AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 143
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Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 11-8
“Oh, what’s up, Manager? You look kinda tired, don’t you?”
“I’m fine. Just a little mentally exhausted from the morning. How about you, Quano-san? Is everything alright with you? You’ve been making the trip every day.”
“Nah, I’m just riding this guy, so it’s easy peasy!”
On the 33rd day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, I found myself on the rooftop in the afternoon.
I was taking a break, waiting for Quano-san, a dragonkin, who flew in from the port town. Ever since the delivery route for seafood from the port town was established, Quano-san has been flying in every day with fresh seafood packed into a magic bag. He looks like an iguana, but apparently, he’s able to stay pretty active. Otherworld iguanas are amazing. Maybe while riding the wyvern, he’s just sunbathing and not moving at all.
“You’re a huge help. Since sea fish are rare, fresh seafood sells out every day, and dried goods are selling well too, with merchants buying them in bulk.”
“That’s great to hear! The folks back at the port are thrilled too!”
With a tilt of his small hat, the iguana lets out a strange shriek, “kekyo!” I’ve come to understand that this means he’s happy.
Behind Quano-san, the wyvern is nuzzling up to Barbera. I’ve also come to realize that this is its way of being affectionate.
Reading the facial expressions and body language of reptiles is tricky, but I’ve been getting better at it. It might even be something I could teach in a cross-cultural communication training someday. It’s probably an essential skill for Aion employees assigned to another world.
…I wonder if there are others like me. Will there eventually be someone sent to take over for me, or maybe colleagues, subordinates, or a boss?
“Then again, I don’t know… I do want more help, but I’m also worried about whether I’d get along with them.”
“More help? Ah, right, you built that building for live-in staff, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes. You can actually see it from here.”
The rooftop of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store is spacious. The area where Barbera and the wyvern land is toward the back of the roof. Looking down, I can see the employee apartments clearly. Oh, wait—Quano-san can’t see it from up here. I was about to offer to lift him up, but he easily scurried up the wall and clung to the fence. Typical iguana.
“Oh, looks like a solid building! Though it does look a bit cold!”
“Yeah, the stone structure does give off a bit of a chilly vibe.”
“It might be tough for us in winter!”
“Right, I should think about that. Maybe I’ll light the fireplace soon and see how it works.”
The employee apartments don’t have glass windows. They have wooden shutters, and cold drafts can get in through the gaps. Even for non-reptiles, winter might be rough.
“Maybe we can use curtains or carpets for insulation? Or we could hang large tapestries as makeshift wallpaper… or I could ask Anna-san to work some magic.”
“…Breathe fire?”
“Yeah, like getting Barbera to warm the place with her breath—wait, no! That would burn everything! It’d go from warm to dangerously hot in no time!”
Barbera tilts her head quizzically. She seems to be thinking, “If it’s cold, why not just warm it with dragon breath?” Typical of a fire-breathing red dragon, her solutions are a bit too… extreme.
“I haven’t unpacked all the furniture and belongings yet, but it’s shaping up to be quite comfortable.”
“Having a proper nest is important, and it seems like you’ve finally settled in, Manager!”
“…I want one.”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Barbera?”
“…I want a nest too.”
“Ah, yeah, that’s true. Chloe lives in the city knights’ dorms, and Anna-san stays underground. I’m in the employee apartments with Colette, Francine-san, and the peddler family. But Barbera doesn’t have her own house… or room, does she?”
Now that I think about it, Barbera doesn’t have a proper sleeping place. She either sleeps on the roof in her dragon form or stays in the small building on the roof in her human form, which looks around 10 years old. She doesn’t even have what you’d call a proper room, let alone a house.
“Maybe I should ask Anna-san and the skeletons to build something on the roof. A room for Barbera, and maybe a guest room would be useful too. For when Quano-san or Barbera’s parents want to stay over.”
“… Yay!”
“But, is it okay if we don’t rush it? Anna-san and the skeletons have other tasks they need to do, and I feel bad asking them for more.”
“… Anytime is fine!”
Even though I told her it wouldn’t be built immediately, Barbera was happy. Maybe that’s the dragon’s sense of time for you. She might look like she’s 10 years old, but she’s actually 140. Yet, her behavior still seems quite childish.
The flame at the tip of her tail flares up, and her tail starts tapping the ground. It’s hard to tell because of her expressionless face, but she seems pleased. When I patted her head, she squinted her eyes happily.
“That’s great, Ojou! It’s funny, though—you really are a dragon, huh? You like small, dark spaces!”
“… Yeah!”
“Wait, small and dark? The employee apartment is spacious enough for a family, so… Ah.”
I glance down at Barbera. She looks up at me, and our eyes meet. There’s a slight smirk on her lips, and she’s grinning mischievously.
“Could it be that the ‘nest’ you want is one big enough for your dragon form?”
Barbera gives a small nod.
A cold sweat runs down my face.
A building big enough to accommodate Barbera in her dragon form. That would have to be bigger than the current employee apartment, wouldn’t it? And not just “big enough to enter,” but “big enough to be comfortable” would mean a seriously large structure.
“Um, Barbera, if it’s the same size as the current apartment for your human form, would that…”
Barbera just stares at me. Her mouth turns slightly downwards. I get it now—this means she’s sad. Her tail droops, and the flame at the tip loses its vigor.
“A-Alright! You’ve been working hard for the Dragon Sale, so we’ll build it! I don’t know when it’ll be finished, though!”
“… Thank you!”
“You’re being real generous, Manager! It’s the Ojou’s nest, after all. Let me know if I can help out with anything!”
Barbera’s face lights up, the flames from her tail illuminating her expression. Quano-san grins—at least, I think he’s grinning.
An apartment big enough for Barbera’s dragon form, huh? If I ask Anna-san, maybe with magic and the materials on hand, it could work. If it’s possible, even though it might take time, we could build it without much cost.
It’ll be fine. It should be fine. I hope it’ll be fine. At least there’s no building code or Large-Scale Retail Location Act here! …And no city planning laws either, right? We’re outside the city limits, after all.
This is my 33rd day as the manager of Aion Mall’s Isekai branch. It looks like we’ll be building more and more employee apartments. Hopefully, we can boost sales enough to hire so many employees that we run out of apartments.
For now, I need to learn more about this world—about packaging materials, furniture, and everything else. Maybe I should head into town again, or…
The thoughts are endless. It’s only my third year with the company and my first time as a store manager, yet this situation is way too hard! If only this were Japan—or at least Earth! I’d happily be a store manager. Not that this other world isn’t fun, but, you know… the difficulty level is a bit much, don’t you think?