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KAORU CHAPTER 14: TO THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRY, BALMOA KINGDOM
* Kaoru’s POV:
After escape from Brancott Kingdom, I keep walking for several days to the neighboring country.
Fortunately, a nice and kind merchant me picked up and is I were saved.
Actually I’m 15 year old but my body is kinda small, it can be seen considerably below, even so I were saved at such times.
Hmm, Should I pad in the wedding time?
But that gatekeeper is really a nice person.
To be honest, I have enough water and food in the item box, but since he was worrying about me, I received it silently.
Someday I will thank him if I have the chance.
The merchant who gave me a ride on the carriage seems to have a shop in Gurua Kindgom.
And I’m not forgetting my original intention, to collect information. Who know if I sometimes need to become a merchant yourself  in the future. Yeah, and I have a nice merchant right here.
However, it seems that his son who is in charge of shop, told him to stop spreading new about his shop because it’s risky.
So boring, alright I’m going to sit next to the merchant at the driver seat instead of the cargo loading plaform.
If I’m going to live in the Balmoa Kingdom and the Gurua Kingdom from now on, the informations from this merchant who seem to be residents of the royal city should be useful.
For now, I’m thinking about settling in Gurua kingdom. But first of all I need will have information gathering, information gathering direct from the merchant himself …
(T.N: I don’t have the sales knowledge, if you spot any mistake please tell me, words have many meaning and I may mistook what Author wants to say)
「Ho, so did that store drop sales?」 (Merchant)
「Yes, it was called「Half-price at the end of weekdays 」 and 「Holiday bargain 」
They can profit even if they sell at half price … the price is calculated …」 (Kaoru)
「I see…」 (Merchant)
「So, we tried to make a significant discount sale just before closing and or when we want to take care of unsold goods.
Everyone started to wait (line-up) without buying even before discounting time」 (Kaoru)
「Then …」 (Merchant)
「We will do some service for that long-line customers, ordinary customers can’t sit down and they will wander elsewhere for killing time somewhere before the half-priced sales …」 (Kaoru)
「We need an eye-catching item, … spreading? Tying?」 (Merchant)
「Closing customers and narrowing down the target audience?
No, if so then we only get some customers …」 (Kaoru)
… Just what was happened, this supposed to be an information gathering! !
***
Merchant’s POV
That was an interesting girl.
I had left the store management to my son and only running peddler as a hobby.
I picked up a little girl a few days ago on the way returning home in Gurua Kingdom.
A girl walking slowly without having luggage, aged about 11 to 12 years old.
It seems that she was heading to the Kingdom, but where did such light-dressed girl came from?
It is clear that she will take more time than ordinary people to reach the city. She has a small and delicate body that seems to end if she meet a wild dog, let alone bandit or monster.
I also have a daughter, I couldn’t leave her alone.
Although there was some space in the loading platform, she came to the driver seats as she was bored and asked a lot about the kingdom.
It seems that she is looking for a job in the Kingdom.
Before I knew it, the talk became business, the story about the shop that she knew. She is telling me that’s 「The story she heard from people」
What’s a surprise.
Why does she know so many story?
How can someone talk about such a story so a girl in a rural town can hear about it.
The merchant can’t speak the details of the job so easily.
Moreover, there are many parts that even I, an expericend merchant don’t understand but she understands the circumstances and cause properly, she also adds her own consideration, and that’s also a sharp opinion!
Until now, I didn’t think much about discounting.
There are items with expenses that align with the sales floor, and there’s a proper profit rate.
There’s also trust in each of the manufacturer, the seller, and the buyer.
I has always sold goods at a price suitable for that product.
That’s not too expensive nor too cheap to avoid disturb the market …
However, the story about the half-price and discounting this girl talking about was really interesting.
Sometimes what she talks corrects my own beliefs, it was really interesting.
The girl keeps saying 「I heard that there was such a thing」, but she is clearly familiar with the situation and she is also adding her own ideas when talking.
This girl will become an amazing person in future.
If she is looking for work, it should be no problem to hire her in our shop.
If she asks the name of our shop, I will be glad to accept her.
Okay, let’s do that!
***
We arrived at the gate of the Kingdom.
Just in a few minutes and we will be done with gate checking point. Alright, let’s do it.
「Kaoru, if it’s okay, are you willing to work at my shop?
I can provide you a living place, too.
So you don’t have to worry about place to stay」 (Merchant)
After thinking for a while, the girl smiled and answered.
「No, it’s fine, I will search for it myself …」 (Kaoru)
Huh?
「Ah, I haven’t told the name of our shop yet, we are 「Abiri Tranding Company」and I’m the owner of that company, Johann Abiri. Are you surprised ? 」
I tell her so with confidence and smile.
「… Oh, is that so.
Since I am a new to this Kingdom, I had been rude back there.
Thank you for picking me up. It’s a pleasure to talk with you. I will repay this kindness someday.
Well then, till we meet again!」 (Kaoru)
The little girl gets off the carriage that stopped at the end of the checking row, walks away after giving thanks.
Johann Abili, Abiri trading company chairman is disappointedly watching the girl walks away.
「… Well, we are Abiri Tranding Company … It was said that we are going to enter the top 3 in the kingdom.
We are famous even in neighboring countries.
There are many people who wish to work at our place, Abiri Trading Company …
For those who came out from the countryside , they should love to work at Abiri Trading Company …」 (Johann)
Johann’s voice gradually became weak, and silent.
***
* Kaoru’s POV:
(That Merchant looks like a nice person.
But if I accept living in a small shop I will busy with various chores.
And maybe, I will not have any free time like working until late at night and open the shop first time in the morning.
I don’t know whether there will be any holiday …
I’m sorry, but I will search for a job with more free time.
Now I have to find someone who can shelter me or I will make my own stand …)  (Kaoru)
* Kingdom Gurua Working Center
Well, this is no good …
I keeps searching for job with suitable recruitments.
It has been a long time since I started to investigate.
I went to the reception in order to apply about twice, but rejected as 「underage is no good」
Even though it wasn’t any strange job …
When I’m kind of feeling down, a man who was doing office work in the back addressed the receptionist.
「Hey, Aria, what about that child? Can she work at Barudo-san’s …?」 (Male receptionist)
「Oh, that’s right…」 (Aria)
The receptionist lady heard that, looking at Kaoru for a while.
「Can you do housework like cleaning and cooking?」 (Aria)
My parents had been all working, so I must took care of my siblings and housework since I was a junior high school student.
「Yes, my mother was working, so I am good at housework and take care of children!」 (Kaoru)
「Oh, maybe you can do it … working similar to a live-in helper, how about that?」 (Aria)
According to the explanation of the reception lady, it seems that a small workshop is looking for a living assistant. There are totally 5 people including the workshop owner.
Everyone is never bad persons, but other assistant find it hard to stay.
Work, meals care and cleaning, washing, and other chores.
Everybody except the workshop owner are lazy and never do anything beside work, they are all eat meals at the workshop.
It would be troublesome to return home, make meal, eat meal and return to the workshop.
It won’t be so busy and I properly clean everyday, I could make free time.
Even if I need to prepare meals, it doesn’t matter if I can’t go out during the weekday.
There’s also a holiday. Everyone seems go eating out something appropriate on that day.
Well, since there was also a period when there was no assistant that workshop was a mess, can I clean that much?
… Eh, what is it? It’s an ideal job, for me!
***
「I came with an introduction from the Working Center, my name is Kaoru」 (Kaoru)
「Oh, you don’t have to be so tense like that. Please do it comfortably」 (Barudo)
The place that I will be working is 「Maiyaru workshop」
When I say my introdution, the workshop owner , Barudo-san said that with a smile. Good, I was saved.
「In the meantime, let’s stay for a couple of days, it will be a trial period, the introduction fee isn’t high with other helper quit soon each time」 (Barudo)
Barudo says so and smiles bitterly.
「Well, for the time being, why don’t you introduce yourself to everyone?
If you think you can’t do it, please don’t keep it yourself and tell me sooner … well, I’m kind of used to it, I don’t really mind」 (Barudo)
「I understand」 (Kaoru)
Isn’t he kind of negative… ?
And I was guided to a laboratory-like place rather than a workshop, a work room …
The moment he opens the door.
「… Muu」 (Kaoru)
Odor.
Man sweat and body odor, chemical odor. Something smells like rotten. Is the corpse hidden somewhere?
And there are 4 men.
Two of them are lying on the floor.
One middle age, two young men, one boy. Well, even though he is a boy, he is an adult here.
「Get up, Carlos, Alban, There’s a new help candidate!」 (Barudo)
Both of them jumped up from their place.
「Thank you! 」 (Carlos, Alban)
「No, it’s still only a「trial  period」!」
Barudo stabbed a nail.
From the top, Carlos-san is 32 years old, Acil-san is 21 years old, Alban-san is 19, Brian-san is 16 years old.
Everyone seems to be doing their best to become a technician.
According to Barudo’s explanation, this isn’t just a workshop that makes money by making products and selling it.
They make money, developing a new technology by doing various research, and creating a new product that just like a「laboratory」
However, since there is no financial assistance from anywhere, they also make ordinary products for research expenses and living expenses earnings.
As their aim is certain, make normal product good for earning and living.
The research main project is money consume.
Because those products in the research field aren’t suitable for business etc.
And, this isn’t a businessmen but a group of researchers, so there is no concept like working time.
Sometimes they don’t wash their body for days, forget meal and faint.
They stay in the lab for days. they often speak about the content of the research, but they don’t know much when it comes to general public…
(…Ah, I need to take care of 5 children) (Kaoru)
Kaoru accurately grasped the situation.
After each person introdute and brief explanation, it’s question time.
「Well, can you clean and cook?」 (Barudo)
「Cleaning is a my force, I have been taken care of my family housework. And I also good at cooking, I’ve been cooking meal for my family from a long time ago.
Also the meals I made at the dining hall where I worked are adopted as official menus」 (Kaoru)
Huh, Everyone eyes have full of expectation.
「Well, there are things I want you to be careful about when doing cleaning here …」 (Barudo)
「Ah I know.
Even if it seems like it’s messy but the location is properly decided, I will not move it without permission.
Or even if it looks like paper scraps, it may be an important memo, so don’t discard it arbitrarily.
Or drugs are dangerous so don’t try to smell it, don’t touch it, don’t mix it, don’t throw it away?
…」 (Kaoru)
「Huh…?」 (4 men)
「Oh, did you work in same kind of place before?」 (Barudo)
「No, I never did it before …」 (Kaoru)
「………」 (5 men)
「Oh, about that, we are loose at time … If we are keen on research, we may forget the meal time …」 (Barudo)
「Well, aren’t men all like that?」 (Kaoru)
4 men are watching Kaoru with glittering eyes filled with expectations.
The expression of Barudo is also good.
Maybe Kaoru will settle in …