Chapter 112: Discussing Saori’s Business Plans.

“So, we finished four F rank quests and one E rank in this one week, which gave us 7211 Davi. We still have one Job change remaining this week, which will cost us 1000 Davi per person, but tomorrow is already RestDay, so it would be unlikely for us to use it up.” Saori then began writing some more calculations on her wooden tablet, murmuring our food costs, essential buys, and future equipment funds. After massaging her brows for a moment, she handed me the tablet.

O-Oh, we aren’t doing too well financially, I see…

“I expected the food I bought to last us for at least a week, but I believe that, at the rate we are eating through it, I will have to buy another batch before next week. I already talked to the merchant who provided our first supply, but I was not able to talk the price down this time. He argued that there was a supply shortage, rejecting every argument I made. Haaa, winning a bargaining war is nice but losing it feels so bad,” Saori complained with a long sigh, slumping a bit in her chair. “Anyway, do you now understand why I said it was important for you to join the bakers guild?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m sorry. I really thought we could earn all our money from doing some Quests and we’d be happy. I didn’t know we needed this much money for food and spices,” I admitted with furrowed brows. Becoming a sunfang dragon has made it easier for me to control my [Battle Frenzy] but it also gave me a bottomless stomach. “I committed my mornings to training Ellaine, which only leaves the afternoon free for us three to do Quests together. We can’t go out in the evenings since the gates close.”

There were night guards at the gates, but nobody was allowed to enter the town after the day was over. Once the sun sets, the town guards found it too risky to let anybody in during this time. Adventurers who came too late had to camp outside.

I guess I was an aristocrat and we did have that scary document from the Marquess of Firwood, so if we ever did lock ourselves out at the commoner’s gate, we could always use the noble one. However, given that Barathan and Manuela lectured me just for walking around town unsupervised at nighttime, they might be more angry at Saori and Tasianna for having me stay outside of the town, even if it was for a Quest.

“Exactly. To keep everything easy to manage, I want us to work together on Quests as often as possible. We could track our rank points with our party bracelets, but it would be problematic if we became C rank before you. The rules would allow the two us to take B rank quests, but you wouldn’t be able to,” Saori stated. “Also, we need to remember to register our party as an official one. Melia did mention it to me, but I forgot about it until we had that moment yesterday.”

Yesterday during an E rank Quest, one of our clients wanted to learn our party’s name, but as we hadn’t chosen one yet, we couldn’t give it to them. Argh, it was pretty embarrassing when having a party name is so obvious. If our reputation grows, people will start knowing our names, but before that, they will hear the name of our party. Learning one name is easier than three.

…Names are the worst. Would we be an idol group if I named us like a K-pop one?

As I was contemplating this seriously difficult task, a bell ran from outside our room. Before Saori could answer it, Tasianna’s voice came from outside so I bid her enter. Joined by Svena, who brought the tea cart with her, Tasianna came to our table and set rice crackers, toffel chips, and multiple pastries from House Helvas on it. Meanwhile, Svena prepared our tea.

Seeing as I have been living in this mansion for two weeks now, Svena has also started learning my likes and dislikes, including which tea I loved drinking. It might not be coffee, but fulinoe tea always tastes nostalgic, reminding me of Earth.

As Svena was brewing the tea, Tasianna was giving her a small glare. Not out of hatred, but out of envy. Before she had [Elvenize], Tasianna would always feel jealous that only Saori could serve me the tea she brewed. Now, with Svena acting as my temporary attendant while I stayed in Ellaine’s mansion, Tasianna felt a bit threatened by her.

The two would always squabble when it came to who could brew my tea, or who would bathe me. Yes, those two argued who would help me take a shower and bath, once. And yes, I felt very uncomfortable since I had the mentality of a teenager from Earth. I can shower on my own, thank you very much!

Aside from their competitive drive motivating them to work harder, the two had been working well together. Tasianna still isn’t much of a fan of humans, but it seems she didn’t mind working with Svena if it helped me.

“You seem troubled, Miss Saori. May I assist you with anything?” Svena offered after she’d served me my tea.

“It is not a problem… Actually, if you could, would you please call Mister Barathan and Miss Manuela to come over if they are free? I wish to ask them something.”

With a small bow, Svena left the room. A few minutes later, she returned with Barathan and Manuela.

“I hope you have had a pleasant DarkDay. Thank you for coming. I know you two must be busy with managing the household,” I welcomed them.

In his usual, finely made butler outfit, Barathan bowed like a gentleman, looking extremely capable with his clean appearance. Despite his grey hair and eyes, Barathan looked more around his late twenties than a silver-fox butler. “We thank the Goddess, for we are honored to be welcomed, Lady Hestia…Although, we couldn’t have declined even if we were drowned in work.”

“Shush, Barathan. Mind your words,” Manuela scolded him, looking annoyed. Compared to Barathan’s monotonous color scheme, Manuela was more like a color explosion. She had her dark blue hair in a fishtail braid, while her blue and red heterochromatic eyes looked magical. “May the Goddess bless your kind heart, Lady Hestia. It was of no problem for us, for we live to serve. How may we be of assistance?”

Their dynamic really is weird, huh?

Despite being the two head attendants in the mansion, I’ve noticed a certain hostility between the two, more specifically from Manuela toward Barathan. I didn’t want to pry, so I haven’t asked them about it yet, but it was clear enough they had some sort of history. There was a certain synergy with how they commanded the other servants, exactly knowing what the other might think. So, why does it seem like Manuela dislikes him?

“Actually, I was the one who called for you,” Saori chimed in before I could say anything. “Barathan, it is about the plan we spoke about. About setting up a business, or faction in your words, to help us earn what we need for our travels. I have been having a hard time thinking of how to properly execute it, so I wanted to learn what exactly the Greenveil duchy specializes in.”

Since they were standing, I asked Tasianna, Svena, Barathan, and Manuela to sit down with us at the table. Once he did, Barathan placed a hand on his chin, raising an eyebrow as he responded, “Haven’t you gotten all the guild memberships you needed, aside from the alchemist guild? Once you have an accurate plan on what your business will revolve around, you can present your idea to the merchant guild for membership. Why do you need to know our duchy’s trade goods?”

Aside from the two adventurer guilds, Saori also went ahead and joined the tailor and chef guild, while Tasianna only joined the chef guild. Saori even made me join the bakers guild due to my baking hobby. It was weird; unlike the adventurer guilds who had a [Crystal of the Divine System] inside their guild halls, I had to go with the baker guild members to the artisan guild in order to have my ID updated with my new membership.

All of these preparations were for Saori’s plan to start a business with the three of us as founders. Looking at our recent activities, I was spending most of my time inside the mansion while Saori and Tasianna would leave me behind with Svena as they roamed the town. Aside from helping Ellaine with her training, the cold weather also made it hard for me to go outside all the time.

Ignoring all the finer details, I was still a fire dragon and the cold made me feel drowsy; I enjoyed spending my days in my pajamas, lying on my bed, playing music with [Aerokinesis], and composing songs. Svena did look exasperated whenever I would snack on my bed, looking extremely lazy until Saori picked me up for a hunter’s guild Quest.

Now, while this lifestyle was acceptable when I had two wealthy parents taking care of all my needs, it was problematic while living with Saori and Tasianna. I was high maintenance, and I wasn’t earning enough money to sustain it. If our group wasn’t working through Quests every possible hour of every single day, we needed an alternative income source and Saori’s business plans were the solution to it.

“At its core, the plan revolves around Lady Hestia’s career as an idol. Uhm, an Earthen version of a—” Before Saori could continue, Manuela interrupted her.

“One moment, Miss Saori. Svena, please, leave the room.” Manuela’s word not only shocked Svena, but also my party. When I asked for further elaboration, Manuela explained Svena wasn’t privy to my party’s secrets as she was neither a member of House Helvas nor one of the head attendants. As my wish was to limit information spread, Manuela judged it would be better for Svena to leave the room.

I really appreciated the fact she was taking it so seriously. It made me trust House Helvas a bit more; however, technically, Svena already learned about my core when she saw me naked. As it was too much of a chore to have her leave the room every single time I wanted to discuss stuff concerning my secrets, I rejected Manuela’s suggestion and elucidated Svena on everything.

“T-This is a lot to digest, P-Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargrxmor! An otherworlder, a dragon princess, and also a champion of the goddess. Also, I didn’t expect Miss Saori and Miss Tasianna to have such secrets, too.” Instead of looking elated about the fact, Svena looked a little bit mortified.

“Ignorance is bliss…,” Saori mumbled, to which everybody in the room, aside from me, nodded.

D-Did I do something wrong?

“Your Grace, might I remind you that the only other confirmed [Otherworldly Reincarnator], or any otherworldly visitor in general, was the dwarven high-queen known as the ‘Revolution Queen?’ Were it not known that the Origin Gods came from another world, no one would have believed that the ‘Revolution Queen’ came from another world, either. It is simply surreal,” Manuela explained.

She continued, “However, not only do you come from another world, Lady Hestia, but you were born as a princess of Kargryx as well as made a champion of the Goddess. Your authority is indisputable; as attendants of House Helvas, we are ordered by our lord to keep your party’s secret safe. If we were to leak this information, even unintentionally, our punishment would be most severe.”

In other words, by speaking without thinking about the consequences, I’d just endangered Svena’s life. Horrified by this sudden realization, I couldn’t help but apologize to Svena. “I-It is no problem, Lady Hestia. I am honored to receive your worry. Besides, your words when I first began serving you have long-since imprinted itself in my head. This mouth will not tell anybody about your secret.”

With the situation defused, Saori promptly brought the discussion back on topic. She explained her plan to build a business surrounding my idol career, similar to an idol agency, to not only give me a chance to live my dream, but also to fulfill my role as Aurena’s champion. Increasing [The Light]’s fan counter was a sub-goal, after all.

However, to accumulate the funds to sustain our high maintenance lifestyle, especially the food and spices, while also having enough to start equipping ourselves with gear, buy manatech, and to create a proper concert stage, we needed more sources of income than just doing adventurer Quests. We joined the various artisan guilds for this reason, but Saori wasn’t sure how to implement her ideas without disrupting the local economy.

After all, stuff like Tasianna’s shampoo, Saori’s Earthly cuisine, and my pastries could fetch a lot of money among nobles and wealthy commoners if something mundane like yeast was considered a luxury.

“Hmm, I see, so you wish to know what our duchy’s trading goods and other specializations are, correct? While I do understand what you mean, wouldn’t a merchant be more suitable for this?” Barathan answered.

“Nonsense.” However, instead of accepting his answer, Manuela interjected with a denial. “You are one of the head butlers of a noble from the Greenveil duchy. You may not be a merchant, but your knowledge should be adequate to answer Miss Saori’s question. You were, after all, the former head attendant of this mansion and managed our lord’s businesses here.”

I do remember Barathan mentioning he handed Manuela the role as the head attendant of House Helvas’s Firwood mansion when his grandfather passed away, in order to assume his new role as the seneschal of Carine village. If he also managed any businesses Count Helvas was maintaining in the town, then he should know what Saori wants. Why was he avoiding it?

Furrowing his brows, Barathan sighed. “My apologies. Ahem, the first thing you must understand is the division between the seven duchies of our kingdom. I presume everybody is still aware of them, correct?”

Greenveil, Equevanna, Morgiana, Myrddin, Lecartiglio, Groushia, and Olivus, I listed out in my mind, nodding after I confirmed my memory.

Barathan continued, “Each duchy specializes in different goods and services. The Greenveil duchy specifically puts a high focus on spices, herbs, alchemical ingredients, and monster materials from the Belzac forest, also whatever we can retrieve from the dungeon in Cedaraille. However, we are mostly—”

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“WAIT, WAIT! HOLD ON!” I shouted, slamming my hands on the table. “DUNGEON! You just said dungeon, right?! Delving through dungeons to fight monsters and get treasures! Cedaraille, Cedaraille, where have I heard that name before! Ahh, I know! The capital of the Greenveil duchy! Saori, Tasianna, I know where we are going after Firwood!”

The rush of adrenaline, dopamine, or whatever chemicals that were causing this sense of mania inside my body made me jump up and down like an excited primary school girl. Once this cheerfulness ended, I began noticing the warm gazes Saori and Tasianna were giving me, the indifferent look Barathan had, and the shocked expressions of Manuela and Svena. I shyly gave out a giggle and sat down after apologizing for interrupting everybody.

“…As I was saying, Greenveil is an agriculturally focused duchy. Most landed nobles here focus on improving the production efficiency of their lands. ‘Even commoners do not starve in Greenveil,’ is a popular saying among the nobles of the other duchies to acknowledge how bountiful our harvests are. To live up to this reputation, most nobles here are earth and wind mages as that allows them to manage their fief without hiring a mage from the mages guild,” Barathan explained.

Of course, the duchy did import goods from other duchies and countries, like tazlokwheat from the dwarves to the north, but Greenveil Duchy had become wealthy and prosperous as the largest supplier of food in the whole kingdom. The well-managed lands, high fertility of the soil with regulated amounts of mana, and abundance of rich materials from the Belzac Forest, which was right beside Firwood,all combined to make this duchy capable of supplying the whole kingdom with food even in the event that all the other duchies had a bad harvest year.

With so many food products, cooking and alchemy were also significant industries within the duchy. They were widely supported, and even sponsored by multiple nobles. Being picky about their food and wine was simply the norm for any magnoble or greifnoble in Greenveil. There was even a joke among the nobles of other duchies that you could only find merchants and farmers in Greenveil.

“It’s all a jest without any ill will behind it, but it feels awful when I cannot even talk back to the schwertnobles. I would only sully Lady Marianne’s name if I were too captious with court gossips.” Placing a hand on her cheek, Manuela gave out an exaggerated sigh without opening her mouth.

Hold on, what did she say?

“Oh, Miss Manuela, are you a noble?” Saori asked in my stead, also befuddled by the sudden reveal.

“Oh my, have I not mentioned it, yet?” Placing a hand in front of her mouth, Manuela responded with slight shock. “Yes, I am. The third daughter of a viscount from the Morgiana duchy…” Manuela paused mid-sentence, her mouth agape as she gave Tasianna a glance before continuing with a stutter, “t-to be more precise. I was made Lady Marianne’s, ahem, Lady Countess Helvas’s retainer when she needed a tutor for her daughter, Lady Ellaine. I have served House Helvas for five years.”

When Saori asked why she was wearing a maid outfit, Manuela answered with a proud smile. “Once I was made the head attendant of this mansion, I decided it would be better for the mansion’s peace if I acted like a maid, instead of a noble. While I wear this dress, I am a humble retainer. I do not need to flaunt my noble title when I can earn the obedience and respect of the servants with my competence.”

“Your diligence is an inspiration to us, Miss Manuela,” Svena praised her, causing Manuela to puff up her sizable chest.

From further questioning, Manuela admitted to being assigned to Ellaine’s mother, Marianne, due to her status as an arcanuess’ daughter, the highest rank among the magnobles. This was a political decision as it granted Manuela’s family a few benefits from Marianne’s noble House.

She was initially only there to tutor Ellaine in magic and accompany her at the royal academy, but was later assigned to her current role as the head maid of the House Helvas’s Firwood mansion after Ellaine forfeited the succession competition. The reason why Barathan and Manuela were so worried about my training method and schedule for Ellaine was ‘cause they used to tutor her. In other words, I was right that they were overprotective.

“Wait, please, hold on,” Tasianna interrupted. “If you are a noble, then you must also be a mage, no? We heard there wasn’t a mage’s guild branch in Firwood, and after searching for it with Miss Saori, I can confirm the rumor. Why isn’t there one when so many nobles live here?

Come to think about it, I completely forgot about that. Didn’t Master Kush mention that?

Fiddling with her fingers, Manuela breathed in slightly as she shook her head in denial. “It is the fault of the local alchemist guild. Before I took over the role of the head attendant, I heard the alchemist guild won the right to manage most of the materials from the Belzac Forest. This caused the mages guild to conclude that having a branch in Firwood was unnecessary since they couldn’t profit from the rich alchemical ingredients from the Belzac Forest, so they closed the branch here. Well, it is tedious, but we nobles have gargoyles to simply ride to Cedaraille whenever we needed to access the services of the mages guild.”

And what about the mages from a commoner background? I saw quite a few mages at the hunters and mercenary guild.

“Usually, this would be impossible,” Barathan continued. “The mages guild is run by nobles, while the alchemist guild is operated by commoners. However, the unfortunate part is that the current head of the alchemist guild is supported by a local Arcanuess, Lord Arcanuess Chezaic. Although with limited authority, the alchemist guild does act as the representatives for the commoner mages in Firwood, if they need mage-specific requests and commissions.”

“…In other words, the alchemist guild has a monopoly on mages and alchemic ingredients in Firwood.” Saori concluded, at which both Barathan and Manuela nodded. As items like magic tools and gargoyles require alchemy for their creation, in addition to potions and elixirs, our party had to go through the alchemist guild to acquire our first wands and staves.

I heard Tasianna was denied membership ‘cause they only accepted new members if they had a recommendation from a veteran alchemist. There is also the fact they ordered the extermination of all garms and fenrirs in the Belzac Forest. While I was no friend of the garm matriarch, isn’t it a bit scummy to order a monster’s death if they haven’t done anything to humans or beastmen? The Quest stated to “eradicate every single one” so the hunters guild could establish a forward camp inside the forest. Mhm, this rubs me the wrong way.

“…Which means, without a membership, we cannot start training Tasianna as an alchemist unless we catch the attention of a noble. We also have to go to Cedaraille to acquire our mage guild memberships…and also the dungeon entry. I will remember it, Lady Hestia,” Saori stated, before looking at her wooden tablets which were filled with notes she made during this whole discussion. “Aside from making money, we must also make sure the business can stay mobile for our travels. Hmm, food is the obvious option. Something like a wandering restaurant or café. Mister Barathan, Miss Manuela, would it be possible for Tasianna and me to cook for Lady Ellaine? I wish to have her taste test a few dishes if it is possible.”

Barathan immediately nodded. “That is possible. Lady Ellaine has commented on how delectable Lady Hestia’s meals were. I presume you will cook cuisine from your world, correct? I will make the necessary preparations once you decide on a time.” Revealing a slim party bracelet from under his sleeve, Barathan opened up the “notes” function and began writing everything down. “Do you require assistance with your tailor guild membership? Will you prioritize mana clothing or clothing for commoners?”

Saori shrugged. “I am not sure yet. Clothing for wealthy merchants is a possibility, but the upfront cost to buy all the threads would be too much. On the other hand, Lady Hestia and Tasianna have enough Mana to supply me with mana threads. What is mana clothing used for in noble society?”

“Protective robes filled with enchantments. They make excellent armor for mages if properly enchanted or, in some cases, runed,” Manuela explained. “Aside from threads made from certain monsters, clothing made from normal threads cannot be enchanted easily, as it would simply combust from all that mana. Mana threads, on the other hand, can easily accept many enchantments and runes to protect a noble when they meet with other nobles. In that case, if they are attacked and forced to fight, outfits and dresses made with mana threads allow a noble to be combat-ready immediately.”

After a pause, Barathan continued for Manuela. “However, the problem lies with the scarcity of threads. Not every noble has the skill [Mana Weave] to create their threads, and the suppliers know this and raise their prices, subsequently. And because mana threads adopt the color of the magic circle they are weaved from, certain colors are harder to come by. For example, the purple mana cloth Lady Hestia so kindly gifted to our lord, Lord Count Helvas.”

Mumbling, “I see…” Saori then turned her head to me. “I am not sure if we should open up a restaurant or a café, but how about this. On weekdays, we can open up our restaurant and serve customers our food, while on the weekends, we can use our time to increase our adventurer ranks. But, on LightDay, the day dedicated to Goddess Aurena, you, her champion, will give an idol performance to everybody in attendance. We can sell tickets for reserved seats or even idol merchandise like t-shirts, which should earn us some money and give you a chance to gain ‘fans.’ This way, we can save some funds by using the restaurant as the venue, until we have enough money for a real concert stage.

Oh, that does sound interesting, I thought with excitement, uncontrollably flailing my tail around.

Aside from the stage itself, I still had all the decorations and accessories we'd made for my concert in Carine village in my storage, ready to go for my next concert. We were short on money for the time being, so we’d have to make sure not to spend too much preparing for my concerts, especially when strengthening ourselves with more Job changes and buying equipment, as well as the essential quality-of-life items that were more important right now.

If I need to start from the bottom, then I will do it gladly as long as it gives me even a small chance to spread idol culture to Peolynca. I didn’t choose to become an idol to make money and become famous, I chose this dream to make people smile and be happy. If this allows me to operate for longer and grant me a larger audience, then I will go along with it with a smile on my face.

“Pardon.” After agreeing to Saori’s suggestion, Manuela raised her hand, wishing to ask something. “What exactly is an ‘idol’? I presume this is a word from your world, Lady Hestia, but using unfamiliar words like ‘concert’ and ‘tickets’ makes it hard for me to conclude from context alone.”

…Guess I will have to do this quite a few times, huh?

After giving her a gist of what an idol was, and vehemently denying any connections it would ever have with a bard, Manuela and Svena both asked me if I could “grace them with a tune of my voice.” I happily obliged them.

“Ahh, marvelous. Like the voice of an angel directly sent to us by the Goddess,” Manuela praised. “Lady Hestia, you know, appreciating the fine art is a beloved pastime for nobles in the Morgiana and Myrrdin duchies. We specialize in magic, yes, but there is no noble who can appreciate art more than us.”

“The ‘idol concert’ you had at Carine village was brilliant. It was a truly enchanting performance, I must say.” Closing his eyes, Barathan’s lips curved into a smile as he seemed to reminisce my debut. “I can still vividly recall your third song. The power and emotion in your voice was a privilege to experience. Even Lady Ellaine was unable to hold back her tears.”

“Mister Barathan! You mustn’t reveal that about our Lady! You know better!” Svena chided him.

After discussing Saori’s plans a bit more, our party went to the commoner district to visit the merchant Saori was dealing with, a foxian named Zeather. When Saori asked him for advice on introducing new goods that might disrupt the economy, he plainly told us “Ignore it until complaints come in.”

“God Mercurias promotes competition among merchants. Zeather’s job isn’t to only sell, but also be up to date on new trends and goods. If you wish to introduce new goods, Miss Saori, then you mustn’t let compassion for other merchants stop you. Get as much profit as possible and the moment somebody complains about it, go to the merchant or artisan guild and open your own sub-guild. You will gain their protection,” he answered with a sly smile. “Honored Lady Hestia, this humble Zeather can provide you with the supplies you need. As I swear on my tail, I will make sure the business we perform together will be blessed by God Mercurias.”

“Huh? You know scale-kin speech?” I asked the foxian, surprised he knew how to give a promise like a lizardman or saurian.

Beaming a proud smile, Zeather replied, “A few lizard— ahem, saurians visited the town once. I asked them for a few speech tips in case I ever do business with another scale-kin. Learning how to make our clients comfortable is a part of being a merchant, honored Lady Hestia.”

Saurians? Was it Master Kush and the others?

“As my tail is my witness, this young scale awaits a very beneficial relationship, Mister Zeather.”

Using my visit as an excuse, Zeather told Saori he would reduce the price of our next food order. Getting to meet and talk to me, instead of simply transporting the goods to me, was worth giving us another discount. Like our first order, we had to pay 9960 Davi. It was less than the original price but it was still quite a lot.

Once we were done there, I decided to spend some time at the hunters guild. It was shortly after lunchtime, so I thought it would be good to see how well my songs would be received by the rowdy adventurers.

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