Volume 2 - CH 17.1

Chapter 2-17 : New Products Ⅲ (part 1)

When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw a woman standing at the entrance of the kitchen.

She was Erin-san, the village mayor’s daughter.

She was around 30 years old, relatively young for a daughter of a very old man. She was about the same age as Marie-san, Lorea-chan’s mother.

Erin-san looked at me with an apologetic look.

「Ah, Sarasa-chan, I’m sorry, did I interrupt you?」(Erin)

「No, not at all. Don’t worry about it.」(Sarasa)

It looked like Erin-san was working in the kitchen just now.

She heard our conversation because the house wasn’t very large.

Well, there’s no problem at all since we’re not talking about anything secret.

Besides, I was planning to ask women who were the same age as Erin-san to make the hats, so it might be best if she participates in this conversation.

「Umm, Erin-san, if you like, I’d like to hear your opinion too.」(Sarasa)

「Okay, but before that… Dad!」(Erin)

After she nodded to me, Erin-san turned to her father and pointed at him while glaring with sharp eyes.

「Wh, What?」(village mayor)

「Why don’t you understand that Sarasa-chan suggested that idea because she really, really cares about this village!? There’s no other jobs with such favorable conditions, you know!」(Erin)

「I, Is that so…?」(village mayor)

The village mayor gave an ambiguous reply. Perhaps he couldn’t deny his daughter after he was told firmly like that.

「Of course!」(Erin)

She answered the village mayor with a strong nod and turned to me.

「Sarasa-chan, the cost to turn the hats into Cooling Hats, in other words 5,000 reas, won’t be charged to me if my hats don’t sell, right?」(Erin)

「Yes, you won’t be charged anything. However, if the hats made by the same person remain unsold for a certain amount of time, I will limit the number of hats they can sell.」(Sarasa)

I can cover a certain amount of loss, but it would be a problem if I kept too many unsold hats.

In response to my reply, Erin nodded to me as if she was convinced.

「I understand. You are the one who will suffer the most if the hats don’t sell after all.」(Erin)

「Why? It’s not that Sarasa-chan will lose money, right?」(village mayor)

「Stupid Dad! It costs 5,000 reas to make a Cooling Hat, you know!? If the hats don’t sell, Sarasa-chan will lose a lot of money! Do you understand!?」(Erin)

After Erin-san answered the village mayor with a strong tone, the village mayor nodded stiffly like a robot to his daughter.

Actually, it won’t cost 5,000 reas if I don’t make any mistakes during the making of the Cooling Hats, and if I include my labor cost, I think 5,000 reas is relatively cheap.

By the way, I was a little worried about how unreliable the village mayor was when the Hellfire Grizzlies were about to attack this village, but it seemed like it was thanks to Erin-san’s support that he managed to do his duty as the village mayor until now.

「Sarasa-chan, I agree that you limit how many items we can sell in your store. If we want to sell new items, we have to buy our unsold items first. How about that?」(Erin)

「I don’t mind but… You will make a loss if you buy your own items, right?」(Sarasa)

「Yeah, but that’s our responsibility for making items that don’t sell. Besides, if we change our perspective, we can buy our own Cooling Hats for just 5,000 reas.」(Erin)

「Well, that’s true since you make the hats yourselves… Ah! I see what you mean…」(Sarasa)

Erin-san looked at me and smiled mischievously.

Looks like Erin-san is a quick-thinking and clever person. I can’t believe that she grew up in this rural village…

Technically speaking, if she has a hat, no matter how and where she gets it, she can get a Cooling Hat for just 5,000 reas if she brings the hat to me.

The Cooling Hats that I sell cost 7,000 reas each, so there will be 2,000 reas difference.

Ordinary hats won’t even cost 2,000 reas, so it’s definitely a great deal.

「I won’t say you can’t do that, but please don’t stop making hats once you get your favorite one. After all, that’s not my purpose for suggesting this idea.」(Sarasa)

「Of course I understand. You want to do this for the sake of this village, right? But… Sarasa-chan, you’re not pushing yourself too much, aren’t you?」(Erin)

「Ah, I’m not. Don’t worry.」(Sarasa)

Actually, it’s not really okay to sell a Cooling Hat for only 5,000 reas.

However, because the materials, which are the fangs of the Ice Fang Bats, can be collected nearby and their selling price is relatively high, I don’t think there will be a problem. Perhaps…

I think I should decide the lowest selling price before I ask Daruna-san to sell the hats outside the village later.

Erin-san looked at me with a worried face, but then she nodded, probably because I didn’t say anything further.

「That’s good then… Anyway, I will talk to some people who seem to be perfect for this job. We only have to bring our hats to your store when they are finished, right?」(Erin)

「Yup.」(Sarasa)

The village mayor turned his gaze toward me and made a face as if saying, “Are you sure you want to leave it to my daughter?”, but then he flusteredly nodded after I smiled at him, telling him to not worry.

「A, Alright then, Sarasa-chan, please proceed with it.」(village mayor)

「Ah, Dad, you don’t have to worry about this matter. From now on, I will handle all the complicated things so you don’t have to do anything. Besides, it will be faster if I’m the one to handle it.」(Erin)

Erin-san? I think that’s kinda rude… You’re talking with your father, you know?

I was worried that the village mayor would lose confidence, but he didn’t seem to mind what his daughter said. He took the cup of tea in front of him and drank with a calm face.

As the village mayor, are you okay with that…?

Well, I have no complaints since talking with Erin-san is much easier than talking with the village mayor.

「Oh, right. I will prepare some hats’ design illustrations, so please come to my store if you want one.」(Sarasa)

「Really!? That’s great! No one is familiar with urban fashion in this village, so an illustration will help a lot. Since you’re from the royal capital, I’m sure you have a good sense of fashion!」(Erin)

While saying that, Erin-san leaned forward toward me and looked at me with glittering eyes.

Even though she grew up in this rural village, Erin-san is still a woman after all, so it’s not strange if she is interested in fashion.

While being pressured by her bright expression, I nodded to her.

「A, Ahaha… Yeah, but don’t expect too much… Anyway, you will be making fancy hats that people in the royal capital usually wear.」(Sarasa)

「Ahh! I’m looking forward to making them! I’m going to talk to the women in the neighborhood now!」(Erin)

「O, Okay… I’m counting on you, Erin-san.」(Sarasa)

「Leave it to me! You can expect some nice-looking hats from us!」(Erin)

Erin-san puffed her chest and tapped it as she said that.

Ahh… I hope it will go well…