The Demon Kingdom was home to a wide variety of professions.
Take laundry, for instance. While it was essential for maintaining a clean lifestyle, there were always those who were bad at it, physically unable to do it, or simply didn't want to. To meet that need, a job existed where one handled the washing on behalf of others. This wasn't necessarily a service provided by a specialized company, but rather a cottage industry managed by ordinary households. People would stuff their dirty clothes into bags, and transactions were handled at a set price per bag. Since the quality of the work naturally varied from one home to the next, those with a reputation for being thorough were often flooded with requests.
Sewing followed a similar pattern. It was a daily necessity, yet not everyone was skilled with a needle. While complex tasks like tailoring clothes from raw fabric were left to professional outfitters and seamstresses, simple repairs for minor frays were often accepted as side-work by local households. Compensation varied based on the quality of the work, as did the retention of repeat customers, so it wasn't uncommon for families to spend their downtime honing their needlework.
As an aside, most housewives in the Demon Kingdom were capable of making clothes from scratch. It was said that if a woman couldn't sew, she couldn't marry—or rather, she would be treated as an amateur and frequently denied permission to wed. Because of this, sewing was a skill that nearly every young woman possessed, or at least desperately wanted to acquire. Consequently, professional tailors and dressmakers were expected to possess such specialized techniques and unique styles that ordinary housewives couldn't even hope to emulate. It seemed to be a remarkably competitive business.
Then there was chimney sweeping. This involved visiting homes with chimneys and offering to clean them on the spot. It sounded a bit like high-pressure door-to-door sales, but the fees were incredibly low. The secret to the cheap pricing was that the sweep received the soot and ash generated by the cleaning. These materials had surprisingly many uses, and since there were businesses dedicated to buying them, the job remained profitable. One might wonder if a fee was even necessary under those circumstances, but apparently, if they didn't charge something, they would end up repeatedly cleaning chimneys that weren't even dirty just to get at the ash.
The work required navigating tight spaces, so it was generally considered a job for the smaller races. However, even if they fit the size requirements, those of the Beastman Race tended to loathe the profession because the soot and ash would get trapped in their fur.
A similar occupation was sewage cleaning. This was a job where the administrators of the Water Supply System offered a wage to gather workers for maintenance. In much of the Demon Kingdom, Slimes were used for the actual cleaning, but human oversight was still deemed necessary. Apparently, in the past, a magician had once built a hidden room within the sewers to conduct dangerous experiments, and criminal organizations had been known to use the tunnels as bases. Since few people wanted to go near the sewers, they made for excellent hiding spots. Personally, I thought that with the Slimes on the job, the tunnels were probably cleaner than most ordinary places. The Slimes were truly a blessing.
Next were the porters. Though the scale of the work varied, it was exactly as the name implied: accompanying a client to carry their luggage. This wasn't a courier or delivery service, so they never traveled alone. A client, or an escort appointed by the client, was always present to verify the recipient and ensure the luggage wasn't stolen. While anyone with the strength to carry a pack could do the work, it required a certain level of established trust. Furthermore, those who accompanied adventurers were responsible for collecting and hauling loot during expeditions, which meant they needed enough martial ability to keep from slowing the party down. I had once assumed this was a job for people who were weaker than adventurers, but it turned out no one would hire a porter unless they were at least as strong as the adventurers themselves.
Finally, there were the guides. These individuals provided tours of the city to visitors from abroad. It was a job that required an intimate knowledge of the area; if a guide didn't constantly stay updated on the best restaurants and most reputable inns, they couldn't survive the industry. High-level communication skills were also a must if they wanted to build a customer base. Appearance mattered as well; if a guide didn't look professional and honest, travelers would avoid them. Of course, looking honest didn't always mean they were safe. While I hadn't heard such stories in Village Five, in other regions, there were shady guides who would lead travelers to crooked inns and rob them in collusion with the owners.
To prevent such trouble, Village Five officially licensed its guides to clearly identify who was trustworthy. This ensured that visitors wouldn't be taken advantage of, though the licensing system had created a bit of a barrier for new entries into the market. To address this, the Village Five Councilors had begun gathering people to provide the necessary education for newcomers to earn their official accreditation.
Now, as for why I was thinking about these specific businesses...
While laundry, sewing, chimney sweeping, porters, and guiding were often handled by individuals, there was someone who organized them all. A central point of contact was necessary in case trouble broke out between a service provider and a customer. These organizers also acted as mediators when disputes arose over territory. It seemed these roles weren't claimed by force, but rather given to those with great skill and even better reputations through recommendation.
I didn't know the full details, but Laladel Lalu Labelra—one of the Civil Official Girls—had been the one to explain it all to me. That was how the topic of trade had come up in the first place.
As for why Laladel Lalu Labelra was telling me this? It was because she was the one who managed all of those individual organizers. I had initially wondered if that wasn't Yoko's responsibility, but Laladel Lalu Labelra explained that while they coordinated with Yoko, it was better to have a separate, independent channel.
The reason was the security of Village Five.
Jobs like laundry, sewing, chimney sweeping, and guiding were deeply integrated into the daily lives of the residents. Because of that, these workers were the first to notice suspicious individuals. Naturally, they didn't try to apprehend anyone themselves; they had neither the training nor the authority for that. They simply reported what they saw. Those reports ultimately flowed upward to Laladel Lalu Labelra. If she determined that a suspicious person intended to harm the village, she would notify the Security Team, who would then use their authority to make an arrest.
While it seemed like this could have been folded into Yoko's existing systems, apparently having multiple sets of eyes looking for trouble made the village much safer. In fact, within Yoko's administration, there were already two distinct layers: the one Yoko managed directly and the one overseen by Spy Nana. With Laladel Lalu Labelra's network added to the mix, that made three separate intelligence layers. It was incredibly thorough.
"Village Head. There is actually one more," Laladel Lalu Labelra added.
"There is?"
"Yes."
Laladel Lalu Labelra glanced up at the ceiling beams of the room. Tucked away in the shadows were several of Zabuton's Children.
I see. That meant there were actually four layers of eyes watching for suspicious people. How reassuring.
"Yes. We shall continue to do our utmost," Laladel Lalu Labelra replied.
To match her formal response, Zabuton's Children raised their legs in a crisp salute.
Laladel Lalu Labelra was quite the talented woman. For some reason, she was exceptionally skilled at gathering and managing this sort of information. It was impressive, especially considering the Civil Official Girls were all daughters of the nobility.