Volume 3 Chapter 6 Part 3
「Ah. Welcome, Miss Noella.」
「Boss, how’s your business going?」
「It’s been going pretty well. You have my thanks!」
The man that Noella had addressed as the boss of the shop had the same tattoo symbolizing the Bodyguard’s Guild. However, they were speaking rather amicably with each other. It seemed like they weren’t enemies, unlike what I had assumed.
「I’m sure you’ve already heard.」
「Oh, yeah. It’s about setting up colorful tents at night and having all kinds of unusual stalls, ain’t it?」
「Yes. We would like to put up some of our pamphlets.」
In the end, we failed to receive permission to display our pamphlets. However, Noella managed to get the owner to agree to set up a few stalls if the redeveloped area took off.
「Isn’t this shop under the Bdoyguard’s Guild’s jurisdiction? Aren’t the Thieves’ Guild and the Bodyguard’s Guild at loggerheads with each other?」
「Truth be told, the owner of that shop only joined the Bodyguard’s Guild because he didn’t want his business to be disrupted by them. It’s just out of convenience.」
「Oh, I see, so that’s what happened.」
「I… Well, there isn’t a strict rule forbidding the Thieves’ Guild’s members from entering the shops of other guilds. We’re all potential customers. That owner is actually quite willing to work with others in secret!」
「Really?!」
「Though, things aren’t so simple. After all, that shop is paying its fees to the Bodyguard’s Guild.」
「I see.」
「If our redevelopment plans fail this time, there’s a possibility that the Thieves’ Guild will be subsumed under the Merchant’s Guild or the Bodyguard’s Guild.」
「S-Since it’s my idea… the fault lies with me then.」
「But if we didn’t do anything and maintained the status quo, then we’d be stuck in poverty.」
「That’s true.」
「That’s why I’m very thankful for everything you’ve done.」
「I just hope that you, Miri, and the rest can have somewhere to belong.」
「Yeah. We’ll definitely succeed!」
If we really wanted to succeed, then we would have to gather people for the night stalls. Once we amassed enough people, we needed to convince Fullbrem Merchant’s Association to provide us with funding for a large-scale development and then increase the number of tenant stalls.
***
「We finished distributing those pamphlets underground in no time!」
「The children and I were giving them out at Herculean Street, but we ran out in ten minutes!」
「The Adventurer’s Guild said it’s all right to leave more pamphlets with them too!」
After I made a trip around the first floor underground and returned to the apartment, I saw that Ria and the rest had already returned. In the end, I took quite some time to finish going around the shops. It seemed like there were a dozen or more shops that were allied with the Thieves’ Guild in secret.
Despite the large number of shops I had to visit, I had not expected everyone else to finish distributing their pamphlets so quickly. Their early return caught me by surprise.
「So… soon?」
Perhaps the Moe art of Noella really worked, or pamphlets were simply rare in the isekai world. Alternatively, there was a chance that the redevelopment plan was interesting enough to draw people’s attention.
However, there was one major problem. It was a hurdle for a broke freelancer like me to spit out pamphlets on the fly. After printing those 3000 pieces earlier, my wallet had already suffered from a 35000 yen damage.
「I really want to distribute more of these. If we give out more, we’ll be able to attract more customers to come, won’t we?」Miri sighed.
My guess was that Miri and the orphanage’s children were all looking forward to the night stalls’ success. Ria was probably harboring the same anticipation too.
Even Deet, who was volunteering to help out, had the same expectant look on her face.
「Miri, I’m sure 3000 pieces will bring us a good crowd.」
「Yeah. It was quite tough giving out these 3000 pieces!」
Even though Miri was still unaware of my financial situation in Japan, Ria and Deet were clear about how I was doing.
「Huh? They’ll be gone in no time.」
Ria and Deet seemed a little troubled by Miri’s answer. These two were probably eager to give out more pamphlets too. if we really wanted to utilize our resources effectively, then we should put our all into this first push. When it comes to taking a shot at anything, it was always best to give one’s all in the first go. A second or a third try was far less effective.
「Miri’s right! This is our chance. We should push ahead! Print more and distribute more!」
「Touru!」Everyone called out, their spirits clearly lifted.
Among this excitement, I heard Shizuku’s soft mutter.「But will you be fine, Touru?」
「Sorry… Shizuku. Will salted plum chazuke be all right till I get my part-time?」[1. TN: Chazuke is a Japanese dish of tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice.]
「Yes! Of course!」Shizuku exclaimed, trembling with joy.
「All right! Let’s all go to Don Quijote! We’ll buy paper and ink cartridges and print ten thousand, or even twenty thousand copies!」[2. TN: Don Quijote is a chain store in Japan selling a variety of products.]
「Yeah!!!」
The printer started chugging away at full capacity once more.
We left Ria, Miri, and the children to distribute the pamphlets. Deet, Noella, and I headed to oversee the preparations for the stalls.
「Noella, the number of night stalls… seems more than we expected.」
「Actually, when we were putting up the pamphlets at the shops, there were quite a few who forked out funds for us. The Thieves’ Guild also decided to work a little harder.」
「Oh, really? I thought they’ll hate us for stealing their customers.」
「It’s all thanks to Touru who managed to convince them that there’ll be more visitors to the underground level!」
I faintly remembered saying something like that.
「I see. I’m sure it’s because you came with me.」
「Well, I wonder.」Noella chuckled.
Even if I offered such persuasions alone, those shopkeepers were unlikely to believe me.
However, Noella of the Thieves’ Guild has never intimidated any of these shops into cooperation. Rather, the Thieves’ Guild maintained peace with everyone, leading these shops to trust her.
「I think having a large number of colorful night stalls lined up probably makes for the best advertisement!」
The Thieves’ Guild’s members were happily constructing each stall’s cart together. The way these people looked and dressed made them a perfect match for these multicolored stalls. All we had to do now was pray for customers to come on the day of the launch.
***
「Boss, thanks for the hard work!」
「Ah, yeah. You—」
I didn’t bother listening to the rest of the owner’s reply before exiting the family restaurant. Today was the night stalls’ launch.
Thinking that there wouldn’t be any customers, I accepted the part-time shift for the restaurant at 5 p.m. I winded through the bustling crowd of Tachikawa and sprinted back to the apartment.
「Shizuku, I’m back! Let’s go!」
「Okay!」
Shizuku transformed into a leather armor and wrapped herself around my upper body. After that, I dashed out of the apartment with my keys tightly gripped in my hand. The familiar underground level came into view. We just had to leave this place.
I could feel Shizuku trembling, probably from excitement.
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