/
—A few minutes later.
“Hey Haruto! That thing in there is ground-breaking! I’m going to have it installed in all the toilets in the castle!”
With such excitement, Dillan returned.
Rubel and the other ministers were so excited that their eyes were just short of popping out.
“I brought a total of ten to give away, so how many more do you need?”
At my words, Dillan turned to Rubel.
“Let’s see…the total number of toilets in the castle is forty-five. If we subtract the ones you’re gifting this time, we’ll be needing thirty-five more.”
“I see. Then we’ll order thirty-five more units.”
“I understand. There are two types of this product, a low-priced version and a version for nobles, and the one I brought today is exclusively for dedication, which is different from both. The only difference between the one for the nobles and the one for dedication is the decoration, so if you don’t mind I could deliver the version for the nobles?”
The one for the nobles costs five gold coins.
When I told this to Dillan, he said…
“Yes, that will be fine.”
“Is it okay to deliver the day after tomorrow? Because I’ll be busy tomorrow on opening day.”
“Okay then. The day after tomorrow it is. Do I pay in advance?”
“No, same day is fine.”
“All right then. You may be excused.”
“Yes, sir.”
“This concludes the audience.”
Finne and I withdrew from the audience chamber.
After waiting for Iris in the living room and joining her, we left the castle.
“Until the very end, Haruto was not nervous in front of His Majesty. Even your rigid formal speech broke off somewhere in the middle.”
On our way back home, Finne took a jab at me and laughed.
“No point getting all nervous now right. We’ve met so many times after all, I think it’s time you stop being nervous as well, Finne!”
“Yeah, easy for you to say…I just get nervous when it comes to a formal audience.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
If Finne could say that, then it must be so.
～
When I returned to the store, I quickly informed the staff that an order had been placed.
Then I called out to Bohbee, who was in charge.
“Got a minute?”
“One moment, please.”
Bohbee finished his instructions and turned to me.
“What’s up, boss?”
“I’m curious about the reaction of the other trading companies…how do you think our opening will affect them?”
“The other trading companies, sir? I guess it depends on how much products other than the toilet seats sell, so I can only come up with an estimate at most, is that okay?”
“Sure. I’m an amateur when it comes to running a business.”
I could somehow predict what might happen, but I couldn’t be sure of the specifics.
Hearing my response, Bohbee puts his hand on his chin in thoughts.
“Um, I suppose…if the Ashtaroth Chamber of Commerce* makes enough profit to affect its surroundings, the survival of other trading companies will be at stake. In that case, they will go with the first trick in the book, which is spread bad publicity about the Ashtaroth Chamber of Commerce. Some of them might even send assassins as a hardline measure.” (TLN: Trading company)
Well, I think it’s fair to say that Bohbee is right.
I’m still planning to bring out more new products in the future…so if the trading company thrives, that would mean more enemies.
“Do you really think there is a good chance of assassins coming after us?”
“Honestly. I think there is a very good chance that there will be a lot of sabotage and attacks. I mean, it’s such a wonderful product, there is no doubt it’s going to make a lot of waves…I don’t think there will be anyone daring enough to pick a fight with the boss, who is an EX rank, but keep in mind this place is close to the aristocrat district, and the nobles have ties to trading companies, and most of them don’t play around with their interests. Bottom line is, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.”
Well, that’s true.
Since Dillan rules this country, it’s safe to say that there probably aren’t that many weirdos, but I can’t say for sure that there aren’t any at all.
“Got it. I’m making sure that the current employees are as competent as B-rank adventurers, but I think it would be better to increase security at night as well. At the very least, I’ll find someone capable of dealing with C-rank adventurers.”
“Dealing with C-rank…goodness me, are our current employees that strong?”
“Yeah. They received training from me and the other members of the house…speaking of which, I’m wondering whether to train the new recruits the same way?”
I said it so easily that Bohbee was left absolutely speechless.
“Good talk, glad we had this conversation. Okay then, I leave the recruitment to you. As always, scout from among the slaves.”
“All right. But when it comes to slaves, I will need your blood to conclude the contract…it would be impractical running to get your blood each and every time, and in cases where you are away from the country for an extended period, I won’t be able to recruit new employees at all. How do we resolve this boss?”
Oh, that’s true. Each time I hired a new employee these days, I gave him my blood in advance and had them conclude a contract with me using it.
“Hmm…how about, I designate one of the slaves as the master during the contract, is that possible?”
“Yes, it is. In that case, boss would be the superior master, and can give out orders.”
Oh, isn’t that convenient? Then, I would go with that.
I immediately called Benak and Hatra, who were working nearby. They were the three slaves that I bought along with their daughter Hayna.
Incidentally, Hayna was carrying goods a little distance from me.
“How may I be of assistance, master?”
Benak asked.
I informed them that there might be an attack tonight, and that I will be increasing the number of slave employees to prepare for it.
Although Hatra was a bit jumpy at the mention of an attack, I assured them that there was no need to be frightened as they already possess the strength equivalent to a B-rank.
“The employees dispatched here will be an asset when we open our next store…so, I want you, Benak, to conclude the contract with the new slaves on my behalf.”
“Are you fine with me, sir?”
“I’ve seen how hardworking you are. So I know that I can entrust this to you. You will work with Bohbee picking out the slaves.”
“T-Thank you, sir!”
When I instructed him to do so, Benak’s eyes teared up and he bowed his head.
“Take the new employees directly to the employees’ quarters.”
“Yes sir, as you wish.”
Then, Bohbee asked me.
“Speaking of which, boss, what about slaves with physical defects? I mean fixing them up is a piece of cake for you boss, but what shall we do in your absence.”
Whoops, there is that too.
“Don’t worry. I will prepare a potion that can heal physical defects, so if you find someone who seem capable, buy them and use the potion on them. Oh, and be sure to only use the potion in the mansion or in the quarters to avoid any commotion.”
“A potion to cure physical defects?! Isn’t that an elixir…”
Bohbee clamored in surprise at my words.
Benak and Hatra were also speechless.
“I’m not going to sell this, so don’t worry. How about, I prepare a secured magic bag that only the three of you and the people in the mansion can access, I’ll put it in that bag and hand it over to you.”
The three of them nodded deeply, saying, “Understood”.
“Bohbee will assist you with the slave selection at first, but once you get familiar with the process, he will leave it completely to you, Benak. Once Benak purchases the slaves, Bohbee will train them as employees. When he’s finished with that, they will then begin combat training.”
“Yes, sir…the sooner the better, right?”
“Well…it’s best to get right to it as soon as possible, so once the store opens and things settle down a bit, you can get to it.”
The three of them nodded at my words.
I guess I can rest easy now.
“I’m off then. Tomorrow I will be at the store from the opening moment to closing. Make sure y’all ready. Also, tell everyone to take it easy and rest early.”
Bohbee and the others responded cheerfully, “Okay!” and sent us off.
On the way back to the mansion, both Finne and Iris said they were surprised to see me actually in charge.
…That was a compliment, right?