Chapter 3-16 : Preparation Time (part 2)

 

After hours of appraising the materials, I prepared the money and made a list of payees based on the list of Collectors who brought the materials that Lorea-chan made, and then I went to the counter.

「Lorea-chan, this is the list of the payees and this is the money. Please pay them the next time they visit the store. You can see how much you should pay each person on that list.」(Sarasa)

I put the bag of money and the list on the counter.

「Understood… but… This is a lot of money…」(Lorea)

Lorea-chan then carefully put the bag of money behind the counter and checked the list.

Unlike a while ago, she has been accustomed to dealing with a good amount of money, but still, she couldn’t hide her nervousness.

「Well, it’s about a week’s worth of materials while I was gone after all… Thanks to that though, now I’m out of money.」(Sarasa)

「I, Is that so…?」(Lorea)

「Yeah. Moreover, recently I only made artifacts that don’t sell to make progress on the Encyclopedia of Alchemy.」(Sarasa)

I only have to make five more artifacts to be able to proceed to volume 5, but now that I don’t have much money, I think I should stop and focus on making money for now.

「Lorea-chan, before I left to do the investigation, you said we got some Floating Tent orders, right?」(Sarasa)

「Yes. The aunties in the neighborhood are helping me make tents but it takes longer than I expected because they’re not used to sewing leather. Moreover, we lack manpower because many women in the village are now working at Diral-san’s inn. I’m doing my best but… I’m sorry, Sarasa-san…」(Lorea)

「No, no, no. Don’t worry about it! It can’t be helped. Erin-san also told me that most of the villagers are working at the inn because the number of the Collectors who are staying in this village increased.」(Sarasa)

While saying that, I waved my hands at Lorea-chan who looked apologetic to cheer her up.

I feel bad for the Collectors who ordered Floating Tents because they have to wait for a bit longer. The making of tents is slow because we don’t have any craftsmen who specialize in leather products in this village, so it can’t be helped.

If I remember correctly, at Master’s store, I saw a special potion that can stick leather together so you don’t have to sew it. However, it wasn’t in volume 1 to 4 of the Encyclopedia of Alchemy, so I can’t make it.

It’s more like “fusing” pieces of leather together than “sticking” them together, so they will look like one piece of leather rather than several pieces that are glued together. Therefore, making that potion is difficult, and because of that, the price is quite expensive.

「Umm… Actually, we got some more orders while you were gone…」(Lorea)

「…Seriously…?」(Sarasa)

「Yes. It seems that the Collectors who already got their Floating Tents told their friends how good the tents are. Moreover, the number of people who camp outside due to lack of accommodation is increasing lately. I heard that Geberg ojii-san also recruited some people to help him build another rental house for the Collectors.」(Lorea)

「He has finished repairing the rental house that was destroyed during the Hellfire Grizzly attack, right? I think that rental house is quite big.」(Sarasa)

「Still, it’s not enough, so Geberg ojii-san decided to make another one. Furthermore, he’s still expanding Diral-san’s inn. You’re the one who paid for it, right?」(Lorea)

「I did. It’s been a while but it’s still not completely finished, huh…?」(Sarasa)

Well, the only carpenter in this village is Geberg-san. Moreover, it seems like this village is lacking in building materials.

Geberg-san usually orders building materials from South Strugg, and it takes a while.

Therefore, no matter how fast Geberg-san is at building something, completing Diral-san’s inn and building a new rental house will take some time.

「Looks like everyone in this village is busy… But, is the number of Collectors really increasing? I haven’t seen many Collectors lately though…」(Sarasa)

「Sarasa-san, you haven’t been walking around the village lately, right? And since you’re always working in your workshop most of the time, you might not notice it but the number of Collectors who visit this store has increased, you know?」(Lorea)

「Really? …Now that you mentioned it, when I went to the dining hall to hear Erin-san’s request, it was kinda packed with people.」(Sarasa)

I rarely went to the dining hall because Lorea-chan always cooks us food, and because of that, she is the one who always walks around the village to gather food ingredients.

Lorea-chan is also the person who stands by the counter most of the time, so she knows really well how many Collectors visit the store.

「Hmm, maybe I should stroll around the village once in a while… I don’t have any particular business but I think I’ll just say hi to people.」(Sarasa)

Sometimes I exchange greetings with Ells-san and Jasper-san since they live next door but I haven’t seen the villagers who live at the center of the village for a while.

I actually haven’t seen Diral-san for a while either. When I went there to talk with Erin-san, the one who served us was another villager.

「I think that’s a good idea. Locking yourself in the workshop all the time is not good for your mental health.」(Lorea)

「Lorea-chan, I’m not a shut-in, okay? Sometimes I go out to practice with my sword and take care of my herb field, you know?」(Sarasa)

「Fufu. I know.」(Lorea)

「Besides, I will be more busy because I have to teach Michael-san and Izu-san how to grow herbs soon.」(Sarasa)

「I see. You sure are busy. You need to make Floating Tents, teach Michael-san, and make a portable refrigerator.」(Lorea)

「Wait… Why do I need to make a portable refrigerator too?」(Sarasa)

「Ah, someone ordered one the other day.」(Lorea)

「A villager?」(Sarasa)

「Nope. A Collector. He said after he drank cold beer at the dining hall, he wanted a portable refrigerator for himself so that he could drink cold beer anytime.」(Lorea)

The weather is hot in this season, so I can understand why he wants a refrigerator.

According to Andre-san, drinking cold beer after working in the muggy forest is the best thing for Collectors.

「I wrote it in the notebook I gave you though… You haven’t checked it, have you…?」(Lorea)

「A, Ahaha… I’ve been busy appraising those materials, so…」(Sarasa)

When Lorea-chan asked me while looking straight into my eyes, I looked away and made an excuse.

Lorea-chan always recorded the number of sales and orders from customers properly in a notebook. She’s really a diligent worker.

「I-I’ll check it later.」(Sarasa)

「Alright. By the way, I put a memo by each item in the notebook so that you can find out which order has to be dealt first.」(Lorea)

「Thank you, Lorea-chan. I know I can count on you. I’m really glad I hired you to work in my store.」(Sarasa)

「Th, Thank you…」(Lorea)

It seemed like my honest compliment made her embarrassed. What a cute girl.

She is still young but she is very reliable and can work really well. Moreover, she is good at math unlike most people who live in the countryside. I can leave my store to her without worry.

 

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