AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 136

Check my other translation works for other interesting stories

Maria : Mebius World Online 

Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish

Vol 11. Finally  the apartment for employees has finished, which comes first? The people or the products

Episode 11-1

“Hmm, despite everything, I woke up at the same time as usual…”

It’s the 32nd day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.

Yesterday was my first day off in 30 days, and even though I planned for a later shift today, I naturally woke up early.

“… It feels like my body has adjusted to Aion Mall’s schedule.”

I muttered while getting up. Beyond the grid-patterned shutter of the tenant space, I locked eyes with a skeleton wearing an apron.

“Good morning. Thanks for your hard work.”

Encountering a skeleton first thing after waking up no longer surprises me. After all, skeletons are our main workforce. The apron-wearing skeletons handle cleaning and cooking, while the armored ones are responsible for security around the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. And they work tirelessly, without needing any rest.

Undead workers who never get tired are quite dependable.

“Oh, right. They’re also helping with the construction of the employee apartments now. Really, they’re a huge help.”

As I said that, the apron-wearing skeleton nodded slightly and pushed the polisher away.

“Come to think of it, the apartments should be finished soon. Maybe I’ll take a look before heading to work.”

I sluggishly got out of bed. Soon, I wouldn’t need to sleep in the tenant space anymore. Although the living conditions were comfortable, I didn’t feel any sense of regret. Once I move into the apartment, I won’t be running into skeletons first thing in the morning or ghosts when I get up to use the restroom at night.

With those thoughts floating in my head, I got dressed and left the tenant space I had lived in for over a month.

My destination was the construction site behind the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.

“Good morning, Anna-san.”

As I descended to the first floor and entered the backroom, Anna-san was walking toward me. Her complexion still looked terrible. But that wasn’t because of working 30 straight days—it’s because she’s undead. As a lich, the “King of the Dead,” she commands skeletons and ghosts.

… Yeah, she’s got the day off tomorrow, so I’ll make sure she rests well. She claims not to get tired, but still.

“Good morning, Naoya-san. I was just about to come get you!”

“Oh? Could it be…?”

“Yes! The employee apartments you requested have been completed!”

“Whoa, that was fast!”

We walked through the backroom together.

Soon, we reached the loading bay. The magic circle wasn’t glowing today, which meant no deliveries had arrived from Japan.

The wavelength of the magic circulating in this world had changed, and now a small-scale “transfer gate” connected to Japan once every two weeks to a month. However, it’s one-way from Japan, and only three cartloads of goods can be transported.

Large quantities of goods, as well as people, still only transfer every six months. So, if I want to return, I need to secure the “transfer gate” in six months.

But unless we meet the monthly revenue goal of 100 million yen within five months, the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store’s future looks uncertain.

… Last month, we made 17.7 million yen. It’s a long way to go. Do we really need to increase sales by more than five times? Is that even possible?

“No, no, it’s possible. Since I came here, both sales and customer numbers have been growing steadily. We can do this. I have to believe we can.”

“Naoya-san?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Hehe, are you ready?”

“Ah, yes.”

With a playful laugh, Anna-san placed her hand on the employee entrance door next to the loading bay.

Upon hearing my reply, she gently opened the door.

We stepped outside and looked across. If this were the Aion Mall Kasugano branch, there would be a small parking lot and a path, and just across the road, a large furniture store.

But here—

“Hey, Naoya, you’re here too! Good morning!”

“…Good morning?”

“Ah, yeah. Good morning, Chloe, Barbera. By the way, uh, what is this?”

“Hmm? What do you mean, what is it? It’s the employee apartments, of course! You’re the one who asked for them, right?”

“Ah, yeah. I did ask for it. I did, but still!”

“…Looks strong.”

“Yeah, Barbera, it does look strong. But it’s a building, and yet… it looks strong. Strong, but still!”

——A stone-built, two-story building stood there.

“Wait, didn’t I ask for a single-story building because I was worried about earthquakes? And when I saw the frame, it seemed like everything was fine?”

Across from the employee exit, beyond the brick-style pedestrian walkway and carriage road surrounding the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, stood a stone two-story building. It was U-shaped, with a courtyard facing the mall. That part was fine. The problem wasn’t there. It was the fact that the U-shaped, stone-built, two-story building was tall enough to block the view of the forest.

And for some reason, a line of armored skeleton soldiers was standing in front of it, maybe as part of the unveiling.

“Isn’t it huge? It’s like three times bigger than when it was just a frame! Didn’t it, like, expand sideways?”

“Um, was it not okay? Right now, it’s just Naoya-san, Collette-chan, and the peddler’s family, but I thought we’d eventually have more people…”

“Ah, no, the size isn’t the issue. To reach the one-billion-yen monthly goal, we’ll need more staff anyway, so that’s fine.”

“What’s the problem, Naoya? Is something wrong? Or perhaps you—gasp! Are you planning to harass me with something like, ‘I demand you pay for this mistake… with your body!’? Kuh, just kill me now!”

“Chloe, you’re really energetic this early. And no, I’m not going to harass you. Besides, you weren’t even in charge of the construction.”

Hearing my words, the skeleton squad made clattering noises. They seemed visibly shaken, as if thinking, “Did we screw something up?”

“Ah, no, there’s no problem. It’s just a little different from what I imagined. Thank you for your hard work.”

Reassured by my comment, the skeleton squad visibly relaxed. The captain, who had taken a step forward, straightened up with a clatter.

“Naoya-san, then what exactly—”

“Wh, whoaa! Mom, this is amazing! We get to live here starting today!”

“Yes, it’s wonderful, Collette… Let’s thank Naoya-sama—no, Naoya-sama. Let’s be sure to pray for him tonight as well.”

“Yeah! Ehehe, it’s like living in a castle! I feel like a princess!”

Anna-san’s voice was drowned out by Collette’s excitement. Collette, being a dog-type beastkin, was wagging her tail enthusiastically with sparkling eyes.

Yeah… a castle. A fortress.

“See, it is a fortress! It’s made of stone! The windows are tiny! The decorations are so rugged! And what’s with the menacing railings on the roof?!”

“Well, we have a limited supply of dried lumber for construction, but stone can be managed with magic, so we… Is it really not okay?”

“No, it’s fine, Anna-san. It was practically built for free and in such a short time, so I have no complaints. It’s just… a little different from what I pictured.”

“But Naoya, it doesn’t have outer walls. Don’t you think it’s better to have stronger defenses?”

“Well, yes, but! What exactly are we defending against here?!”

“…Papa?”

“If it’s to fight Papa-san, we’d need to fortify it even more to avoid being wiped out in one blow—wait, no! We’re not fighting anyone!”

So, please stop raising your weapons and getting ready for battle, skeleton squad.

It’s the 32nd day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
The first day back from my break… and my head is already aching early in the morning.