AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 154

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Maria : Mebius World Online 

Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish

Episode 12-11

It was the night of the 37th day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.

After finishing today’s business, I was in my room at the employee apartment, reviewing the orders I had sent earlier that day.

In a stone-walled room, illuminated faintly by the glow of my laptop, I worked alone.

As I tapped away at the keyboard, I suddenly felt a presence behind me.

Nervously, I turned around—

—and saw a black mist floating in the air.

“Wha—?!”

It wasn’t just black mist—it was a ghost.

Let’s just say I might have let out a bit of a yelp. Not my proudest moment.

The ghost slid back and forth in the air, clearly trying to get my attention.

It seemed to have some business with me.

Phew, at least it didn’t break in just to scare me. If it had been playing pranks, I’d have asked Anna-san to purify it.

Apparently, the ghost was here because I had blocked off the “hidden passageway” leading to the room. I mean, would I rather have skeletons showing up in my room? Tough choice.

Honestly, can’t they just knock like normal beings?

Anyway, the ghost led me back to the store, and I followed it to the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store’s backroom, even though we had already closed for the day.

Being summoned by a ghost at this hour… I had a hunch about what it wanted, and I wasn’t exactly uninterested, either.

I had already asked Anna-san to keep ghosts and skeletons away at night and even told her to make sure the newer recruits—or new ghosts—understood the rule.

Yet, when I saw it—

“YESSS!!! Let’s gooooo!!!”

I couldn’t help but pump my fist in excitement.

What I saw was a glowing magic circle.

And on that magic circle were three carts loaded with goods.

“Yes, yes, yes! We made it in time for the Dragon Sale! Iori, you’re too good! A same-day order arriving by night? That’s basically small-scale teleportation gate tech, isn’t it?”

My voice echoed through the backroom.

The carts were packed with tightly sealed cardboard boxes.

Inside were the highlight items for this Dragon Sale.

Super Light Downs.

They came in various designs as part of our private brand (PB) lineup, but I had specifically ordered two types: jackets with collars and vests.

Rather than spreading thin with too many varieties, I focused on stocking up on just a couple of types.

“Each box contains 48 items. Each cart holds six boxes. It’s not fully loaded since I ordered other goods too, but… 14 boxes in total, making it 672 items. We’ll definitely draw in more customers than the last Dragon Sale and sell out! At least, I believe we will!”

Let’s not mention that I might have over-ordered.

I mean, it’s okay if we don’t sell everything during the sale. We can move the leftovers during regular business hours or post-sale events.

“Prepared foods, dragon meat, seafood, seasonings, Anna-san’s potions, daily necessities from the traveling merchants, Colette and Francine-san’s galettes… and now, picnic goods and Super Light Downs!”

I counted the items we planned to sell at the upcoming fourth Dragon Sale, now just three days away.

It was quite the leap from the early days when all we had were vegetables from the local farmers.

“Compared to Aion Malls in Japan, it’s still nothing. But, yeah… it’s grown a lot.”

I grinned as I stood in front of the carts.

After two more days of preparation, the Dragon Sale, on my 40th day as manager, would likely break records in both sales and customer numbers. Probably. Hopefully.

But—

“Prepared foods will be handled by Colette and Francine-san. They’ll also take care of the galettes. Barbera can do stocking and bussing. Anna-san will manage the drugstore corner, and the Peddler’s family will handle daily necessities. Chloe can take care of picnic goods, and I’ll handle the Super Light Downs display and sales…”

I mentally mapped out the staffing assignments while envisioning the sales floor.

A headache started creeping in.

I think my face was turning pale.

“Can… can we manage with this? Even if customer service doesn’t have to be as thorough as in Japan… if we’re not careful, the register lines will be insane. Do I need to step in at the registers? Ugh, should I cut down on products? But we’ve come this far…”

No matter how you look at it, we don’t have enough staff.

Unlike Aion Malls in Japan, I can’t just ask for support from nearby branches or headquarters.

“Hire temp workers? But how do I gather them in time? Teaching them Aion-style customer service won’t be quick enough… Can iguanas run the register? Who else can I rely on? Barbera’s parents? The legendary dragon? No way, if it comes to that, the merchant guild master might be more useful.”

We’re short of staff.

I think about all the people I’ve met since coming to this world. None of them seem like viable options.

They aren’t the right type of help. Sure, Barbera’s parents are incredible in their way, but not for this kind of thing.

“As the store manager, staffing is my responsibility… Sigh. Maybe I’ll have to scale down the sale and limit the items we put out.”

Even though we managed to get the goods delivered in time.

But if we don’t have the manpower, there’s no helping it.

If we push forward recklessly, it could backfire, frustrating customers instead.

I let out a deep sigh and slumped my shoulders.

That’s when the ghost floated closer, peering at me.

“You’re worried about me? Thanks.”

I gently reached out and patted what I assumed was its head.

There was no sensation, but the ghost froze in place as if surprised.

When I pulled my hand back, it began spinning around rapidly, as if in a frenzy to get my attention.

“…I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I’ll take your feelings as enough.”

It seemed to be saying, “I’ll help out!”

Honestly, I’m desperate enough to want any help I can get, but ghost hands aren’t exactly an option. They don’t have hands… and they can’t hold things anyway.

“Well, it’s late today, so I’ll think about it tomorrow. I’ll consult with Chloe and Anna-san. Maybe Francine-san or Peddler-san will have some connections.”

Compared to me, who’s still fairly new to this world, the employees probably know better ways to handle this.

Maybe I could put out a request and hire some adventurers?

…Though I doubt many adventurers are skilled in customer service.

In any case, I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Whether it’s temp workers or permanent hires, if we can’t get more staff, we’ll have to rethink how to run the Dragon Sale this time.

I tried to convince myself as I began walking.

Absent-mindedly, I wondered just how many people we’d actually need to make this work.

At the time, I was too overwhelmed to notice—

But apparently, the ghost that had come to fetch me was now drifting close to the ground, looking dejected.

Then, as if struck by inspiration, it suddenly plunged into the floor and disappeared.

Later that night, a group of ghosts flew around the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.

They were busy clanking and rattling around with skeletons in aprons, skeleton squads, and their captain.

…It’s a good thing I have an employee apartment to live in.

I’m so relieved I don’t live in the tenant space anymore.

On the 37th day since I became manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, a critical issue arose.

Well, not arose, exactly—I had a feeling we didn’t have enough people.

Sigh. If this results in lost sales, I’ll have failed as a manager.