By the Grace of the Gods

Anyway, I have to do something about Mr. Serge...

"I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of sometimes talking to myself... If I offended you, I apologize."

"No, no, no! Not at all! I was just a bit surprised. Lord Ryoma is supposed to be only 11 years old, yet he keeps coming up with seemingly effective ideas one after another."

Really? That’s what surprised you!? …Come to think of it, I am still an 11-year-old. It makes sense that adults would be surprised if a child is thinking about business strategies... Some parents go wild just because their baby stood up, and no one expects a baby to manage the same things as an adult. So, is my evaluation actually that high?

I didn't really think about it deeply; I just arranged modern advertising ideas in my own way... It probably has many flaws with simple calculations. By the way, is there no discount?

"Um, are there no discounts or anything?"

"There are discounts, but I haven’t heard of constant discounts... Usually, discounts are given to make someone think better of the seller or to sell goods faster. Recklessly giving discounts just leads to increasing losses.

Also, sometimes to get troublesome customers to leave sooner... In shady shops, some merchants first offer an exorbitant price and then discount it to make it seem like a bargain, yet actually sell higher than market price."

He sounds serious...

"In this case, I recommend Lord Ryoma to register with the Commercial Guild."

"Commercial Guild?"

"Yes. There’s a branch in this city, so you can register immediately. The Commercial Guild varies by country and oversees all business activities in that country, including traveling merchants, stalls, and street vendors. All business must go through the guild."

Wait, so...

"Then, was what I was trying to do illegal?"

"No, no. While the guild oversees commerce, they don’t control everything. Villages in remote areas trade among themselves freely, and selling herbs you gather while traveling to apothecaries is allowed.

Similarly, children or adventurers can earn pocket money by doing odd jobs without going through the guild as long as it’s not a high payment, no illegal acts are involved, and both parties agree. It’s generally not a problem.

However, as you mentioned earlier, if you start working seriously, substantial money could come in, which might attract the guild’s attention as a new money source."

That was close... Thank you, Mr. Serge.

"No, I also underestimated Lord Ryoma. I didn’t expect you to think so deeply about business. I thought it was just a side job to make some extra money during adventuring, so I skipped mentioning guild registration."

No, you were right. I wasn’t thinking deeply at all... But for now, I’ll go along with it.

"So, if I want to run a laundry business, I need to register with the guild. I’m already in the Adventurers’ Guild and the Tamer Guild; is that okay?"

"Don’t worry. I will recommend Lord Ryoma personally, so registration won’t be a problem. Holding memberships in multiple guilds helps you gain more information and is actually welcomed. Would you like to go register tomorrow? I can accompany you."

"Tomorrow... I’ll have adventurer requests, so I’ll probably return around the same time as today."

"That’s alright. The Commercial Guild always has staff on duty, and you can handle procedures anytime. For merchants, information is life. They need to deliver information before it loses freshness."

Open 24 hours...?

"Then, if Mr. Serge agrees—"

"Of course!"

Whoa!?

"Lord Ryoma’s laundry idea is wonderful! No merchant has noticed it yet, and it has great profit potential. This business will shake up commerce in this world! I, Serge Morgan, will do my best to assist you!"

He started saying something ridiculously grand! I thought it would just be a side job to make some pocket money...

"Thank you. That’s reassuring."

"You flatter me. Now we must consider the location to open the shop."

Shop!? I don’t intend to go that big!

"Hmm... Judging by your expression, you don’t plan to expand that much, do you, Lord Ryoma?"