Published: August 2, 2025
Today, four chapters posted simultaneously.
This is the fourth chapter.
The next day
I woke up feeling refreshed and headed to the shop before it opened.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, Manager.”
“Good morning!”
“Thank you for yesterday. Thanks to you, I was able to rest well.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Overworking harms your health. Please take care of yourself.”
“Boss, you work too hard. We were shocked when we heard how much work you’ve been doing.”
“You built this shop in about ten days—unbelievable. Neither Lilin nor I could manage that. If you keep working like this from such a young age, you’ll wear yourself out early.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Please do.”
“Even if you’re mature, you’re still a kid, right?”
“Even adults shouldn’t do work that requires pushing themselves too hard.”
I realized I’d made the staff worry. Although I’m surrounded by everyone here, so I don’t push myself too much.
Still, I appreciated their concern and felt genuinely happy. After thanking them, I headed to the kitchen.
“Ms. Shelma, are you here?”
“Yes, yes. Manager, is something wrong?”
In the kitchen, Ms. Shelma was the only one in charge of the staff cafeteria. She seemed to be making some kind of soup, stepping away from the pot she was stirring to come over to me.
“I went outside the city during my day off yesterday, and I brought back some game as a souvenir. Please share it with everyone. I bled the meat immediately after the kill and froze it, so it should be in good condition.”
I said this and pulled the meat out from the Item Box.
“Well, thank you very much. Horned rabbit, right? Please put it in the fridge; we’ll all eat it at lunch.”
“Thank you.”
I put the rest of the meat into the fridge.
“Oh my, that’s quite a lot…”
“I found a herd and hunted them all together.”
“I’m really glad we have this fridge. It’s convenient, isn’t it?”
“Is it? It is convenient, but…”
I have to refresh the cooling barrier once a day, which is a bit of a hassle. If my barrier magic improves, the effect time will extend… But it’s better than when I had to refresh it once every hour in the forest.
“It really is convenient. Normally, unused ingredients spoil quickly. Especially meat—it goes bad fast, especially in summer or hot weather. Some ingredients are very perishable. But with the fridge, leftover ingredients, even meat, can be stored and used the next day, reducing waste and saving money.
I’ve heard of magic tools like these… but they’re expensive and out of reach.”
“Ah, now that you mention it… I used to hunt in the forest for my own meals and feed the leftover meat to the slime before it spoiled… I also prepare preserved foods for that purpose.”
“The slimes are really useful. They eat animal bones and cooking leftovers. They’re a great help.”
After chatting a bit and refreshing the fridge’s barrier, I left the kitchen.
Then Mr. Calm called me over to talk.
“Are you thinking about increasing staff?”
“The current number of regular employees is enough, but if we expand branches in the future, starting to train people only after that would waste time. At least, shouldn’t we start training key people like branch managers?”
“That makes sense… If good talent appears, I don’t mind increasing staff. I understand training takes time. It looks like we’ll leave that to you, Mr. Calm… But for that, Beast Tamers are necessary too, right?”
“Indeed, this shop needs both cleaner slimes and Beast Tamers. We also have to consider how to hire trustworthy Beast Tamers who won’t steal or resell slimes.”
“It seems slimes experts are rare even at the Tamer Guild… I hear slimes are magical beasts anyone can use. In that case…”
“The real issue is if they are trustworthy and have good character…”
“…By the way, have there been any issues with business interference so far?”
“No. That one incident was the only time, and no thugs have come since.”