Chapter 47: Opening Preparations (1)

Chapter 47 from “Miniature Garden Chemister part 2 – Miniature Garden”

[Potted plants: small] 1

[Potted plants: medium] 10

[Potted plants: large] 20

[Vegetable Seeds Set] 10

[Fruit seed set] 10

[Herb seed set]10

[Wheat seed] 50

[Rice seeds] 100

[Brick: 1] 5

[Fountain] 1,500

[Terrace seat set] 3,000

[100 jars] 3

[Room] 50

[Bath – Extension] 5,000

[Room Hinami – extension] 2,000

[Room Ikuru -extension]

[Rooftop – Extension] 10,000

[Basement Extension] 30,000

[Compounding Room Extension] 15,000

[Potted plants: small] 1 x 3 = 3 points used

[Potted plant: medium] = 10 points used

[Room] = 50 points spent

[Total: 63 points used]

[Current Points: 804]

“Hmm. I don’t have enough points in my possession to build an extra room for Maro.”

I mutter to myself as I stare at the exchange diary.

It would be nice I could add an extension to Maro’s room as well, but…I put the exchange diary back on the side table, hoping to add it sooner or later since points would accumulate as soon as I made more potions.

Additionally, the potted plants that I exchanged points for would be planted with flowers and displayed in the shop.

We returned straight from the inn without stopping and now the three of us were discussing the layout of the shop. It wasn’t that difficult as we basically only had to arrange things on the shelves.

The plan was to open the shop the day after tomorrow, as the sign would be delivered tomorrow. Currently, my schedule has been rather busy since coming  to the city.

Starting from the day after I entered the city…

Day 1: Registered with the merchant guild.

Day 2: Chose a property

Day 3: Sold  potions at the market

Day 4: Received a property!

Day 5: Signboard to be completed

Day 6: Shop opens!

Day 7: Guild’s Beginner’s Course Workshop

By the way, we are currently on day 4.

If things were easy, I would have liked to go window shopping and enjoy the beauty of this cityscape, but things don’t always work out that way. I’ll ask Thia-chan to join me the next time she’s free. I think Ikuru…I’m sure he wouldn’t be very good with it. Yeah, no doubt.

“Hinamiii~! I laid out a some potions for you!”

I hear Maro’s voice calling me from the living room, and I hurriedly answered back and went downstairs. Or perhaps everything has already been lined up? They work too fast… I hadn’t even done anything yet!

I moved straight to the shop and found the potions on the shelves that were originally installed.

“Maro, that’s amazing…thank you!”

“Heh! Praise me more!”

“Wow, so amazing.”

Nudge.

I did it! Yes, Maro’s expression seemed to be telling me that. Ikuru seemed to be preparing coins to be used for change at the counter and was making detailed preparations.

“Hinami-sama…what would you like to do like with number of sales per day?”

“Hmmm…what should we do? Maybe we could limit 100 of each product per day, and end it once they sell out?”

“Well, let’s do that then. If we have a limit of 100 a day from the start, people will think that’s the limit of our production…and the free time we have will be good for training and research.”

‘Yeah. I need to study…and I need to be useful to God!”

We were deciding on management policy for the time being.

Huh? Could this possibly be the end of the opening preparations?

There were also a price tag and a certificate of authenticity never Maro next to the product potions…and Ikuru was in charge of the details…yup, there’s nothing I can do. Oh, wait—there’s just one thing.

“Maro, can you help me get some flowers for the shop?”

“Yeah, okay~”

And so, I finished my preparations by decorating with the flowers in the potted plants I had just exchanged for points.

***

The next day, the weather was unfortunately rainy even though the signboard was completed and had arrived.

I sat on a chair set up inside the shop and waited for the sign while staring grudgingly out the window. I think it’s convenient to have a space to sit in a shop.

“Hinami’s Miniature Garden” is a shop that features large windows that give one a good view of the interior from the street outside. The rustic wooden doors also match the warm-colored building very well.

The shop was decorated with small potted flowers inside and outside the shop as well. Yeah, I think it’s rather nice and matches with the name of the shop.

Huh.

I have free time, I guess.

It is currently morning. I wish I had asked for an approximate time to have the sign delivered, but I mostly wished I had a cell phone to make things easier.

Ikuru is apparently still sleeping, and Maro is currently running around the yard with the chickens. I think she’l’l be fine despite the rain.

But Ikuru was normally a rather early riser…did he stay up late or something?

“…Huh?”

“Here you go. Sorry to have kept you waiting!”

“Ah! The signboard—Thank you…!”

As I was thinking about that in a daze, the sign had finally arrived.

The brother of the craftsman who was working the other day had brought it in and was carrying a big bag. I mean, did he really carry the sign that far…? He’s too strong

He lowered the bag down and showed me the sign.

“Wow~ awesome…!!”

I couldn’t help but squeal at the quality of the workmanship.

There was a single large flower in the upper left corner of the wooden sign and many smaller flowers in the lower right corner. The ivy was growing as it was, and it accented the sign. And in the center of the sign were the words “Hinami’s Miniature Garden.”

The sign, which was a little brighter in color than the wooden door, was very eye-catching and very satisfying.

“Thank you…! It’s amazing, and so lovely!”

“Oh. I’m glad to hear you say that! Can I install it right away?”

“Yes please!”

I went out to the front of my shop in the rain, excited that it would be installed right away. It was starting to drizzle a little bit, so I thought it would be fine and looked at the wall to put the sign on.

The position to attach it was near the side of the balcony…I wondered how we would hang it. There was no ladder in particular, so it would be difficult to set it up from the balcony. Just as I was thinking about it, the craftsmen brother threw the signboard to the ground.

“Oryaaaaaah!”

“Eh!?”

Wait, just what are you throwing right now!?

I tried to scream out in a panic, but the next moment took my breath away.

Ivy grew out from the sign and extended like a hand to the wall.

“What does this mean!?”

The ivy that grew from the sign stuck to the wall dexterously. Well, it shouldn’t have been such a big protrusion or anything, but why did it stick to the wall? No, more importantly, what was that?

“Haha! Have you never seen this before?”

“Ah, yes.”

“It’s a sign made out of magical wood, so something like this is a piece of cake. Well, it’s also partly because my skills are so good.

The craftsmen brother laughed and gave a cursory explanation that was difficult to understand.

“The ivy growing from the signboard fits nicely with the wall. Isn’t that convenient?”

‘Hmm…I don’t know, but I’ve definitely found it useful and amazing!

“Oh, it’s enough to know that!”

I look at the now attached signboard.

The flowers that are blooming would change with each season and I was really looking forward  to seeing that.

I’m sure it was going to be the season of fall foliage… I was excited about it now.

“Well, that’s the end all the work. I look forward to working with you again.”

“Yes. Thank you!”

I waved him off as he walked home and threw him another expression of gratitude.

Wow, the fantasy world truly is amazing! I didn’t expect him to throw the sign in the air.

Now then.

I felt like I was bored as soon as things settled down. I finished setting up my shop, and didn’t have any more plans for today.

I thought I could go out and say hello to some of the neighboring shops, but they weren’t open. As expected of an alleyway, everyone has their own free time.

As I was considering watering the flowers in front of the shop, I was approached by a voice calling out,

“Hinami!”

“Huh? Isn’t that Takuto-san?”

“Just Takuto is fine.”

“Hmm…well, if you say so, I will.”

I replied, and Takuto laughed with an “Oh.” The soft hair bounced outwards and swayed a little.

This world seemed to be pretty casual, like a foreign country. Or perhaps it was that the Japanese culture was too formal.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m opening a shop here starting tomorrow.”

“Oh wow, that’s amazing! And the alleyway is the perfect place to wander and look around.

While saying that, Takuto happily looked at the potions through the window. He asked me how much I planned to sell them for, and was surprised because it was quite expensive.

“But I guess if  it’s like that amazing potion that healed my leg in an instant, I would pay that much for it. When I become a more profitable adventurer, I’ll come back to buy some, so don’t go under until then!”

“Mm, I’m not planning on going under!”

Maybe. I added in my heart.

“Ah! Oh yeah, I was planning to tell Hinami when I saw her.”

“Hmm?”

“I defeated it—the slime.”

“Oh! That’s great, you did it!”

When I clapped my hands together and complimented him on how great he was, he replied with satisfaction  that “It was just a while ago!” This seemed to make the excitement a little strange, and he told me coyly that he was exploring the city, which he doesn’t usually do much.

I still can’t beat monsters alone, so I think Takuto is pretty awesome.

“However, I’m trying to figure out what to do if I run into two of them out at the same time. I wish I could find some good items or equipment for sale, but it’s hard to find any.”

“Hmmm…well, I’m too weak to give you any practical advice.”

“Well, it’ll all work out when I think about it again.”

If you take one down, do you expect to beat two next? Takuto has a good plan for the future, and I feel like he’s the opposite of what he looks like. He seems like the handsome type who is good at dancing and sports, but surprisingly, he is actually the strategist type.

When I think about it alone and laugh a little, he rushes in asking, “What?”

“Haha, nothing. Oh, that’s right!”

“Hmm?”

“You can have my potion if you want. It’s a present for becoming friends and beating that slime!”

I walked into the store, beckoning Takuto to me. While we were talking, the rain had completely stopped, but it was also s till a little wet and cold. Since Takuto was  as wet as I was, I decided that I’d prepare some hot milk.

When it gets cold, hot milk is the best, after all.

“Well, are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yeah. Well, I thought I was a friend.”

“Haha, you are already a friend!”

It made me kind of happy to have him answer my words with a smile. Everyone I have met is a good person, and I think this world is quite warm.

“But I don’t have anything to give you…”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?”

I told Takuto, who was troubled as he looked down, that I didn’t need anything, but he didn’t seem convinced. It was a celebration for defeating a slime, so he shouldn’t worry about it.

Ah, but in that case…I can ask.

“Oh, then can I ask you a favor?”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I was wondering if you could tell me how the potions work. I don’t do a lot of combat, so I haven’t had a chance to use it myself. Is that bad?”

“Hey, if that’s all you want to know, then it’s a cheap deal. Don’t come back to me when you’ve used it!”

Takuto hits his chest and shows me with his attitude that he’s in charge.

I pick up three of each potion from the shelves and hand them to Takuto.

“Congratulations on defeating the slime!”

‘Thank you! But is it this okay?”

‘Yes! But make sure to give me some feedback, okay?”

“Ah. But when I’m done with this, I’ll come back and buy them with my own money next time, so just wait for me!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

We both laughed and made a promise for the future. I wasn’t sure when it would be, but I’m sure Takuto-san would be an amazing adventurer, although I didn’t have any proof.

For now, it’s just one slime. Next, will be two. Yes, it seems there is still a long way to go.

I hope he doesn’t get injured, but I also think that it’s probably not going to happen. With that concern in mind, I had given him potions to celebrate. It might have been unnecessary, but monsters really were dangerous…!

“That’s right. Today, there is a practical beginner’s class at the Adventurer’s Guild!

“Eh! Do you have enough time?”

“It’s fine! But if I don’t go soon, it will be doubtful too I’ll be leaving. Then, I’ll see you in class the day after tomorrow!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later!”

I see Takuto, who seems to have forgotten all about it, leave the shop in a hurry as I go to do a final check on the shop.

There wasn’t much to check, though.

After working for a while, and when I was finished, Ikuru came out to the shop, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

I said “Good morning” to Ikuru and started preparing lunch.

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