TWEM Vol. 4 Chapter 12
Chapter 12 – Opening with a Bang!
ββEarly in the morning on the day of the opening.
I came to the store with Finne, Iris, Asha, Kusel, Ephyr and Suzuno to help with the preparations in the early hours of the morning when it was still dimly lit.
Tendo and the others had not come to help out at the store because they were returning to Glicente soon and wanted to spend time preparing and training for their return. Suzuno came along because she had decided to stick with me from now on.
I thought Kusel would be training with Tendo and the others, but instead she was like, βI’m not familiar with this kind of business, so I want to learn as much as I canβ, and came along as well. Now I’m a little worried because sheβs a musclehead, but then again, Iβm glad that she’s willing to learn.
Today, the fate of the Ashtaroth Chamber of Commerce will be decided.
We’ve done a good job of advertising, and the morale of the employees is over the roof.
After all the preparations were complete, I gathered the employees together.
I looked around at all the employees, who were neatly lined up in a horizontal row.
βNow then. Today is the D-Day of our Ashtaroth Chamber of Commerce.β
Everyone nodded at my words.
βThe flyers had a positive effect, and a lot of people are already anxious to buy. Today’s sales will be limited to two hundred for the nobles and three hundred for the low-priced version, with a limit of three units per person. The nobles will also come to participate in the sales, but there is no need for us to change our attitudeββany questions?β
One employee raises her hand.
βYes?β
βThank you. If someone uses violence or force, how should we deal with them?β
To be honest, it wonβt be surprising if some were to resort to extreme measures.
In such a case, there is only one thing to do.
βFight back. Don’t kill them, but turn them over to the guards. But if you notice any intent to kill from them, make them pay for it later.β
βββSir, yes sir!βββ
At my words, the employees bowed their heads in unison.
It was a refined movement, like that of a well-organized army.
Finne and the others were muttering, βWhat was that flawless movement…β, but I pretended not to hear them!
βGood, now let’s begin the final preparations!β
βββYes sir!βββ
ο½
The preparations went smoothly a few minutes before the opening.
A line of people had formed in front of the store, waiting for the store to open.
There were not only commoners, but also people who looked like messengers of the nobles.
In fact, there were even horse-drawn carriages, probably belonging to the nobles who had come to participate personally.
I had a few employees maintain the line…still, a problem arose right away.
βGuide me up to the front! Iβm a noble!β
I heard the voice from the back of the line.
I looked over and there he was, a fat piggyββI mean, a fat middle-aged man.
βWhere is the one in charge of this business? Hey maid, I am a viscount!β
The employee who got yelled at calmly took care of the situation.
The others in line kept their distance, as if they wanted no part of it.
βI am sorry, sir. In our company, we consider all of our customers equal, regardless of whether they are nobles or commoners. So we cannot give special treatment to any one customer, sir.β
The maid bowed politely.
But if he was the type to simply nod and accept such courtesy, he would not have made a fuss in the first place.
βA commoner with such a high and mighty attitude! By flexing my power a bit, I could crush this business with nothing but a thought! Now take me to the front of the line!!β
The Viscount Piggy, who had been making a lot of noise, suddenly closed his mouth.
Apparently, he noticed the intimidation I had unleashed.
βUgh…β
I walked up to the Viscount piggy, whose face had turned pale and trembling.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Hearing those words, the Viscount piggyβs complexion changed from blue to red.
It seems that his anger had overtaken his fear.
βYou pleb, do you know who I am? You think you can get away with such behavior towardsβββ
βI just told you to shut your trap, are you deaf? You may be a viscount, but your status has nothing to do with my business…You claim to be a noble and you don’t even know who runs this store, much less who I am?β
I said and took out my adventurer’s card.
The adventurer’s card I took out was jet black in color. The letters on it read βEXβ.
The Viscount piggyβs face not only turned blue, it went completely pale, when he saw it.
βN-No frigginβ way, the plebββI mean, you are that EX rank adventurer, the Demon King Haruto…β
βDa fuck you calling Demon King?β
I involuntarily made a snappy retort.
The customers in line were also saying, βOh, so thatβs the infamous…β, and βSo It’s true that it’s the Demon King’s store…β.
Nah, I gotta hold it in, hold it in.
I changed my mind and stared at the Viscount Piggy.
βSo I heard you were going to crush my store huh? Enlighten me please? A trading company that got approved directly by His Majesty?β
βHis Majesty’s direct approval…β
After saying that much, the Viscount piggy finally understood the situation completely.
He got down on his knees and bowed his head.
He seemed to be trying to prostrate himself, but his stomach was so tight that he could hardly assume the accurate posture.
βI-I beg your forgiveness!β
βSure, as long as weβre on the same page, we good. Join the line like everyone else, or go home if you feel it beneath youββsorry for the inconvenience everyone. We will be opening momentarily. We appreciate your patience.β
While I was bowing to the other customers, I saw the Viscount piggy slinking away.
The customers called out to me, “Yo, Demon King!β, or “You are the greatest adventurer!β, I went back inside the store while protesting in my mind.
ο½
Soon, it was time to open the store.
βThank you all for your patience. We are now open for business. For the next four days, we will be having an opening sale, offering discounts on a variety of items. Please stop by and see if thereβs anything you fancy!β
As Benak signaled the opening of the store, the customers trooped in.
From there, the crowd went wild. Various items were selling like they were disappearing, probably because they were on sale.
Four hours after the store opened, and even after 13:00 in the afternoon, there was no end to the number of customers. All the toilet seat quotas for the day were sold out, and the number of other items was steadily decreasing.
After another four hours, the store closed for the day.
βTodayβs sales have finally come to an end. Tomorrow we will start selling again at the same time. Please come back again!β
With Benakβs announcement, the customers were leaving the store as we closed for the day.
It was so hectic that it was hard to take a break.
I gathered everyone together.
βGood work, everyone. As expected, or rather more than expected, we had a great turnout. We had some pre-opening problems and a few other minor things, but I think we got off to a great start. Itβs all thanks to every one of you. Let’s keep up the good work for the next three days!β
βββYes sir!βββ
After my speech, we began closing up.
Meanwhile, Finne, with a big smile on her face, spoke to me.
βGood work today, Haruto. The whole place was packed the entire time!β
βIt sure was. But itβs only just begun.β
βExactly, Finne. We’ve only just begun!β
Iris said to Finne, puffing out her chest.
I am thinking, why has she been acting all high and mighty? Sheβs been getting more and more carried away ever since Asha complimented her saying, βThe princess also did a lot of work behind the scenesβ.
Kusel on the other hand…whoa, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep on the chair.
It was so cute that it made me laugh, then Suzuno tapped me on the shoulder.
βCome on, I gotta say, that thing is nothing but a cheat in this world…the customers were all like. βThe Demon King is a devilish genius!β, and were all grinning thinking that you came up with it all on your own.β
βAs long as it brings in the dough. Besides, the only people who know the source of the idea for the product are my classmates, and no one else in this world can make it. Anyone would rejoice if they found out about this bad boy, much less complain.β
βWell yeah, but it just seems so petty…β
Suzuno looked at me dumbfounded.
I don’t think I said anything wrong though~.
While we were having this conversation, Finne spoke to me.
βHaruto.β
βWhat’s up, Finne?β
βThat noble…Iβm just wondering if itβs okay to leave things as is?β
I believe Finne is referring to the Viscount piggy from this morning.
βYou think heβs going to try something?β
βYes. Although nothing happened today…β
Well, Finneβs concern is well-founded.
βIn that case, since I’m going to deliver the goods to Dillan tomorrow, I’ll inform him of the matter.β
βPlease do.β
βI’ll take care of it.β
I patted Finneβs worried head.
Then Iris witnessed it and asked me to pat her as well…before I knew it, Suzuno, Ephyr, and even Asha joined the party of head patting.
ο½
After closing of business on the second day, I visited Dillan.
I reported to him about the Viscount piggy, whom Finne had been worried about, and he immediately seemed to know who I was talking about.
βThat guy, huh?β
βI didnβt even mention his name, you mean you could make him out from just his description alone…has he done something similar in the past?β
βYeah, his name is Bhuta Berkshire. The Berkshire house have always been very wealthy for a viscounty, and it seems they’ve been sneaking around behind the scenes, but I haven’t been able to find them out on what exactly…β
It’s quite a feat that even the royal family can’t get anything on them.
Speaking of which, so his actual name is piggy*. (TLN: Bhuta is pronounced same as pig)
βI see. I’ll keep an eye out for him.β
βOh, and if he does try anything, report it to me. Iβll nail him right away.β
βGotcha.β
And that was that.
I discussed this with everybody and they all agreed that he would likely try something nine times out of ten.
To be honest, it’s quite a hassle, but…I will manage as usual.
β β β
βHurry up and do something about that trading company!β
In the dimly lit room, seven hooded shadows surrounded a round table.
One of the men tapped on the table.
βYou keep saying that~… but, destroying a trading company that has the backing of His Majesty is no walk in the park.β
βThe products are of high quality, but the prices are also high and fair. The fact that they are not selling at a lower price than they need to is a sign of consideration for the businesses around them, isn’t it?β
βI thought I’d take a wait-and-see attitude for the past week, but their opening sale has cost me dearly in sales.β
βIt’s only temporary, right? Besides, those toilet seats were very comfortable to use. If they market that product up front, I’m pretty sure they’ll become a large trading company in no time…if that happens, they’ll branch out into other businesses, which will surely get in our way.β
βI agree. That thing is way too groundbreaking.β
βOnce you use it, you’ll never want to go back.β
βDid you lot buy as well? You know what, forget it. Would somebody please do something about that trading company!β
The man from earlier tapped on the table, and a dang sound echoed.
βCalm down, young man. The founder of that trading company is an EX rank adventurer. His Majesty aside, any bad move, and we will be the ones crushed.β
βUghhhh.β
The man clenched his fist tightly and the room fell silent.
Then one of them opened his mouth.
βββLet’s use the assassination group, βCobraβ. They are good at what they do, and even though the target is an EX rank, he will not always be on guard, so they are likely to succeed.β
βOh! That’s a good one!β
The hooded men started buzzing.
But they were ignorant of one fact.
That Cobra had previously sent several of its members to assassinate Princess Iris, but they were repelled by none other than Haruto.
At that time, despite the fact that the survivors were underlings, they did not give up Cobra’s name or the name of their employer, so Haruto and the others were unaware of Cobra’s existence.
On the other hand, Cobra is wary of Haruto and sees him as an enemy, and they are bent on revenge and will do everything in their power to crush him.
But the hooded men, who were blissfully unaware of such things, looked at each other.
β…Then who would submit the request?β
A long silence. But then a young man broke it.
βI’ll do it.β
β…You will. Then, you make sure they don’t find out about us. Got it?β
βSure thing.β
If the information leaked out, they would likely end up dead. They knew that much.
βAs soon as Iβm done with the preparation, I will carry it out.β
βOkay. The enemy is the most powerful adventurer. Be very, very careful.β
βI know.β
All rose from their seats, raised the swords at their waists to the center, and spoke.
βββββββMay the calamity of death befall those who stand against us!!βββββββ
βPrevious Β | Β Nextβ
They rolled a botch on perception roll
And take my upvote for TTRPG references. I like tabletop RPGs a lot, sadly have never directly played one yet, can’t get a group together so i currently have to satisfy my craving by reading lore and comprehending mechanics.
They are all already dead, they just haven’t been warned
For a piggy, roasted definitely. Sashimi is better for beef and fish.
ππ€£π π
Take my upvote too. For making me laughing.
Yeah, it’s not like he doesn’t have any perception skills or surveillances around the house.
Nah, I would just burned this piggy. It already went bad and I would probably get food poisoning.
i was about to suggest kabob over a fire, but this is a good if not better alternative
Yes he did indeed, so what will it be? Roast or Sashimi?
That’s not exactly a bad thing as long as they get solid information after. After all one can never be to careful when dealing with rumor’s.
Then again how these guys are dealing with it are pretty stupid.
βββββββMay the calamity of death befall those who stand against us!!βββββββ
Haruto is about to pull an Uno reverse card on these idiots.
Oh geez that’s really his name? Even his last name has to do with pork.
Welp now we got a lot of people to give Darwin Awards to. Sure let’s try to kill the EX rank adventurer who can rain down literal meteors, I’m sure nothing bad will happen.
Now here’s a good question, didn’t Haruto not only train but gave his employees the green light during his speech to “deal with” folks like Viscount Piggy?
These nobles are the type that believes in rumours are just rumours or the rumours must have been exaggerated, until they see it with their own eyes.
Thanks for the chapter π₯°ππΌ
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Thank you for the chapter !
βββββββMay the calamity of death befall
those who stand againstus!!βββββββAnd then “the calamity of death” fell on them