Chapter 11

Arc’s Shop of All Things.

Honestly, the naming sense is terrible, but since it’s a shop with *my* name on it, I can’t help but feel a bit of ownership.

But.

Arc’s Shop of All Things was on the verge of going down the drain.

“No, when did it get like this…?”

Right after I took over, the chest under the counter was overflowing with gold coins.

But now… I can see the bottom?

Am I going to go bankrupt at this rate…?

It was a life-or-death crisis.

Of course, the reason was clear.

There’s no money because we’re running at a loss.

Even Lumi, with her elementary school math skills, could figure that out.

So why are we losing money?

Because of the shop’s messed-up structure.

We’re stuck with a system where we have to manage popularity and reputation to earn points.

And we have to buy all sorts of junk items that no one knows what to do with.

But on the other hand, the heroes?

If ten of them dump their trash on me, maybe one of them will buy it.

The shop’s not doing well, not at all.

“Sigh.”

Right now, I’m fiddling with one of those trash items.

Slime mucus.

…I was just playing around with it like it was some kind of liquid monster.

For a moment, I had the bad thought that if there were more men in the neighborhood, I could make and sell “that kind of thing” with this, and it would sell well.

But I dismissed the idea because it probably wouldn’t be hygienic.

And.

Second, it’s also kind of my fault.

No, not kind of… a lot.

When you see a pile of gold coins, it’s human nature to want to spend them recklessly.

I threw a huge sum into rebuilding the Guild House.

And yesterday, to celebrate safely clearing the 3rd floor of the Tower, I built a blacksmith’s shop.

…It’s absolutely not because I rage-spent after a terrible gacha pull.

Of course, the blacksmith’s shop is closed for now.

There’s no blacksmith, what the hell am I supposed to do?

I’ve never even touched iron before…

I asked Ari, the queen of F2P in our hero party, who can down a beer in one shot but sips potions, to look into it.

But so far, no news.

Even if we do find someone, it’s a problem.

We’d have to pay their wages…

Is there no way out of this?

Should I give up on the EXP dungeon and just run the gold dungeon for a while?

Is that the only option?

It’s all because of the system.

Originally, the system should be buying stuff from my shop, creating a cycle of wealth.

But.

“Sigh.”

Just as I was about to sigh so hard the ground would shake.

Ding-a-ling──

“Today’s business is over… huh, is it already that late?”

A blonde, tanned, cool-type muscular warrior girl.

The captain of our Guild House’s Yagada Crew.

Brown, who hasn’t signed a contract but feels like a comrade now, came in with the bill again today.

Daily settlement.

Gotta do it.

Gotta pay what’s due…

While crying tears of blood in my heart.

But with a customer service smile still on my lips.

“Here you go. Thanks for your hard work today.”

I handed over the heavy pouch containing the crew’s wages.

Still, seeing the place gradually turn from barely livable to a decent communal house is satisfying.

But the expenses are huge.

Maybe I should do some layoffs soon?

Do a little dance with the axe?

“Hey, Arc.”

“Ah, yes yes.”

“By any chance, is that thing not in stock much these days…?”

“Huh? What thing?”

“You know, that thing. The one that gives you energy when you drink it.”

The Potion of Growth, huh?

I do have a little left.

Since the materials to raise a character’s rank to Rank 3 are still limited in purchase quantity, I’ve already leveled up Lumi, Ari, and even Yo-Hena to level 30.

Well.

At this point, even the lowest-grade potions barely scratch the EXP bar.

“…Just this once.”

“Yay! You’re the best, Arc! Thanks!”

Watching her snatch it from my hand and down it in one go, a sudden question popped into my mind.

“Brown. What exactly happens when you drink that potion?”

For the contracted heroes, the intuitive effect of leveling up is visible.

But for someone like Brown, who isn’t contracted, what effect does it have?

Does her level go up in advance?

“Hmm, it feels like I get stronger after drinking it?”

So it’s leveling up.

“And when I’m exhausted, drinking it makes me feel full of energy again?”

So it’s leveling up and refilling HP.

“Anyway, if I had the money, I’d buy and drink it all the time.”

“I see. Thanks for telling me.”

“I’ll keep it a secret from the kids! See ya!”

With that, Brown jingled her pouch and left.

And I.

Felt something.

A realization shimmering before my eyes.

The scent of money tickling my nose.

I opened the inventory to check the stock.

[Inventory]

– Lowest-grade Potion of Growth x65

– Low-grade Potion of Growth x9

It’s not exactly abundant.

But.

I can use the shop points I haven’t touched yet to reset the sales quantity and duplicate them.

I saw it.

The chink in the armor!

* * *

Business isn’t something you can do alone.

I needed a reliable business partner.

And of course, I needed to verify if the idea product actually worked.

Ding-a-ling──

With a cheerful bell sound in my ears, I entered the Meeting Tavern.

The place where I picked up Ari before.

And currently, the most lively place in this city.

With the Tower being conquered,

Heroes are producing various materials like crazy from their hands.

Those materials are bought by some poor sap, I mean, a shopkeeper who’s crying while purchasing them.

With that money, the heroes drink and soothe the fatigue of the day.

Today’s goal is the very top of that food chain.

“Madam, how are you?”

The chicken coop, no, Madam Lefanse.

A 5-star ranged debuffer.

Her performance is quite outstanding, especially in PVP, but…

Whether in illustrations or in real life, the subtle scent of the chicken coop is a big love-it-or-hate-it factor.

“Oh my, our cute shop girl. Did you come to drink? Or are you looking for your flower deer? The flower deer is over there.”

Even her way of speaking is a love-it-or-hate-it element.

Ari…

So you were drinking on your day off…

“Um, today it’s something else. It’s about business.”

“Hmm? Business? Did you get some good snakes for brewing?”

“You should come to the shop later and see for yourself. Um, actually, ahem.”

I cleared my throat to avoid sounding weird.

“Since there aren’t many customers during the day, I’m thinking of opening at night too. Just some light trading and selling drinks.”

Most of the trading actually happens between 4 PM and 6 PM.

The Saint’s work is done by the morning.

Ari is just a layabout.

Lumi is always lounging around the Guild House all day.

Climb the Tower during the day, do business at night.

And night business is all about drinks.

And that drink is going to be a ‘little special.’

“Hmm, are you declaring competition now, girl?”

“Ah, no way. It’s not about mass business, just a little something on the side? Just enough for the Madam’s counter. You know our shop is small.”

“Hmm, that’s true. It is a bit small, isn’t it?”

Good.

She’s halfway convinced.

“Beer is a bit complicated, but I want to try making cocktails or something light. That should be fine, right?”

Here, beer and food are the main business, so the target customer base is completely different.

“Hmm, that should be fine. I might even want to drop by sometimes. Alright. But you have to pay properly, right?”

“Of course.”

Persuasion successful.

It’s a bit troublesome, but small businesses have to crawl to survive in front of big corporations.

Especially in a small neighborhood with the same industry?

You have to do these little formalities to avoid trouble later.

With a refreshed mind, I walked over to Ari’s table.

“Ari? Can you help me out?”

“Huh? Oh? It’s Arc. …Now?”

“I’ll buy you a drink. Something delicious.”

I shook a bottle of vodka I got from the Madam.

“Right, Ari’s friend? What’s your name?”

“It’s Ha-Rong!”

“Yes, Ha-Rong, you come too.”

I also secured a 3-star test subject whose name I couldn’t even remember.

“Here, take this.”

“…”

“It’s heavy.”

I also secured a porter.

It’s a very manly action, but I was confident.

Speaking of me, I have below-average strength for an adult male.

But Ari?

As a hero who received a revelation, her strength is several times greater than mine. She’s a fundamentally different species.

“I’ll help too!”

So Ari took one crate of alcohol.

Ha-Rong took another.

Heave-ho, heave-ho.

Go, strength.

* * *

“Ugh… I can’t eat anymore…”

“Mr. Arc, Mr. Arc. Show me your face again. Hmm?”

Ari, wandering the afterlife with the power of pure alcohol.

Ha-Rong, who’s drunk after sampling my special cocktails, is causing a scene.

“Hahaha, hahahaha!”

I burst into hearty laughter.

After several trials and errors, I completed the miracle recipe.

Half cheap orange juice.

A quarter alcohol.

A quarter low-grade Potion of Growth.

Lower the cost with orange juice.

Use hard liquor to get drunk.

The Potion of Growth effect is fully utilized!

If this isn’t creative economy, what is?

The energy of the universe is gathering in me.

“Ugh, I drank well. I’ll go first, okay? Arc, I can come here to drink from tomorrow, right?”

[The customer is satisfied.]

[Popularity increased by 1.]

[Reputation increased by 1.]

This is it!

Since it was treated as a normal ‘sale’ at the shop.

Shop reputation up, popularity up!

I was very satisfied.

This will turn losses into profits in no time!

“Yes, take care on your way back.”

I cheerfully saw Ha-Rong off and turned around.

“Ugh…”

“…”

Ari, completely passed out, snoring.

What can I do?

It’s my fault for letting her drink so much.

I’ll carry her to the Guild House and dump her there.

But hey.

The blacksmith must have noticed, right?

There’s no way she didn’t notice and just drank and chatted away.