One Step at a Time, Once More

Yohane arranged the merchandise on the shelves before the employees arrived.

He'd sent Azu and the others to the Adventurer's Guild to double as an information-gathering trip.

He could've asked Finn to look into things, but relying on her too much would start to add up.

From what the wholesaler and Finn had told him, it was likely the fallout from the deteriorating relationship between the Kingdom and the Church of the Sun God.

He finished laying out the delivered goods, but the shelves still looked painfully sparse.

Nothing to be done about that.

Before long, the employees arrived, unlocking the front door and stepping inside.

"Good morning. You restocked the shelves for us?"

"Yeah, morning. I normally leave it to you, so I figured I'd pitch in for once."

He'd been leaving nearly everything shop-related to them ever since they'd proven they could handle it.

No choice. Not with trips to Spartia and the Empire on his plate.

He relied on them. And he paid them accordingly.

"Yesterday was rough. It was a real lifesaver that you happened to come back when you did."

"That was a surprise, yeah. Today should be peaceful, at least."

"We'll see about that."

The second employee arrived, so Yohane left the rest to them and moved to the back. He boiled water and put honey and herbs into a pot.

The fire magic stone brought the water to a boil quickly. He poured it into the pot to steep the herbs, then poured the tea into wooden cups and served the two employees.

"Thanks."

"I was getting drowsy, so this is perfect."

They finished their opening preparations and sipped the herbal brew while chatting.

Yesterday's incident aside, he'd been keeping the shop open more often lately.

The ledger told him the sales figures, but for the real feel of things, it was faster to just ask them.

"Before the expansion, nothing really sold except the staples. Now people are buying pretty much everything."

"Oh, and aren't there a lot more bulk buyers?"

"There are. Hey, boss—we can still turn away anyone trying to buy us out, right?"

"Of course. Can't have them inconveniencing other customers."

Large purchases were handled on a case-by-case basis.

It was nice to move a lot of product at once, but there were limits.

When the shop opened, adventurer-looking customers trickled in one by one.

Adventurers were early risers by nature, prepping for labyrinth runs and extermination jobs, so it wasn't unusual for them to show up right at opening.

It had been a while since Yohane had worked the floor himself.

"I need lantern fuel."

"Right here."

What adventurers bought was predictable.

That was precisely why he'd been able to prepare Azu and the others' gear so quickly—running the shop had taught him exactly what was needed.

Portable rations, fuel, whetstones, and his homemade apple cider vinegar all sold well.

The vinegar stock was running low.

Not to brag, but the stuff was popular since you only had to dilute it with water to drink it.

It was almost in season again. He'd need to make another batch soon.

A recipe passed down from his mother, followed to the letter.

Once the adventurers' rush was over, foot traffic dried up and things turned quiet.

Just as expected.

Yohane left the rest to the employees and retreated to the back.

He needed to drum up more contracts from the Adventurer's Guild, and there was a mountain of research to do if he wanted to turn a profit instead of a loss.

Damn the Church of the Sun God.

While he was mulling over the future, Azu and the others returned from the guild.

"We're back."

"Welcome back. How was it?"

"It was bustling… or rather, tense might be the better word."

Azu explained the current state of the Adventurer's Guild.

Apparently the sheer number of requests had spiked.

The city was currently administered by Jacob, the tax collector, and things were going well under his watch—there were even plans to expand the city itself, which meant more work for adventurers too.

There were also reports of adventurers and their families migrating in from the Allied Nations.

He'd heard conditions over there weren't great, but was it really that bad?

"It felt like more requests and more people all around. Oh, and here—"

Elza handed Yohane a single sheet of paper.

It was a document concerning the Church of the Sun God.

Just as Finn had said: no new churches would be built, and no clergy would be permitted to take posts at existing ones.

However, a clause had been added stating that adventurers who followed the Sun God were acceptable, so long as they refrained from proselytizing.

Given what had happened in this city, that was only natural.

Elza pulled a rosary out from under her collar.

A rosary of the Church of the Creator King.

She usually carried it on her, but as far as Yohane knew, she hadn't been wearing it openly.

"Now that the Sun God priests are gone, I can finally wear it."

To be precise, there were still Sun God clergy working as adventurers, but they weren't particularly zealous about the doctrine.

As long as she didn't flaunt it, there shouldn't be any problems.

"It's their own self-destruction. Either they panicked, or they just didn't think things through."

"Most likely they'd been succeeding too easily. Complacency."

"Makes sense."

Yohane also went over the current postings with Azu.

Monster extermination requests around the city had skyrocketed.

No doubt about it—the city expansion plans were the cause.

Merchant caravan escorts were also on the rise.

Labyrinth exploration requests, on the other hand, had stayed roughly flat.

"Good work. Starting tomorrow, I'll have you back on quests."

"Understood. We'll do our best!"

Azu seemed to have energy to spare.

Elza and Alexia looked the same as always.

"Well then, stand by for now. Eat whenever you like. I'm going to go turn this into coin. I could put it up at auction, but I just remembered I have a lead."

Yohane hefted the treasure chest Azu and the others had brought back.

He also had orders to place, so it was going to be a full day of work.

The chest was packed with pearls and coral, making it fairly heavy.

"I'll help."

Elza took the chest from Yohane and carried it with ease.

She looked slender, but her strength was on a completely different level from his.

Where all that power came from was a mystery.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Let's get going."

"Okay～"

Azu and Alexia exchanged a glance.

"Would you mind sparring with me?"

"Well, I don't see why not."

It seemed they planned to use the standby time for training.

"Don't get hurt."

"We'll be careful."

Yohane and Elza headed out.