I was a complete failure.
I reflected on my choices, and I felt a twinge of regret.
What had started as a simple plan to open one shop in Village Five had somehow spiraled. First, it became two, and now, there were five.
The explanation for how it came to this was simple enough. Once the residents learned that a shop was going to be built on the land Yoko had secured, they began to quarrel. By quarrel, I don't mean they were trying to block the opening; rather, they were all desperately competing to have a shop in their own districts.
To be precise, protests erupted from every corner of the village except for the South Side, where Yoko had already staked out a spot. They demanded to know why their neighborhoods were being ignored.
Yoko, who bore the brunt of these complaints, merely laughed and shouted them down.
"Where a shop is opened is entirely at the Village Head’s discretion," she barked. "Stop your incessant chirping; you are being a nuisance. In time, he will surely build something in other areas as well, so wait your turn."
Her words managed to settle the initial commotion, but the peace was short-lived. When it leaked that I was already planning a second shop on the West Side, the situation escalated into an uproar that even Yoko couldn't laugh off.
"Is the West Side making a secret move?"
"Did the West Side bribe someone?"
"What is our district representative doing?"
"Are we falling behind? Recruit supporters! We need to gather our numbers!"
Voices rose across the village. People began to congregate on the North Side, the East Side, and at the foot of the mountain. Panicked by this, the residents of the South and West Sides also began to gather their own supporters. An unsettling, volatile atmosphere descended over Village Five.
At that point, even the usually composed Yoko finally snapped.
"This entire project began because I conveyed your requests to the Village Head, and he graciously agreed to listen!" she roared. "To stir up such a fuss simply because you don't see an immediate personal benefit—despite your claims of gratitude—what kind of logic is that?! If you are so dissatisfied with the Village Head’s actions, then pack your things and leave this land!"
Since there were no official representatives for the protesters, Yoko forcibly rounded up those who seemed to have the most influence in each district and delivered a final ultimatum.
Flustered, the influential residents scrambled to offer excuses.
"It is not that we are dissatisfied with the Village Head’s actions, milady. We simply dislike the idea of the South and West Sides getting ahead of us."
"We are not ungrateful. We truly believe our districts are second to none, including the South and West. We were simply heartbroken that our home was not chosen."
While there were slight variations in their wording, those two sentiments represented the overwhelming majority.
"Then why can you not wait?" Yoko challenged. "The Village Head is opening a shop on the South Side and is already planning one for the West. Why does it not occur to you that there will be a next one?"
With that, Yoko finally quelled the disturbance. A summary of the entire incident was eventually submitted to me.
Reading through it, I realized I was undeniably the one at fault. Regardless of the South Side, I shouldn't have decided to open the West Side shop so impulsively. Niz had been eager, and since the target audience for Kuro and Yuki on the South Side explicitly excluded drinkers, I had assumed a shop serving alcohol wouldn't overlap or cause any friction.
I felt deep remorse for causing a needless disturbance in Village Five. True reflection, however, isn't done with words; it's done through action.
While preparations for Kuro and Yuki on the South Side continued as planned, I decided we would also open shops on the West Side, the East Side, the North Side, and at the foot of the mountain—even if those would be slightly delayed. Yoko warned me that the residents would only get carried away if I indulged them, but I pushed forward anyway. I feared that if I put them off any longer, they would just start fighting over the order in which the shops opened.
However, the real problem was staffing.
I needed someone at the heart of each shop who was literate, good with arithmetic, and could commit to the job full-time. While the residents were willing to help, anyone in Village Five who was educated enough to run a shop already had a career.
There were limits to how many people I could pull from Maruura in Shashato City. In particular, if I poached any more bookkeepers, Miyo—who was in charge of accounting there—would be furious. Even without her wrath to consider, we had only just begun to resolve the staffing shortage in Shashato thanks to the people Malbit introduced from the Garlet Kingdom. I couldn't afford to reverse that progress.
Left with no other choice, I consulted with Yoko and Saint Seles in Village Five.
Yoko suggested pressuring the merchants involved in the recent unrest to provide accounting staff. I told her that forcing them was out of the question. Seles offered a more reassuring solution, telling me that I could leave the management of one shop to personnel associated with the Church. I was incredibly grateful for the offer.
Still, it wasn't enough. As I sat there wondering what to do, Galf, who was acting as my escort, spoke up.
"How about looking for talent within the Security Team? I believe several of them have business experience. Also, those who came from the Elf Empire should be perfectly capable of reading, writing, and arithmetic."
That was a great point. I immediately went to consult Pirika.
"Everything shall be as the Village Head desires," she said.
"No, Pirika, this is a consultation, not an order," I reminded her.
I had Galf step in to help mediate the discussion. Pirika told me that if any of her members wished to work at a shop, they could either resign from the Security Team or hold both positions simultaneously. She relayed the offer to the team during their morning assembly.
Ultimately, about twenty volunteers stepped forward. The ones who answered immediately were the Bronze Knight—who had been training with the team—and two individuals from the former Elf Empire.
First, there was the Bronze Knight.
"You don't actually plan on staying here forever, do you?" I asked. "Don't you eventually have to return home?"
He insisted he was staying permanently and begged me to release him from training.
"No, wait a second," I said. "I can't have someone running a shop with such a defeatist attitude. Besides, the training isn't even mandatory, is it? If you hate it that much, you can just stop."
He explained that if the Silver and Iron Knights continued while he quit, it would look like he was running away. He was desperate for a valid excuse to leave the drills.
"In that case, should I be the one to tell you to quit?" I asked.
"What can you do about it?" he replied.
"Well, I'm the Village Head here... if I talk to Pirika, I'm sure she'll listen."
He looked at me in shock as it dawned on him that I was, technically, Yoko's superior. I found myself being begged for mercy by a grown man in tears.
"Alright, fine," I sighed. "I'll tell her to release you from training. After that, you're free to do as you like."
"Wait, I can run a shop? With everything I've got?" he asked. "I'm from a noble family, but I have business experience. Please, let me handle it!"
I appreciated the enthusiasm, but I worried about his social standing. He puffed out his chest and told me not to worry. I truly hoped he was right.
The first person from the Elf Empire was a woman with a sharp gaze.
"I am the daughter of a man who handled financial affairs for the Imperial Family," she stated. "I have experience running my own shop as well. I won't say that physical and mental training is meaningless, but I believe I can be of much greater use by applying the knowledge and experience I already possess."
She had been confident in both her academic and martial skills, but she hadn't been able to keep up with the Security Team's grueling regime. She was stuck in a "failing" bracket and practically pleaded for the chance to return to commerce.
"It's a small shop," I warned. "Is that okay?"
"The size of the shop is irrelevant," she replied firmly. "If a business is successful, it will grow regardless of its starting point."
I hired her on the spot.
The second volunteer from the Elf Empire was even more desperate.
"I am a former member of the Imperial Family," she said. "Please. I'm begging you. I will do anything if it means escaping that training."
"Anything?" I asked.
"Yes! Fortunately, I've developed the mental fortitude to endure absolute absurdity thanks to those drills. I can handle anything you throw at me!"
"If you've developed such mental strength, why are you so desperate to run away?"
"I am a princess!" she cried. "Or I was one, at least! And yet, I'm terrified by the fact that I’ve started naturally thinking things like, 'I wonder how much weight I can lift today,' or 'Let's see if I can dig a two-meter hole.' On my days off, I find myself doing endless push-ups and sit-ups even when no one is watching. Look at this! Look at the muscles on these arms! Are these the arms of a princess? No! No matter how you look at them, they aren't!"
"Calm down," I said. "It's fine. Elf muscles are notoriously deceptive anyway."
I had a feeling that even if she started working at the shop, she wouldn't be able to quit the muscle training. It seemed to be deeply ingrained in her now. She denied it, of course, but I had my doubts.
"So, am I hired?" she asked.
"You're hired."
"Thank you! I, Kinesta Kiine Kin Laguelelf, swear my eternal loyalty to you... I’m sorry, may I ask your name and title? ...The Village Head? Of this entire place? ...Wait. Do you need a concubine or something? I'm serious, I'll do anything."
I laughed and politely declined. I figured I had to be clear about it: I didn't need one.
With the new staff integrated, I finalized the management structure for each location.
On the South Side: Kuro and Yuki (Sweets and Tea). Acting Shop Manager: Kinesta. Originally, Niz was going to handle this, but I turned it over to Kinesta. Since we had plenty of support from the experienced Maruura staff, I figured the shop would be fine even if the manager was a bit eccentric. I moved Niz into the role of Assistant General Manager for all five shops. Naturally, I took the title of General Manager and Shop Manager for every location. I'm the Village Head, and yet I'm still doing this.
On the East Side: Cafe Blue (Sweets and Tea). Acting Shop Manager: Bronze Knight. I had intended for this to be a standard cafe, but since the Bronze Knight claimed his face was his greatest weapon, we leaned into that. It ended up becoming a "butler cafe" style establishment. I was a little worried about how the locals would take it, especially since the staff the Bronze Knight recruited were all remarkably handsome men. Even I had to admit they were a good-looking bunch.
On the North Side: Korin Sweets Shop. Acting Shop Manager: Saint Seles. We decided to sell senbei and dango here. We figured over-the-counter sales would be easier to manage than a sit-down service. While Seles is the acting manager, she can't be there 24/7, so Church personnel will rotate shifts. Since they might still be short-handed, she mentioned consulting with Progenitor-san to see if Fouche could send extra help.
At the foot of the mountain: Noodle Shop Buritoa. Acting Shop Manager: The daughter of the former financial officer of the Elf Empire. This became a ramen shop. As luck would have it, there was a chef at Maruura who wanted to specialize in ramen, so the timing was perfect. I wanted those two to work together as a team. Most of the Security Team members working part-time ended up here as well.
On the West Side: Sake & Meat Niz. Acting Shop Manager: Niz. Since this shop was intended to serve alcohol, it nearly became a tavern. However, to avoid competing directly with the established local taverns, we turned it into a yakiniku restaurant. We made it a rule that customers couldn't order alcohol without food, again to stay on good terms with the neighbors. Preparing the different sizes of braziers for the various races was a massive undertaking. Then there was the sauce—a special blend created by the residents of Village One and the High Ogre maids. We would wholesale it directly from the Village of the Great Tree. It used so many of our own fresh vegetables and seasonings that no other shop could hope to replicate the flavor. As for the drinks, I left that entirely to Donovan. It’s always best to let a Dwarf handle the alcohol. The Iron Knight also took a job here, though unlike the Bronze Knight, he viewed it as a simple part-time job to pay for his living expenses. Niz was happy to have him.
After a great deal of effort, all five shops finally opened. Foot traffic was steady across the board, which was a massive relief. I felt that I had finally translated my reflection into meaningful action.
However, I did have one lingering regret: the raw materials.
Specifically, the wheat, sugar, tea leaves, and mochi rice required for all these sweets and noodles. We could manage for a year or two using the stockpiles from the Village of the Great Tree, but after that, things would get dicey.
As a result, we've had to start expanding the fields back at the village. I’m working hard on that right now.