AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 137
Check my other translation works for other interesting stories
Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 11-2
It’s the 32nd day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
In the early morning, before dawn had fully broken, I stepped out through the employee apartment entrance and just stood there, dumbfounded.
“I guess I didn’t check the progress… I got so caught up with ordering seafood and the ‘Dragon Sale,’ so I just left it all to them.”
I muttered as I stared at the building, which Anna-san and the skeleton crew had mostly constructed.
“I was expecting a single-story employee apartment building, though…”
The apartment was U-shaped, situated across from the pedestrian and carriage roads — or horse carriage roads, in this world. There was a courtyard facing the Aion Mall. In the middle of that courtyard was a small structure, maybe a well?
“No, that’s the food storage and entrance to the underground passage. We’ve also connected water lines from the Aion Mall to every room.”
“Oh, that’s convenient… Wait, underground passage?”
“Of course! It’s always important to have an escape route! That was my suggestion! From a holy knight like me!”
“Ah, yeah… I guess in a world with monsters, having something like that is a good idea. It’s not very apartment-like, though.”
“The underground entrance connects to Aion Mall. In case of an emergency, we can bolster our forces through that route.”
“Forces, huh… By ‘forces,’ you mean the undead, right?”
While I stared blankly at the building, Anna-san and Chloe provided explanations. It seems Chloe’s advice was incorporated into the design. After all, she’s a current knight dispatched by the kingdom.
“Well, even outside the city walls, this makes me feel safe. Thank you so much for considering our needs, Naoya-san.”
“Thank you so much, Manager!”
Listening to their explanations, Francine-san and Collette, who would be living here, seemed quite pleased.
Yeah, employee satisfaction is important. It really is.
“Though with hidden underground passages, this is starting to feel more like a fortress!”
“Come on, Naoya, let’s go inside! … Wait, inside? Could it be that Naoya is planning to say, ‘Then I’ll need you to personally show me around,’ and grope me— Kuh, as I thought, humans are beasts!”
“You’re the one who said we should go inside, Chloe. You’re really energetic this morning.”
Leaving Chloe to her usual antics, I started walking toward the fortress-like employee apartment building. It’s made of stone, shaped like a U, and, well, really feels more like a fortress.
Passing by the food storage and underground entrance, I headed for the straight part of the U, directly across from Aion Mall’s entrance. Trying not to focus on the intimidating stone walls pressing in from both sides, I looked at the door. It was a thick, wooden door.
Peeking through a small gap, I noticed there was a bar inside to bolt the door shut.
“Wow, this door looks sturdy.”
“Of course! An easily breakable entrance is no entrance at all! A breakable… entrance? Could it be that Naoya—”
“Could you please be quiet, Chloe? I need to check this quickly, otherwise, it’ll be time to start preparing the store for opening.”
I pushed the wooden door, which groaned under its own weight as it creaked open. The inside was dim.
“Even the interior is stone… Maybe we should add more lighting? Or maybe some wallpaper or posters… Not sure if that would help.”
“Apologies, we haven’t finished the interior just yet.”
“No, this is more than enough, Anna-san. I’m the one who rushed things.”
“How about hanging a banner with the Aion crest? Yes, let’s do that! We should also raise one on the roof to proclaim that this fortress belongs to Aion!”
“You just called it a fortress. You’ve completely admitted it!”
My head hurts, but it’s probably just my imagination. I’ll make it my imagination.
Upon entering the building, I found myself in a lobby that extended up to the second floor. There were doors on both sides leading to what seemed like rooms, and a hallway stretched out further ahead. At the far end, two spiral staircases were visible.
“So, just two rooms on the first floor on either side?”
“There are two rooms on this side, and two more on each of the wings, making a total of six rooms.”
“I see. What about the second floor?”
“Haha, those spiral staircases lead to the second floor, but they only take you to the hallway and the rooftop.”
“…What?”
“Hahahaha! Be amazed, Naoya! The residential space of this fortress is… all maisonette-style!”
“…What?”
“You see, we drew the water up to the rooftop first, and it was quite the challenge to provide both upstairs and downstairs with water and plumbing… Was that a problem?”
“No, it’s fine. I was just wondering if Collette and her mother would be okay with this?”
“Yes! Hehe, we get to use both floors! Isn’t that amazing, Mom?”
“Indeed… It’s such an honor to live in such a grand fortress. Should the time come, I will gladly shield you, Naoya-san, no—Naoya-sama, with my very life.”
“That’s heavy! Way too heavy, Francine-san! I’ll be living here too, along with the peddler-san’s family, so please don’t be so formal!”
“Kuh, how envious, Naoya! If that’s the case, I’ll vacate the knights’ barracks and move here too!”
“While it’s reassuring from a defense standpoint, having Chloe as a neighbor is…”
“Wha-! Why, Naoya!? Could it be you fear that, if I’m nearby, you won’t be able to control your beastly desires, and you’ll sneak into my room? I’ve heard about this! They call it ‘night creeping’!” (yobai)
“That’s not happening! And where did you even learn that term?”
It seemed the people of this world had no problem with a maisonette-style setup. Well, the benefit is that they won’t be bothered by any upstairs noise, I guess. If they had consulted me before building, I would’ve said, “Isn’t it a hassle to have a staircase in every room?” But it’s already done.
“Well, let’s check out the rooms. Where should we start?”
“Although the locations differ, all the rooms are designed the same. We’ve ensured there’s enough space for families to live comfortably.”
“Thank you. Let’s start with the left wing then, and work our way through the hallway.”
I headed toward the back of the lobby. Through narrow windows — or rather, small slits — I could still see the dark forest beyond. There were tree stumps lined up in front.
“Oh, you even cleared the trees. The view is much more open now.”
“Naturally, Naoya! If there are too many obstacles, the enemy can approach unnoticed!”
“Right, right… What are we preparing to fight here? And these narrow windows…”
“Indeed! Those are not windows but arrow slits! You can fire arrows or cast magic from them!”
“I see… Huh, but wouldn’t having the building jut out like this expose it to concentrated fire? It seems harder to defend.”
“Yes. However, since you mentioned you were planning to build several structures, we thought we’d connect them if given the go-ahead. That way, we could expand it more easily.”
“I see, so the plan is to create protrusions around the forest. Got it.”
“…Stronger, more… even stronger.”
“Exactly, Barbera! We’ll rain down arrows and magic from here, or lure them in to be crushed by swords and spears! No one will be able to breach this fortress!”
“I only said we needed more employee apartments to accommodate the increased workforce for hitting that monthly sales target of one billion yen! I didn’t mean build a fortress!”
Even though it was just completed, it looks like there are already plans for more additions to the employee apartments. There are six rooms now, but we still have vacancies.
“In the end, we aim to connect this to Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, establishing a gate at the carriage entrance to further ensure safety.”
“Oh, in that case, I recommend adding a portcullis! It’s quick and easy to shut!”
Anna-san and Chloe were clearly having fun. Francine-san was smiling, Collette’s tail was wagging as she gleamed with excitement, and Barbera seemed a little lost, tilting her head.
“The fortress is just getting stronger and stronger… It’s already overkill, and they’re still reinforcing it…”
I muttered as I looked down the hallway. There were multiple slits, but it seemed like there were wooden doors to close them. Was that for insulation? Or to prevent arrows from being fired inside?
“Okay, Chloe, Anna-san. Next time, please consult me before you build anything. I’ve been leaving it all to you, but I’d appreciate regular updates from now on.”
And so, on the 32nd day of being the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, I realized that the completed employee apartment… is not quite what I expected. At least, I hope the rooms are normal. Please be normal.