Bringing Stephen and Dorothy back into the room and waiting for them to sit before I spoke up, "Provided each of you are alright with it, I would like to hire all three of you. I would like to have Gena as General Manager, Stephen as the front-of-house manager, basically the face of the inn, and Dorothy as the back-of-house manager, in charge of the kitchen, cleaning, and maintenance crews. Does anyone have any questions or complaints?"

"Beyond being the 'face' of the inn, what would I be managing? What would be my expected duties?" Stephen asked while looking thoroughly confused.

"Right, so I plan to break down the managerial duties into specific categories. Your job would be managing everything customer-facing, such as the greeters, the staff that works the front counter, room service staff, etc., while also dealing with customer issues." I replied to Stephen before turning to Dorothy, "You would be managing all the staff that works in the background, the kitchen staff, cleaning staff, maintenance staff, etc.," I said before turning to Gena, "and lastly, you would be the administrative manager. You would deal with the finances, hiring, and termination paperwork, and you would be the one that the other leadership reports to, including the future security team leader. I intend to hire former adventurers or similarly experienced individuals to function as onsite security, requesting additional security through the adventurer's guild when necessary. Are there any more questions, concerns, or complaints?"

"Why me?" Gena asked in a small voice, causing the other two to silently agree, wondering why I put her at the top.

"Because you are the only one who is experienced in dealing with high volumes of administrative work. Simply put, working in a government office requires a high level of education and ability, and there are no downtimes like how most restaurants and inns have less business in the winter. On the contrary, government offices go from busy during spring and summer to hectic in the fall and winter. Not to degrade inn and restaurant management, but it seems all of you are underestimating how large-scale the inn I am hiring for is," I said while looking each of them in the eye at different moments.

"I've been living here since last summer but haven't seen anything that could be considered large-scale though," Dorothy mentioned looking a little doubtful.

"Of course, you haven't. I only started building it a few days ago after buying multiple properties when I returned from the capital. Although I have only been working on it for just over three days, I've already finished the rough construction, having built the roof on the fourth story yesterday. You may have heard rumors about a large empty lot on the main road a few days ago, that's where I am building the inn. The only reason people haven't seen it since then is that I am maintaining a concealment barrier over the whole property and setting up a sound barrier when working on the construction. I've also placed orders through a few companies to prepare different necessities for the inn. When complete, the inn will be able to house more than 300 guests at any given time. Plenty enough to deal with the influx of adventurers camping on our streets and all the others that will be coming before long. I can show you where I am at with it after the interviews are over," I said to assuage their suspicion.

"Hoh~, are you really that far along already? I know you said roughly a week, but that is quite a large property when combined," Livia responded before the others could make sense of what they heard, "mind if I come to take a look as well?"

"Sure, I don't mind, but we still need to finish the interviews before heading over," I agreed to have Livia join in for the tour, "are the three of you alright with my decision?"

After getting their confirmation, I began bringing in the applicants from my 'maybe' column one by one. The majority of the applicants were in the 'maybe' column, so it took quite a while to interview each of them, introducing them to the three managers before asking them questions. In the end, I decided to hire 46 of the applicants, including the 14 people that were in my 'hire' column from the beginning. With the managers, there would be 49 people working there in total, with about 30 of them wanting to live there. I was glad that I planned a fairly large employee living area, which could house a total of 80 employees.

Once the interviews were over, I went to the conference room where all the applicants were waiting and called out eight names, thanking them for applying but saying they didn't make the cut. Including the nine I had dismissed from the beginning, 17 in total did not make the cut, only one of which was because they were a spy. With the 46 people of varying ages and races staring at me, I introduced them to the three managers. I then explained that while I had sorted some of them into the jobs they would be working, the rest would be sorted by the managers. Lastly, they should meet here at the guild three days from now. At that time, they will be led to the inn, where everything will be explained. I then asked if they had any questions that needed answering today.

One person partially raised their hand and gently coughed, causing me to call on him. "Um~… Some of us weren't interviewed, is that alright?" He asked nervously in a small voice.

"Right, I guess I forgot to mention that 14 of you were hired without an interview due to possessing skills that I find necessary for my inn. Some of you acquired those skills by training at a former job, while others gained the skill naturally due to the environment they grew up in. I decided it would be more worthwhile to hire you now and train you in any areas you are lacking than to miss out on an employee that already has the skills that would take months, if not years, to train someone else to do. I hope that is an acceptable answer for you. Are there any more questions?" I answered and asked again.

"Will we be starting work three days from now when we are supposed to meet here?" A young woman asked, probably worried about earning money.

"The inn will take a little longer to open, but you will begin training for opening day after you are led to the inn. Of course, it will be paid training, and those that wish to live onsite will be able to move in at that time. Is there anything else?" I answered both her spoken and unspoken questions.

Since there were no other questions, I thanked everyone for coming today and expressed that I was looking forward to seeing them again three days later. After that, I filled out some forms to employ the three managers and set up an account for the inn, giving some permissions to each of the three. I had to make a name for my inn at this time, so I chose to call it the Spirit's Haven Inn. We then took a carriage to the inn construction site with me riding on the coachman's stand so I could say when to stop since the coachman wouldn't notice with my concealment barrier active. I also took the initiative to have the coachman teach me about driving a carriage, thinking it might be useful in the future. When we were in front of the barrier, I had the coachman stop, and he let me take the reins to direct the carriage through the barrier. I'll keep it a secret that I enjoyed the reaction the horses had when they saw a huge building appear out of nowhere, along with the fact that the coachman had an almost identical reaction.

With the carriage stopped inside the barrier, I informed the group that was in the carriage so they could take a look, but I told them to remain in the carriage because we would be going a little farther. They were completely astounded that a building so huge could go unnoticed and that I could build something like that. I then had the coachman lead the carriage down a ramp that went under the inn, as I explained that this was for carriage parking. We then went up a different ramp that led behind the building, where I explained that this was where the stable for the horses is and pointed out the rear courtyard and amenities. Next, I had the coachman take us back to the front of the inn where I had the others disembark so I could lead them in through the main entrance.

"I thought it would be better to use the main entrance for your first time here. The back entrance isn't as grand as the front, and I figured the managers should understand the customer experience. Though none of the detailed work is finished, the fixtures haven't been installed, and the furniture hasn't been brought in, you can still understand how the building will look with the rough construction done. It will look much more amazing when it is complete though," I said while showing them inside.

All four of them were turning their heads this way and that, gawking at everything. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when it was finished, the materials I would be using to finish the exterior and interior will make it look far more impressive.

Eventually, Livia spoke up, having realized something, "You said this was four stories, right?"

"That's right. The first floor is the lobby, restaurant, and cheapest guest rooms. On the second floor are the mid-level guest rooms, where long-term guests are more likely to stay while still looking for cheaper accommodations. The third floor is the high-level guest rooms that cost quite a bit more but have much nicer amenities, including free access to the baths, which guests on the first and second floors would have to pay extra for. The top floor is the penthouse suites, there will be 4 of them, and they are designed to comfortably accommodate upper nobles, with a private bathroom, private balcony, separate bedrooms, a living room, and a servant's room in each," I replied.

My response caused everyone's jaws to drop, not expecting such a grand answer to Livia's question. I looked at them and smiled before continuing, "there is also the basement access for the adult guest, with that part of the basement being separated and used as classier looking tavern. Then, there is the employee lounge, employee living quarters, communal kitchen for long-term guests, and of course a basement storage area with a walk-in refrigerator magic tool and freezer magic tool. In total, there will be a few hundred magic tools used here, and there will also be a few other surprises. I think that about covers it…"

My three new managers were looking around in shock, seemingly wondering what they had agreed to, while Livia was staring at me, unsure what to say. Perhaps she was thinking about the new district I designed for the duke, simply to have a place to popularize baseball. Perhaps, she was thinking about how I always do things on a grand scale. She probably won't ever tell me what she was thinking about at that moment because, in the end, she just shook her head and said she was looking forward to seeing it complete. She also mentioned that my offer of Spirit Tree leaves would be more appreciated if I could deliver sooner.

After that, everyone left while I got busy doing more work on the inn after grabbing a quick bite to eat. I mainly wanted to get the interior walls built and the flooring installed so that I could install fixtures and such as they were ready. The lobby used a lot of marble that I had to cut into thin slabs using Space-time Magic, accenting it with Blue Ash wood. Once finished, I began working on finishing the employee area, as I needed to finish that before the employees arrived three days later. I also used Clairvoyance to check on the progress of the carriages carrying the injured adventurers and saw that they would probably make it to town shortly before nightfall.

I needed to know what magic tools could be purchased so that I would know how many I had to make myself, so I stopped work a little early and headed to Jay's store. They didn't have much I would need, so I had to go to Reginston to get what I needed. To do that, I went to my workshop before using Clairvoyance to look for a good spot and opened a Gate there. Upon arriving, I quickly set off to Tristan's store, buying a large amount of what I needed there before getting directions to another workshop where I purchased some more mundane items. I was able to buy most of what I would need outside of the new ones I am making or modifying to suit my needs or fit in with the inn design.

Before I went home, I got directions to a material supply store where I purchased as many materials as were available. Specifically, I purchased what I had bought out in Gale, plus a good amount of ingots, that I would need. When I got home, it was almost time for dinner, so I inserted materials into the magic tools and started them before heading in. During dinner, I mentioned to my mom that dad would be coming home tonight, escorting injured adventurers, but I guess she had already heard something to that effect since she didn't look surprised. I went back to making things in my workshop after dinner, periodically using Clairvoyance to check on the carriages. When my mom came to let me know I could use the bath, the carriages were just reaching the town, which of course I told her before going to take a quick bath.

When I came out of the bathroom, my mom was not home or near the house. I could tell from presence detection that she was with my dad at the adventurer's guild, so I decided to just go to bed as I still had a lot to do the next day. I asked the spirits a few questions before going to bed because I had a plan but wasn't sure how easy it would be to actualize. Kaede told me in the morning that my parents had gotten home late at night, I later found out that my dad had to give a lengthy report to the guild about what he found out about the dungeon, and my mom was helping treat the injured adventurers.

My dad was sleeping in, likely because he hadn't gotten any good sleep in the past week or so, and I didn't want to disturb him, so I quickly took off after breakfast. I first stopped by the merchant's guild to drop off the Spirit Tree leaves and Golden Vine Snails I had promised Livia. Then, I went to the material supply store, where I purchased Midnight Tree wood and some other materials before heading to the construction site. Today, I finished the employee areas, the kitchen, and the guest areas on the first floor, with only furnishing the main floor remaining. I then worked on the bathrooms for the second and third floors, installing the lock magic tools on the doors and special mirage magic tools to make the ceilings mimic the sky.

I spent the rest of the day until it was time to go home, working on the exterior of the building, covering every inch of the exterior walls in slaked lime, clear sap-coated wood, or stone. I also made a large sign that said 'Spirit's Haven Inn' in large bold letters, carved into the wood and burnt to give it a gorgeous dark look. There wasn't anything else I could finish if I started at this time of day, so I decided to build and install a few specialty magic tools before heading home, where I began working on mattresses and such again. At dinner, my dad told me stories about the dungeon and that the elixir I sent saved his life after he nearly died, saving the life of someone else.

The next day, I finished the second and third floors before lunch, needing only to put the furniture in each room. I spent the rest of my time building and installing magic tools, including door locks that used a master key to make keys for the room. I, of course, chose to make card-shaped room keys reminiscent of hotel key cards. I also built a safe to keep the master key card, which I placed in the General Manager's office. I also made staff keys so they could do their jobs, such as cleaning and maintenance. Of course, I didn't forget to make keys for the bathrooms, so we could hand out keys based on gender when someone checked into a third-floor room or paid to use the second-floor bathrooms.

The most expensive and time-consuming to make magic tools were the elevators. There was a guest elevator that went to the upper floors depending on the room key used to activate it, and a large service elevator for staff use only that went to the basement storeroom. Each room also had a temperature control magic tool, in addition to the overhead light, bedside lights, and, on the second floor and up, a magic tool to see who is at the door before opening it. Each floor also has staff rooms, such as storage closets and laundry rooms to make cleaning easier. Because I wanted to get as many mattresses, futons, and cushions done as possible, I left early, stopping by the woodworking shop, tailoring shop, and other shops and stores where I had made orders, picking up everything already prepared for me.

Once I got home, I started stuffing futons, building mattresses and cushions, and continuously running the magic tools to make more thread, cloth, and felt. Considering I was using my hands and magic to make these things, I must have made enough to furnish at least the main floor plus the second or third floor. When I walked into the house for dinner, I was surprised to find Miya playing with Kaede in the living room. As it turns out, my mom had gone to invite Miya and Maya over for dinner since both my dad and I were home now. Dinner was a lively affair, as everybody seemed to be in a celebratory mood for one reason or another. I called it an early night, wanting to finish a few things in the morning before meeting everyone at the merchant's guild.

After eating an early breakfast, I went to the inn and installed the lobby furniture, laid down some rugs, and finished the reception desk before heading towards the guild. Upon arrival, I saw Gena, Stephen, and Dorothy waiting for me out front of the conference room with Livia. I guess Livia was having a carriage bring the belongings of my new employees who had been staying in a guild dormitory. Gale had dealt with the new hire paperwork through the guild, so we were ready to take everyone to the inn. We then walked into the conference room and asked everyone to follow us, making us a conspicuous group, followed by a carriage loaded with their belongings.

When we were in front of the barrier, I had to direct everyone through it and remind them to keep moving once on the other side. The horses had to be guided through the barrier as well, where I had the employees unload their belongings so the coachman could get back to the guild. It was a bit funny seeing the look on everyone's faces, even the managers were surprised again with how much the exterior had changed since they last toured the place.

"Alright, I know you all want to look around, but please follow me inside, there is still a lot to finish before opening, so I don't have the time to stand around," I said to everyone before opening the front doors wide and walking in.

The group followed behind shortly after, with the managers leading the way for them. Once inside, I had everyone follow me to the employee-only area, telling those who were going to be living here to choose their rooms so I could provide them with mattresses that were in my item box. While those 30ish people walked towards the bedrooms, I began pulling out couches, tables, and chairs for the employee lounge from my item box. Then I showed the managers to their offices, where I placed desks and chairs for each of them, telling them they can add to the rooms and rearrange them as they see fit before handing them the keys to their offices. I also explained the safe and master key to Gena since she would be the one in charge of those and explained similar safes to Stephen and Dorothy that contained the guest room keys and staff keys.

I then led the managers on a tour of the inn, handing them a map pamphlet I made and explaining things as I went. I also informed them that I had not finished the top floor, but the rest of the inn only needed to be furnished. Which is what I was going to be doing, while they were each leading a group of people to tour up to the third floor. We then walked back to the employee lounge, where I called out the 14 skilled people I had hired, explaining their jobs and which manager they would be reporting to. I left the rest up to the managers to figure out since I didn't have the time to sort the remaining 32 people, but I did ask them to consider their individual opinions.

I then went around placing furniture and mattresses in the chosen employee rooms before continuing to place furniture around the inn. I remembered part way through to hand the price guide to Stephen and showed him the tag hook and tally paper system for sales in addition to a board with room numbers, hooks, and two colors of tags. The board is to show which rooms were currently rented, vacant, and reserved, depending on the color of the tag used if there is one on it. I also took out a guest log book and told him it was only for people staying on the second floor or higher or if some eccentric rents one of the pods on the first floor for an extended period.

That's right, I made pods, otherwise known as capsules, for the main floor with separate male and female sides to prevent issues. I placed futons in those pods before setting up tables and chairs in the restaurant and placed bar stools at the counter. I then went down to the basement, where I set up more tables, chairs, bar stools, table ball tables, and the all-new billiards tables. Then I continued setting up the rooms on the second and third floors while dropping off supplies in the storage closets. Adding: soap, towels, sheets, pillowcases, blankets, etc., not forgetting to unload the kitchen supplies, dinnerware, etc., on the main floor.

On my way upstairs, I saw Dorothy and told her I would be working on the fourth floor for the rest of the day. Up on the top floor, instead of working on the penthouse suites, I went out on one of the wings I had left uncovered. There, I pulled out metal and crystal, building a domed greenhouse with some of the far end not enclosed, making double doors that led out to the open area. I then made the same structure on the other wing before writing a letter to Emily instead of the duke, extending an invitation to come to try my new inn so I could get a noble's opinion. I sent the letter with a summoned Sonic Eagle as usual, before heading inside to work on the suites.

I spent the rest of the day working on the four penthouse suites, making furniture and magic tools for those rooms, and installing the magic tools, only stopping at lunchtime, and when I got a reply from Emily. She had asked a few questions regarding the invitation, so I answered them, sending the eagle back after giving it food and water. I had to call it a day when I ran out of things I could do, choosing to stop by the tailors to pick up more futon cases on my way home to make more mattresses, futons, and cushions for furniture. I finished enough to open the inn as early as the day after tomorrow before heading back to the inn to put up an 'opening soon' sign so I could drop the barrier tonight.

After dinner, I received a reply from Emily accepting my invitation although she didn't mention when she would arrive or how many people would be coming. Perhaps she did that to test my inn, or maybe for security purposes, I couldn't tell which. She also agreed to bring some maids and butlers along to help train my staff, but I would owe her an equal favor. Sometime that night, my barriers wore off, allowing anyone looking in that direction to see an enormous building appear, seemingly out of nowhere.

ShadowWolfGuild

Only the finishing touches left before opening.

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A special thanks for the continued support from Yeuromain, Gareth, and Kuba 15