What kind of amount was 100 million yen again?

Ten thousand 10,000-yen bills...? A hundred million 1-yen coins?

I had no real sense of it, but it felt like if I had 100 million yen, I could probably live comfortably without working.

Then again, seeing how recent lotteries are for 600 million or a billion yen, maybe it's not enough to retire on after all—especially since I'm only in my early twenties and have a lot of life left ahead of me.

Still, it was 100 million.

That's 100 piles of a million yen.

A thousand piles of 100,000 yen.

Hmm...

To truly live a life of leisure, I might need to sell at least ten Spirit Stones.

Whether Mugen-san would actually buy that many, I didn't know.

"But still... a Spirit Stone, huh..."

Since Spirit Stones are stones of miracles, they have endless uses over in Emes-Palette as well. They can rejuvenate youth or be used to treat injuries and illnesses.

"Ah."

Wait, even if Mugen-san bought a Spirit Stone from me for 100 million, could he use his connections to perform rejuvenation magic on billionaires or treat their diseases and earn... like, billions of yen?

Well, 100 million is a lot of money, so I had no right to complain about how he used the stone. In this world, you can never have too much money. Money is power. Mugen-san surely understood that better than anyone. The fact that those two could live peacefully in Japan was undoubtedly thanks to the power of money.

I pulled out my smartphone and sent an email to Mugen-san.

[I'm considering selling the Spirit Stone, but what are you going to use it for?]

The reply came almost instantly.

[Insurance for if my family gets injured or sick. I won't use it for anything weird, so don't worry. Actually, in this day and age, it would be dangerous to use it openly anyway.]

I see. Mugen-san's house was a big family, after all.

With one Spirit Stone, most diseases of this era could likely be cured. It was, essentially, the super-science of the future.

Another email followed:

[PS. I'll handle the taxes on this end, so don't sweat it.]

Taxes, right... I think if you receive a gift of 100 million yen, about half of it gets taken by the government. The recipient pays it.

Well, a wealthy man like Mugen-san would be well-versed in that kind of know-how, so I'd leave it to him.

Regardless of whether I sold the Spirit Stone, I wasn't going to run out of yen for a while thanks to the 5 million from the platinum sale. I decided to use that capital to rush the opening of the new shop. I was still paying rent on the physical storefront, after all—three gold coins' worth.

I grabbed 300,000 yen in cash and drove to a craft supply store. It was time to buy fabric. While I intended to sell the swords and knives made by Oyakata at the new shop, I naturally planned to continue selling cloth as well.

First, three rolls of satin. The people of Erishe would surely fall head over heels for this luster. I decided to skip the velvet this time.

I also bought two rolls of tartan check cotton, two of madras check, and added some gingham check for good measure. Then came organza and hard tulle. Finally, one roll each of thick and thin denim.

"...I bought too much."

I got a bit carried away. The moment I have a little extra cash, I do this.

I loaded the cloth until the back seat of my light car was full. On the way home, I stopped by a jewelry store and purchased some necklace chains. For things like chains, modern quality is superior. Machine-made items are precise, with little variation in quality. It's especially noticeable with chain links.

Back at home, I hauled the mountain of fabric into my room. This might be just barely enough—or a bit short—for the grand opening. There were many wealthy people in Erishe, and if a rare fabric caught their eye, there was a chance they'd "buy the whole lot". Of course, if that happened, it would be a win.

As a business, selling out is a reason to celebrate. I could restock from Japan as much as I wanted. As long as Mugen-san was willing to buy Spirit Stones, I'd never actually be in the red. I might need some self-restraint, but I should look at this as an opportunity to grow both the business and the Knights.

I pulled an amethyst pendant head from my desk drawer.

It was something I'd acquired back during my "black company" days.

Amethyst is a relatively cheap gemstone, but it was always consistently popular. Part of it was because it's a beautiful stone, but the main reason was likely its high name recognition. I slipped it onto one of the chains I'd bought, and it was complete.

I stepped through the mirror and carried the fabric into the mansion.

"Aurica, is Marina back?"

I asked Aurica, who was cleaning the room.

Marina often spent her mornings training with Rebecca-san and Ion. It was now 11:30 AM, just before noon. It was a toss-up whether she'd be back yet.

"Yes, she returned a little while ago. She should be in the stables right now."

"Thanks."

In the stables, Marina was brushing her horse. She was talking to the animal as she gently brushed its back. She hadn't noticed me yet.

Watching her diligently tend to her horse in clothes she didn't mind getting dirty, a bit of a mischievous urge sprouted in me. I wanted to grab her from behind and say, "Guess who~?"

...No, that would just make me a creepy, sexually harassing old man.

I had to restrain myself. I was about to give her a gift, so I should try to look cool.

"Good work, Marina."

"Aruji-dono! Good work to you too! Are we going out? If so, please wait just a moment while I prepare!"

Marina spun around and shouted. She seemed to think I was taking a horse somewhere.

"No, I'm not going out yet. We can go after lunch."

"Is that so? Then, what can I do for you?"

"I have business with you. Um. This... I promised you this before—a necklace. Since I ended up using that first Spirit Stone. It's not exactly a replacement, but..."

I pulled the necklace case from my pocket and opened it for her to see. A simple necklace with a deep purple amethyst sparkling inside.

"Wh-wh-wh... You're giving this to me?!"

Marina's eyes went wide as she stared at it.

In this world, gemstone jewelry is precious. Since, fundamentally, gemstones equal Spirit Stones, their value is immeasurable.

As far as I knew, the only people I'd seen wearing gemstone accessories were Diana, Hetty-san, Efta, Dida, and Mayor Milkpearl-san. Rebecca-san always wore a garnet ring, but that was something I had given her.

"Let me put it on you."

I took the necklace from the case and draped it around Marina's neck.

"Hawawa..."

Marina's body trembled as she looked down, the sparkle of the amethyst pendant reflected in her eyes.

The stone glittered as it caught the light. Amethyst—purple quartz—might be relatively cheap in my world, but its history is long, and it has been prized since ancient times. This specific amethyst was top-grade and quite a decent size.

"Hawawa... hawawa..."

Marina looked away from the stone and gazed straight into my eyes. A very faint "hawawawawa..." leaked from her lips. Her moist eyes looked at me directly, yet they seemed a bit dreamy.

"A-Aruji-dono..."

Marina began to inch closer and closer.

"...Marina has never been this moved before. No, I was moved when I first received my Guidance... but, but, to receive such a treasure from Aruji-dono... to be this happy... it feels like my heart is going to burst..."

Large tears began to overflow from Marina's eyes.

"He-heh. It's embarrassing to have such a tear-streaked face de-arimasu. I'm so happy, yet the tears won't stop de-arimasu."

Marina's face turned red as she laughed sheepishly.

Between her surprise, her crying, her laughter, and her shyness, she was so expressive that it made her incredibly dear to me. That was why I found myself hugging her.

"Ah... Aruji-dono. Marina is... dirty right now..."

"I don't care."

As I held her gently, Marina's body stiffened for a moment with tension. But she quickly relaxed and hesitantly wrapped her arms around my back. She looked up at me with a look of wonder.

"You have a high body temperature, Marina... You're warm."

"...I received a present from Aruji-dono. I'm so happy my body is glowing de-arimasu."

Back at the black company, a senior employee often said that jewelry was always a high-impact gift for a woman, and it seemed that held true in another world as well.

Then again, Rebecca-san always wears the ring I gave her with great care, so I guess that's just how it is. Especially for Marina, who likely never had a chance to receive such a gift, her gratitude was overwhelming.

"........."

"......We're going to be found soon."

"Is it bad if we're found?"

"...I-It's fine to be close to Aruji-dono when everyone is around, but when it's just the two of us like this... it feels like I'm cutting in line... like I'm doing something wrong..."

"I see."

I didn't mind being seen, but it was true that Marina might feel the need to be considerate given her position. She wasn't a slave anymore, so I didn't think she needed to worry about it, but still.

We hugged each other one last time, then laughed awkwardly as we came back to our senses, hurrying away from the spot.

* * *

The opening of the street-front shop was finally approaching.

It would be hard to say the pre-opening promotion was "perfect." Since it was a high-end shop, I needed to get the word out to the wealthy class, but I had missed my chance to network with them during the Knights' parade.

Rebecca-san and Etowa apparently did some promotion on their own, but it had already been over two months since then. I couldn't expect much from it.

We had finished the more modest advertising without any problems—putting up flyers, informing acquaintances and regular customers from the stall about the opening, and so on. I also met Milkpearl-san once and let her know.

Our first job from the Knights' side was also supposed to come through Milkpearl-san, but it would only be after the Hitotsuzuki was over. The monster sites managed by the Erishe government office numbered four, including the forest near Shello-san's house.

Basically, these were outsourced operations, with contracted warriors like Shello-san managing them on-site. However, for the Hitotsuzuki alone, the government allocated a budget to secure warriors.

The warriors were generally recruited from members of the Hunters' Guild, and if about thirty people gathered at a single site, they could get through the Hitotsuzuki without problems.

Once the Hitotsuzuki was over, winter would arrive in earnest, and during that time there would apparently be almost no work that could be assigned to the Knights.

Erishe had such a mild and comfortable climate that I'd underestimated it, but when winter came, it was said to snow heavily. If that much snow fell, there was a chance we wouldn't even be able to leave the mansion. If that happened, we might have to either close the shop or leave it entirely to Etowa and Elepipi, who lived in town.

In any case, it would probably be best to stock winter items at the new store.

* * *

We visited the new shop just before its grand opening.

Both the interior and exterior were complete. The work was done by Shamash-san, and the design closely resembled the house where she had lived in seclusion in Lucraella.

It was an Art Nouveau style—a mysterious, eye-catching design. It stood out particularly well in Erishe, where most buildings were simple, sturdy stone houses. Being a street-level shop in a prime location facing the main boulevard, its visibility was perfect.

Most of the products had already been moved in.

The protective barrier for security was also installed, thanks to a joint effort between Priestess-chan and Shamash-san (though Priestess-chan was incredibly reluctant to work with her). Erishe is generally safe, and the risk of theft is supposedly low, so the barrier was more of an insurance policy than a necessity.

As for the Knights, we've had quite a few applications for new members.

I had originally distributed recruitment flyers in a few places, mainly the temple, but the parade seems to have had a real impact. Applications from women with the "Knight" vocation have been trickling in to Priestess-chan. Some are even applying from outside Erishe.

Erishe is a special commercial district, so outsiders can't easily live here, but it's a different story if I hire them. Since I'm technically a formal guild member and own a physical shop, I'm allowed to hire people from outside the district for employment purposes.

Simply wanting to join the Knights might not be enough to live in Erishe. Even now, it seemed that people who had entered the city illegally were occasionally being caught.

I looked at the products lined up on the tables.

There was a corner for fabrics and another where the knives and katanas were displayed. The shop wasn't very large, but there was enough room to eventually sell winter gear. I had also prepared a salon area where customers could relax. I was thinking of serving snacks from Earth there.

"Boss. What should we do about the prices?"

Etowa asked.

I intended to put her in charge as the manager of the new shop as well.

"It's a high-end boutique. I've checked out the shops in Erishe that are considered high-end, so I guess we can just follow their lead for the fabric prices."

"Understood. Then the problem is the katanas. These are so unique I can't even imagine a price. I feel like ten gold coins would be cheap, but I also feel like no one would buy them at ten gold coins."

"I know what you mean... but we don't have to force a sale. We'll just market them toward the nobility and set a high price. They took a lot of effort to make, and we're definitely the only shop in this world selling them."

Strictly speaking, it was possible that katanas existed as relics from the Spirit Civilization—the game era. Japanese swords appear in almost every RPG, after all.

But there was no point in worrying about that.

Even if they looked similar, these weren't 1,000-year-old relics; they were brand-new items forged by a modern blacksmith. They were different from the fabrics I brought from Japan.

"Let's see... it's a bit steep, but how about ten gold coins for a tantō and thirty gold coins for an uchigatana?"

"Y-You're... really going for it, Boss."

"That's about what Japanese swords actually cost."

Ten gold coins is about 1.5 million yen ($10,000+). Thirty gold coins is roughly 4.5 million yen ($30,000+).

For example, if you buy a modern sword directly from a swordsmith in Japan, an uchigatana supposedly costs between 1.5 and 3 million yen. Even for an old blade considered a "famous sword," you can buy something quite decent for 4.5 million yen.

Any price higher than that and you're entering the realm of art pieces with historical value—Important Cultural Properties or National Treasures. So, about 5 million yen is a realistic upper limit for a single sword. It's expensive, but it's fine to be aggressive with the pricing. We only need a few eccentric nobles to buy them.

"Then, Boss, preparations before the opening are almost complete. Do you think... customers will come?"

"At first, it'll mostly be window shoppers. But it'll be fine. Our merchandise is genuine and one-of-a-kind. If anything, I'm more afraid of too many people coming."

"Then once things settle down, should we switch to a membership system?"

"I've been thinking about that too. In the end, we won't know until we open. If wealthy customers don't come at all, these prices won't make for a viable business."

That was the thing. We wouldn't know how the new store would perform until it actually opened.

In theory, it should succeed, but unfortunately, I didn't have any acquaintances among the extremely wealthy nobility.

Mayor Milkpearl-san is technically a noble, but she's so upright and frugal that she doesn't seem like the type to buy expensive fabrics, so she wasn't a great reference point.

Regardless, the opening date is the day after tomorrow.

I don't expect it to be a massive success immediately, but I hope it brings in enough profit to support the Knights. I'll be keeping the roadside stall going too, so I want to interview the new Knight candidates, increase the staff, and handle both.

Things are about to get even busier.