AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 89
Episode 8-16
“Naoya-san, is it really okay? If we could just borrow the space under the eaves…”
“That’s right, manage-sanr! As long as we can avoid the rain and wind, that’s enough! If we have just one cloth, we’ll be warm enough!”
It was my 20th day as the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. I brought the galette-selling girl, Colette, and her mother, Francine-san, to the Aion Lounge, and that’s what they said.
Francine-san, who had just recovered from an illness, seemed exhausted, so I thought I’d let them stay in the Aion Lounge, which had sofas. By the way, the Peddler-san’s family is staying in the city today, so the lounge is vacant.
“The threshold for ‘staying over’ in another world is way too low! I thought it would be rude to make them sleep on the sofa!”
“R-really, is it okay for us to stay here?”
“Wow, amazing! Mom, this sofa is so soft and bouncy! Can I sit on it?”
“Wait, Colette, you’ll get it dirty if you sit on it with your clothes on. Let’s take off our clothes and wipe ourselves clean before sitting.”
“Okay!”
“Is that alright, Naoya-san?”
“No, it’s not! Just sit on it with your clothes on! Colette, don’t take off your clothes!”
Before I could respond, I hurriedly stopped Colette, who was about to undress. Her clothes were on backward like men’s pants, with a tail hole. Interesting. This is an unavoidable situation, right? Well, I guess the head office would reprimand me…
I calmed the two, who were uneasy about staying in the “luxurious inn” that was just the Aion Lounge. After about ten minutes of persuasion, I finally got them to sit on the sofa.
In the meantime, when I thought they might relax with some coffee and use the drink server, it caused quite a commotion.
Anyway, I got them to sit on the sofa, and I sat on a chair across the table from them. I wanted to rest too, after finishing the post-closing cleanup, but there was something I wanted to ask.
“Francine-san, you mentioned the ‘hardship of living in a place without outer walls.’ Is it really that difficult? Even though the Merchant Guild posted a notice, there hasn’t been any response to the tenant recruitment.”
“Well…”
“Please be honest with me. I’m from a different world, Chloe is from an elf village, and Barbera is a dragon. None of us know the common sense here.”
“Um, manager-san, what about the apothecary? She treated my mother in town, and even though she’s undead, she’s just like any other person in town, right?”
“Ah, yeah. I thought so too, but apparently, Anna-san stopped being human quite a while ago.”
“A long time ago… the apothecary… By the way, there’s a rumor about a new medicine found recently… A disease that’s been incurable for 800 years was cured… A saint… No way…”
“Let’s talk about that later. Francine-san, you have sharp intuition, or rather, how do you hear these things so quickly while being bedridden at home?”
“Yes! People often praise me for having good ears!”
“Such innocent reactions are so refreshing. I see, that’s great, Colette.”
I reached out and patted Colette’s head. She squinted her eyes in a way that made her look like a dog. Do all dog-like beastmen react like this?
“Let’s get back to the previous topic. Do the people in town have a resistance to ‘living in a place without outer walls’? I’d appreciate it if you could be honest with me.”
I looked into Francine-san’s eyes as I asked again. Both Francine-san and Colette seemed hesitant to say something.
As I continued to wait without averting my gaze, Francine-san finally nodded and opened her mouth.
“Yes. Except for peddlers, adventurers, soldiers, and farmers who work outside, many commoners born and raised in town think it’s dangerous to ‘live in a place without outer walls’ because there are monsters outside.”
“I see… So, do they also think it’s dangerous to go outside? Is that why Aion Mall in this other world isn’t attracting many customers?”
“Yes, they rarely go outside without an escort unless it’s absolutely necessary. That’s why today was such a rare opportunity, and everyone was so happy.”
“Oh, I see. There were people scattered all the way from town to here, and there were many adventurers, so they felt it was safe to go outside.”
“Yes, people are interested in the outside world.”
“So that’s why everyone seemed to be having fun. I thought it was thanks to the ‘Dragon Sale.'”
“That’s not it, manager! Everyone was smiling and said it was delicious, and they were really happy!”
Colette leaned forward, spreading her arms wide to emphasize “so much.”
She’s so straightforward, and her emotions are easy to read from her tail, making her perfect for a customer service job.
“It costs money to hire guards. Going outside the walls without a guard is considered a life-threatening act of leaving your fate to the heavens by the commoners in town,” Francine-san explained.
“Hmm, in that case, maybe we should make it clear that our free shuttle service has ‘guards’ as well. The merchant family said they could fight, but they don’t look like they can,” I mused.
Francine-san’s “common sense of another world” was troubling. Well, it’s the common sense of this world, or at least “the nearest town’s common sense.”
“No wonder there are no applications for ‘tenant recruitment’… I need to rethink my strategies for increasing sales.”
I held my head in my hands. Bringing in tenants, especially popular ones, could potentially boost sales significantly, but I should have researched the local information beforehand. This is my first time as a manager, and maybe I was in too much of a rush.
Colette looked at me worriedly, and Francine-san closed her eyes, deep in thought.
“Thank you for telling me all this. Knowing the townspeople’s mindset makes it clear that recruiting tenants will be tough… Colette, I’m sorry for inviting you without knowing.”
“No need to apologize, manager-san!” Colette said.
“That’s right, Naoya-san. We were saved by you, the apothecary, and the holy knight,” Francine-san added.
“But I made you work part-time outside the town. It feels like I took advantage of your gratitude,” I replied.
“It’s rude of us to make our benefactor, Naoya-san, feel this way. We’re sorry,” Francine said.
“No, I asked you to be honest with me, so it’s fine.”
While bowing our heads to each other, I wondered if this felt very Japanese or if Francine-san’s understanding was unusual. Eventually, we both looked up and our eyes met.
“Naoya-san, may I ask you something?” Francine-san asked with a serious look.
Sensing the atmosphere, Colette’s expression also became serious.
“Yes, what is it?” I replied.
“You invited us to sell galettes as tenants, but could you hire the two of us as your store employees instead?” Francine-san asked.
“…What?”
“Please, Naoya-san! My mother and I talked about repaying your kindness this way! We don’t need any wages!” Colette added.
“…What?”
“I know it’s a brazen request, but if you let us stay under your eaves and give us any leftover food… please let us work for you,” Francine-san pleaded.
“Well, I did think it’d be great if you could be an employee after seeing your work today, but I’ll pay you proper wages if I hire you.”
“Such kindness… Not only did you save Colette and give me medicine, but you’re even willing to pay us…” Francine-san said tearfully.
“Mom, it’s amazing, isn’t it? There must be a god,” Colette added, crying.
“Uh, are you really okay with this? Applying as employees? You can stay in the tenant space for now,” I said.
“Thank you, Naoya-san. No, thank you, God’s messenger,” Francine-san replied.
“Thank you, God’s messenger! Mom, it’s amazing that we can work in such a place! Long live Aion!” Colette cheered.
“Please, just consider it a normal hiring. I’m not a divine messenger kind of thing; I’m just an employee of Aion and the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store,” I said.
I initially intended to learn about the “hardships of living in a place without outer walls” from Francine-san, but somehow, I ended up being revered.
But anyway, I figured out why there were no responses to the tenant recruitment and why there were few customers on non-sale days.
And I managed to hire the excellent part-time workers from the sale as full-time employees. Long live Aion.