Work
As we kept working, evening came.
Then Mary got back.
“I’m baaack~! Your beloved Mary has returned!”
She sure was energetic.
What was amazing about her was that she stayed at this level the whole time.
“Welcome back. How was it today?”
“We gathered herbs~ Had no clue what we were doing though!”
Yeah, I wouldn’t know either.
“That kind of thing is part of learning too. How was Shirley?”
“Shirley’s amazing. She was super strong.”
As long as she properly understood that, fine.
“Don’t cause trouble for her.”
“I knooow.”
“Going again tomorrow?”
“Nuh-uh. Day off tomorrow. I think I’ll stay home.”
Adventurers used a lot of stamina, so they needed to rest properly.
She was handling that part right too.
“I see. Angela baked cookies, so go wash your hands and eat.”
“Oh~! Angela, thank yooou~!”
“You’re welcome.”
Mary’s energy rose even higher, and she ran into the living quarters in the back.
“Angela, I’m counting on you.”
“Mm.”
Angela went after Mary to lecture her on the importance of keeping watch.
After that, we worked just a little longer, then closed the shop and celebrated Mary with the three of us.
The next day, Mary helped at the shop too, and the three of us worked together.
“Angela, look, look~ I made it so shampoo comes out of the duckie’s mouth!”
Yeah... Mary was definitely helping with work...
“Mm. Isn’t that nice? But it’s something that floats in the bath, right? Why not just make the whole container like that?”
Angela really was an adult.
“All right~ Maybe I’ll make a puppy container next?”
Would something like that even sell?
“Mary, go take Rachel out for a walk.”
“Oh, right, right. I’ll go let her run at the army ranch!”
Mary headed into the living quarters, and a little later I could see her through the shop window, riding a white horse.
“She only makes weird stuff.”
“Maybe she takes after her father?”
Too bad she didn’t miss inheriting the sense for it.
As we worked, Mary came back before noon.
“I’m back~ Eric~ You’ve got a customer!”
Mary said that as she came into the shop together with Arvin.
“Hm? Arvin? What is it? Another adjustment?”
“No, not that today. I came as a representative of the army to place an order.”
Ah. Business.
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you make some tool before that heats food without using fire?”
“This one? A portable stove.”
I showed him the new product I’d shown Angela before.
“That’s the one. You bragged that it could boil water too, didn’t you?”
Yeah, I had bragged about it when the two of us were drinking a while back.
“I didn’t brag. But yeah, it boils water just fine, and you can cook with it too.”
“Then deliver about thirty of them.”
Thirty... all of a sudden?
“You planning some military operation or something?”
“The hell I am. We’re just going on maneuvers, and I wanted to see how useful they are. Food matters, y’know.”
I knew very well that food mattered.
Seriously, it affected morale.
“Thirty units for a trial run?”
“Sounds about right. If they’re good, I’ll order more.”
That was a pretty big job.
“What’s the deadline? I’ll need to order parts and materials, so I’ll need a decent amount of time.”
“Can’t you do it in a month?”
Hmm... the parts had to be ordered from the royal capital, so that alone would take a week.
Then I’d have to make them after that... with Angela helping, it wasn’t impossible.
“I think I can.”
“Then I’m counting on you. Well, even if you’re short two or three, it won’t kill us, so just aim for thirty. How much?”
I hadn’t set a price yet since I’d just made it.
“Hmm... fifty thousand Mild each.”
“That’s expensive.”
“It’s a magic tool. That’s normal. I can make them cheaper, but then they’ll be twice the size and weight.”
“They’re small, so we can carry them on marches. Fifty thousand is fine. Keep them like this.”
Not everyone had spatial magic, after all.
Only mages could use that.
“Got it. I’ll bring them over when they’re done.”
“You need part of the payment up front?”
When making items that cost money to produce, it wasn’t unusual to have material costs paid in advance.
“No, pay later is fine. I’ve got enough funds for that much.”
“Got it. Then I’m counting on you.”
Arvin said that and left.
“Boss, that’s a good job, isn’t it?”
Angela asked excitedly.
“I think so too. As expected, I have a talent for invention...”
Even though I’d just dug it out of my memories.
“Boooss~ amazing~”
Hah. Hah. Hah.
“All right, Mary, go run an errand.”
I said that while writing down the parts we needed on a memo.
“To Old Man Jeff’s place?”
There was a store in this town called Hortley General Store that brought in all kinds of goods from the royal capital and other large cities.
Its owner was Old Man Jeff, famous for being stubborn but kind to children.
“Yeah. Tell him it’s an army order, so as fast as possible.”
I handed her the paper.
“Roger that. I’m off, then!”
Mary ran out of the shop full of energy.
“Angela, I’m heading to the Adventurers’ Guild.”
I needed to put in a request to procure magic stones.
“Want me to come too?”
“It’s already noon. Make lunch.”
“Oh, it’s that late already...”
Angela looked at the clock.
“I’m counting on you. I’d rather eat your cooking.”
Neither Mary nor I were very good at it.
“I see... then I’ll make something.”
Angela looked a little happy as she headed into the living quarters, so I left the shop as well and made for the guild.
What do you think about this chapter?
