38 Episode 37 Travel and Stores (2/2)

However, it was not destroyed by a single demon attack, but rather a strategic retreat to limit the damage due to the gradually increasing pressure of demons.

After that, Decibatore, which used to serve the same purpose as present-day Photoren, was unable to keep up with the increasing number of demon attacks, so it abandoned its outer walls and turned into a frontline base using its inner walls and wards, and its original role was taken over by Photoren.

Because of this environment, almost all of the residents, including the innkeepers and shopkeepers, are of C rank or higher, with B rank being the most common among them.

For this reason, 50 years have passed since the city became a frontline city, and various anecdotes remain, which I was told along the way.

For example, an old friend of mine was invited to a house built by an adventurer who was injured in Decibatore and had to live in a safe city, and found that the house had no stairs despite being two stories high (according to him, if there were no stairs, why not just jump?). The adventurers who came back from Desibatore were sleeping in their houses and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings”, ”A band of bandits attacked an old man who was on his way back to his hometown, feeling the limits of Desibatore life as he declined with age, and he was destroyed by them alone”, and so on.

Of course, not everyone who couldn't keep up with them retreated, and I heard that there were many dead.

I don't know what to say, but are they really human?

Well, if it's just physical ability, I'm probably not that different from a B-rank adventurer.

But I guess that's to be expected in an environment where there are people who can run around at speeds of over 40 kilometers per hour and people who can jump 10 meters in a vertical leap.

When we stress, some of them change into something different, and the rest die out. This sounds like cells I've heard somewhere. I wonder if the soil is acidic or not.

On the first day of arrival at Photoren, I decided to take care of Catherine.

I don't mean to sell her, but to build a workshop.

I'll be the owner, and Catherine will be the workshop manager, stockist, vendor, and other duties.

I asked Catherine if she would like to try it, and she said she would if she could.

Fortunately, Fotoren, a major consumer of magic tools and a major producer of magic stones, is said to be the best location for a magic tool workshop, so we decided to buy it quickly, and with the guild we headed for the real estate agency.

The money was obtained by selling Metal Lizard Metal. It came to about 280 million ter.

But are you sure you want to do this?　There's a good chance we'll be in the red.

It's okay, it's okay, I've got about 300 million, and even if there's a deficit, if I get better at making magic tools with it, that will also increase my wealth, and even if there's a deficit, I won't ask you to pay for it, so just give it a try.

Is that how it is? Rich people think differently.

That's the way it is.

I've only recently become rich, and it's more of a Japanese thought process.

No, if it was a stereotypical Japanese thought process, they wouldn't invest it, they'd put it in savings.

While we were talking, we came to a real estate agency. Or rather, I thought it was a real estate agency, but it was actually a commercial guild.

Excuse me, I'd like to start a mage shop, do you have any recommendations?　If possible, I'd like a place that can be used for living.

If you're looking for a magic shop, this is the place for you.

What I was introduced to was a small store divided into two rooms.

It looks like one side is for living and the other side is a store. The selling price was 7 million yen. I don't think two rooms in a store is too expensive.

I'll take that one then.

I take out 70 large gold coins and put them on the table. I received all the money in large gold coins.

I don't want to be given platinum coins, which are not for everyday use.

So you're going to make a quick decision?

Yeah, why not?

No, I'd love to, but it would save me a lot of trouble.

So the decision was made.

Catherine had studied accounting as well, so she would be in charge of the store.

The salary will be three thousand ter a month, and if the monthly profit after taxes exceeds three hundred thousand, I'll give you ten percent of it.

I can't believe I'm getting that much!

However, if the performance is so bad that we cannot expect improvement, we will take appropriate measures, and the remaining amount should be deposited in the commercial guild.

It's not as if the Suzumiya Group has that much money either.

I understand, I'll do my best!

And the name of the store is Caederine's Mage Shop.

I just thought of that name.

What? ......

What do you think? Isn't that a great name?

What?

Huh.

You got a problem with that?

Honestly, I don't know.

My perfect naming sense was denied. ......

--After that, after many twists and turns, the name of the store was decided to be ”Kaede Catrine”. Not much has changed.

We left 300,000 Tel as the initial capital, told them to contact us through the Commercial Guild if they needed anything, and disbanded.

The wisp core is no longer needed and is in the item box.