We decided to pay Erepippi's wage of 3 er--450 per hour.

　Rebecca, Etoi and I discussed the amount.
　Apparently, this is still a good deal for employment without a vocation. For me, I felt like it was a small amount, but my job is just selling cloth. ......
　If I have to buy equipment as a knight or something in the future, I'm usually in the red.

　As I've said before, my shop is only open until the evening at the most, and I don't open particularly early in the morning either.
　That's what I'm talking about, and even if I worked a full-time job, I would only earn 3,150 yen for a 7-hour day from 9am to 4pm, which is more than enough to make a living. I wonder if that's about right for a part-time job. Well, I'm a shop keeper who doesn't even need a vocation, so maybe that's about it.

　Elepippi seems to be completely interested in the knightly corps, rather than the part-time job that helps him make a living, and he's asking Rebecca and Marina this and that. What weapons are good, what kind of training should I usually do, is it not too late to start at 17 years old, and so on.
　If we're talking about age, I started out as late as 21 years old, but my vocation seems to have made me a little stronger, and I'm sure I'll be strong enough to start at 17 years old. Even Marina has been with me since she came to me. Well, I'm sorry if you're waiting for the same degree of shigotage as Marina: .......

　I tried to suggest "If you're having trouble making a living, why don't you just sell that spirit stone, I'll buy it for 20 gold coins", but it's already been held up as a form of debt and is impossible. It's rather standard at the level of the common people to use spirit stones as a form of debt, and it seems that there are few people who can use and spend spirit stones for themselves.
　Well, that's true, isn't it? Even though it has special powers, when it comes to spending or selling 3 million yen worth of goods, it's only natural that more people would choose the latter. If you're rich, but if you're struggling to make ends meet, even more so.
　On the other hand, it can be said that the spirit stone itself is easy to get if you want to get it. If you have the money, though, it's .......


　Now, if we're going to do a knight squad, we're going to need as much money as we can get, and it might be time to move on to the next phase of our business.
　I haven't thought about the specifics yet, but it will either be a big business against rich people, or a thin business against unspecified numbers, or both.

　If I'm going to do big business with rich people, I'll have to make a move myself. But I don't have that kind of business acumen, and I don't have the comic skills to deal with thousands of people at sea. After all, I'm a recluse and a NEET.
　On the other hand, if you do well, the payoff is huge. It's called high risk, high return.

　The opposite is true for a small business.
　Adding a stall, renting a small store, trying to peddle ...... There are many ways to do this, but it's a low-risk, low-reward business. It's a steady but steady path.
　But even with the current stall, the numbers aren't bad in terms of money, and hiring people is less risky thanks to the "spirit contract" bindings.

　Well, with Deanna, I think I can succeed in either business without any problems. If I'm going to do it, I'd still rather have a low-risk, low-reward business. There's no reason to be in a hurry to make a lot of money.
　The big one is to sell something expensive once or twice to Evta. It's time for me to clear my guidance.

　Ah, but still, money, money, money.
　Even though I'm in this primitive world, I'm still bound by money, I'm still indescribably petty.




　◇◆◆◆◆◇.




Etowah. I'm appointing you general manager.

All of a sudden, boss. Are you finally going to add a store?

'Yes. It's nice to know you understand so quickly.

　That's why we decided to open more stores after all this time. Besides Etowah, there's Elepippi, Marina, and I, and as an added bonus, Deanna. We'll be able to add at least one more stall.
　Etoi, who's standing next to me while playing Sudoku, is quick to respond to my sudden suggestion.
　He is really smart and can solve Sudoku with great speed. I want to let him play Tsume-shogi next time.

　Etowah can handle the stalls with no problem, and it's a waste of manpower to have me to watch the store with him.
　That's why we'll be able to open more shops, but there are some problems.
　First of all, Elepippi is a part-time worker, so it's hard to leave him in charge of an entire store.
　Deanna is basically a mascot, so she's out of the running. If she's there, you can probably expect an increase in sales.
　Marina is not so bad, but she basically follows me around and can't be used on her own. Also, she's not very good at math.

　So in the end, Etoi and I will have no choice but to take charge of one store at a time. And I'm going to put Elepippi on Etoi's side.

　Hmm .......
　I dreamed of being a knight, training, magical beast, peddler, etc., but in reality it's just not enough. There are simply not enough people in the world. I want to make money, but I also want to make sure I have time to play.
　Would you like to take on more apprentices ......?
　But even if you increase the number of apprentices, it's the shopkeepers who will be doing the work.
　I'm sure the blacksmith's apprentice or peddler's apprentice would benefit from stealing some know-how, but my apprentice is still my apprentice.
　In the future, if a kid who wants to be a knight, I'd like to get him to work part-time and solve the labor shortage ......, which would be ideal. And it will be a long time before that possibility is realized.
　If that's the case, I'd still have to be an apprentice, hire someone, or buy a slave .......

　All in all, I wonder if an apprentice is the most convenient in the end.
　An apprentice ...... apprentice hey .......

'Etowah. Are you happy to be my apprentice?　You must be frustrated with all these waitresses, aren't you?
'What?　Are you serious, boss?

　If it's about an apprentice, you can ask your apprentice.
　However, Etoi is exaggeratedly surprised by the question. I'm not sure of her expression, but it's cute because it's a reaction for humans, or maybe it's just a big body language. If you want to add a sound effect, I'd suggest "Myaah! I was like.

I'm just kidding. You don't hear this kind of stuff very often. What do you think?　The "actual
'Hah ......, boss. Do you know how much my monthly salary is?　I've been entrusted with that calculation as well, so I've asked you to do it yourself.
'That's 5% of sales. I have one day off a week and my average daily sales are about 1,000 ells a day, so it's about 50 ells a day at ....... So in a month, that's about 1,000 ells.

　One gold coin.
　It is just about 150,000 yen per month. Well, it's probably safe.

To the best of my knowledge, no apprentice in Elisheh has ever been paid that much money, boss.
'I don't know if there's one, but I hear there is. But Etowah's been doing a great job, and that's not a problem. And I'm going to give him more responsibility in the future.
'Boss ...... didn't you think I'd save my paycheck and go out on my own?'

　I hadn't thought of that idea.
　Because I'm only a 13 year old kitty. ......
　Besides, I've only been employed for a month or so.

"Independent?　But ...... well, that's okay then. You've got some kind of business you want to do, Etowah. If you need help, I'll do it, and if you don't have enough money, I can lend it to you.
'Yeah, yeah!

　"Meow!" again. Etowah shows us a surprising reaction.
　Etoi is actually very good at what he does. I guess he had a job or two that he wanted to do.
　It's a bit of a shame that he's going out on his own right away, but that doesn't mean we're going to lose touch with him, so I'd like to support him. And if I fail, I can hire you again.

　Etowah froze in surprise again, but I wonder if he thought he was going to get beaten up for saying he was going to quit right away. As I recall, it was said that the apprenticeship system is a de facto way to jockey for piss-poor money, so there aren't many people like me who use it half as much as I do. ......

'Boss ....... Independence is a metaphor. Wouldn't people say that the boss is too good for people?　I didn't expect to be in charge of a store so quickly, and I didn't expect to be paid as much as I would have been if I hadn't been working on my own. I had a weird vocation in Canaan, and I hadn't been approached by anyone for a year. So it didn't feel right for a long time. Why would this person trust me and treat me so well?

Oh, yeah.

　Etowah begins to blabber on. He says he was just using a metaphor to describe his independence.

And as we worked together, I realized that I'd hit the jackpot. And as we worked together, I realized that I had hit the jackpot!　Even among the kids who were my peers at the discipleship course, they were talking about him as a 'hit master', as Makotoshika said!

　No!
　But it's definitely a gamble, and apparently it's usually impossible for an apprentice to say no when an offer comes in.

　And more importantly, I'm not a "hit".
　I'm just an amateur who's good at paying off money. In the long run, it's better to go to a craftsman who can train his apprentice properly, even if he's too fussy and doesn't pay well. Well, in Etoi's case, it's rare that his vocation is "mathematician," so that's still a good thing.

'Whether you're a hit master or not, you're not unhappy as an apprentice, are you?
'Of course. And my vocation is to be a mathematician. I don't know anyone else who has this kind of vocation, so I don't have anywhere else to go. And even if my numbers are strong, they won't hire me in the guild's bank. Besides, the boss brings me advanced math books I've never seen before, and that's just the beginning of the list!　And I've already solved all these, so I'll have a new one.

　Well, it's true that I'm the only person in this other world who can prepare math drills and Sudoku.


　Anyway, I guess I'll just take an apprentice without worrying about it. As long as I don't hire a kid with a bad vocation, there should be no problem. In fact, it would be fine if we could just get a bunch of weird vocation kids.

'Ah, yes, Etowah. You can use this if you want.

　I give Etowah one of my lace handkerchiefs. It's something I got a lot of, and it's expendable.

'Wow, a handkerchief. Are you sure?　Not to me.

You've always worked so hard for me.

'Well, ....... But yes. I certainly received it.

　You don't have to be such a hugger, it's just a free consumable.





　◇◆◆◆◆◆.





　Every night, I cross the mirror to my room in Japan and return home.

　Every day I check the status of the auction on the Internet, and if there is a successful bidder, I prepare to ship it out first thing in the morning. If I have an item to sell, I take a picture of it and put it on display.
　Since the only way to earn Japanese yen is through online auctions, these things are absolutely necessary. If I don't earn Japanese yen, I won't be able to buy cloths to sell at elishees, and my parents will probably give me more pushes to get a job if I don't have any money in the house.
　I look at the message boards from time to time, but I've been so busy lately that I haven't responded much.
If I say "I'm in the knightly corps," it'll be a lot of fun, and I'll provide you with a story when I take a proper picture again.

　By the way, the internet auction, I'd say it's working better than I expected.
　Since the items for sale are from another world, I've been trying to avoid selling items that are too far removed from earthly items, and I've also been trying to avoid items that would be too expensive, and this has been mostly successful.

　For example, items that look like they were made from the skin of a magical beast are sometimes available in Elishe, but I try to avoid these items. However, since the products of the other world are made of natural materials, I sometimes sell bags made of cowhide or pigskin, but I keep the shiny water bottles made of blatantly mysterious leather, or shoulder armor covered with spiky spikes, to my own personal enjoyment.

　The main items I offer on NetOk - like the ones I sell in my own shop in Elishe for some reason or another - are cloth.
　Cloth, or rather, cotton (cotton) or linen (linen).
　Occasionally they may offer silk items, but basically they are cotton or linen.

　Sometimes they'll have really just a used piece of cloth, and often they'll have sheets (which they carry both new and used). Sometimes they'll put out an embroidered tablecloth, and often a simple dress for a child to wear when he or she receives a blessing. If you occasionally find a quilt, it will sell for not too bad a price.
　Also, let's not forget old clothes. These also consistently fetch good prices (though they can be in the thousands of dollars).

　There is a reason, of course, why I often deal in cloth.
　They are not too expensive, not too cheap, not too suspicious, not too conspicuous, easy to handle (they won't break in transit), and above all, they are easy to find at markets and flea markets. It is also easier to stock up on familiar products, and if you have a main product, you may get bidders who seem to be regular customers (which is almost never the case), even if you are a net-oak.

　Of course, I have various other items on display.

　Quill pens, ink pots, laundry scissors (made of wood, of course), wooden butter spoons, kettles, sewing tools, dolls, hats and shoes, wooden toys, cigarette cases, candlesticks, candlesticks, door knobs, shot glasses, baskets, kitchen utensils, and many more... ......
　Well, in short, they are household goods.
　They buy and sell goods that do not fall under the category of "old household goods" at a reasonable price. These items are then given the added value of being "antiques" and sold by enthusiasts.

　However, there are collectors for this as well, and it is not always easy to get a good deal. If you think it's just an antique, it could fetch ten times the expected price.
　Since we are running an auction with our addresses exposed, we don't do well if we are considered as a seller of rare items that appear one after another in the market. Well, I don't think anyone would actually come to my house: .......

　So maybe it was a bad idea to put this race (the one the bogus vendor was selling) together for a penny too.

　After it was put on the market, the price went up tremendously, and it's already over 30,000 yen now.
　The final bid price might exceed 100,000 yen. I was asked to get a close-up of the photos as much as possible, so I uploaded them, and this is the result!
　Well, I guess it's not a problem because she's selling them with the excuse of "My grandmother used to collect them. I'm releasing it for the sake of liquidation," she said with a very good excuse, but old lace might have been quite rare. The price goes up even for such poorly made lace (compared to the lace you bought at a hooker shop) .......
　Well, there are a lot of them, and there's a high probability that collectors are gambling with them.

　I was thinking of putting the extra lace I bought at the store into the OkC, but I might want to rethink that.
　There's still no need to force yourself to sell dangerous items.