Chapter 381: Strange Display
Chapter 381: Strange Display
It has already been a little while since Tsige became a nation.
The Kuzunoha Company is thankfully succeeding greatly today as well.
To the point that there’s no need for the minute management of the inventory that’s normally needed.
We have been having continuous days of stocking up and selling out just like that.
It seriously is scary.
By the way, around the 3rd day of this, I thought about increasing the stock by double. This is obvious, but this was me considering the pains of everyone who would stay till late calculating and increasing the close time till it is sold-out.
We would count what remained of the double up and calculate the speed of the sales, then we could adjust the numbers after experimenting with it for a lengthy span of time…is what I thought.
But the result was a big tragedy.
The customers didn’t stop coming even late in the night, and it easily sold out.
We doubled the stock for one day, and we couldn’t decrease the amount from there.
Wow.
I can’t forget the resentful face of Eris as if she had crawled from the depths of the earth full of fatigue that day.
Akua and Eris are serving as helpers in Rotsgard and Tsige for the times when it is busy.
I am truly grateful for everyone who has been working in our store since its beginnings.
“By the way, what’s on schedule today?” (Makoto)
Because of all that, it is hard for me to complain even when I am very busy.
It has a lot to do with the overwhelming increase in people coming to Tsige, leading to an increase of customers.
However, at the same time, the name of the Kuzunoha Company has spread out inside and outside of the city with exaggerations included.
…In other words, the amount of merchants, nobles somewhere, representatives of settlements, and landlords coming for business discussions has increased.
Also, the Kuzunoha Company is in Tsige and Rotsgard.
Meaning that it was crazy busy. I am happy, but this is busy to a painful degree on the daily.
“Yes, Waka-sama… There’s around 3 matters that require the representative to go to. The remaining ones will be dealt with by Tomoe-sama, Shiki-sama, and the reorganized foreign affairs unit.”
3.
Right now it is noon, so…I would be finishing in the evening, huh.
I can deal with 1 more for today.
I have noticed recently that when I say I can somehow manage, it mostly ends up in a tragic result.
This time around the ones in big trouble would be the foreign affairs team, who are being called the Kuzu-san, that are going around a variety of settlements.
Despite how Tomoe and Shiki sometimes are, they actually have silver tongues and do their job properly.
Their perception of exhaustion is different from others, so even if I were to butt in, from experience, I can tell that it doesn’t have much effect.
It normally just ends up with them hanging out with me instead.
“Then, can you move one task from the foreign affairs team to me? Also, I will help out a bit in the burden of teleportation.” (Makoto)
“Waka-sama, pushing yourself is—”
“I am not pushing myself here. It is because I feel like I can do it that I am offering to do so. Don’t worry, I won’t be late for dinner.” (Makoto)
“…Then, one task only. I will adjust the team so that the teleportation matter doesn’t take too much of your time.”
“Thanks. Now, who is the next customer?” (Makoto)
“The Rembrandt Company’s Patrick-sama.”
“…Isn’t he coming every week.” (Makoto)
“He is.”
“That person should be several times busier than me though…” (Makoto)
“He promised that he would be coming once or more every week.”
“Hahaha…so after today, he plans on arranging another meeting next week?” (Makoto)
“No.”
“?”
“He has already made arrangements all the way to the next year…”
“……”
“…”
“It means that our store isn’t as famous to the point that he can reserve that many times, huh.” (Makoto)
Rembrandt-san what an outrageous way of making appointments.
Not only till the end of the year, he has made reservations for him to come once or more every week all the way to the next year too.
“Waka-sama, my apologies, but it seems like in the current state, getting an appointment with an executive and higher would require them to wait for half a year. As for new ones, they would require some sort of connection in order to even make it to an appointment 1 year later…”
The eldwa that has been answering until now said something fearsome there.
I see, so the Kuzunoha Company is already becoming a famous establishment that you can’t get appointments to.
…I am beginning to feel like I should actually be working to the bone.
The foreign affairs team is increasing their numbers on the daily, so I want to believe they are not being crushed by the work.
“W-Well, the whole city is busy, not only us.” (Makoto)
“…”
“Have Rembrandt-san come…” (Makoto)
“Yes!”
The eldwa-san bowed and left the room.
At any rate, Rembrandt-san…if you have business with me, you could call me anytime and I would come to you, you know.
While I was thinking that, the person himself came into the reception room with a refreshing smile.
“Heya, Raidou-kun! Looking well!” (Rembrandt)
“You seem to be the same always as we—ll?” (Makoto)
I thought he would go straight to the sofa, but he went to a corner of the room.
I say that, but it is not like the reception room here is that big.
I could see where he was heading to.
That’s…the showcase I recently requested to be placed there because that part of the room felt lonely.
At first it was placed at the first floor of the store, sort of like a display for mysterious objects.
It is the size of a family refrigerator.
From within the transparent crystal, there’s a lot of interesting things displayed there.
Rare things from the Mist Town and outside of Tsige. At times there would also be things made by using my memories as reference here as well.
It would switch the items in display around once every other week.
As of present, for security, the reception room’s one is the original while the one on the first floor is a hologram.
…We are slowly turning futuristic.
“Uhm, why did you go there all of a sudden?” (Makoto)
“What the Kuzunoha Company began recently…this ‘display’, was it? It is incredibly popular even in my company. I heard you have begun to place it in the reception room and that I could take my time to observe it… Man, it really is interesting.” (Rembrandt)
“Aah, it is true that it was only last week that we placed it here. It already reached your ears?” (Makoto)
Your ears are really something else.
“That’s because it was through your displays that you guys stirred the city for a time with your pottery, and then with the lacquer wares that were displayed in this manner. All of that was the Kuzunoha Company, so it made quite a stir with people of that taste. The enthusiasts of other countries even got residences here in a hurry for that.” (Rembrandt)
“Pottery, huh. Tomoe has gotten hooked to that too. I think it is more enjoyable to make them yourself than buying them, but there’s also the enthusiasts who like to go through the trouble of putting high prices on it.” (Makoto)
“Hooh…you can make those? Even when not a specialist in that area?” (Rembrandt)
“Yeah. That’s how fakes of famous works are born. Now that I think about it, you knew about pottery before they were shown in displays, right?” (Makoto)
“Umu, it is because a chef with a somewhat decent name for themselves suddenly opened a store in Tsige. When I went to check the store in order to investigate the reason for that, the food that was being served was on ceramic plates.” (Rembrandt)
“…Aah, I see.” (Makoto)
Due to his footwork, huh.
His information network is on a whole other level.
“Then, when I asked him about a whole lot of things, it turned and turned, and ended up being the Kuzunoha Company. Investigating something and ending up back to where you started. It happens often, but when I received that report, I ended up laughing.” (Rembrandt)
“We weren’t really hiding it though. We didn’t really put effort in selling them either.” (Makoto)
“Yeah. I heard that there’s around two displays that can be seen from the counter.” (Rembrandt)
Darkest under the lighthouse.
Even the information network of Rembrandt has those moments, huh.
“A dwarf that frequently looks after the store and Tomoe are quite into ceramic art, you see.” (Makoto)
Ceramic art has resonated in Asora to the point that it is a part of their livelihood already.
It is obviously used in tablewares for daily use, as water jugs, and as building material in some areas. It can’t be helped that some masterpieces would be born from it, and they would be used as art appreciation.
They even become prizes in the Asora Ranking.
“The lacquer wares seem to have quite the technique on them too. Though I heard that it is different from pottery in the fact that there’s some sort of cursed part to it that’s difficult but not impossible to replicate.” (Rembrandt)
“No way. It is just that the wood grain of the wood used as material is special, so it is more like a happenstance. If you are okay with one that was displayed the other day, do you want to have it?” (Makoto)
“…Is it okay?” (Rembrandt)
“Of course. I think pottery and ceramic arts will eventually begin to sell in Tsige too.” (Makoto)
“I feel like the country will increase in momentum even more with that. That’s promising.” (Rembrandt)
“I don’t think it is that big of a deal, you know? And so, what brought you here today?” (Makoto)
“? 80% was this. The remaining 20% was to check on your state, Raidou-kun.” (Rembrandt)
Rembrandt-san pointed at the showcase.
“Are you saying that seriously?” (Makoto)
“Seriously. By the way, the display of before, do you know that the hag of the Couple Company had bloodshot eyes from it?” (Rembrandt)
“That old woma—no, the energetic representative? I didn’t know.” (Makoto)
The previous display?
…Aah.
The one that has a whole ton of wheels and you control to carry stuff?
What should I call that?
It is apparently something that the lorelais and the dwarfs were deeply impressed with. They played around with it by moving around puzzle pieces and enjoyed it a lot.
By the way, I was shocked by the fact that there’s a way like this to move things.
It is technically a miniature prototype.
We tried putting it on display at the store.
It was as planned. The children who were brought by their parents had their eyes glitter by it.
I think we placed quite the nice thing on display.
“But what’s that? It seems to be moving slowly.” (Rembrandt)
The one we are showing now is also in the series that moves.
Should I call it the miniature A model?
It is an engine model that’s filled with passion and I personally like.
The miniature one that moved things was popular, so I think this one will also be popular with the kids.
It seems like it was popular for an old woman as well though.
“This is a stirl—ah…” (Makoto)
“Raidou-kun?” (Rembrandt)
A model for the stirling engine.
I noticed that even if I were to tell him that, it wouldn’t explain anything.
“Uhm…it heats the air? No, let’s just say it is an experimental device that lets you see the power of heated air…” (Makoto)
In the first place, I don’t know how to explain engines.
If I remember correctly, this is the current model, it is one of the igniting engines that heats up the cylinders from the outside with fire.
But!
I honestly only know around half of the logic behind how it moves.
It gives out the scent of a perpetual engine which overflows with hopes and dreams, but it is only giving out the scent as of now.
I simply heard about that stuff from my high school teacher and bought a small sized model with my pocket money, okay?!
I honestly didn’t know what was going on when the people of Asora managed to recreate this.
I think the structure of it is: heat up the ends of the cylinders, and after a while it would begin pistoning, and it would then turn the wheels that are connected to it.
It would continue moving in the time that it is heating.
By the way, it can manage a pretty decent speed.
That’s why we have lowered the speed of the models with magic so that it is easier to see its movements.
“? Fumu. In other words, it is an industrial article that moves by heating it up with fire in this way.” (Rembrandt)
“Well, something like that.” (Makoto)
“Different movements are made from the heating… Even when looking at it like this, I can’t understand the logic, but this is knowledge of the wasteland too?” (Rembrandt)
“Y-Yeah.” (Makoto)
“Even if it moves this slowly, it could manage to grab the interest of some groups of people for enjoyment. Sadly to say, it didn’t click that much with m—” (Rembrandt)
“Ah, we are purposely making it go slow -so that you can see its movement.” (Makoto)
“Hm?” (Rembrandt)
“In reality…” (Makoto)
I went to the side of Rembrandt-san and I undo the low speed spell.
Of course, the stirling engine model I know of began pistoning at high speed, and the wheels also turned at high speed too.
“!!”
“It continues moving in this way.” (Makoto)
“Could it possibly be…forever?!” (Rembrandt)
“Unfortunately, it is only in the time that the fire is heating the cylinder here.” (Makoto)
The downside is how noisy it gets.
The *dodododo* vibrating sound was reverberating endlessly.
This is so nostalgic.
I had it move around the top of the table for a while.
…It was so noisy, and I eventually got tired of it.
It reminds me of a dark past of mine.
“…This is interesting.” (Rembrandt)
“It was worth putting it in display then.” (Makoto)
“…This is indeed interesting. Truly.” (Rembrandt)
“Uhm, Rembrandt-san?” (Makoto)
“I heard you were using a ‘display’ which was an unfamiliar term for me, and here we are again… You really are an outlier, Raidou-kun.” (Rembrandt)
“I-Is that so.” (Makoto)
Is an engine model really that amusing?
Well, I think Rembrandt-san will get tired of it after a while though.
“Ah, don’t mind me. Go ahead and call your next guest.” (Rembrandt)
“…Huh?” (Makoto)
“I will be observing this. Ah, I would be really grateful if you were to return it to the slow speed of before.” (Rembrandt)
I blinked several times.
He is saying he will be staying here?
Seriously?!
“Wait! Rembrandt-san,that’s troubling! Anyone would stiffen and get nervous with Rembrandt-san standing at the corner of the room!” (Makoto)
“Just treat me as if I am not here. Please continue your business discussions without minding me. I won’t watch or listen to anything.” (Rembrandt)
“That’s not the problem here! If your business is over, please return for today!” (Makoto)
“I might have gotten quite the important task right now! Even if you were planning the destruction of the world, I will act as if I didn’t hear anything! So please!” (Rembrandt)
“I won’t be having such dangerous talks!!” (Makoto)
“Tomorrow! Right, can I come by tomorrow for a little bit?! It should be okay, right, Raidou-kun?!” (Rembrandt)
“I will be waiting for you on your appointment next week!” (Makoto)
“More jobs could be born for the weak mages, you knooooow!!” (Rembrandt)
I have the unreasonable Rembrandt-san leave by force.
It couldn’t be helped.
That’s right, I had no choice.
What’s that about mages getting more jobs?
Geez, no way.
I didn’t expect the things inside the display would gather so much attention.
…..
Uhm, the next things planned to be on display are…
A diorama of a city with a railroad.
A music box that you can choose the song.
A miniature waterfall incense burner.
A poem that can be seen through the drawings of a genius female artist.
A miracle transformation device, the ge—.
…
I mostly left the items for display to others, but it looks like I should check them beforehand even if it takes extra time.
For now, I should send back the diorama and the **tter. Both my sanity and instincts were telling me this.
Also, what’s that about a genius female artist?
The only one I can think of is Rinon.
A poem that can be seen through drawings?
Hm? Is that a manga?
Rinon was a genius?
Manga, huh. Even if I am wrong, I feel like it is going to be the next thing to blow up in Tsige, and that would be interesting.
I understand now that leaving it to them would be dangerous.
I told them a robot is a no. Geez.
I confirm the most dangerous one once more.
‘I wanted a toy like this! The transforming golem of your dreams!’.
It is the thought that a palm sized toy isn’t a robot, huh.
As if I will let that twist of words pass!
The spirit of the eldwa craftsmen is fearsome. They push it with whatever way they can think of.