The Otherworld Antique Bookstore is a Life-Risk Chapter 10

 

Chapter 10: White Trading Company

 

"Yuki, we're here."

We've arrived at the main store of White Trading Company.

Bergana accompanied me to introduce me.

It's huge. Incredibly huge. Multiple stores are connected, making it look like a giant department store. As expected, the scale of the store known as the best in the royal capital is different.

Bergana speaks to one of the company members and tells me, "Wait here for a bit," before walking into the back alone.

After browsing the products in the sales area for a while, a company member guides me to the back of the store.

We climb the stairs to the third, fourth, and fifth floors. I'm shown to the president's office, but no one is there.

I sip the tea I've been served while waiting. After a while, a young woman opens the door and enters.

She has blonde hair and wears an oriental-style outfit resembling a cheongsam. It's quite avant-garde.

"I'm Yuna Desuka. Please feel free to call me Yuna."

Her name reminds me of a certain game heroine, but I don't dwell on it. I stand up and return her greeting.

"I'm Yuki."

"The president, White, is currently out on a business trip. I've heard he'll be back by this evening. In my husband's absence, I serve as the acting president, so I'll be listening to your proposal, Yuki."

"Yes, thank you for your time today."

So this is Mrs. White. But more importantly...

"Um, where is our Berga?"

"I heard from Berga. She said that since you've been appointed as the new head of the used book division, all future discussions should be with you."

That damn boss, dumping everything on me. This is an important talk; I need to call her back immediately.

"So where is Berga now?"

 

"Berga also serves as a training instructor for the self-defense force organized by the city's merchant guild, so he might have gone there. Berga hasn't changed, has he? He's not good with long conversations."

Sigh, she ran away. Honestly.

"Mrs. White, about today's main topic..."

"It's Yuna, Yuki."

"Alright, Yuna. About today's main topic..."

I explain the current disastrous management situation of the main store and my desire to reduce specialized books and create a store that encourages use by general residents.

It's what you'd call a presentation. In my previous life, I often did this at my first job, running around government offices and presenting to important people.

"So you want to extensively remodel the store. I agree."

Well, that was easier to get approval for than I expected.

"I was wondering how that store hadn't gone bankrupt yet. I thought Berga was running it as a hobby, backed by abundant funds. But now that you've taken over, you're changing the policy to make it a profitable business, right?"

"You're not going to oppose it?"

"Why would I? Even if your plan fails, you have plenty of money, right? As long as we receive the name-lending fee, it's not a problem for us. It'll be better than the current store, so there's no particular reason to oppose it."

"I see."

I feel somewhat relieved, but I also understand that the store was considered insignificant by White Trading Company. I'd love for Berga to hear what she just said.

While the renovation proposal was generally viewed positively, there was a slightly sarcastic comment about putting up the "Rabbit's Used Books" sign and placing the White Trading Company sign in a supplementary position.

"Don't you think it's a bit unrealistic to expect children to buy books?"

"Yes, I'm planning to provide a small area in the store where children can read books for free. I'm also considering a method where after reading several books, they can earn rewards that even their parents would approve of."

"What kind of specific ideas do you have in mind?"

"For example, we could offer the acquisition of life magic as a reward."

"Oh my."

It's no wonder Yuna is surprised. The practical books for life magic, used for fire-starting, lighting, cleaning, and other simple spells, are quite expensive. However, it's common sense for adults to learn at least one as an essential skill. In general households, parents typically give one such book to their children as a gift during their coming-of-age ceremony. My proposal is to give these books to children for free after they've read a certain number of books.

"Although life magic books are disposable, I have connections that can recharge used books with magic power for free, so the losses should be minimal. Moreover, rather than fixating on books that a customer only needs once in their lifetime, I'd like them to pick up many different books."

"That's quite impressive."

"I'd like to refine this idea further. For now, it's just an example."

"It might be a good investment for the future. That's fine for now."

Having generally obtained approval for the renovation, I briefly explained about recruiting new employees and education for future store expansions. I also asked if they could introduce me to a tailor to create employee uniforms.

"What kind of uniforms did you have in mind?"

I hadn't planned to go into detail, but since she asked, I had no choice.

I showed Yuna the design I had playfully sketched and ended up passionately explaining it.

It was a design straight out of the cosplay maid outfits I saw at Comic Market when a friend took me there long ago.

It had frills and was very cute.

When I came to my senses, I realized Yuna was looking a bit taken aback.

We agreed to make a prototype in my size, and I was told to go to a workshop in the artisan district later.

Now, onto one of the main topics: the "Magic Toilet Strategy."

First, I showed Yuna my rough sketches and briefly explained the idea behind its function.

It uses three attribute magic stones - fire, water, and wind - as power sources. After use, it washes the bottom with warm water and then rapidly dries it with warm air, eliminating the need for unsanitary toilet paper.

I added that even if completed, it would be very expensive and difficult to maintain due to the large consumption of attribute magic stones obtained from monsters, so it probably wouldn't become widely used.

Yuna's interest in the magic toilet is intense. She's muttering about exclusive sales, distribution channels to royalty, nobility, and the wealthy.

Yuna, I can hear everything you're saying...

There's a knock on the president's office door, and a bald, round-faced man peeks in.

"Darling~ Welcome back~"

Yuna's crisp tone suddenly softens. She stands up and buries the man's face in her chest, nuzzling his head with her cheek.

"I wanted to see you, so I rushed back~"

How bold... I involuntarily cover my face with both hands, peeking through my fingers with a red face as I watch their lovey-dovey moment. No, no, I'm not watching.

The small man who sat down next to Yuna after clearing his throat slightly is Mr. White, the president of White Trading Company.

"I apologize for this embarrassing display at our first meeting," Mr. White said, blushing.

I explain the magic toilet idea again and ask if it seems feasible. Their expressions become suspicious, and they even start talking about bribing the royal court magicians.

"If this technology becomes reality and the royalty or nobility find out about its development, won't they take all the rights? Shouldn't we entrust the development to someone with higher confidentiality, like a brilliant but reclusive researcher who rarely interacts with others?"

"Y-yes, you're right. We got a bit too excited. Darling, do you know anyone like that?"

"I do. Indeed I do. The Witch of the Lost Kingdom - she can create advanced magical tools."

"The Witch of the Lost Kingdom?"

Mr. White explains that the Witch of the Lost Kingdom is a former royal female magician named Fam Fatal, who lives in a tower two days' carriage ride south of the royal capital, Zero.

Despite being called "of the Lost Kingdom," her home country, the Faatal Kingdom in the north, is still thriving. She was excessively passionate about research and was exiled for wasting national funds.

She apparently has no social interactions and remains secluded in her tower, making her an ideal person for this development request.

Fortunately, White Trading Company delivers food and daily necessities to that tower every few months.

"If I remember correctly, this month is the delivery month. We should just barely make it in time."

No sooner had he said this than Mr. White dashed out of the room and down the stairs.

"Mr. White doesn't call someone to confirm things even though he's the president?"

"That's right. He says he's the least busy person in this company, so he ends up running around doing everything himself."

"He's an interesting person."

"Yes, he's my pride and joy of a husband."

When Mr. White returns, we continue our discussion. Since it's the "Magic Toilet Plan," I need to explain how to connect the magic toilet to my store's business.

"I'm not just planning to install the latest toilets in the store. I want to provide a paid space where women can freshen up in front of mirrors in a larger women's restroom area. Yuna, what do you think would happen if the ladies of the world knew there was a clean toilet nearby, even cleaner than the royal castle's, that they could use for about the price of a stick of grilled meat from a food stall?"

"It would change shopping patterns. Women would plan their shopping around your store, Yuki, with the use of that toilet in mind."

If White Trading Company buys up the area around Yuki's store and sells daily necessities, or if we distribute free toilet use tickets, it could attract a lot of customers...

Mr. White, your voice is leaking. They really are a well-matched couple.

"Also, we could expect use from women in night work who want to freshen up before their shifts during the slow period just before closing time."

As I finished speaking, the two grabbed my hands firmly, their breathing heavy.

"Yuki. Let's definitely make this magic toilet a reality."

Well, I'm glad they're so enthusiastic about it.

"Yuki, may I say one thing about your store?"

Mr. White says to me with a slightly stern expression.

"There's the issue of household income, but even before that, there are still many people in this country who can't read or write. If we don't solve this problem, won't your store eventually fail?"

Yes, that's right. That's why I've been thinking about this too.

"I don't know if it will work, but I'm considering hiring bards to teach reading and writing."

As an example, I sang an improvised melody with "A-I-U-E-O~" lyrics and explained that I want to spread this melody and simple lyrics to people passing by the store. I also explained that we would distribute lyric cards with the "A-I-U-E-O" written on them.

"This way, by matching the pronunciation they've learned through the song with the lyric cards, they can learn which pronunciation corresponds to which character."

"Wait a moment. Are you planning to do this just in front of your store?"

"Ah, I guess this won't be effective enough?"

"That's not it. Would you mind entrusting this idea to me?"

"Entrust it?"

"This method could indeed spread literacy widely and quickly. First, I'll bring it up as a topic in the merchant guild, and if we can get the support of various guilds, we should suggest it to the country as a national project. No, I'll definitely make it happen."

"This has turned into something amazing, Yuki. It's been a while since I've seen White this excited. Head of the used book division, we look forward to a long partnership with you."

With this, the meeting at White Trading Company came to an end.

White Trading Company is particularly enthusiastic about developing the magic toilet. Mr. White will join me on the delivery carriage to the Witch of the Lost Kingdom's tower, departing in two days, to participate in the development request.

Mr. White offered to give me a ride to the artisan district in his business carriage as he needed to return it to the warehouse district. We agreed to discuss the renovation advice in more detail there.

As a result, the store's grand reopening, including construction, is likely to be in six months.

Until then, we need to organize and clean up the books in the current store. Of course, Tubai and I can't do it alone, so we'll need to recruit opening staff.

There's still a mountain of things to do, and Mr. White kindly taught me how to arrange these matters.

"However, the idea that improving toilet facilities could affect customer attraction is not something a male merchant would easily come up with," he praised me.

But I think Mr. White, who goes out on business trips driving his own carriage despite being the president of the largest trading company in the royal capital, is far more impressive.

"I can move around freely thanks to Yuna," he says bashfully. Despite his appearance, he's quite charming.

I got off the carriage just before the warehouse district and headed alone to the artisan district to request the uniform creation.

Come to think of it, I left without saying anything to Bergana. Oh well.

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