindoh for the food carts.
Of course, Akindoh is a fictional merchant who works with the Pendragon family. I figured I could just disguise myself as him and deliver the tools sometime soon.
“Say, if you want to employ more people, why not try making food cart or café franchises, too?”
“What is a franchise?”
Eluterina tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.
Arisa explained: “Basically, we provide someone who has funds, along with knowledge and supplies, to manage their own food cart or café, and we get a percentage of their earnings in exchange. People without enough funds can just be employed, and they have the option to become owners themselves if they save up enough funds. It’s nice and aspirational, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s a lovely idea. Please let us consider that proposal. If Lord Kuro permits it, we’ll officially offer you payment for the franchise concept as well.”
Eluterina seemed very interested in the idea of starting a franchise.
Arisa immediately started suggesting light café food options like omurice and kids’ meals.
“Do you have any other suggestions?”
“What about magic tools that are good for everyday life, like the ovens you use for the food carts? Since Mr. Akindoh brings them all the time, you could ask him next time.”
Arisa winked at me.
The extra step’s not really necessary. I could just provide recipes or samples as Kuro…
“And these aren’t magic tools, but maybe you could offer some other convenient items, too?”
Arisa showed them a peeler I made for vegetables and explained how it worked.
For some reason, Tifaleeza took particular interest in this, murmuring, “Even I might be able to peel vegetables with something like this.”
“Oh, I know! Why not collect ideas from the public, too? Like a ‘Mildly Convenient Ideas Contest’ or something.”
“An idea contest? Would we really get useful ideas right away?”
“No, definitely not. But you could pay one silver coin even for silly ideas and just gather as many new ones as you can. Statistically, you’ll get a good idea eventually—just think of it as an investment until then.”
Arisa’s suggestion sounded familiar, although I couldn’t remember if it was some historical folklore from China or maybe just from a manga.
“It might be fun to put up all the ideas on a wall, too. Sometimes you might think of something new by looking at them, or other people might start a conversation by looking at the ideas. Maybe it’ll even form a whole community!”
Arisa was getting excited; she couldn’t seem to stop talking.
In the end, she kept spouting ideas until Mia got impatient and barged in with Nana to interrupt.
Eluterina seemed deeply impressed with all of Arisa’s ideas, to the point where she said she wanted to get Kuro’s permission to hire her as “Echigoya Company’s official advisor.”
Since Arisa seemed happy about the idea, too, I figured I might as well give permission.
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