Episode 6-1

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I woke up early and left the tenant space I use as a room. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and shaved my beard at the spacious and clean sink. In the morning, or rather, after cleaning all night, I greeted the skeleton with an apron passing by.

After returning to my room to change, I descended from the tenant space to the first floor. I greeted the person in a rabbit mascot costume who had been wandering around the plaza with escalators.

I walked through the supermarket aisle and went outside through the main entrance. I greeted the Skeleton Captain and his skeleton squad, who had returned from their patrol.

As the store manager, I confirmed that there were no abnormalities at the Aion Mall Otherworld Store, and it was time to start preparations for opening today.

“…No, it’s full of abnormalities! Skeleton! A ghost possessing a rabbit mascot costume! And to begin with, living in a tenant space at Aion Mall!”

“Good morning, Naoya! Practicing your voice since the morning, as expected of the store manager! Gasp, don’t tell me you want me to use my voice too?! Wh-where are you going to touch my body to make what kind of voice?! Ugh, kill me!”

“You’re way too energetic in the morning, Eroelf! Sigh, anyway, good morning, Chloe.”

“Good morning, Naoya-san. I checked with everyone, and there don’t seem to be any abnormalities in the vicinity.”

“Oh, thank you, Anna-san. The captain and the Skeleton squad, as always, thank you for your hard work.”

I greeted Chloe and Anna-san, who had come to work. The Skeleton squad acknowledged my appreciation by making their armor rattle with a salute.

“…Do you have any meat?”

“Good morning, Barbera. Your tail hasn’t grown yet, right? It’s a limited-time offer, so you don’t need to do it. So, stop staring at your left hand like that. Come on, wipe your drool!”

Today marks the 11th day since I became the store manager of Aion Mall Otherworld Store. The dragon meat dish from yesterday was well-received, earning nearly 2 million yen in sales. The total for these ten days is 782 customers and 2,735,000 yen in sales.

Both customer numbers and sales have surpassed previous records, but… the monthly sales goal of 100 million yen is still far away.

If we don’t achieve 100 million yen in five months, the Aion Mall Otherworld Store might go bankrupt, and worse, it could be seized or looted, and the “Transfer Gate” might stop functioning. In other words, I might be unable to return to my original world.

Achieving 100 million yen in monthly sales is a must-reach goal, a “quest that must be achieved.”

“Rather, explain all that before sending me in, Iori! What the hell is wrong with you, Aion Corporation?!”

“Na-Naoya? What’s wrong all of a sudden!?”

“Let’s leave him be, Chloe-san. Now, Chloe-san and Barbera-chan, shall we start preparations for opening? It seems the farmers have arrived too.”

Well, yeah, I did say during the job interview, ‘I want to go to another world and do business to promote Aion Mall’s charm. Yep, it sounds interesting!’ But I thought it was just a joke! I mean, it’s one of those weird questions you often get in interviews!

Well, I did put a checkmark next to “another world” on the transfer request form, though. I thought it was a clever joke.

“And now it’s really another world, isn’t it? And I’m the manager of Aion Mall Otherworld Store. It’s my first time as a manager, and my employees are an elf, a lich, and a dragon. Plus, there are skeletons and ghosts.”

I clutch my head. The rabbit mascot wanders around me, looking concerned. Chloe, Anna-san, and Barbera head to prepare for the store’s opening.

“Oh, by the way, I need to think about the schedule. If the number of customers at Aion Mall Otherworld Store keeps increasing thanks to our flagship product, we’ll get busier on non-sale days too. Do I need to hire more staff?”

I mumble to myself. The rabbit mascot raises its hand and enthusiastically appeals.

“No, you can’t work in a mascot costume, you know? You helped with traffic control yesterday, but you can’t work in the mascot costume on other days. And being a ghost is out of the question!”

I try to stop the black mist trying to escape from the mascot costume, but my hand passes right through.

Today marks the 11th day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworld Store. Today, too, Aion Mall Otherworld Store is dangerously otherworldly. Well, it’s to be expected, I guess.

Once the opening time for Aion Mall Otherworld Store passed, customers began to trickle in.

“I heard you were selling dragon steak here yesterday!”

“I’m sorry, but that was a limited-time offer.”

“Twenty days until the next dragon steak sale! Damn it!”

“I’ll endure it. I’ll endure.”

“Oh, these hamburgers and beef stew are delicious. I’ll take three of each for takeout.”

There were some customers who used the previous road, but it seemed like many merchants and adventurers had come to Aion Mall Otherworld Store after hearing about the dragon meat dishes. Although they didn’t find the dragon meat dishes they were looking for, they purchased cutlets, hamburgers, beef stew, as well as related products like cutlet sandwiches and hamburgers.

Convenience store-style side dishes seem to be gradually increasing our sales.

“Should we increase the number of supermarket products in the future, or should we consider adding more tenants… Huh?”

“Merchant-san, this child seems to have a fever.”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems like a minor cold, but if it doesn’t get better, we might have to see a doctor in the nearby town. There’s a resident pharmacist there.”

Anna-san talked to a merchant family eating in the dining area. The child eating the beef stew had a flushed face and seemed to have a fever.

“Oh, maybe I should call Chloe. She’s a Holy Knight, so she can use healing magic—”

“Even if it’s just for a day or two, traveling can be tough. If you don’t mind, could you let me use ‘Heal’ magic on the child?”

“Oh, that would be greatly appreciated! Of course, we’ll pay for your service!”

“Wait, Anna-san can use healing magic too, even though she’s undead? Especially a lich!”

Ignoring me, who was mumbling a bit away, Anna-san’s hand emitted a faint glow. She touched the feverish child, and the child immediately seemed to feel better, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Just make sure to get plenty of rest and nutrition. If it doesn’t improve, please visit a pharmacist or doctor.”

“Thank you so much! Thank you!”

The chubby merchant, who appeared to be the child’s father, handed a small bag to Anna-san. Anna-san looked at me with a troubled expression, so I nodded, encouraging her to accept it. I didn’t know the going rate in this world, but surely medical treatment wouldn’t come for free. If we didn’t accept it, it might cause trouble for other pharmacists or doctors.

“Healing magic and medicine… I should look into this a bit. It’s also related to the health of my employees… Hmm? I can’t imagine a scenario where a Holy Knight, an undead, or a dragon would get sick. So, is it just me?”

I tilted my head, and the rabbit mascot peered at me.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. I’m just thinking out loud. Wait, you’re getting used to this pretty quickly! It’s only the second day of your mascot life!”

The mascot seemed to respond positively to the compliment and made a shy gesture before going back to its business. Once the morning peak was over, I decided that I would inquire about the healthcare situation in this world with Chloe and Anna-san.

“Aion Mall often includes drugstores and medical needs. Yeah, that seems like an Aion thing. Maybe there’ll be more customers other than those looking for food.”