Chapter 10 part 2
Volume 2 Chapter 10 PART 2
“Ryouma! We’re here!” [Wogan]
“Welcome to the Bamboo Forest Laundry Agency!” [Ryouma]
“You did a pret–… Geh!? Why is there a shitty old hag here?” [Wogan]
“Who’s a shitty old hag? I may be an old hag, but I’m no shitty old hag! You’ve been a guild leader for so long, yet you’re still as bad mouthed as ever, Wogan.” [Grisela]
“How long do you plan to stay as a guild leader anyway? You’re such a stubborn old hag. Why are you even here?” [Wogan]
“Obviously because I was invited.” [Grisela]
“Seriously?” [Wogan]
As their face met, Wogan couldn’t help but flinch. After he was able to get himself together, he talked to Ryouma.
“Ah, whatever. Ryouma, how does this laundry agency of yours work?” [Wogan]
“Right, currently... Ah, since Karma-san and Karla-san are here as well, I guess I might as well take this opportunity to explain how things work. Then, please come with me. Serge-san and the others, as well.” [Ryouma]
As Ryouma opened a part of the counter, he urged the other five to enter. The five people agreed, and entered with Ryouma.
“First, the customers need to buy one of the bags specially tailored to them. Bags tailored for individuals go for 20 suits a bag. This bag will be used whenever the customer comes to the store, so after purchasing one of these bags once, there won’t be any need to buy again when that customer comes the second time.” [Ryouma]
“Then in that case I’ll take one. I should stuff this bag with my laundry, right?” [Wogan]
“Yes, also, since today is simply a rehearsal for the real thing, today’s request will be free of charge. The bag, as well. So please take it and come again.” [Ryouma]
“Thanks.” [Wogan]
“Next is Karma-san and Karla-san. When a customer comes and pays, please insert the plank corresponding to the price paid into this pole by the counter’s right side.”
Ryouma took out a variety of thin and assorted colored plates from the counter and showed it to them. At the same time he also showed them the pole near the counter where the plates fit and the plate holder.
“What is that?” [Karma]
“It’s a tool for calculating income. The price in this store has already been decided by the size of the bags, as opposed to the pricing of other stores which is always changing. Moreover there are no prices other than 1 medium copper coin, 1 medium copper coin and 8 small copper coins, and 4 medium copper coins.
For every piece of medium coper coin you receive, please place one black plate into the plate holder for the black plate. This plate holder has a gradation and can take up to a hundred. Whenever it reaches 100 plates, please write a 1 on the paper underneath the plate holder, and then please put all the plates back into the shelf below the counter. Once a day after starting work, you can calculate the income of the store with this.
For example, when you fill up the black plate holder 3 times, and then after having removed the plates inside 3 times. If inside the plate holder 42 still remained, then in that case the earnings for the individual option becomes 342 medium copper coins or 3420 suits.
Seven types have been prepared all in all including the 3 options with the differing bag sizes, the 3 differing laundry prices, and the full body wash service aimed at adventurer’s armors and weapons. So if you check the plates respectively after starting work and adding them, you can calculate the profits.” [Ryouma]
After Ryouma said that he went back to talking to Wogan, but Karla, Karma, Serge, Pioro, and Grisela were all rooted on the spot as they stared at that tool after hearing Ryouma’s explanation.
Ryouma made this tool after remembering how easy it was to calculate the profits at the conveyor belt sushi (Kaiten-zushi) he worked at in his previous life. In that sushi shop, they divided the prices with different colored plates. Then they calculated the prices based on how many plates of a color were there.
Although it was something Ryouma made on a whim, to this world it wasn’t a trifling matter.
The so called arithmetic of this world, despite only really involving the four basic operations, is something that many people are incapable of. People are able to deal with small numbers they use in their day-to-day lives, but when it comes to big numbers such as the tally of the day’s profits, then even merchants find themselves struggling with the calculation.
One reason behind this are the lack of cash registers and calculators. Because of that, there’s no other way to calculate other than to look at the accounting book, check the number of times something was sold, and then add them one by one. Naturally, this takes a lot of time.
However with the tool that Ryouma had just made, even without the discount, it’s possible to easily calculate the earnings for the day. You could say that to this world it’s an exceptional tool to save time.
The price Ryouma is asking for is already so cheap to the people of this world that no one would dare to ask for a discount. With a price like that, no one would complain. But even if there was, they would simply be turned down. Ryouma has no intents of entertaining any further discounts than what he’s already set.
But not only is Ryouma’s store cheap, but its speed at calculating compared to other stores is also overwhelmingly fast, allowing the transactions to end easily. When the five people noticed that, their eyes became sharp. But Ryouma didn’t notice that as he continued to indifferently talk.
“After receiving the payment, please take the bag with the laundry and attach this label, which has been prepared ahead of time and can be taken from the shelf below the counter, to the bag’s lace. When giving the bag to the customer, please confirm the labels to make sure that the label of the customer and the label of the laundry matches.” [Ryouma]
The two plates that Ryouma brought out to attach to the lace is what you’d call an identifier. By attaching this, the store can prevent people from mistakenly taking the wrong bag.
After Ryouma explained that to them, he took the baggage and tossed it into a disposable chute like hole installed on the wall behind the counter.
“The cleaner slimes I’d talked about before are in the next room. I’ve already ordered the cleaner slimes to immediately clean and carry to the next room whatever is thrown into the chute. Like this anything thrown into the chute will automatically be cleaned and then brought to the place designated for the laundries.
Afterwards, all that’s left is picking it up, cross-checking the labels, and then giving it back to the customer. This is how the store will operate from now on. How is it? Are there any questions?” [Ryouma]
“No questions.” [Karma & Karla]
“Then please divide the labor among yourselves, then try to serve the customers.” [Ryouma]
As Ryouma said that, he also urged Karma and Karla to come to the counter. After which, they then took 10 people’s laundries, tossed it into the cleaner slime room, retrieved it, then gave it back to the customers.
If it this was one of the laundromats in Earth, they’d also iron the clothes after washing, but the laundry agency that Ryouma built was made specifically only for cleaning.
All the cleaning were left up to the cleaner slimes. And the cleaner slimes would either go inside the bag or put everything including the bag inside their body, then wash it. Because of this, they were also able to prevent losing laundry. After all, without even taking out a single piece of clothing and finishing the laundry in just one room, it’s only natural that nothing would go missing.
As for providing services other than cleaning, at most there’s only folding the clothes in this world. If that kind of service is desired, then Ryouma could just have someone do it, or do it himself. Or alternatively, hire the people who do their laundries themselves and wouldn’t use Ryouma’s store
“Looks like it’s going fine. Do you have any questions?” [Ryouma]
“Has this really become clean?” [Karma]
“We’re not really seeing the kind of results we’d heard from Serge-sama.” [Karla]
Because the twins said that, Ryouma had them open the laundry they got from Jeff and had them use ‘Identify’ on it. Having understood that the clothes were clean, they felt admiration for the cleaner slime’s ability. They had heard that the clothes from Jeff were covered in monster blood, so they were quite surprised when they found out there wasn’t even a trace of it on the laundry.
After that, Ryouma distributed the bags targeted to individuals to the 11 for free as a service. And because Wogan announced that he will be taking the group laundry option with the staff, Ryouma passed them a giant bag that could take 35 people’s worth of laundry along with 35 individual bags for free.
When they saw that, they couldn’t help but wonder why the individual bags were also given. At that question Ryouma replied,
“It’s a hassle to have your clothes mix up with others’, right? Moreover, I think that the female clients wouldn’t want their clothes and underwear to be seen by others, especially by other men. So as a subdivision, I’ve also included the individual bags. Like this, the laundry won’t be seen by the male staff.” [Ryouma]
At those words, everyone agreed, especially the women. Hearing this, Meilin promised to recommend the store to the other female staff in the guild.
Actually, Wogan did mention about Ryouma’s laundromat to the other female staff, but precisely because of the reason Ryouma had mentioned just now, they declined.
While they were talking like that, the household of the duke arrived. For even the duke’s family, themselves, to come. Naturally, the people were in a slight uproar. And so, all 23 of them were brought into one of the rooms of the store.
Though this may be off topic, because Ryouma had no surviving relatives in his past life, he had no experience in these kind of gatherings. Because of that, it was only when they came here that Ryouma noticed that he had just called the duke’s family whose social position has no relation to his, for a private matter. Thereby perpetuating an unthinkable act showing an obvious lack of common sense.
Normally, it shouldn’t be possible to call the guild masters of the adventurer’s guild and the merchant’s guild. Ryouma planned this event with gratitude to his benefactors in mind, as well as his aspiration to have some sort of social disposition. But when he saw what was happening, he realized how hasty he was and decided that he will secretly reflect after this.