Amber

With their store ready to go, everyone then spent an entire month creating their first stock. What they created was almost entirely regular items, though they did create at least a few interesting ones. The most important part of that was getting all the raw materials to craft into those items in the first place, as well as establishing a regular supply.

They didn’t know how well things were going to go, but they had researched and prepared as much as they could beforehand, and not just their crafting techniques.

Businesses in this part of the world maintain a relationship with each other that is simultaneously cooperative and competitive. They even held regular meetings with each other to learn from and help each other.

Part of their teachings included business acumen, especially once their teachers learned of their intention to start their own store. Everyone also studied outside of their apprenticeships as well.

I really can’t wait to get to making fun stuff, but all the standard, boring items have to come first. I’m still amazed by how quickly paperwork moves here, so at least that stuff isn’t anywhere near as stressful as I thought it would be.

But before they finally had their grand opening in a couple days, they were going to have one more celebration. They had already celebrated their apprenticeships ending, and their marriage had also led to a couple fun nights at home, but they wanted to have one last fun night before things got busy.

It was a marriage congratulations/housewarming/business grand opening celebration all in one. They didn’t want it to be an even bigger event than it was already going to become, so they limited it to their favorite throuple and their daughter; as well as Izara.

The Woods family had learned over the past couple years that Izara’s parents, while not bad people, weren’t exactly sociable. They had no interest in coming.

“Thank you for coming,” Amber said as all the guests entered their new home. Izara had been picked up by them along the way.

“Of course!” Senava replied, looking around the house. It was their guests’ first time here, after all.

“It’s nice,” Malorei said. “I like how you laid everything out.”

Sarah replied, “There’s actually room for the six of us to walk around now.”

Rayna smiled. “Indeed. Perhaps we’ll be coming over more often?” The gnoll handed a box to Michelle. “Some side dishes for tonight and a heavy blanket for your new conversation pit.”

“Oh, we’ll definitely be using that. Thank you,” Michelle said. “And now that we have the room, having you over more frequently wouldn’t be bad. If you can get away from work that is.”

“I’ll manage.”

The Woods family had wondered about what kind of home their friends lived in, but because one of them did some kind of important government work, they couldn’t have guests so easily.

But that’s fine. I’m glad we get to see more of them now. And they always bring some food with them, so it’s not like we’re feeding them for free.

Due to the limited space of the apartment they’d had, Nipha would usually show up with only one of her mothers.

“So~” Senava began. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk since we ran into each other at the restaurant. I’m curious about what pushed you to get married!”

“Ah, it was Sarah,” Michelle said. “She proposed that very night, actually.”

“Ohh~,” she said, looking at the blushing tigerkin. Looking at everyone, she said, “Well, congratulations to all of you. May your marriage be prosperous and eternal.”

“Was that a joke based on our logo?”

“Yes, but I also meant it.”

She smiled, “Well, thank you.”

As all the adults sat at the table, with Roumazi getting everyone drinks and the girls diving into the conversation pit, Malorei said, “So I read your first book, Sarah. It was well-written, but I must admit, I don’t quite understand the appeal of it. I likely would’ve dismissed it entirely had I not known about your otherworldly perspective on matters.”

Sarah nodded, “That’s fine. In this world, where very real danger lurks just outside the walls and everyone being able to fight on some level is expected because of that, stories of heroism and valor hold a lot of value.

“I’m not disregarding that at all, however. The stories people tell here are important, but I simply enjoy the mundane more than the fantastical, at least when it comes to my own writing. I’ve just always preferred much smaller stories about average people.”

Malorei smiled. “Well, I do hope your stories get some attention. On that note, self-published works tend to be much more sloppily put together. I was quite impressed by the quality of the book itself.”

Roumazi said, “Yes, she had some experience in bookbinding. Putting them together was an enjoyable task that we worked on together.”

“So I was thinking that if you’d like for more people to experiment with writing different kinds of stories, then perhaps selling a book with instructions on how to do that could help.”

Sarah shook her head. “It’s an interesting idea, but the main issue lies with the cost of printing. Had I not had access to my wife’s excellent earth magic, it wouldn’t have been feasible for me.

“That’s why most self-published people can only sell handwritten copies of their writing, which adds significantly more time and effort with each copy produced.

“The only way I can see this issue being resolved is if someone invents a much cheaper and more user-friendly method of printing.

“I will consider that idea, though. More people writing would make me happy.”

Roumazi added, “Because the nature of mana itself is ever-changing, that means the complex enchantments to produce such printers haven’t been reached many times throughout history.

“But as mana and physics shifted, those printers had to either change with the nature of the world, or fade away. Obviously, they failed to change in time.

“Good enchantments like that can be difficult to hold onto as the world changes how they function. On top of that, it’s likely that they were too tied up in ownership disputes and who has the rights to do what with them, that they became useless before someone was able to update the technology.”

Rayna chuckled and shook her head. “It always amazes me whenever you mention something that was ancient history, and then when I look into it myself, it turns out you were correct.

“I’m not doubting your intelligence or knowledge. It’s just that you know obscure information about a lot of topics and it takes me by surprise every time.”

Yeah, Roumazi’s literally as old as the world itself. Once again, I can’t believe I’m married to an actual goddess. And my formerly-male best friend. And my other best friend who isn’t even interested in romance or sex at all. Ahh, my life is weird, but I wouldn’t change any of it.

The foxkin simply smiled. Their guests knew Roumazi was from this world, and had simply been told that she joined the family a couple years ago, which was true.

“Another thing,” Malorei began, “Besides the unusual content, the writing style is also different from the writers of this region, and possibly anywhere else, as well. People may question your origin.”

Michelle replied, “We don’t really talk about our origin because it’s difficult to bring up, but we aren’t exactly trying to keep it a secret anymore, either. We would’ve changed our names if that was what we wanted.

"The other people we've talked to about it don't really care as much. They don't have the same opinions as the people in the Kingdom did.”

Rayna questioned, “Have you met anyone else from Earth since leaving that place?”

“No,” Michelle shook her head. “Well, there were some in the cities we visited near the base, especially Elsanth, but once we were out of that area, we didn’t run into anyone we recognized anymore.”

“Hm. Well, let’s move on to something else. How about you tell us what designs you’ve come up with so far?”

Yes! I could talk about this all day.

 

———

 

A few days passed, and the store they’d been working toward finally had its first ever day of business.

There were plenty of other smithies in the city, including those that also had alchemists in their employ, but demand for more was still enough that they could at least be confident about selling a minimum amount.

They knew not to underprice what they sold, but they were also aware that some people here had been in business for entire centuries. All they could do was to continue improving their skills until they, too, became one of the mainstays of Efrinteu.

Like most other buildings in the area, the store part of the building had a stone base that then led into wood as it went up. The door had art of a sword and potion on it so people knew what kind of business it was, and a sign reading Dialu Ammirosa with a water lily on either side hung across the facade.

Typical things that you might find in a store like this rested on shelves and racks. Spears, bows, arrows, swords, axes, shields, and so on for the weapons most people used.

Premade pieces and sets of armor that were adjustable to a certain extent were placed on a few stands. Like the weapons, they were made of various materials going beyond just metal. Monster hide, bone, scales, claws, and other parts from slain magical creatures were among them.

Some of the weapons and armor also had enchantments imbued into them, but people generally preferred to ask for those to be done on an item of their choosing instead of that. But having them out served as a demonstration and reminder that this store had alchemists in its employ.

In another section was the potions. Resistance to heat, enhance strength, dark vision, water breathing, regeneration, light vision, steel skin, and numerous other effects were among those for sale. There were also a few magic tools, such as one that produced light and another that produced water. Not everyone had a water mage with them, after all.

And finally, a special corner of the store was dedicated to their specially designed items. A leather breastplate with filigree stamped into it. A cuirass with accent colors on the edges. A sword with an etched hilt. A knife with a pattern in the metal.

All those and more were in that corner. Because the usual people who bought weapons and armor only cared about utility, they heavily reeled themselves back on making too many items with unusual designs; the cuirass being a good example of that.

I’m just glad that magic makes all this stuff much faster and easier to produce than it would’ve been otherwise. It’s not even that much more expensive.

One issue that people would have to get over is the misconception that anything with designs on it was a piece only for show, not for actual use. There was precedent for that, but they hoped to change that sentiment.

Using a crystal imbued with wind magic that resonated with a matching one elsewhere in the city, music was being played throughout the entire building. There were only a few different “stations” to choose from, but the fact that this was something they even had at all was much appreciated.

A few people from their various apprenticeships also stopped by to check out the store, but didn’t buy anything. Michelle’s mentor even showed up and wished them well with their experimental products.

Amber was the one currently sitting at the counter, working on smaller pieces and details that she could do while up here and not in the workshop in the other part of the building.

Three copies of both of Sarah’s books sat right on the counter where people couldn’t miss them, but other than a handful of people taking a peek at them, not one was sold. A few more were stored elsewhere, but they decided to not have a big stack of books out. This wasn’t even a bookstore.

People will start buying her books eventually. Same with our stuff.

Roumazi switched places with Amber after a while, and then later, Sarah, then Michelle. They would all take turns based on what work needed to be done.

Their first day of business eventually came to a close. Overall, they did okay, but none of the things they really wanted to sell made it off the shelves.

Just have to keep at it. It was only the first day. We’ll convince people that you can kill monsters and look fabulous while doing it.