While I was watering the cleaner slimes that had finished tidying the shop, Carla approached me to report the day's sales. Something about her demeanor felt different than usual, however.
"Manager, regarding today's earnings..."
"Is something wrong? Did we hit a deficit?"
"No, quite the opposite. We are very much in the black."
"In the black? Well, we’ve been making a decent profit up until today, haven't we?"
"The figures are on a different scale entirely, Ryoma-sama. Today alone, we brought in 26,036 Suut."
Twenty-six thousand and thirty-six!?
"Wait a minute. Yesterday and the day before, we were only at about sixteen thousand, right? Why did it suddenly jump by ten thousand?"
"Several bulk contracts came in right after you left this morning, Manager. It seems rumors of the shop have spread; the heads of the blacksmiths and carpenters, as well as staff from the ironworks, arrived one after another. They all purchased the large laundry bags and immediately brought them back full of items. Furthermore, we’ve seen an increase in individual customers and small groups. Quite a few individuals are now requesting multiple bags’ worth of laundry at once. Bag sales are also continuing at a steady pace."
"Could you show me the breakdown? It’s not that I don't trust you, I just want to see the numbers for myself..."
"Of course. Please wait in the manager's office; I’ll bring the records immediately."
I headed to the office as instructed and sat down. Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d actually used this room. I was usually either moving laundry, serving customers, or resting in the breakroom.
As I sat there reflecting on this, Carla returned with a sheet of paper.
"These are the tallies from today's sales plates."
"Thank you."
I took the paper, which listed the count for each type of sales plate, and scanned the entries.
Let’s see...
Individual (1 load): 10 Suut × 998 = 9,980 Suut 14-person (1 load): 18 Suut × 152 = 2,736 Suut 35-person (1 load): 40 Suut × 55 = 2,200 Suut Individual Bag (1 bag): 20 Suut × 159 = 3,180 Suut 14-person Bag (1 bag): 25 Suut × 68 = 1,700 Suut 35-person Bag (1 bag): 30 Suut × 50 = 1,500 Suut Equipment Cleaning Service: 15 Suut × 316 = 4,740 Suut
Total: 26,036 Suut... The math checked out.
"It’s all here. I’m stunned... I truly didn’t expect it to grow this much."
Even accounting for the ongoing bag sales, the pure service revenue was close to twenty thousand. This success was thanks to the cleaner slimes and the hard work of the staff.
"By the way, where is everyone else?"
"They are gathered in the breakroom, verifying the sales."
"Verifying the sales?"
"Since our revenue is a mix of medium and small copper coins, they are sorting them and ensuring the physical count matches the calculated total."
"I see. I'll go give them a hand."
"Oh, no, that’s a job for the subordinates..."
"It’s not as if I’m forbidden from helping, is it? I may be the manager, but I’m also their colleague. I’ll help out."
In truth, the twins were far too capable at administrative work. It wasn't that I had no work at all, but there was very little for me to do, and their support was so efficient that tasks were finished in the blink of an eye. For someone like me who used to live on energy drinks, this level of leisure felt unsettling.
"As you wish. However, Ryoma-sama, you are not merely a manager 'after a fashion'—you are the true master of this shop."
With those words, Carla escorted me to the employee breakroom—which was simply the room across the hall.
"Good work, everyone," I said as I entered.
"Manager, good work!" the six employees, led by Caulm, replied in unison.
They were seated around the large table in the breakroom, which was covered in a mountain of copper coins. They were counting them one by one, entirely by hand.
"Thank you for everything you do. It’s a great help being able to leave the operations to all of you."
"Don't mention it! This shop treats us so well," one of the girls chirped.
"She’s right, Ryoma-sama. This is the least we can do as your employees," Caulm added.
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, Carla included.
"I’m glad you feel that way. Well then, let’s get to it. We just need to tally up these copper coins, right?"
"Yes. Though we could certainly handle this ourselves..."
"Many hands make light work. Besides, it’s a massive amount."
Today’s sales were 26,036 Suut, consisting entirely of small copper coins (1 Suut) and medium copper coins (10 Suut). Naturally, the volume was staggering. After verification, the coins were to be stored in the underground vault and periodically deposited into the account I’d opened at the Commerce Guild... but even just moving this much weight would be an ordeal.
"In that case, please, sit here."
"The seat next to me is free, ne," Fei offered.
"Excuse me."
I sat next to Fei and started counting. Doing this manually was going to take forever. Even with eight people, it was a tedious process. After about a minute of work, I had a flash of inspiration. Or rather, a memory.
I pulled a bag of lime left over from the construction out of my Item Box. All eyes were on me, but I ignored the stares and used Appraisal on a small copper coin. I needed the exact diameter and thickness.
Small Copper Coin (1 Suut): Lowest denomination. Copper. Diameter 0.9cm, thickness 2mm.
Perfect. I take back what I said earlier; Appraisal can be surprisingly useful.
"Manager? What are you doing, ka? Appraising copper coins... is there a counterfeit?" Fei asked.
"No, I’m just going to make a little tool."
"A tool?"
"Just watch. 'Create Block'."
After checking the dimensions of the other coins, I transformed the lime inside the bag into a long, rectangular piece of stone. I made the interior hollow like a box, then used Break Rock to remove one end, creating a tray that would allow excess items to slide out when tilted.
Within the hollow section, I used Earth Magic to raise a grid of 1cm square cells—five rows of ten, for a total of fifty. I made the dividers exactly 2mm high, ensuring each cell would hold exactly one coin. Finally, I applied a thin layer of Sticky Slime hardening fluid to protect the surface and make it safe to handle.
When I appraised the result:
Coin Box: 14cm long, 7cm wide, 1cm high. A tool used in the Edo period for counting coins. Created by hardening lime with Earth Magic.
Perfect. It was finished.
"Manager, what is that?"
"I think it can be used like this."
I grabbed two handfuls of small copper coins, dumped them into the stone tray, and gave it a quick shake back and forth. The coins rattled loudly. When I tilted the tray, the excess coins spilled back onto the pile, but fifty coins remained perfectly seated in the grid.
"Fei-san, could you count these remaining coins for me?"
"Understood. I'll count them, yo."
Fei scrutinized the tray with sharp eyes. "Fifty coins, ne. Exactly right, yo. Manager, you’ve made another convenient thing, ne?"
By the time Fei spoke, Caulm, Carla, and Li Ling had already grasped the utility of the tool. The three migrant girls still looked a bit confused, so I had them try it out. I quickly filled the tray, shook it, and distributed the coins to them until they were convinced.
I immediately began mass-producing the Coin Boxes. I made enough for everyone, including versions tailored for 50 small copper coins and 100 medium copper coins. Apparently, a traditional Coin Box could handle different denominations with a single tray, but I could refine the design later.
Thanks to the trays, the remaining work was finished in less than ten minutes. Most of the revenue turned out to be small copper coins; despite my expectations, it seemed the vast majority of our customers paid in the smallest denomination.
Afterward, I checked in with the staff to see how they were finding the work and if they had any concerns.
"Concerns?"
"Not particularly~."
"The treatment here is great. There's nothing to complain about."
"If someone complained about this shop, they would be far too spoiled, ne."
"Is that so? Well, the wages aside, the holi—!"
Wait. I had completely forgotten to give everyone a day off! I couldn't claim to care about employee welfare while making them work every single day without rest.
"What is it? Manager, your face turned pale all of a sudden, ne."
"...I realized I had forgotten to set your holidays."
At my words, everyone looked at me as if they couldn't believe their ears. Then Jane cried out.
"Manager! Do you mean we actually get fixed days off!?"
Why were they so shocked? It should be common sense. Though, granted, I was the one who had forgotten until now. Looking around, everyone else was staring at me with the same wide-eyed surprise.
"I think it’s better to have at least one day a week. We could either set a fixed day for the shop to close or have everyone rotate their time off..."
The three migrant girls began to cheer with genuine joy. While I was bewildered by their reaction, Carla offered an explanation.
"Manager, it is quite rare for migrant laborers to receive fixed holidays. Those without specialized skills are often treated as drudges and overworked for relatively low pay. This shop already provides excellent treatment and high wages. It is only natural for people to assume that there would be very little time off in exchange for such conditions."
"And it isn't just migrant workers," Caulm added. "Small firms or retail shops like greengrocers rarely close unless there’s a festival or a major event. If they stop working, the business suffers, so working without rest is common. It’s standard practice for a new business to run without holidays until it's firmly established."
A hand-to-mouth operation, then. I suppose those exist in every world.
"Before we left the village, our families kept apologizing to us," one of the girls said. "They felt so bad for forcing such a hard life on us."
"We’d heard that if you were unlucky with your employer, you'd be worked to the bone for pennies—or worse, that our virtue would be at risk..."
"We were really worried about that."
Is the treatment of employees here really that barbaric? I looked toward Carla for confirmation.
"Using one's position as an employer to demand physical favors is illegal, but unfortunately, such employers do exist. It is a danger that any employee must be wary of."
Sexual harassment followed the same patterns regardless of the world, it seemed.
"Well, our shop aims for a healthy management style that values its employees. I look forward to your continued hard work."
Everyone smiled and echoed the sentiment. Regarding the holidays, they suggested that closing the shop now while business was booming would be a waste, so we decided on a system where everyone would rotate taking one day off per week.
After finishing the dinner Sherma had prepared while we talked, I realized it was nearly nine o'clock. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the inn, worried I might get scolded for being late again.
When I arrived, the Young Lady and the others had already returned. Over tea, I learned that the family had spent the day being 'entertained' at the town office. A new official had arrived, and the remaining staff members—those involved in the previous scandals—had been trying desperately to curry favor. Not that such blatant flattery would work on the Jamils.
I could perfectly picture the scene: a stern inquiry being conducted right beside a banner brightly labeled 'Welcome Party.' And according to the facts, the reality hadn't been far off.
Aside from Reinbach-sama and Sebas, who shared the story with me, everyone else had already retired for the night. Realizing that staying late would only be a bother, I decided to head to my own room.