I'm sorry. Uncle Dida, a youthful arms dealer and the president of the Grand Chamber of Commerce, who is Evta's uncle, for some reason decided to support Diana's guidance, and Evta couldn't say no to him, right?

Jirou, keep your voice down a bit. Uncle Jiro's got hell ears. I don't like your tone of voice.

I don't know what to think. It's not surprising that they're thinking, 'Hey, we're going to do a bit of high elves. It's not surprising that they're thinking 'I'm tired of normal elves'. The way he looks at you, the way he looks at you, the way he looks at you, and the way he looks at you, it's rare for someone to exude that much evilness.

'As expected, that's as far as it goes: ....... As I said before, if something happens with the High Elves, it will turn into an inter-species problem. Rather, is it okay with you, Jirou-san?
'Disrespectful ....... It's a very sincere relationship, Boca.

　I went through Potchari, who reappeared with a grin on his face, and had a secret talk with Efta.
　Apparently, that potchari is Evta's (and Hetty-san's) own uncle, the general manager of the Empire's largest arms dealer "Barbacro Trading Company", and a 52-year-old (apparently with six children) who uses spirit stones for "rejuvenation" with his ample assets: ...... He is a bit - well, quite bourgeois.

I'm sorry to say this, but for a general manager of a large business association to come directly to support you, it can only be said that there is something behind the scenes if you think it's normal. Are you sure it's safe?

As a matter of fact, ......, it's been over two years since the Solo family started supporting Deanna's guidance. Apparently, my uncle, when he heard about it, he said, 'I can handle it, I'll get it together in a month.' ......

　Efta, who explains to me toothlessly.
　It seems that Efta is also having a hard time with this uncle, so he seems to be emotionally closer to me. Well, they even called him "Bon".
　But to put it all together in a month, that means that old man knows what Deanna's guidance is about. Deanna said he was keeping it a secret, but that's too much of a monkey.

'Does that have something to do with the content of the reward the Solo family gets from achieving ...... deanna's guidance? Does it have something to do with the ...... that that person will also get some benefit from getting it?

　The question was suitably muddled with a "probably so," but there's no mistaking that line of questioning. No way, man, we really are getting a high elf!　That's not necessarily true.

　Did I mention that the Solo family gets a treasure of the elves called the Star of the Nativity (The Alchemy) or something like that by achieving the guidance: .......
　It's a secret that I know this, so I won't tell Efta or Potchari about it.

　Afterwards, we introduced ourselves because we didn't know each other's names, even if we didn't know each other's names. I really don't like the idea of having a chubby for guidance and support, but it's a blessing in disguise, the mansion is already completed and I don't need to rely on support for my life here as I've already started my business. And I can afford to make enough to feed Deanna and Marina.
　Potchari said casually, "Well, you can talk to me about anything," but I don't want to get too close to Deanna because the way she looks at me is kind of disgusting.
　I wish I could refuse to support her, but since it's a contract between her family and the Solo family, she can't just say no to me, much less me, completely shutting me out.
　The most important thing to remember is that you need to be able to get the most out of your time and money.

　It's depressing, or something like that: ....... The only way to counteract this is to keep him out of the mansion.

　Aaaaah.
　I've been having fun with my business, and now I'm getting watered down in a place like this: ...... I was devastated, when the chatterer said something unexpected.

'Oh yeah. I just said hello, but I'm going to Lake Helipa, a famous scenic spot. If you have any trouble while you're away, tell your guild members to prepare for it.

　After saying that, he gallantly leaves with the slaves in tow.

　What ......?　Was it that guy who said he'd support us while we were sightseeing by any chance?　I don't think it's mainly sightseeing: .......
　Come to think of it, it's been a few days since I first met the guy, but it looked like he was just sightseeing in Elishe. He also bought velvet, saying he was buying it as a souvenir for his wife .......

　This makes me feel like an idiot for being so weird and uptight!





　◇◆◆◆◇





　Since the chatterer left, I decided to ask the guild to introduce me to my apprentice as I had originally planned. I tell the guild's receptionist about it.

''Then please submit your guild card.

　I've always thought that only the guild card is modern, or super-technology, or ....... It's not just a good idea to take the card out of your wallet, but also a series of actions like taking out your membership card in a Japanese store.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find it in the world where magic exists. I can only say that it's fantastic in many ways.

You must be Mr. Jiro Ayase, right? You wish to find an apprentice, but the people I can introduce to you right now are this one, this one, ...... and this one.

　Then the receptionist takes out three sheets of parchment.
　Apparently, the necessary information is written on these sheets of paper, and then you can choose the girl you like. If you want, you can have an interview.

How do you like this, Rebecca? I can't read, so I'd appreciate it if you could read what it says.

'Yeah fine! Let's see. ...... First of all, this is a 12 year old girl and her vocation is 'merchant'. This is a 14 year old boy and his vocation is also 'merchant'. The last one is a 13 year old girl and her vocation is ----

"?　What's going on?

"I heard your vocation is ...... 'mathematician'. I've never seen that before.

　Heh, it's another very intellectual vocation.
　I'm interested in it, but I wonder if it would be more stable to choose a child whose vocation is "merchant". But a mathematician is a smart person, and a smart person can usually handle it even if I let him/her do it. I'm torn.
　Besides, I might be the right guy for the job in terms of developing the talents of a kid with a mathematical vocation. I'm a high school graduate, so I can't teach math to a lot of people, but I can buy them math problem books and stuff. I don't know how advanced the math is in this world, but I'm sure it's not as advanced as it is on Earth. If you're going to take someone as an apprentice, you want to make sure they're well trained.
　...... Well, even if you make it big as a mathematician, I have no idea what the point is in this fantasy world of ours.

'Mathematician's Child, what else does it say?'

'What?　And you're interested in the mathematician's boy?　Hmmm, I'll have to meet this girl ...... and see her, but it's been a year since the date of her first registration, so it might not be very good!　And ...... Jiro won't mind, but it says she's 'Canaan'. Oh, but his father is a military police officer.

Um, what's Canaan?

Oh, you don't know Jiro. The Canaanites.

　Another new species!　But I wonder what the problem is. Maybe a racist race like the Turks?

There are a lot of pickpockets, burglars and thieves in Canaan, which is relatively common in this part of the world, but there are a lot of houses that aren't very wealthy. It's just so quick. ...... Of course, it's just that some of the Canaanites are like that, but they're a bit shunned. And they look like cats.

That last bit was pretty obvious.

'What?　I'm a cat beastman, so I look like a cat. So even if it's not so much discrimination, there are quite a few people who have a dislike for it.

Okay, there you go.

'What?　Yeah, yeah?

　If she's been waiting for her master for a year, her parents won't have to worry that she's gone to a strange place to become an apprentice, and I'll be able to muzzle her with cat ears and a tail, so it's all good.
　Besides, I don't care what kind of apprentice you are, as long as you work hard enough.

"Hey, wait, Jiro, is it really okay to make a decision like that?

'No, there's no point in worrying about it, and of course it would be moor-better to interview everyone and decide. If there's a girl who's still selling well, I'd rather have her. ...... As I said before, it's not right for me to have an apprentice like that ......

'If that's what Jirou says, that's fine: ....... Shouldn't you at least have an interview before you make a decision?

　So, I decided to do a brief interview, at least. But how do I call it up: ......?　But then I saw a young guild member being run. It's quite a job, guild.


　After waiting for about an hour or so, a guild member came back with a Canaanite child who was a potential apprentice.
　He was introduced to the guild members and greeted them.

'Nice to meet you. My name is Etois Words, and I'm 13 years old. Are you the boss?　Excuse me, but you are very young. I'm a Canaanite, as you can see, if that's all right?　Are these people in the back my sister's students?　Turks and elves?　What kind of combination is this, let me think about it for a moment. ...... Oh, okay!　The Turk tribe is your sister-disciple and the Elf-sama is a stranger in passing. That's the most fitting answer!

Oh. ...... Oh.

　The catmuncher suddenly starts talking in a flippant manner. But I was so distracted by her appearance that I barely got into her head.

　All of a sudden, there are five different stages of being a "Beast Girl" and this is called the "Chemo Level"!　Let's take the catgirl as an example.
　Level 1 is what everyone imagined: "She's almost human, with only catnip and tailpipe as the animal element. It's almost human, but with human ears. Frankly speaking, it's not much different from cosplay. Even if you're not a chemist, this is a style that can be accepted by everyone.
　Level 2 is where the hair is thicker and the arms and legs are more animal-like. His hair is still human-compliant in this state, and his face is almost human. And he wears his clothes perfectly!
　At level 3, the level of the beast is much higher. It would be easier to describe it as a bipedal animal state. I wear clothes, but I don't mind taking them off because of my hairy body. This is the extent of what can be called a subhuman.
　At level 4, they're almost all animals, but the only thing that makes them human is that they walk on two legs. Tom and Jerry would be somewhere around this level.
　Level 5 is a quadrupedal creature. Animals in animal comics are at this level, of course, and I suppose you could say that they are the most popular, but in terms of their s*xual proclivities, I'd have to say they are level 5.

Level 1 and 2 are human heads, levels 3 and 4 are animal heads, and level 5 is all animals. The mercurial chemonauts love level 3 and beyond, and their bodies (below)

　And this guy in front of me is .............

'At level 3, it's ......!

　I've been licking my chops in this other world. I thought it was at best a level 2.

'It looks like a cat,' said Rebecca, 'and it's not a metaphor at all, but Etowah was a cat. It's a wonder she speaks fluently with this cat-like mouth.

　It may sound strange to say that he was a long-haired ...... breed, but his body hair was fluffy all over, and his coat color was a blueish-gray stripe with a white inner body coat color. I think I saw a Scandinavian cat like this in a pet store a long time ago. Her face is also, well, mostly cat (albeit a little human), and of course she doesn't have any hair (the equivalent of hair), but the hair on the part of her head that hits the hair is set up with oil to look like hair, which is surprisingly cute. They do wear clothes, but considering the arms and legs that are exposed, they seem to be covered in rich body hair all over, and they even look a little hot in their clothes. Their limbs are a bit stockier than humans' and quite stocky.
　I thought it would be troubling if the hands and legs were cats: ......, but they seem to conform to human standards in that area. It's a hairy one, though.

　It's easy to call a cat beastman a bite, but a bipedal talking cat that's about 140 centimeters tall is cute, but it's indescribably uncomfortable.

　It's understandable that some people have a dislike for them.

　It's not like I'm standing around talking to them, so I confronted them at the table and had a brief interview with them. Etowah already has a guild member through whom he's already talked to some extent, and he's hoping to become my apprentice. Since they hadn't even decided on it for a year after signing up, I guess that means they're not in a position to choose.

You said that Etowah's vocation is 'mathematician'. Are you good with numbers?

'Yes, sir. I'm proud to say that I have a better understanding than most people. I can do back-of-the-envelope calculations, and I will never make a mistake such as making a mistake in the money account. I promise to do a perfect job with both deliveries and inventory, and I can handle a mix of discounted products. Even those of us with a merchant's vocation are not very good with numbers, and I'm sure I can recommend myself!　Plus, I'm a Canaan, so I'm quick on my feet, and I'm good at pawing. Also, ahem, long haired Canaan is a bit rare and nice to the touch!

Oh. ...... Oh.

　It's a talking cat. It's a cat. It's a talking cat. He doesn't have a "nyah" at the end of the word. It talks easily.

　However, it is an advantage to be able to do it by memorization without making a mistake. In fact, it's an essential skill, but if there are people who can't do it, we have no choice but to hire those who can first.
　But I don't really understand the potential of being a mathematician from what you've just said, so I'll just give it a try.

I'll give you a few quizzes at ---- and let you try them out. If you don't understand it, it doesn't mean I'll stop hiring you, so take it easy.

'Yes!　Please!

Let's go!　Taro went to a store to do some shopping. There he bought 2 witchetti and 3 lilliarums and the price was 220 ells. The shop sold the witchetti for four times the price of liliarum. Now, how much do the witchetti and lilliarum cost each?

　I read out the quiz I wrote down on my phone a long time ago.
　It's a relatively famous quiz, but the difficulty level is quite low. Originally it was a quiz to find out the price of chocolate and rice crackers, but it's a bit of a mess as it is, so I arranged it this way.
　Etowah pretended to think about it for a moment, but she answered immediately without hesitation.

'Witchetty is 80 el and Lilliarum is 20 el. I have no other answer than that.

That's it.　How to solve it?

That's 11 liriarums in all. I just had to divide it up from there.

　This guy is surprisingly smart. He's a cat, isn't he?
　I'd like to unravel that puckered spot at the mouth.

Next question. Now we have to do the hardest part.

Yes, sir.

We have a bucket with 12 Liters of water in it. There are also empty buckets for 7 and 9 Liters. Use these to make a bucket of 1 Liters of water as quickly as possible.

　A litre of Ritz is about a litre, by the way. These are beans.

Let's see. ...... First you transfer 12 to 9. Then you transfer 12 to 9, transfer the water to 7 and discard the 2 remaining in 9. Then you transfer the water from 7 to 9. Then you add the 3 remaining in 12 and fill 9 to the brim, leaving 1 Ritz in 12. That would be the quickest answer!

　That was quick. What a cat. You are so much smarter than me.

Good answer. I mean, how did you know so quickly?

　I raised the white flag.

'The difference between 12 and 9 is 3, and the difference between 9 and 7 is 2, so if you just make the conditions '3' and '-2', you'll get '1'. If you break it down into simple numbers, it fits.

...... yeah. Yeah.

　I don't remember when I did this problem, I didn't have the idea of dumping water, so I didn't end up answering it: .......
　Neko-chan head yakayake.

　That's why I decided to take Etoi as my apprentice.

　Normally, it is customary to hire an apprentice for a salary of about the size of a sparrow's tears, but if he has this kind of potential, I think a percentage of his salary would be better than a fixed salary, so I'll give him about 5% of my sales as his salary.
　As for the contract, I made a neat spirit contract at the priestess' place. I thought about doing without the spirit contract like I did with Orica, but with the guild in between us, I didn't think I'd be able to do that.
　Well, the content of the contract was the bare minimum, like "not to take away the store's goods, sales money, etc.".
　When I introduced Deanna and Marina at the end, they turned over and were surprised, and I was rather surprised at their reaction. Apparently it was a surprise that the elves were slaves. He muttered, "Sh...... doesn't feel right ......," but all I can say is get used to it.


　Shucks, this is the second person after Orica, employment.

　I needed someone who could handle the store, but it's becoming more and more of a big deal.
　Well, maybe this will allow me to get away for a while. I would like to go to Lake Helipa and Mt. Luklaera, too. There are some "let's go" type guides for both the lake and the mountains (I've been going through them for a long time).

　Okay, okay, when I make a little more money, I'll leave Etowah in charge of the store and we'll go to Luklaera. I heard it's a lot closer than Helipa, and I heard they have some pretty good weapons and armor.
　There's something exciting about this mining town.