By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 3

by Roy

  “That was fast! You’re done already?!”

  “Ryoma, me too.”

  “Me three.”

  “Me four.”

  “Jeff, Hughes, even the Guildmas― I mean, Worgan? You all eat fast.”

  “Your food’s tasty. I’ve never eaten anything so good before.”

  “Really? Hearing that makes cooking all worth it, I guess.”

  “I agree with her. When you get to be my age, your jaw’s not as strong as it used to be. The meat they serve in restaurants around town is too tough for me to chew through, but the meat in this pasta is easy to eat. Even this steak is soft. I haven’t been able to eat meat like this in ages. I’m glad I came here today.”

  “And I’m glad you like it. Eat to your heart’s content,” Ryoma said, then got seconds for the four of them and returned to the room. By then, Mizelia, Miya, Reinhart, and Asagi licked their plates clean and ordered seconds as well.

  “You too, Reinhart? I’m glad it was to your liking.”

  “Haha, I’m sure I would enjoy anything you cook.”

  “Really? I’d think you eat better at your parties― Is something wrong?” Ryoma asked, noticing the light in Reinhart’s eyes darken.

  “Ryoma, let me teach you something.”

  “Y-Yes?”

  “Expensive food isn’t necessarily good. When nobles hold parties, the importance of flavor is superseded by extravagance and rarity. We all have different tastes, of course, and when you’re serving one or two people, you can simply offer up meals to their liking. But when you have a large group, that’s impossible. Even so, the host wants to please as many guests as possible. That’s when you resort to elusive and high-grade ingredients, to show how much you care for your guests. It’s always been the safest option.”

  “In exchange, you often end up with food that goes overboard on the spices, though.”

  “The chefs work hard to cook it, but it’s ruined by the nobles who order it. It’s edible, but not something I would ever eat regularly. The flavor is bad enough, but it’s also too rich for someone my age. In that regard, your cooking is perfect.”

  “Your cooking’s a safe bet, Ryoma.”

  “I’m glad you like it, but there’s also dessert after this, so leave room for that,” Ryoma said. He had his doubts as to whether sacrificing flavor for expensive ingredients was sensible, but accepted it as standard for aristocratic parties in this country and decided to think about it no further. The calls for more food didn’t wane, with everyone asking at least once, and Welanna and Jeff requesting another plate four times each. Ryoma cocked his head, wondering how all that food fit in their stomachs.

  When the apple pie and tea were brought out, the guests’ eyes lit up. That was not simply thanks to the flavor, but because it included honey, a pricey ingredient. This satisfied everyone, and it was particularly popular with the women.

  “Mm, I’m stuffed! Today was a purrfect day.”

  “I’m glad you all enjoyed it, but I’m surprised you ate so much. Especially you, Jeff, how do you have room for so much food?”

  “Huh? I’ve still got room for more. I’ve got the Food Storage skill, you see.”

  “What’s that do?”

  “You don’t know? It lets you eat a ton at once, then go days without eating anything. You can learn the skill by trying it over and over, apparently. Back when I first became an adventurer, I spent most of my earnings on food and ate gigantic meals, so I picked it up naturally.”

  “Jeff’s got that and a bunch of resistance skills from living in the slums. That’s why he’s purretty famous for taking lots of brutal jobs that most adventurers can’t.”

  “That’s impressive, Jeff.”

  “I pick relatively good jobs, that’s all. I’m nothing special. Like, if you wanted to do what I do, I bet you could. You got some resistance skills that I don’t, yeah? Interested in taking a job alongside me sometime? You could probably handle some tough ones.”

  “I’d be happy to try that one day.”

  “If you and Jeff teamed up, the guild would sure appreciate it,” Worgan interjected. “Nobody else can keep up with Jeff, so he’s always taking jobs by himself. But there are some jobs that only groups are allowed to take. He’s never been able to touch those ones.”

  “What kind of jobs are those?”

  “So there was this C-Rank job that involved mining this ore called blazing ore from a volcano, right? You’d need Stench Resistance to have a decent time with that one. Traveling and mining take a long time for this job, and you’ve got the smell of rotten eggs all around you the whole time you’re in this volcano. The whole volcano’s full of some mild poison too, and certain parts of it could be deadly to some folks.”

  “There’s poison in a volcano? Mild poison does things like make your eyes swell and tear up, while strong poison can cause breathing complications, is that correct?”

  “Yeah, you got it. You know about this stuff?”

  “I have some passing knowledge of poison, not much more than that.”

  “Well, that’s helpful knowledge for an adventurer to have. Know what you should do about poison? Any medicine that cures it?”

  Ryoma thought for a bit, but he knew nothing about this world’s medicine and had no assurance that Earth’s medicine could be created here.

  “Sadly, I don’t know, but I believe there’s poison in the smoke and air that erupts from volcanoes. Maybe you could surround yourself in wind magic to protect yourself.”

  “Oh? Sounds like the old lady who taught you about poison and medicine knew her stuff. I’ve been the guildmaster for years, but poison and disease always took me by surprise. Still do.”

  Somewhat shocked to hear that, Ryoma laughed and remarked on how unbelievable an individual he was, then decided to talk to Carme and Carla.

  “Carme, Carla, how was the food?”

  “It was delicious,” they both said.

  “That’s good. By the way, I appreciate that you’re working here, but are you sure you want to? Like I said in the store, I don’t think you’ll have the chance to make use of your talents here.”

  “I was just discussing that with my brother.”

  “Please do allow us to work here.”

  “Huh, did something happen? You don’t sound as hesitant anymore,” Ryoma said. The twins spoke with confidence in a way they didn’t when they visited the store. The difference was stark enough for Ryoma to notice.

  “That was a shameful display we gave you earlier. After seeing you and your store in person, we rethought matters.”

  “We had great concerns at first, but the tools and the business you’ve constructed have much we can learn from.”

  “You sure changed your minds quickly.”

  “Master Ryoma, your youth means you have the capacity to absorb things more flexibly. I could have introduced you to someone with more skill or experience, but I chose these two for their flexibility.”

  “We hope to neither bring shame to the Morgan Trading Company nor the Takebayashi family. We will do what we can!” the twins declared. Ryoma looked at them and felt they were similar to Serge.

  “Thanks, it’ll help to have someone with more business knowledge around. I have no complaints. It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

  “OK!” The twins replied with big smiles. Serge watched them with satisfaction.

  “But don’t push yourselves too hard. Just treat it like any old job. The Morgan Trading Company is one thing, but you don’t need to think about my family.”

  “No, it’s natural to work with that in mind. Even the slightest damage to your reputation would quickly spread among the nobles.”

  “Huh? Do they talk about every new store that opens, Carme?”

  “Most of them keep an eye on the actions of other families, I presume. I believe my sister is right.”

  “Other families? Do you two happen to think I’m a noble?”

  “Are you not? We heard you had connect
ions with the duke’s family,” both the twins said.

  “I do, as you can see, but we only met through happenstance. I’m not a noble. Serge?”

  “Sorry, I don’t think I was ever clear to them about that,” Serge admitted. Ryoma and the twins finally realized the misunderstanding between them and began to talk it through. Meanwhile, another group was watching them and chatting from nearby.

  “Hey, hag.”

  “What do you want, clod?”

  “You think Ryoma’s place is gonna be that profitable? It’s a pretty strange sort of store.”

  “I’m sure it will be. I don’t know precisely how much money it’ll make either, though,” Glissela acknowledged. Worgan furrowed his brow.

  “Have any tips for him?”

  “I intend to watch and wait unless something happens. He can run the store the way he thinks he should.”

  “You sure that’ll work out?”

  “Serge assigned a couple of employees to him. If any suspicious folks set their sights on this place, they should be able to handle it. And if worst comes to worst, I believe he’s capable of asking for help. If he asks me for a favor, I’d be happy to lend him a hand as a merchant. The only problem is there are some greedy, relentless merchants out there that are willing to use force. Just watch out for them.”

  “I know, but he might not even need help with that. He got in a fight with a group called Fang of Obtemo the other day.”

  “Everyone was talking about those adventurer thugs. Did Ryoma take them down?”

  “Yeah, he ran into them on a job. You’ve probably heard the rest. It was a totally one-sided fight. He’s also performed well at slaying goblins and that sort of work. His slimes shouldn’t be underestimated, from what I hear.”

  “Do they use weapons?” Someone else joined in their conversation.

  “Old man Taylor, you know about them too?”

  “An adventurer came to ask if slimes can use weapons the other day. All my staff were talking about it. I didn’t actually see one in person until today, though. I should recommend that he take a class sometime.”

  “It probably would be best for him to learn what a normal tamer is like. Well, anyway, be careful.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “Talented folks are always welcome. Reinbach also asked me for a favor too, so there’s that.”

  This conversation took place in a corner of the room, unbeknownst to Ryoma, who spent time with his new friends from this world. When the opening party finally ended, everyone told Ryoma not to work too hard, then headed home. With that finished, Ryoma cleaned up what remained after the banquet and took a look around outside his store. He had a sense of fulfillment that he never experienced in his old world.

  Chapter 2 Episode 28: Opening Day

  The Next Day ~Ryoma’s Side~

  After the gathering yesterday, Carme and Carla insisted they could get to work as early as possible tomorrow, so I decided to open for business today and come to the store early in the morning. It was 5AM.

  “Maybe I came a little too early,” I wondered. I came in at the time I would have in my old world, which did me no good. I didn’t expect the twins to get there for a while, so I killed time playing with the slimes.

  ■ ■ ■

  “Good morning, boss,” the twins said.

  “Good morning, Carme and Carla. I’m excited to work with you today,” I replied. After they arrived, I performed a cursory check of the store and prepared to open for business. That probably sounds like more work than it was, but all I did was stick the cleaner slime in the standby room and get out the bags and spare change. The twins brought the bags I ordered in the morning, so they were put to use right away.

  “Now then, I’m heading out,” I announced.

  “See you later,” the twins said. I wasn’t sure whether to leave the store in their hands on the first day, but I couldn’t advertise with fliers or anything, so I decided to tell people about my store while I accepted a job from the guild. Serge did get me employees who could take care of everything, so honestly, maybe I wasn’t even needed. But I guess that’s the point of hiring people. I thought about it as I visited the neighboring store on the way to the guild. I had to tell Pauline that my store was open for business.

  “Excuse me, is anyone here?” I asked. They appeared to be open, but nobody was inside, so I called out for someone. Pauline came running from the back of the store.

  “Hello? Oh! If it isn’t Ryoma? Here to buy seeds again?”

  “No, but my laundromat, Bamboo Forest, opened today. I just wanted to tell you.”

  “Oh my, open already? That was quick.”

  “Yes, thanks to everyone’s help. You can have that bag I gave you the other day for free, so I hope you try out our services. Tell Mary and Kiara about it too. I can tell my two employees that you’re coming.”

  “You have employees?”

  “An acquaintance introduced them to me. While I’m off adventuring, they’ll run the store all by themselves. Also, I’ll have to pay them with my income from adventuring until my business really picks up.”

  They said that as long as they got to work in the end, they didn’t need to get paid, but that didn’t sit well with me. Honestly, I didn’t know why they wanted to work for me so badly. Serge probably offered more complex duties to make the best of their talents, and I’d think it paid better too. Maybe they were trying to make connections. Anyway, I couldn’t complain.

  “Considering the size of your store, I have to wonder if that’s necessary. Well, good luck, you have my support. I’ll try it out today.”

  “Thank you. I’ll get to work, then.”

  I waved goodbye and left the store. As soon as I got to the guild, people called out to me.

  “Ryoma, is your laundry place gonna open soon?”

  “When’s it open?”

  “I hope it opens soon!”

  The adventurers I rode with when I went to slay monsters at the abandoned mine had been chatting with me a bit more lately. They were looking forward to when my laundromat opened, apparently.

  “Bamboo Forest opens today, actually.”

  “Really?!”

  “Yes. We provide an equipment-cleaning service for adventurers that you’re welcome to use.”

  “Heck yeah! I’m totally going there on the way home today!”

  I loudly talked about the store to advertise to everyone around us, then took a job that involved collecting herbs. I decided to take care of that while I looked around the mine.

  ■　■　■

  Hours later...

  I told the twins they could run the store, but out of curiosity, I decided to wrap up my work and go back early. Even though it was our first day of business, people were gathered outside. More than twenty people, in fact! I panicked and entered the store, where Carla greeted me.

  “Welcome― Oh, Boss!”

  “Carla, what’s going on here?”

  “We’re making a killing, but we’re so busy!”

  “Boss! Some ladies from the neighborhood came to ask us to do laundry,” Carme said as he carried laundry from the back of the store. We had to handle all these people!

  “I’ll help. You two take care of the customers, I’ll do all the carrying!” I commanded and focused intently on my work. But the more people we served, the more people came. What was going on?! In the end, the waves of people didn’t cease until after 3PM. I couldn’t say there were that many of them by that point, but explaining how our store worked to every single one of them took some time. Our store was evidently cheaper than the norm, so the customers were surprised they could get laundry done for our prices. It also made some of them ask if we were going to make a separate charge later for a high price. Many of them weren’t convinced about our service, unfortunately. The large crowd that we had for a while drew some city guards to come see what the hubbub was about, too.

  But this turned out to be in our favor. The guard captain heard about
the store from the other guards and asked us to do laundry for the whole squad. They paid for laundry for thirty-five, for which they bought two bags. They hired people to do laundry for the guards until last year, but a government official at the time implemented a budget cut that made it no longer possible. They were just glad their pay didn’t go down, but after a bit of complaining to me about the government, they said they’d ask me to do it. Maybe I had myself a big contract already.

  But we opened at 8AM, and it took about three minutes to serve each customer. I didn’t know when the customers started coming, but it seemed like Carme and Carla were working for seven hours straight without even taking a lunch break.

  That didn’t sound great to me. Maybe I could deal with that, but not these two. With these conditions, my store was hardly better than a sweatshop! I wanted to avoid that at all costs! I swore on my previous world that I wouldn’t let that happen!

  “Good work today, you two.”

  “You too, Boss.”

  “That was a lot of people.”

  “Yes, really. Do you think we should hire more employees?”

  “It might be best to do that soon, yes. If you want to let your employees take turns taking breaks, you’ll need to hire somewhere from four to six people. We spent most of our time explaining the system to people today, but judging by the response from customers, we don’t have enough people to do even the minimum for our jobs,” Carla answered promptly.

  “The customers were satisfied with the speed and quality of our work, so I expect we’ll see even more visitors tomorrow. You should be able to find more employees right away if you put out a notice at the guild.”

  “I see. How much should I offer to pay?”

  “Anywhere from 120 to 150 sute a day would be plenty. That’s enough to live on day to day and still have some savings. That’s extraordinary for a starting salary, so I’m sure you would be quick to find applicants.”

  “If it weren’t so urgent, we could take the time to find employees who will work for less, but hiring people who can begin work right away should take priority.”

  “Then I’ll head to the guild right away. It sounds like the sooner, the better.”