Chapter 18

Congratulations. After all this, I’m pretty sure we could all build our own bathhouses if we wanted to.

First Customer

It was a little after evening.

After being satisfied with her cruel physical punishment, Reeve whispered, “Why don’t we sell towels at the bathhouse?”

After being satisfied with her shame and humiliation, Frau whispered, “Why don’t we sell soap for washing your body and perfume for shampooing?”

After being satisfied with her gentle and caring treatment, Claire whispered, “Why don’t we provide fruit juice to be enjoyed after bathing?”

You three….this isn’t the time to be thinking about business.

There are several guilds in Warren.

The “Adventurer Guild” manages the labyrinths, registers and supports adventurers, and operates vigilante justice within the town.

The “Workshop Guild” is composed of craftsmen including blacksmiths, carpenters, masonry etc. They allocate work orders and job assignments for large-scale projects. They also perform research to equalize and improve on the quality of infrastructure.

The “Merchant Guild” is a cooperative which contributes to protecting Warren’s economy and regulating the distribution of illegal items and unjust dumping. They also perform tax collection on behalf of Warren.

The “Magician Guild” is a mutual aid group that monitors their magicians and strives to improve magic. They are currently inactive.

The “Thieves Guild” has the premise that it takes care of all Warren’s dirty work. They work behind the scenes to facilitate the operation of the city, and everyone sees them as a necessary evil. Due to the nature of the guild, it is the strongest pyramid type organization.

Ellis belongs to the thief guild, Frau to the adventurer guild, and Claire has a relationship with the workshop guild respectively.

Regarding the sales of the bathhouse, Ellis already entered the protection of the thieve’s guild, but if she wanted to provide merchandise like the three had suggested, she would need to make a deal with the merchant guild.

So Ellis decided to go to the thieve’s guild to get a referral from the guild master.

“Hello, Katie.”

“Hello, Ellis, nya. What are you doing today, nya?”

“Is the master here?”

“Wait a bit, nya.”

Katie retracted to the back of the guild, but like usual, she was back in an instant with a smile on her face.

“He’ll see you, nya.”

When Ellis knocked on the master’s office door, a familiar brilliant voice echoed from the room.

“Oh, come in!”

“Excuse me.” When she opened the door, the master was sinking into the room’s sofa with his usual Mr. Doughboy appearance. Ellis sat in the usual chair next to the master’s desk and turned it to face the couch.

“Oh Ellis, I’m glad to see that you’re doing well!”

Master seems to be in a good mood. In that case the story should go quickly.

“Master, the bathing business should start soon.”

“Alrighty then. I’ll pick out a dispatch manager and send them over right away.”

“It’s a women’s only bath so send over a woman.”

“Gotcha.” The master already had an inkling on Ellis’s tastes and started laughing restfully again.

“So, did you need anything else today?”

“No, I actually was thinking about selling some bath supplies while managing the bathhouse.”

The master understood Ellis’s intentions.

“Well, if you do, then you’ll have to register with the merchant’s guild and buy your supplies from them. I’ll write you a letter of introduction.”

After receiving the letter, Ellis bid her farewells to the master and Katie before heading out to the merchant guild building. It was placed in a corner of the city’s center where the luxury shops stand.

“Hello.”

The merchant guild had a large wooden door, and when Ellis passed through it, she immediately headed towards the reception desk in this needlessly large lobby.

The receptionist was a nervous looking middle-aged man. He was writing something down at first, and didn’t look up at Ellis until she’d reached the desk. When she stopped walking, he looked up and spoke softly.

“Are you here to pass a message?”

Ellis handed over the letter of introduction from the thief guild master and began to explain about the bathhouse and how she wanted to start selling bath products at the facility.

Once Ellis completed her explanation, the man took out a sheet of paper from the bottom of the counter.

“Then please list the items you plan to sell first.”

Once Ellis had written down all the items Reeve and the others had suggested, she handed the form back to the receptionist. The receptionist gave the form a once-over before beginning to write on it himself.

“This figure is the purchase price for the items from the guild, and this figure is the minimum selling price of the items.”

The man began to explain that if you are going to start a business in Warren, you have to buy your goods from the merchant guild. Commission and guarantee fees along with taxes are included in the procurement fee. On the other hand, when selling goods, they require prices to not fall below a certain level. This is a measure to prevent price dumping.

“What do I do if I want to buy goods from a workshop or plantation?”

“If you don’t want to have a dispute with the merchant guild, your best bet is to sell the goods you purchased elsewhere to the guild once and then repurchase them back from the guild. This is the simplest and safest way.”

The term ‘safety’ here means that you are able to prove that you payed your taxes to Warren since the tax on goods is included in the merchant guild’s procurement fee.

No matter what world you live in, tax collectors are scary.

Ellis only had one more question. “Is it possible to do a consignment sale?”

The man was curious over a term he had never heard before. “What is consignment?”

“It means that the merchant guild would take direct control of the sale of goods and they would then pay a commission of the sales to the bathhouse.

Ha.

The man was impressed. This girl had a head for business.

According to the letter of introduction, the bathhouse belongs to the thieve’s guild, so the receptionist understood that Ellis would have to pay a significant amount of the sales to the guild. That would include product sales as well. Since there is little cost in bath management, profits will still remain even after the guild takes its cut, but the story changes if that includes the sale of goods as well. If it is this then it would be better to have the merchant guild directly sell the merchandise, reap the profits, and pay the fee to the bathhouse. Then she can just hand over a portion of that fee to the thief guild.

And there’s nothing the thief guild can do about it without coming into conflict with the merchant guild.

The secretary’s smile loosened. “It depends on the sales record.”

Ellis then returned home after finding out about the purchase place and ordering/transaction method.

“That’s why.” Ellis explained the situation to the four at the dinner table. “We need sales records for the time being, so I will handle the sales at first.”

After that, Frau raised her hand.

“In fact, applications from the adventurer guild are finally being sent out to start accepting residents to the girls’ dormitory next door. Because I have to prepare their meals, I would like to use the mansion’s kitchen.”

It seems that there is no problem since all food expenses will be paid for by the adventurer guild.

Then Claire puts up her hand as well.

“I’d like to open up a design office here since my master’s office will take care of the post-construction.”

Apparently, Claire intends to commence full-scale building design work on behalf of the office at the mansion. Even though Claire is talking like the boss will be taking over construction, Ellis was pretty sure he fully intended to sub-contract the design to her new office.

However, Ellis likes to avoid saying unnecessary things.

Then Reeve also raised her hand although she looked a little embarrassed for doing so.

“Since we no longer clean ourselves in the washroom, I would like to use that room exclusively for laundry.”

This is equivalent to Reeve declaring that she would take care of the laundry for all four of them. Even though she looked a little embarrassed over it, this is perhaps the most important thing for the other three workaholic people.

You guys are full of motivation. Ellis was overwhelmed.

Ellis and Reeve decided to work together and obtain the first delivery of goods and observe the merchant guild. They both take out a palm sized straw horse doll from their respective Bags of Gluttony, and cast the command word.

Magical Horse–Performs the same actions as a horse by the command of the rider. Required MP: 3. Command word: {Come along race horse.} To return it to its miniature size: {Sleep well, race horse.}

After activation, the straw horses grew to a normal horses’ size, and Ellis and Reeve rode them to the merchant guild’s purchase site. Since Magical horses move according to their rider’s will, there is no need for the rider to have the normal skills required to ride a horse. The only drawback is that the horse can’t perform complex movements. If you were to compare it, it would be similar to a moped from Eiji’s world?

When the two arrived at the purchase site, they put away their Magical horses and found the manager of the warehouse. Ellis handed over the the merchant guild issued sales permit and item statement slip, and the manager checked the contents of the paperwork.

“Please wait one moment,” the uncle told the two of them as he disappeared into the warehouse.

After awhile, the manager returned with a wheelbarrow carrying the goods.

“Would you like to check the goods?”

The manager handed Ellis the item detail slip. She took out a pen and asked Reeve to confirm the product name and the quantity in the wheelbarrow.

“100 sets of large and small towels.”

“Yes, one set for 250 ril.”

“100 bottles of perfume.”

“Yes. 100 ril for each bottle.”

“100 pieces of soap.”

“Yes. this is also 100 ril each.”

“Lastly, one barrel of fruit juice.”

“Yes. One barrel for 5 thousand ril.”

“Everything’s here then. It comes to 50 thousand ril, right uncle?”

“That’s correct.” The manager received the payment from Reeve and filled out a receipt-like document.

“Do you girls want me to prepare a Magical horse to carry the baggage load?”

To the manager’s kind offer, Reeve and Ellis shook their heads.

“Thank you, but I think we can store it if it’s only this much.”

Answering the manager, Reeve opened up her pouch and sucked in the baggage loaded on the wheelbarrow. Luckily, the manager did not seem particularly surprised by the sight, and he instead seemed a little impressed.

“Oh, it is unusual to see a pouch type Adventurer’s bag. It looks nice.”

He seems to have misunderstood and assumed that Reeve’s pouch was just an Adventurer’s bag. The fact that they didn’t have to explain anything left them both feeling grateful.

Once everything is taken care of and Ellis and Reeve had remounted their Magical horses, the manager waved farewell to them.

“It’s cash only right now, but if you build up some credit, I can even offer you girls a bargain. Good luck out there!”

“Thank you!” After bowing their heads to the kind warehouse manager, Ellis and Reeve rode off back to the mansion with their purchases in tow.

On that day signboards were set up around Ellis’s mansion.

The first sign advertised “Claire’s design office” built beside the entrance of the mansion. Secondly, there was a sign that showed off the “Adventurer guild women’s dormitory” located at the entrance of the mansion’s neighboring house. And lastly was a sign put up at the entrance of the newly built public bath, “Female private washroom: Lily Garden.” Everything begins tomorrow.

Well, the next morning.

Katie, the receptionist for the thief guild, was dispatched as the accountant manager on behalf of the thief guild. She is a beastkin with cat ears on her head and pure, fluffy white cat fur.

“Everyone’s regards, nya.”

Everyone besides Ellis had a bad feeling run through them as Katie lowered her head to Ellis with a carefree smile.

“Lily Garden” has begun to operate safely. On the first day Ellis and Reeve acted as receptionists behind the counter. As a matter of course, no advertisements were done in advance, so it was impossible to know how many people would come, but one customer ended up arriving earlier than Ellis had expected.

The first customer was a beautiful woman of about middle-age, but because Ellis was not interested in milfs, she did not get excited.

“Welcome.” When Ellis and Reeve gingerly welcomed the guest, the woman turned to Reeve and talked to her as if to confirm something.

“This is a woman’s only bath.”

“Aa.”

*Gon!*

*Tsu!*

Reeve’s inconsistent and nervous answer was quickly met with a swift kick from Ellis behind the counter.

“Yes, it is for women… …” Although Reeve’s expression had scrunched up with pain for a moment, she cleared it up with a smile for the customer.

Ellis also added in a smile. “All men are banned from entering.”

As she was satisfied with their answer, the woman paid Ellis the 1 thousand ril bathing fee, but Ellis noticed that the woman had not prepared any items for bathing here.

“Oh, I came empty-handed.”

Ellis immediately jumped into the sales talk. ” Perfumes for shampooing are 300 ril. The soap is 300 ril. We have large and small towel sets available at 500 ril, but what would you like?”

“Then I will buy one of each.”

“Thank you for your purchase.”

Ellis has received an additional 1100 ril in addition to the bathing fee, and she made sure to log the purchase on the sales statement.

Ellis then handed the woman a wooden plate that had a number engraved onto it.

“This will be the key to your locker. Once you have finished changing your clothes, return the key here. We will keep it safe until you are finished with your bath.”

“Okay. Is it alright if I put any of my valuables in there as well?”

“It will be fine. With the key here, we will take responsibility for any lost possessions.”

Happy with the reception, the woman stripped off her clothes in the dressing room and returned the key to the desk. Continuing on with the small towel in hand, the woman opened the door.

The woman let out a sigh of admiration for the sight in front of her. The bathhouse was elegantly illuminated piercing through the steam. A lot of hot water is constantly being drawn into the tubs, keeping the cleanliness of the water.

The woman followed the instructions from a sign placed on the wall on how to wash herself with the rinsing bath and the soaking bath. Before entering the soaking bath, the woman carefully observed the inside of the hall. Then her body slowly immersed itself into the soaking waters. While forgetting her original purpose in coming here, the woman was in the tub for awhile before realizing how unguarded she had left herself.

“That is right….” The woman understood why this bathhouse was under the control of the thief guild.

“I enjoyed it.” The woman who had fully enjoyed the hot water smiled at Ellis and Reeve behind the reception desk with rejuvenated skin.

“If you don’t mind, you can cool yourself off in the waiting area over here, and since you just got out of the hot bath, I recommend a cold drink of fruit juice.”

The woman became interested at Ellis’s recommendation. “If that is so, then I will have one cup.”

Ellis opened the lid of a container placed behind the reception counter that looked like a treasure box and took out a pottery cup from the inside.

“One cup is 200 ril.” Ellis hands over the cup with a smile.”

“Oh.” The comfortable coldness is transmitted from the cup to the woman’s fingers. “Well then, bottom’s up.”

The woman put her mouth to the cup and slowly moisturized her throat.

“Well!”

The woman was surprised. Fruit juice itself is a simple sour taste, but it can only be expressed as fresh when it is moderately diluted and chilled. It is the best drink to cool and tighten the body.

The woman instantly placed her left hand on her hip, stuck her chest out, and drank the rest of the juice all at once. Then the woman trembled for awhile.

“Oh, how embarrassing.”

Ellis watched the woman’s reaction and pointed to the other side of the hall. “There is a washroom prepared over there.”

Oh, it’s unusual for a toilet to be indoors. The woman opened the door she was directed to by Ellis.

“Well.”

There, a flowing toilet was installed that looked almost as if a small brook was flowing through the floor. On closer inspection, the water was actually faintly hot. Next to the toilet, there was more water flowing and a sign indicating this was where you would wash your hands. The woman couldn’t help but to admire it for a moment.

“It wouldn’t be crazy to pay 1 thousand ril just to use this toilet.”

After leaving the toilet, the woman put her clothes back on and called back to Ellis as she left.

“I will come again.”

“We will be waiting.”

As the woman left the building, another group walked in.

“What is it?”

“It looks interesting.”

These were a group of female adventurers who had just entered the adventurer guild women’s dormitory.

A woman sighed as she got on the carriage that had been waiting for her. The lingering feeling of the bath could still be felt on her skin.

“How was it master?”

The woman gave a serious look to the middle-aged man sitting in a seat across from her.

“This bathhouse will definitely be popular. Immediately check the surrounding land ownership situation, and then head to the thief guild afterwards.”

“Certainly.”

The Lily Garden’s first customer rode in her carriage back to the city.