Two days later
Renovation for the new building where the Chua, Sons, and Company was finalized a day ago.
Sigmund struck the deal with the guild master, who granted him the license to do business in Greston and a permit to legally operate the company along with the trademark.
Moreover, he acquired the building in proximity to the Greston South Gate. The building was situated on the avenue toward that gate.
The newly-constructed enterprise building was a kilometer away from the gate facing the Primeval Forest, where higher-ranked adventurers and mages ventured to certain parts of the forest to obtain more precious materials. But that part of the forest was known to be the hotspot for high-ranking demon beasts and monsters including giants, ogres, and orcs.
In certain circumstances, the location would be deemed viable as the gate was regarded as a portal for adventurers and travelers to gain entry to Greston village. That seemed to hold true as the shop already gained two groups of adventurers as their first customers.
The arrival of these mage adventurers at the new shops gave them respite after the ordeals they had gone through in the Primeval Forest.
Chua, Sons, and Company occupied 2,000 square meters of property. It was constructed with a three-story building for shops and the company's main office, while the adjacent structure was a courtyard to serve as the quarters for Sigmund as well as for the future employees.
Within the courtyard, a vacant lot was utilized as a parking space for the carriages.
Sigmund was amused by the fact that the village never had any other means of land transport except for beast-drawn carriages. However, what he noticed in many carriages was the varied species of beasts used.
The differences in beasts seemed to reflect the capabilities of the owners and riders of the carriages.
When he was allowed to ride the carriage of the guild master, he was regaled by the orange-horned giant cheetah, which seemed to have taken Roxie, the guild master's secretary as the master linked by a spiritual bond.
The ride from the guild to the property that the guild master offered for Sigmund was around fifteen kilometers. But the distance was shortened to two minutes, which negated any opportunity to converse longer inside the carriage.
Sigmund, taking the new role of a merchant with operations in Greston Village, already detected the means of transportation of the village, with its seemingly backward civilization but with features that were also similar to what he encountered in his previous world.
Thus, he found a specie of white-horned black unicorn and another specie of rainbow-horned white unicorn within the Primeval Forest. He created two clones for each specie and paired each variety for the three carriages.
The speed of the unicorns was comparable to the orange-horned giant cheetah but he decided to improvise his beasts to make them the fastest species to draw a carriage.
As Sigmund reviewed the events of the last two days, he noticed the ruins fronting his shop just across his newly-acquired property.
The businesses he planned for his company comprised a shop for tools and weapons, another for herbs, pills, and potions, and then a teashop, which also served pastries and sandwiches aside from popular tea varieties.
The tea he was sipping as he was chilling in the al fresco area of the tea shop was the spirit herb variety. This could only be served when his customers, ranging from the wealthy and elite classes, requested it.
This time, he was observing his shops which were serving two groups of adventurers.
One group consisted of a burly, young-looking swordsman, wearing mana-infused protective suits from leather materials. He deduced it to be from the hide of giant golden-tusked bison. He was accompanied by three women and one taller young man.
The three women were clad in varying attires. A tall blonde woman was wearing a flowing robe with a white bodice, and pink sleeves accentuated with a violet-colored belt and skirt. The robe reminded him of the hanfu of ancient China.
The second woman close to the swordsman was dressed in tight glossy black leather material that seemed to cover from the neck down to the feet. She brought the image of a sexy dominatrix in one of the adult movies Sigmund watched.
Meanwhile, the last female was a petite young lady, garbed in a dark green flowing robe. She typically exuded the persona of a mage but with a cute image noting her height.
The other young man was taller and more muscular than the young man, who seemed to signify the presence of a leader. Despite his muscular stature, his look radiated the character of a ladies' man. But his stoic expression appeared to bring intimidation and a less approachable outlook.
That group became the first patrons of his tools and weaponry shop. He was gladdened that the weapons were within the range of their choices.
After purchasing the weapons, the leader of the group closed a deal with the shop by selling the materials they obtained from the beasts they had slain and accidentally found dead inside the Primeval Forest.
It was at that time, that Sigmund learned the name of the leader to be Bryan Berry.
The adventurer group was happy after the transaction after they realized that the shop, despite being new, offered higher deals for the obtained materials than other shops they knew in Greston.
With the purchases of new weapons and the selling of the carcasses and looted materials finalized, the group was enticed to try the new tea shop, which was odd as it was located very near to the ruins.
They noticed the youthful-looking man, who radiated sophistication, seated in the outdoor area of the tea shop. The distinguishing mark they noted of that man was the pair of eyes– the color of the sky. The eyes seemed to radiate light at first glance.
The others in the group, however, sighted the homey design of the tea shop, with the gazebo decorated with live vines with azure-colored blooms. The flowers brought a scent that could tantalize customers and even passersby to become patrons of the teashop.
Ignoring the young man outside, they entered the shop, in which the interior also contained the vines but with furniture sets, they believed to have only come from high-ranked cities of the continent.
The decors of the shop was also different from what they used to in the village. They never thought that tea shops could be adorned with decors on walls with pretty designs.
The women in the group took note of the designs of the tea shop. They then realized this would not be the last time they would come here.
As they approached the counter of the shop, they were astonished at the different pastries inside a transparent glass shelf display, in which the design incorporated low-grade spirit crystal emitting soft light and also a food preservation effect.
The females were awed by the new forms of pastries while the men noted the shelf display. The storage for pastries with that design was the first kind that they had ever seen in the village.
By this time, Barry, another clone of Sigmund entrusted with the tea shop, walked closer to the first group of customers from the counter.
With his brown hair, tall stature, and handsome appearance, he managed to send an aura of cordiality to the first patrons.
"Good day customers! Welcome to our shop!" Barry with a practiced greeting wore a smile to radiate a certain effect to the newcomers. His brown-eyed handsome face matched with an approachable smile, which put the ladies to be more convinced to try anything the teashop offered.
"Ladies, we have these pastries, which are only offered in our shop. As our new customers, we will grant you a discount for anything you wish to try."
"Can I try this pastry?" the petite lady pointed at a slice of cheesecake with blueberries on top.
On the other hand, the blonde woman extended her index finger at another cheesecake with strawberries on top. "I like this one. Please give me a slice of it."
The domineering raven-haired woman, however, spoke with a hard tone as she requested, "Give me that slice of dark pastry."
Barry took note of the order, which was a slice of dark chocolate moist cake.
Before taking the other orders, Barry suddenly spoke, "Your orders are noted. By the way, please call me Barry. I take care of this new tea shop."
"Hi, Barry!" The leader of the group responded. "Call me Bryan. Welcome to Greston Village! I take it that all of you are new here?"
"Yes, sir!" Barry replied as he eyed the other young man in the group. "May I take your orders?"
"Just give us five cups of tea. Please bring a spirit tea if you have it. And also, two more slices of that dark pastry. I want to try it. It looks enticing!" Bryan radiated a friendly aura despite his intimidating feature.
Barry noted the other young man seemed indifferently quiet. The leader, however, spoke for the group.
"Please take any table you want. I will deliver your orders after a few minutes and bring them to you. Enjoy!"
Barry then moved to prepare the orders, which were done behind the counter.
Everything could be seen by the first patrons, which they carefully observed as they took notice of the many new things offered in this new tea shop in their village.
"It's the first time to have seen these shops here and they are even very close to the ruins." Bryan opened a discussion at the table with his comrades.
