How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 208

232. Preparing for a New Business (3)

With the consent secured, I immediately began preparations to set up the shop in earnest.

There was much to do.

I needed to distribute tasks to the hired Otherworlders and provide them with training.

Not that I needed to handle everything myself.

Except for a few specific areas, I didn’t need to get my hands dirty with much.

Elmeroth would take charge of managing the technical aspects.

He was already teaching the Otherworlders the necessary skills.

‘Yes, it’s going smoothly.’

But there was one crucial thing…

That was something I had to investigate, confirm with my own eyes, and decide on.

* * *

And so, we headed to Melparos Territory within the Selbas Kingdom.

A territory located about fifteen days east of the royal capital. The city governed by the lord of that territory was our destination.

I traveled there with Dires for that purpose.

“I feel bad for making you accompany me on this long journey when you’re so busy.”

“…Don’t worry about it.”

Dires nodded calmly.

Unlike me, he would soon become very busy.

After discussion, I planned to appoint him as the sub-manager of the shop I was going to establish.

To put it bluntly, I intended to pass all the work onto him.

A truly ideal position.

I would leave the management and practical work of the shop to him, and I would only occasionally show my face.

In the real world, I think they call this a figurehead [a person who holds a position of authority but has no real power].

A truly wonderful term.

More than anything, while keeping the business running, I could also safely travel around to deal with issues related to the original story.

Dires, unaware of my inner thoughts as I chuckled while imagining a bright future, glanced at the scenery of the city visible outside the carriage and asked.

“By the way, is this where you intend to build what you mentioned, Eilon?”

“Something like that. I consulted with Lowell, and he said that building a workshop and residence here would be the most reasonable.”

A workshop.

Naturally, a central location was needed to create, manage, store, and distribute goods.

And of course, it couldn’t be handled by a small corner store.

I was also planning to set up a separate shop.

That’s why a proper place was needed.

A place with buildings, land, and a good location.

“But why here of all places?”

“…It’s easier to distribute various goods closer to the royal capital!”

I made up an excuse.

It wasn’t a complete lie, but there was another reason.

‘…I like the city! A city with as much to see as possible! A good city to live in!’

When I was looking for a place to set up a factory and asking for advice, there was one more thing I requested.

‘A mansion! I want a nice mansion!’

I was getting tired of living in inn rooms.

‘In that sense, it wasn’t too bad when I set up the corner store before.’

If possible, I wanted a decent mansion.

The dream of owning my own home.

That was a wish I also held.

I wanted a space for comfortable living.

If possible, I wanted to live in the city.

I still hadn’t given up on my dreams of a glamorous life in the capital.

Dires didn’t seem to notice that such desires were mixed in, and he was seriously agreeing with my words.

“It just so happens that a merchant known to Lowell is selling land and buildings here, so I plan to negotiate with him.”

“I see…”

“Well, I’ve already discussed it in a letter, and it’s just a matter of confirming and signing, so don’t worry, it won’t be complicated.”

I told him not to worry since there wouldn’t be any difficulties, and I leaned back comfortably in the carriage.

‘That reminds me, this carriage isn’t bad either.’

The carriage I was riding in now was the first completed model.

The Eilon-brand carriage No. 1.

Using the iron ingots purchased from the Falzente Duchy, I produced springs for the carriage and reassembled the carriage with them.

‘The ride is definitely different.’

It wasn’t officially for sale yet.

I planned to take the lead in distributing it through my shop once it was completed.

Was it just the carriage? There were other things waiting in the wings.

‘To do that, I need to quickly establish a base and start doing business.’

As soon as we arrived in Melparos, Dires and I moved to find the person in charge of building sales here, as Lowell had told us.

“…He said it was Nilbin Trading Company, so we should go there.”

“It seems to be this way.”

Dires, who had asked a passerby for directions, pointed in the direction of the trading company.

Following the directions, we were able to find our destination without any problems.

Perhaps it was thanks to the fact that the roads were quite well maintained, as befitting a city close to the royal capital, making it easy to find our way.

We arrived at our destination.

Nilbin Trading Company.

A trading company that had the rights to buy and sell land and buildings in this area, and the owner here seemed to be acquainted with Lowell.

“Well, a referral is the best.”

“…Excuse me? What did you say?”

“No, let’s go in. We’re both busy people.”

We hurried into the building.

When we told the merchant there the name of the owner of Nilbin Trading Company and asked him to tell him that we wanted to meet him, he looked at us with a somewhat suspicious face but went upstairs to deliver my message.

After waiting for a while…

Thump, thump!

A loud sound of footsteps was heard, and a very portly middle-aged man came down the stairs.

His name was Dilton, which matched what I had heard in advance.

“Hahaha! Welcome! I’ve already heard the message from that brat Lowell!”

How noisy.

However, neither I nor Dires were childish enough to say such impressions out loud.

Besides, it was better than being unfriendly.

They say the saddest thing in the world is indifference and poor treatment.

“Come on! Come on up!”

Dilton gestured for us to come up quickly and led the way back up the stairs.

As soon as we entered the office, Dilton sat down heavily in his chair and invited us to sit as well.

“I already know the purpose from the letter I received from that brat Lowell. You want a building and land?”

“The building itself doesn’t matter. What I mainly need is land.”

Most of the buildings I would buy would obviously be unusable anyway.

Because they wouldn’t suit my purpose.

From the beginning, my plan was to buy land rather than buildings and build a workshop on it that suited my needs.

Building a new building was easy enough with my and Elmeroth’s abilities.

“For that, I would like to be introduced to craftsmen who can be hired for the land and construction, if possible.”

“No problem. We manage that side of things well enough.”

Dilton laughed loudly and said generously.

Looking at the properties they owned and the land he recommended, they weren’t bad at all.

The land to build the workshop was important, and the location to build the shop was quite good.

There wouldn’t be any major problems even if I checked the actual items with my own eyes and signed the contract later.

I decided to postpone the confirmation for a bit and brought up the next matter.

It was about the house I wanted to buy.

“Certainly, that was also written in the letter. First of all, these are the properties I would recommend.”

He brought several documents with various building plans and detailed specifications.

I suddenly had a question while looking at them.

Wasn’t he subtly putting away a few documents and showing them to me?

“What’s that?”

“Ah, this?”

He showed me the hidden documents as if he had nothing to hide.

It would only breed distrust if he tried to gloss over it here.

“This is a building with problems, so I’m not showing it to you.”

“Is it not suitable for the purpose?”

“Rather than that, I can’t sell it. Ah, not just to you, but to anyone else.”

He seemed genuinely troubled.

That somehow bothered me.

“…What is it? Where…”

“S, sir?!”

“I’m just looking.”

I checked the documents and plans almost arbitrarily.

“Wow! What is this! It’s a real mansion, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t a house in a remote area, nor was it a building used as a commercial space.

It was a decent mansion that a minor aristocrat might live in.

This is what I want!

“Surely you’re not showing it to me because I can’t afford to pay for it?”

“Of course not! That’s absurd! It’s just that the mansion has a slight… problem.”

In other words, it was a house with a defect.

What I didn’t quite understand was why they wouldn’t put out a property like this for sale, whatever the reason.

“First of all, let me tell you the circumstances. Then you’ll give up easily.”

Dilton immediately began to explain the situation to me.

This mansion was originally owned by the lord’s ancestors from the beginning.

However, as they expanded their territory and shaped the city as it is now, it was naturally neglected.

Originally, the lord’s family seemed to manage it somehow, but it seemed they no longer had any reason to do so, so they put it up for sale, and it seems that it came to this man.

So far, so good.

Even if it was an unused mansion, it was still a place used by nobles, so the building itself was good enough to be sold off.

But then a problem arose.

“We had our merchant stay there to manage the mansion for a while, but…”

“But?”

“He was found the next day in a terrible state.”

He was found with his whole body slashed.

He barely survived, but the mansion became a burden because of it.

“Was there a criminal hiding there?”

“…That’s what we don’t know at all.”

He shuddered as if he was genuinely troubled.

“Just in case there was a guy hiding, we brought in our combat slaves and guys who used to wield swords back in the day, but…”

They were also attacked and barely escaped.

“They say he wielded a sword so quickly and sharply that they couldn’t even see his face.”

“…What about the lord?”

“W, well… I haven’t told him yet. No, how can I tell him that?”

The mansion purchased from the aristocrat has a defect.

And they haven’t even identified the proper identity.

He meant that he didn’t know what kind of disadvantage he would suffer if he spoke carelessly.

This was definitely a burden.

‘…Then is this difficult?’

Since he said there was a defect first, it would be best not to choose it normally.

But I keep being drawn to it.

‘If there were no problems, it would be really ideal…’

I’ve always wanted it.

An elegant life living in a big mansion with a dog or something.

It’s a typical picture, but so what?

It’s a dream that’s impossible to achieve in reality.

‘No… wait? Rather, wouldn’t I be okay?’

It’s too early to give up.

It’s dangerous, but that’s only according to that man’s standards, and it may not be a threat to me now.

On the contrary, isn’t this an opportunity?

“I have one question… If I solve the problem with this mansion and prove its safety, what happens?”

“Whatever… I would be happy.”

He would be glad to get rid of a burden and not have to worry about being watched.

“Then, if I solve the problem with this mansion, I would like you to hand it over to me at 30% of the original price.”

“W, wait a minute, sir?! 30%…”

“It wouldn’t be unreasonable. From what I can see, you’ve been looking for all sorts of ways. You must have been worried because it wasn’t resolved, right?”

“…”

He closes his mouth as if he’s been hit in the bullseye [directly on the mark].

“You’ll be in trouble because you can’t dispose of it anyway. You’ll be worried about the lord’s eyes, too.”

I can see the situation roughly.

So.

“If I can’t solve it, there’s nothing I can do, but if I handle it cleanly, 30%, how about it?”

He began to agonize over my proposal.

The thought that 30% was too much of a discount and, conversely, the desire to dispose of it even at that price were conflicting in his head.

“Okay.”

Fortunately, he agreed.

Good.

I have to make sure to write it down properly so that he can’t back out later.