I asked the last two candidates.
“Since you stayed behind, I take it you’re alright with slimes? Everyone else is gone.” [Ryouma]
The two quietly nodded.
“Then could you tell me your name? Also, if there are any conditions you would like to have, please feel free to speak up. The man can start.” [Ryouma]
I first called out to the middle-aged man. These people are quite interesting. First of all, the clothes they were are very different from the clothes the people in town wear. They look just like those Chinese actors in Kung Fu movies, so I noticed them as soon as I entered the room. Not to mention that rod the man is carrying and the woman’s hair ornament…
While thinking that to myself as I observed them, the man spoke.
“My name is Fei. This here my daughter, Leerin [1]. It would be great if you can hire us both.” [Fei]
He talks just like one! And it seems he’s the dad of the woman.
“So you’re father and daughter.” [Ryouma]
“She takes after her mother, so she does not look like me. Also, there’s something I need to tell you.” [Fei]
When Fei said that, he showed me his right leg. A splint could be seen attached to it.
“I’m actually merchant from a country called Zilmar, but it was getting dangerous because of war, so I left. Unfortunately, I lost all my money when I came to this country. Now all we have left are my stuff and my daughter.
At first, we had no money at all, but by working at the mines, we slowly saved up money. Too bad the cave collapsed and now my leg is broken. We don’t have enough money to ask healer to treat me, so it will be a while before I can recover. Is this problem?” [Fei]
A broken bone, huh?
If I recall correctly, a medium heal should be able to take care of it. If not, then the advanced Mega Heal should. I can’t use either, but my heal slimes can. And even if Fei can’t be treated, I can just put him in as a receptionist.
“You can just work as a receptionist until you recover. It won’t be an issue.” [Ryouma]
“Really?” [Fei]
“Yes. Being a receptionist is a great job too. There won’t be any problems as long as you can deal with the customers properly. Do you have any particular requests regarding the salary?” [Ryouma]
“None. As long as we can live, it’s good enough.” [Fei]
“I see. Then let’s move on to daughter next… Leerin-san, right? Do you have any special requests?” [Ryouma]
“As long as you hire us both and give us enough to live, I have no complaints. Housing too would be nice, or maybe introduction to cheap place. We currently live in guild temporary housing. Once finds job we have to leave.” [Leerin]
“Because of leg no one want hire me. Right now we somehow getting by thanks to daughter doing odd jobs. We don’t have much money anymore. If you can find us cheap lodging, we won’t complain.” [2]
If they want lodging, then there’s the lodging I built with my store. It’s vacant right now, so they could just use that. They also don’t seem to be looking for particularly high wages, so the wages we planned should be enough. And although they’re foreigners, we’re able to understand each other, so that’s good.
Besides, although these people seem to be hiding something, they’re quite strong. They’re like Jeff-san and the others. I can’t see any opening. In fact, they’re way stronger than any bandit I’ve fought yet. I can probably leave the store’s security to them if I hire them.
“We have lodging for employees. You can stay there.” [Ryouma]
“Really!? That’s great, ne!” [Fei]
Everyone else went home already and I don’t think there’s any problem with their abilities, but… There’s one thing I need to confirm.
“There’s just one thing I want to ask. Before that, guild master.” [Ryouma]
“What is it?” [Grisera]
“I’m truly sorry about this, but could I ask you to give us some privacy? It’s about the store.” [Ryouma]
I said it like that, but I really want her to leave.
These two probably aren’t from an honest trade.
It’s not too strange for people in this world to kill in self-defense. I’ve personally killed around 30 bandits myself, but that’s nothing before these two.
It’s my first time feeling like this. is this what they mean when they say ‘the smell of death?’ It’s not just Japan. It’s my first time feeling this even in this world.
Just in case, it might be better for the guild master to leave. It won’t be easy fighting if I have to protect her too.
I’m sure I made it clear I want her to leave, but…
“What are you chasing me out for? If there’s something wrong, then tell me.” [Grisiera]
Unfortunately, that had the opposite effect, and now she wants to hear my reason.
“It’s regarding the store’s secret.” [Ryouma]
Still, I want her to leave. I implied that while keeping my on the two.
It was then that Fei made his move.
“Guild master, it’s enough, yo. He’s already found us out, ne.” [Fei]
Hmm? This is a bit different from what I expected.
“Boss, I wonder just who you are, ne? We may be former killers, but we have no intention of picking a fighting with you, yo. The guild master too, ne.” [Fei]
True, I don’t really feel any hostilities coming from him.
“Guild master, you knew?” [Ryouma
[1] RAW says リーリン, which is literally Leerin. If you have any better interpretations of the name, just leave it in the comments.
[2] I’ll cut the accent here and use the other style, where I just add the Japanese accents at the end in romaji, just like I do for Raypin, Asagi, and the others. Let me know which one you prefer in the comments. It’s also possible to just kill their character and just make them talk like everyone else. Let me know if you prefer that. Or if you have any other ideas just say it.
“Naturally. I don’t know about others, but when I introduce someone, especially someone from another country, I make sure I’m introducing someone good. Can’t accidentally introduce a spy, after all. These two really did run away frmo their country, though. Still, it’s pretty amazing that you noticed something was off about these two.” [Grisiera]
“I thought our disguise was pretty good, though.” [Leelin]
“Only the guid master and you have found us out so far. Boss, you’re not just a normal person, are you? That makes one really curious.” [Fei]
Leelin-san looked depressed, but Fei-san just asked that lastquestion with a faint smile.
“I don’t have sharp eyes like the guild master does, but I’ve studied martial arts for a long time, so I can tell when someone is strong or weak. Besides…” [Ryouma]
“Besides?” [Fei]
“I noticed you were carrying some hidden weapons on you.” [Ryouma]
“Fei! Leelin! You brought stuff like that without you!?” [Grisiera]
“Oh, wow… You noticed that too?” [Fei]
“Stuff regarding hidden weapons was beaten into me really badly in the past. The scariest creatures in this world are humans. They use their heads, trick people, and when your guard is down, they strike. What allows people to do that are hidden weapons. If one wishes to defend against those, then one needs to study hidden weapons, or so I was often told…” [Ryouma]
It’s just my real dad I’m talking about here, but now that I think about him, it sure feels nostalgic…
“I was attacked a lot. Sometimes when we passed by each other in the house, and sometimes when I was just minding my own business.” [Ryouma]
“Just how in the world did you live your life?” [Grisiera]
“You sort of feel like our kind of people, but you feel different.” [Leelin]
“You’re like us, but it seems you only learned the techniques.” [Fei]
They can tell that much just by my aura? That’s amazing…
“My master thought me my skills, but I only started using them 3 years ago against bandits.” [Ryouma]
“So it’s the difference in years. We’ve taken plenty of jobs to take bandits or traitors. Lots of wars break out in our country, so the public order is really bad. If people like us don’t go around offing people here and there, it’s hard to manitain order. That part about being a merchant wasn’t a lie. We normally work as peddlers.” [Fei]
“Our boss lost in the war and our work and our country became meaningless, so we came here. We haven’t done any jobs worth being proud of. Will you still hire us despite that?” [Leelin]
“Since the guild master acknowledged you, then I’ll accept you so long as you do your job properly.” [Ryouma]
If they don’t cause problems and work properly, then the past doesn’t really matter. Everyone has a secret or two, right?
“Really? We thought for sure no would want us once they came to know of our past.” [Fei]
“We even prepared to run away.” [Leelin]
“Please don’t run away. My store really needs help right now, and there’s no one left ot hire… Anyway, what matters is the now. Your past doesn’t really matter, so please come work at my store. Also, would it be possible to also ask you to work as bodyguards?” [Ryouma]
If the guild master knew of their situation and still chose to introduce them, then it’s probably fine. She has better eyes than me, after all.
From time to time, it even feels like she knows I’m actually already past 40… I hope it’s just my imagination.
“We’ll work hard.” [Fei]
“Leave the security to us.” [Leelin]
“I’ll hire you officially then. I look forward to working with you.” [Ryouma]
After we exchanged bows, the guild master spoke.
“Done? Then go. A carriage has already been prepared.” [Grisiera]
“Thank you, guild master.” [Ryouma]
“Something like this… Don’t mind it. Fei, Leelin, make sure to work hard, aright? This kid’s store is really promising. And next time, don’t carry hidden weapons on you!” [Grisiera]
“We can’t keep calm without them.” [Leelin and Fei]
“How long are you planning to act like assassins!? You’re merchant’s now, ain’t ya!? …Although they’re like this, they’re not bad people. They’ve never committed any crimes either. Please take care of them.” [Grisiera]
“I will.” [Ryouma]
“Take this too. It’s their resume. They have experience working in the military. Show them to those two from Serge’s.” [Grisiera]
“Alright… Wait a moment, wouldn’t it have been better if you just handed this to me from the start?” [Ryouma]
“Hee hee hee. This old granny here just wanted to see how good your eyes are. I wanted to see the quality of the workers you end up choosing when choosing blind. It was a bit shocking seeing all those other guys leaving just like that, but these two are the real deal. They can definitely do the job. Oh, and your eyes aren’t bad. Although I’m not sure if they’re very good from a merchant’s perspective. Well, either way, do your best.” [Grisiera]
“Thank you.” [Ryouma]
I left the guild with Fei-san and Leelin-san, then we went back to the store with the carriage that the guild master prepared.
When I got back to the store, there was a large crowd of customers gathered. It wasn’t as big as the crowd from this afternoon, but the 2 employees were very busy.
“Welcome back, Boss!” [Carm and Carla]
“What an amazing crowd…” [Leelin]
“This is the owner’s store? It’s really doing well.” [Fei]
“I’ll help them out. Carm-san, Carla-san, I’ll help. Let’s deal with the customers first.” {Ryouma]
“I’ll work too, Boss. I can at least carry stuff.” [Leelin]
“Me too. I can at least carry the laundry.” [Fei]
“Thanks! Don’t push yourselves too hard, though. Just do what you can.” [Ryouma]
They offered to help themselves, so I won’t hold back. Fei-san was supposed to be just a receptionist, but it seems he can work a little too.
Like this we dealt with the lunch rush of the customers, and we were somehow able to finish everything by our closing time.
After hanging the closed sign in front of the store, I closed the store for the day.
“Fuu… Good work, everyone!” [Ryouma]
“You too, Boss!” [Carm, Carla, Fei, Leelin]
“Ryouma-sama, are they the new hands you employed today?” [Carm]
“Yes, the man is Fei-san and the woman is Leelin-san.” [Ryouma]
“My name is Fei. It’s nice to meet you.” [Fei]
“My name is Leelin. It’s good to meet you.” [Leelin]
“I am Carm Norad.” [Carm]
“I am Carla Norad. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” [Carla]
“You were supposed to start work tomorrow, but you ended up working today instead.” [Ryouma]
“You’re also providing us a place to stay, so this much is a given, I believe.” [Leelin]
“Helping out when it’s busy is only natural. That being said, there’s something I’d like to ask.” [Fei]
“What is it, Fei-san?” [Ryouma]
“We carried a lot of laundry today, but when did you wash them? We just put the laundry we got from the customers into the wall, and then retrieved them from the slimes.” [Fei]
“Oh, right. I still haven’t explained to you how we wash clothes here yet.” [Ryouma]
After giving them the usual explanation regarding the cleaner slimes and the goblin loin cloth, the two was able to understand. Moreover, after seeing how busy the store was today, they were able to confirm with their own eyes what the guild master meant when she said that my store was promising. When I told them that today was actually the store’s opening day, they were shocked.
Even in my previous life, the only place I could think of that could attract so many customers on the opening day is probably… a pachinko parlor, at most. Anyway, it’s really weird in this world for a shop to attract so much customers on its opening day. But after talking to the customers, I was able to figure out what made the store so popular. Apparently, the adventurers had spread rumors of the store.
The adventurers who participated in the goblin subjugation told their adventurer friends, families, and even the general public about my laundromat. And then Pauline-san and her friends spread even more rumors themselves. Other than those two major sources, there were also people who found out about the store from other places.
“Laundry here is very affordable, so there were plenty of people who wanted to try it this morning.” [Ryouma]
“Then the people who tried it in the morning told others of their experience, and people came in droves in the afternoon to experience the store for themselves. It seems this situation is likely to continue for a while.” [Carm]
Even though there’s no phones or twitter, word of mouth is still really powerful. I may have underestimated it a bit. Or maybe it’s just not a good idea to just casually use what I could to promote my store… But, no… Having a lot of customers is a good thing.
Well, putting what’s done aside, since we finally have time for a breather, maybe I should heal Fei-san’s legs.” [Ryouma]
“Carm-san, Carla-san, can I ask for your to take care of the rest?” [Ryouma]
“Of course.” [Carm and Carla]
“Thank you very much. Then the two of you please come with me.” [Ryouma]
I led Fei-san and Leelin-san to the store’s break room, where I asked them to sit and wait for a while. A little later i came back with 2 heal slimes.
When I told them that the heal slimes could use High Heal, they were shocked, but were nonetheless thankful if Fei could be healed.
I ordered the two heal slimes to heal Fei, and Fei’s leg was completely healed. Fei had broken his leg, so it took 3 casts each slime to fully heal his leg, totaling to 6 casts of High Heal all in all.
“Thank you. I’m glad that my leg is finally healed. Thank you. Really.” [Fei]
“Normally, it would cost a lot of money to ask a healer for treatment. Are you sure it’s really okay for us to receive your help for free.” [Leelin]
“It’s my job to make sure that the employees can work efficiently. If it’s something I or my slimes could do, then there’s no need to charge for it. That’s why it’s okay to make this treatment free.” [Ryouma]
There’s a healer in town who can use intermediate healing magic, but because of the skill and mana required to cast such a spell, it costs quite a bit of money to ask him to cast his spell once. For something on the level of a broken bone, which would require more than just one casting, the price easily shoots up. Apparently, the reason Fei-san had been doing odd jobs here and there within the guild while refraining from receiving treatment from the healer was because he was hoping to heal his broken leg with time.
“If we’d left the country a little wealthier, we would have immediately been able to heal it with magic, but unfortunately, we already used most of our wealth as bribe just so we could leave.” [Fei]
“So that’s why you don’t have any money.” [Ryouma]
“The guards of our country’s borders are greedy. So long as you pay them, they’ll turn a blind eye to a crime and even someone fleeing the country. In the case you don’t have money, they’ll catch you and hand you over to the country to get the reward, so we couldn’t not pay them. And if we tried to cheap out on the bribe, then if the reward was higher, we would either be caught or it would become very difficult to run.” [Fei][
“Because of the kind of jobs we did in the country, if others found out, our reward would be much a higher than a normal person’s. Because of that there are people who catch normal people, hoping that they’d turn out to be our sort of people that would net them a huge profit. Because of that people who run usually pay up with almost everything they have. There’s no point trying to save money when your life is on the line.” [Leelin]
Fei-san and Leelin-san quietly spoke.
Zilmar sure sounds like a dangerous country… They also mentioned that plenty of wars are being fought in it. I wonder if the country is going to be destroyed soon.
After talking with them for a bit, I alloted Fei-san and Leelin-san their rooms, then I let them sort out their luggage in their respective rooms.
After that I went back to the store and listened to Carla-san’s report regarding our store’s earnings.
“Today we earned 791 medium copper coin and 8 small copper coins, totalling to 7,918 suits.” [Carla]
I asked the two pros how this sort of income compares to other stores, and apparently, the daily income of a medium-sized store without any noble customers is about 4,000 suits.
Today’s income was quite shocking even after subtracting the expenses incurred. It was even more shocking when you realize that this is actually the store’s income for its opening day.
“What amazing profits!” [Carm]
“At this rate, we might be able to equal the profit of a large store without any noble customers!” [Carla]
“How much would that be daily?” [Ryouma]
“About 20,000 suits. More than that and it’s hard to categorize them. After all, once the nobles start getting into the picture, the income of a store shoots up. Being able to sell a high-class item just gives so much profits even after subtracting expenses.” [Carm]
“There’s also a lot of people who love to splurge their money on excessively luxurious goods.” [Carla]
“I see… Well, in our case, nobles probably won’t come into the equation, so if we could make 2.5 times tour income today, then we should be able to make the same income as a large company.” [Ryouma]
“Considering how much we made today, we might be able to achieve just that within a month. The adventurers guild still haven’t come and we’re also likely to get more customers.” [Carla]
“In fact, there might come a time when our income in a day is more than a medium gold coin.” [Carm]
“Ha ha ha, that’s probably impossible.” [Ryouma]
A medium gold coin is 50,000 suits. There’s no way…
“It’s possible!” [Carm and Carla]
Huh? Really?
“This is a miner’s town. There are plenty of miners and people engaged in the steelworks industry. Although there are less people today compared to before due to one of the mines being abandoned – or at least that’s what I heard – but even then, there should still be about 10,000 people.” [Carla]
“Those customers won’t just bring one bag when they get their laundry cleaned. Although it might be difficult to get a medium gold coin regularly, but it should still be possible if for example the adventurers guild were to come with a big job.” [Carm]
“I see…” [Ryouma]
So in other words, it might be possible occasionally.
“Moreover, if Ryouma-sama builds a branch store in another town, reaching that daily medium gold coin income shouldn’t be difficult.” [Carm]
“You’re already thinking of a branch store? That’s too fast.” [Ryouma]
“Perhaps, but there’s no harm in thinking.” [Carm]
“If we can get our hands on some trusted workers, building a branch store should be a trifling matter.” [Carla]
Well, it is true that we made so much today even though it’s our first day. But let’s put that aside for now. Right now what we should be doing is testing the waters and seeing how things go.
“Oh, right. I forgot. Here’s the resume of the two new workers that I hired.” [Ryouma]
“We’ll look into it.” [Carm and Carla]
The twins started treading the resume I gave them.
“You said it’s enough to pay the employees a liveable wage, but they’re also going to be working as bodyguards, so please give them a bigger salary. MAke it 150 suits a day.” [Ryouma]
“You two have experience in the military? That’s reassuring.” {Carla]
After that I exchanged greetings with the four and went back to the lodging.
When I got back, I reported to Reinhart-san and Co.
When they heard how much I made, they were shocked.
