My name is Potte.
I was just one of the girls living in the back alleys. Well, I was only about twelve years old, so maybe I should say I’m still growing. I’m sure I’ll fill out eventually. (At least, that’s the hope.)
My meeting with Paula-san was purely a matter of chance.
I had just finished a day job crushing medicinal herbs and was heading back to my sleeping quarters when she called out to me. She asked if I could show her around the area.
Score! A job.
Still, I didn't jump at the offer immediately. I had no intention of being a guide only to end up working for free. I was ready to negotiate, but Paula-san was quick to get down to business. I wondered if she already knew about people like us.
Clutching the coins she gave me as an advance, I began the tour. Paula-san didn't care about the famous shops on the main thoroughfares; she wanted to know about the back-alley stores and the local territories. Simply put, she wanted to know how to navigate the city’s underbelly.
I see. She didn't hire me out of pity for my shabby appearance; she expected me to actually have the answers. I decided to tell her everything I could—within reason, of course. I couldn't say anything that would put my life in danger.
The job ended after about three hours. She paid me the rest of my wages and even treated me to skewered meat from a food stall. She was a good person. Between the meal and the extra income, I really thought it was my lucky day.
Until, that is, I got back to my sleeping quarters.
At first, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. My home was the city's Public Materials Depot, a place where no supplies had come or gone for years. Because of that, many of us from the alleys lived there. Goldie-san, who managed the area, had designated the depot as a women-only zone, so we had always been able to sleep there in peace.
That was the kind of place it was supposed to be.
But now, there were dozens of unfamiliar workers hauling materials away. There were even city guards stationed there. This wasn't a riot or a bunch of thieves; this was official work. Every time they hauled out a load, the children living there were kicked out. The sun was about to set, and they were being thrown onto the streets.
This was bad. I couldn't just stand there in a daze. First, I had to contact Goldie-san.
But even after I reached him, there was nothing he could do. He told me it was an order from the Shashaato Magistrate himself. No one could go against that.
Still, it seemed the Magistrate knew that the depot had become our home. He provided us with temporary tents and prepared meals for the morning and evening—though the food didn't taste very good. Of course, he couldn't provide for us forever. The shelter and meals were only guaranteed for one month. We had to find a solution before then.
Goldie-san said he would look for a new place for us to stay, but it didn't look like he’d find anything immediately. I suppose I should just be glad we weren't evicted in the middle of winter. Tomorrow, I would have to work hard to find a new job and a place to live.
I thought that would be the last I’d see of Paula-san, but destiny had other plans.
When I spotted her browsing in a shop, I called out to her, determined not to let the opportunity slip away. I hoped she might have more work for me. I didn't care if it was just carrying luggage. I might have been a girl, but I was reasonably strong.
That moment might have been the turning point of my life.
Hoping for a job, I told her a slightly exaggerated version of my current situation. Paula-san looked at me with a serious expression and asked, "Do you want work for just today? Or do you want it permanently?"
Of course, I wanted it permanently. There was no question.
"I see. Well then, it'll be service work… a job like handing out food to customers in a restaurant. Can you do it? It's hard work."
Hard work? I didn't care how hard it was as long as the job was steady. Of course, I’d be paid properly, right? Paula-san nodded, saying that was a given. However, she warned me that she couldn't pay much at first because I’d be an apprentice.
That made sense to me. I intended to work hard, but it was only natural that I wouldn't get a full salary right away. It wasn't that Paula-san was stingy; it was just common sense. Since I was the one being taught the trade, there was no way I deserved the same wages as a seasoned pro.
But then she said she would provide meals while I was working. Paula-san really was a saint.
I wondered if it was okay for me to hog all this luck for myself. When I thought about the other girls in the same boat, I felt a little guilty. But then I realized that was the wrong way to look at it. If I worked hard, I could prove our worth and make it easier for the others to get hired too.
As it turned out, that resolution was unnecessary.
"You have friends, don't you? Bring them along."
I truly wondered if Paula-san was a goddess.
The people I called were the girls who had been sleeping at the depot. Boys could find work one way or another, after all. Sorry, boys, but for this one, girls were the priority.
Including me, there were ten of us in total. Was that too many? I figured we’d cross that bridge when we got there. Even if she couldn't hire everyone, it would be enough just to have her remember our faces. I made everyone wash their faces before we went to meet her.
Paula-san didn't look displeased at all when she saw us; she hired every single one. I couldn't thank her enough. Afterward, we were introduced to her husband. He looked like a kind man, but… wait. Was that a high-ranking official from the Goroun Company standing next to him? Surely not.
The first thing Paula-san ordered us to do was wash our bodies. Were we really that dirty? Was it that bad? She made us scrub down with wet towels three times. I couldn't even remember the last time I’d washed my hair.
Next, we had to wash the clothes we’d been wearing. We scrubbed them while wrapped in towels. Yeah, they were filthy. No matter how much we washed them, the water stayed black. I was afraid they would tear if we scrubbed any harder, so I consulted Paula-san. She simply provided us with changes of clothes.
Was it really okay for us to wear such beautiful things? And why were there so many? I told her I couldn't possibly wear them all at once.
"Those are for tomorrow," she said.
I was shocked. Apparently, people out here changed their clothes every single day.
We did a lot of things that first day. It wasn't really work, more like an assessment of our skills. We were checked to see if we could read, write, calculate, greet people properly, or handle shopping. I could read about thirty characters, but writing and math were beyond me. We all became terrified that Paula-san would give up on us because of everything we couldn't do.
Instead, she took us to a proper restaurant and treated us to a delicious meal. I had been near back entrances before, but I’d never stepped inside a shop as a guest. I was incredibly nervous. There was a menu, but since I couldn't read most of it, I just let Paula-san choose. I saw the prices written next to the words and nearly fainted. The other girls followed my lead, staying quiet and letting her order.
The food was incredible. I was amazed that such flavors existed in the world. Before I knew it, my plate was empty. I actually wondered if someone had stolen my food for a second, but no—I had just eaten it all in a daze. I really should have savored it more.
After the meal, Paula-san sat us down to study. It seemed we had a lot to learn. That day’s lesson was about money. A friend of hers taught us—another person who looked like a big shot from the Goroun Company. There was no way a man like that would spend his time teaching us, right?
Gold Coins, Silver Coins, and Copper Coins.
It was my first time seeing a Gold Coin. It was so shiny and beautiful. I’d seen a Silver Coin at Goldie-san's place once, though I’d never touched one. I was well-acquainted with Copper Coins, though.
Unlike the other metals, Copper Coins were divided into Large, Medium, and Small. Generally, when people said "a copper coin," they meant a Medium one. Small Copper Coins were often called Tax Coppers, and only government officials really used them. When we got our hands on them, we’d save up ten and exchange them for a Medium one. There was no fee for that exchange, but the money changers charged a fee for everything else. They were so sneaky.
If there was no fee, the math was simple: Ten Small Copper Coins made one Medium Copper Coin. Ten Medium Copper Coins made one Large Copper Coin.
One Medium Copper Coin could buy a large loaf of bread. For me, that was one meal—no, two. It was a lot of money. Food stalls in the city usually charged between one and three Medium Coppers. Sake seemed to start at one coin per cup, though I’d never bought any.
I knew that much, but I had no idea that a hundred Large Copper Coins made one Silver Coin. Or that a hundred Silver Coins made one Gold Coin. That meant one Gold Coin was worth… um… a lot of Medium Copper Coins.
Paula-san, who was listening nearby, told me it was one hundred thousand. As expected of Paula-san. She was a genius at math. She told us we’d be able to do it too eventually, but I didn't believe her.
So many things happened that day. When the sun went down, I expected to head back to the tents, but Paula-san had arranged a room for us at an inn. She said it would be dangerous to go back to the alleys looking so clean and well-dressed.
She was right. Men wouldn't have bothered us at our old spot, but now it was different. I didn't think everyone was bad, but we had to be careful. Wait, she mentioned something about my appearance? I wasn't sure what she meant, but she ushered us into the inn before I could ask.
They put two of us to a room. It was unbelievable. The room was so big that all ten of us could have fit in there. And the bed… was I really allowed to sleep in something so soft?
With everything going on, I’d been careless and forgotten to contact Goldie-san. I knew I’d made him worry, and I felt terrible. But still, I wished he’d stop appearing so suddenly. Goldie-san was a good man, but his face was terrifying. It was the kind of face that could make a crying child go silent. I thought I’d gotten used to it, but sneak attacks were too much—especially when he woke me up from a dead sleep. I thought I had died and gone to the afterlife for a second.
My roommate was still snoring away. He didn't wake her up? Just me? I see.
I explained everything to him. He had been so worried that he’d snuck into the inn just to check on us. I thanked him and apologized again for forgetting.
Starting the next day, our training began in earnest. Apparently, what we did before hadn't been "earnest" yet. We were taught new things so quickly I didn't even have time to be surprised. After a few days, even if we couldn't write full sentences, we could at least read simple words. We could handle basic addition and subtraction, too. I worked myself to the bone so I wouldn't disappoint Paula-san.
I thought that would be the end of the lessons, but they just kept going. Well, I wasn't going to give up. As time went on, our duties increased. Our primary job was to bring food to the customers. So we had to… wait, why weren't we practicing carrying trays?
Instead, we learned how to take orders, relay them to the kitchen, and handle the money. Was it really okay for us to touch the cash?
"Is there anyone here who wants to steal some change and get themselves fired?" Paula-san asked.
Of course not. The training was tough, but as long as we were with her, we never had to worry about food or a bed. We were even being paid well. Because we were nervous about our situation, Paula-san even paid us daily at first. After about ten days, I got scared of holding so much money and asked her to hold onto it for me.
Finally, we were shown our actual workplace.
I was stunned. First, there was the location. It was the very same Public Materials Depot where we used to sleep. But in its place stood a massive building—or perhaps a massive roof was more accurate. I’d heard the boys were working on a big construction project, and this must have been it.
The entire place was the restaurant owned by Paula-san’s husband. We were going to work here? It seemed so.
Even inside the building, it wasn't dark. There were skylights, but even the areas without windows were bright. I wondered if that was Magic Light.
The furniture was being brought in—brand-new tables and chairs, and a mountain of tableware. Then I saw these flat boards. Ah, so we’d put the food on these to carry them. I wondered if I could do it without practicing.
Wait… the customers carried the food themselves?
We all started working, wearing matching aprons. We lined up at the counter, took orders, told the kitchen, and handled the payments, just like we’d practiced. I hadn't made a single mistake yet.
Still, it was a shock. I’d never heard of a restaurant where the customers came to the counter to order and carried their own food to their seats. It seemed so strange, but Paula-san explained that it was just like a food stall, only much bigger. That made sense. When you looked at it that way, it was exactly like a food stall.
It was a brilliant idea. And honestly, we probably couldn't have handled it any other way. The number of customers was staggering. It felt like the entire city had shown up.
A little while ago, they realized ten of us weren't nearly enough, so they hired twenty more girls. At the time, I thought that was overkill, but even that wasn't enough. They kept hiring more and more until there were about two hundred of us. Even Goldie-san was called in to help manage the place.
I could understand why it was so crowded, though. The food Paula-san and her husband made was incredible.
Curry.
We’d been allowed to eat it a few times before the grand opening, and it was delicious. The first time I tried it, I thought it was too spicy, but for some reason, I immediately wanted another bite. They also had this strange food called "rice" that was amazing. However, rice was rare, so it was reserved for special customers. Most people ate the curry with bread. Even so, it was fantastic, and a bowl only cost five Medium Copper Coins.
The customers were coming in non-stop. Oops, I had to stay focused and do my best.
Since the two hundred of us had been hired at different times, we couldn't all do the same things yet. Paula-san said the goal was for everyone to be able to handle any role, but for now, our jobs were fixed. There were the Counter Staff who took orders, the runners who brought food from the kitchen to the counter, the buscers who cleared the tables, the dishwashers, and the security team who managed the lines.
We all wore matching aprons so the customers could tell who worked there, but the Counter Staff got to wear special uniforms. They looked like cute versions of the maid outfits you’d see in a noble’s mansion. Everyone worked their hardest because they wanted to earn the right to wear one. Since I was on the counter, I got to wear one, which made me feel a little bit superior.
However, that feeling of superiority vanished once every seven days.
For some reason, Paula-san and her husband wouldn't let us work more than six days in a row. They insisted we take a day off on the seventh. And the craziest part? They still paid us for that day. When I asked why, they said it was an order from the Village Head.
The Village Head was their employer—a very important person. If it was his command, there was nothing to be done. I spent my first few days off feeling restless and bored.
But I found a solution. A new job opened up: supervising the Play Area inside the shop. The Mini Bowling in the Play Area was free for customers, so the work there didn't generate any revenue. My logic was that if it didn't make money, it wasn't really "work." It was a bit of a stretch, but I managed to convince Paula-san and her husband. Or rather, so many of us hated being idle that they eventually gave in.
So now, we worked six days in the dining area and "worked"—which was basically playing—one day in the Play Area.
"I’ll explain how to play Mini Bowling. First of all, you shouldn't just throw the ball with all your strength..."
It really was a wonderful workplace. That didn't mean I was completely without complaints, though. My one gripe was the Morning Assembly.
"Good morning, everyone. First, a report: there were two fights in the shop yesterday. Goldie-san handled them quickly, but you girls must never try to settle things yourself. Rely on the guards provided by the city. We cannot have anyone getting hurt."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Also, two people are out with colds today. We’ve adjusted the shifts, so please re-confirm your assignments."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"I appreciate your dedication, but working while sick is strictly forbidden. Please be honest about your health."
"..."
"I need an answer."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Alright, today's vocal practice! Counter Staff, group one, step forward!"
"Yes! ...Welcome to the shop!"
"Welcome to the shop!"
"Certainly, right away!"
"Certainly, right away!"
I had no problem with lining up, listening to the reports, or the vocal drills. My only complaint was the husband’s final closing line.
"Alright! Let's work hard for the Village Head again today!"
Personally, I wanted to work for Paula-san.
...A few days later, the Village Head himself visited the shop, and I finally realized just how incredible he was. Yeah, everything made sense after that.
Currency Guide
- 100 Small Copper Coins = 10 Medium Copper Coins = 1 Large Copper Coin
- 100 Large Copper Coins = 1 Silver Coin
- 100 Silver Coins = 1 Gold Coin
Shashaato City Price Reference
- Loaf of bread: 1 Medium Copper Coin
- Food stall snack (e.g., one skewer): 1–3 Medium Copper Coins
- Sake (watered down): Starts at 1 Medium Copper Coin
- Typical lunch out: 3–7 Medium Copper Coins
- Typical dinner out: 5–10 Medium Copper Coins
- Daily income for a back-alley resident: 0–2 Medium Copper Coins
- Daily income for an average male laborer: 5–30 Medium Copper Coins
- Curry (base price): 5 Medium Copper Coins
- Mini Bowling: Free
- Martial Arts Tournament (Annual) Grand Prize: 10 Gold Coins
- Martial Arts Tournament (Monthly) Grand Prize: 20 Silver Coins
- Tournament Entry Fee: 10 Large Copper Coins
- Tournament Spectating: Free
- Tournament Gambling (per bet): 1 Large Copper Coin