The chirping of the birds gently shook my eardrums. The morning sun peeked out to signal the end of the night, and the sky grew vaguely brighter.

　Wraith, who had been engrossed in her work, looks up.



　Wraith gets off the stepladder and stretches gingerly with his eyes closed. He exhales heavily, along with a feeling of exhaustion breaking through.

　When I open my eyes, I see a sign in front of me that says 'Alchemia'. The store's logo, a blue flame, is also painted tightly.

　Wraith woke up early and used alchemy to install the sign that had been completed. It's a wonder that the signboard makes the shop look like a shop all at once.

'Good.

　Wraith has a very motivated expression on her face.

　It's no wonder, then, that today is a memorable opening day for the store. The products are already on the display shelves and I can say that they are fully prepared. Wraith turned over the plate on the door of the store to the one with the words "Open for Business" written on it and went inside.

　It's still early in the morning, so customers won't be coming in, but after an hour or two, the entire royal capital will come to life. When that happens, this shop will naturally be seen by many people.

''Hmph, hmph.......''

　Lace lets out an eerie laugh and grins. He looks as if he's confident in the success of the store. In fact, his chest was filled with a mysterious confidence.

　However, it wasn't without any evidence.

　The products in Wraith's store are substandard, even without partiality. There are many such things on display. It would be unavoidable to think that it's strange that they don't sell.

　........Well, Wraith himself doesn't think that much. He's just proud of the fact that he's making a good product.

　However, it doesn't change the fact that he thinks it will sell either way. Wraith looked up at the dawning sky and had a vision of the promised future of victory.


　******


'Why, why, why, why, why!
Shut up and shut your mouth right now.

　Exclaiming in tears is Wraith, who is on his hands and knees on the floor. He is advised by a dumbfounded Daisy, who is holding her temples.

　It's now a little after six in the afternoon. There are almost no more customers coming in and out of the store, and the business is about to end for the day, when Lace comes rolling in.

　Wraith, who is more disturbed than ever before, just cries and screams without explaining the situation. No longer in the mood to kick her out, Daisy only throws her usual barbs at her.

'I hope you've calmed down,'

　After waiting for a few minutes, the red-eyed Wraith was sitting upright for some reason. He seemed to have regained his normalcy and his behavior was rational.

''So, why were you making such a fuss about it?
Look, I could have opened a store, but...
Oh, really? Good for you.

　Where in the world is the problem?

　Daisy doesn't pay attention to the dark-eyed Lace and starts sorting through the shelves. Daisy's blunt attitude is always the same.

'It's great that you opened the store... but for the last three days, it's been like no customers have come in!

　Wraith waved his hands wide to the side and twisted his expression in frustration.

　When he first opened the shop, Wraith had thought that although it wasn't going to be very prosperous, a good number of customers would come. However, the reality is not so sweet, and the comings and goings of customers in Alchemia are sparse.

　On top of that, those few customers are also chilled out.

　On the third day of opening, Wraith's heart was breaking.

　Because of those circumstances, he came to cry to Daisy, his senior as far as the management of the store was concerned. The person in question doesn't seem to have a shred of interest in it, though.

　It's a big problem for Lace.

We need to keep doing that to get more customers.
'Yeah I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a store that doesn't get customers...'

　It's a pain to spend a day waiting for customers to show up in droves. If only there were more workers, it would be fine, but as it is, Wraith is the owner and clerk of the shop.

　That means Wraith has to sit at the counter all day long. There's no way he can afford to hire someone else.

''Even if you say so...''
Please, Daisy, I need you to help me...!

　Wraith clasps his hands together and pleads. The sight of her makes it difficult for the usual harsh words to come out of Daisy's mouth. She closes her eyes as if she were lost and eventually sighs heavily.

''Well I understand. Since I'm also indebted to Wraith........
Oh, thank you...!

　Wraith grabbed both of Daisy's hands and buzzed up and down in excitement. It seemed like an overreaction, but that's how badly Lace wanted help.

'So, what's the store like now?'
Before I opened the shop, I arranged the signage and interior design, and even made a logo, but I couldn't get any customers to come. It was desperately hard to get customers to come. It's infuriatingly hard to get customers.
'What's the point of being angry didn't you do something else?　Maybe a shout-out, or maybe a promotion of the store using Wraith's own name.
No no, not really.

　Hearing Wraith's words, Daisy turned her zit eyes. Oh, it's no surprise that he said he didn't have any publicity at all.

　It's not an exaggeration to say that publicity is the most important thing in business. It's even more so for a no-name shop. If you don't get people to recognize you, you won't get started.

"You can't tell me that's why you don't get customers...
Ggh.....
There are tons of shops in King's Landing that carry potions. Those that don't do anything will be out of business in a heartbeat.

　It meant that while Lace had worked hard to open the store, he hadn't done enough to attract customers.

''Lace, your name seems to be spreading around a bit, so I don't think there's no way you can't use it. Well, a lot of publicity would cost a good deal of money, but.
The money again...
The Basics of Business.
The basics...

　It's always the financial issues we face. It's not that Wraith is poor in any way. It's just that the amount of money he pays is too large for an individual.

　He can't just sacrifice his life. If that's the case, there's still only one way left to steadily increase the number of customers.

　The Wraiths put their hands on their chins and blow smoke out of their heads with their pusps. It's an error in your ability to think.

'By the way, what was Daisy like when she first started the shop?
The other acquaintances from my adventuring days came to me, and then the acquaintances spread the word about the store in the guild and the number of customers increased. Well, the adventurer's help came in handy.
Using your contacts to promote yourself I can't do that.
Yeah.

　This is the only thing that can't be helped, since the period of activity in the royal capital is too different.

''However, yo. I don't think it's necessary to advertise for a significant increase in customers, since the products you make are definitely top quality. I said earlier that an acquaintance from my adventuring days spread the word, but in your case, it will spread without asking. You just have to try to get those customers to be the source of that transmission.

　The bottom line is that you should aim to spread the word by word of mouth. It is true that there are many shops in the royal capital, but the population is also large. If it becomes a hot topic, the shops will flourish at once.

''I see........''
Well, good luck with that.
Thank you for the help!

　The Wraiths see the light and become brighter.