Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 93

One morning, while drinking tea with a frown on my face, Sara says, “Kenji, you look really stressed lately! Aren’t you eating properly?”

It is true that I have been overworking myself recently. Running a business is like a marathon; you can’t keep up a sprinting pace forever. Maybe I should take a break and occasionally indulge in some leisure… but in this world, there aren’t many enjoyable activities.

The food isn’t particularly good, and I’m not in the mood for gambling. Work is gambling enough. Maybe I’ll just drink. Well, I do have ale from time to time. But buying women… that doesn’t seem right.

“So I guess I have no hobbies.”

Five years in this world, initially just surviving was a struggle. As an adventurer, I fought desperately just to stay alive. Even after starting the company, I continued working desperately under threat of death. Just thinking about it makes me sad.

“Let’s take the morning off today! Kenji, you need to buy some clothes too!”

Sara’s comment makes me look at my own attire. I am wearing a simple tunic and trousers, standard adventurer clothing in this world. I have a longsword at my waist, a dagger in my pocket, and a Sword Fangs Legion armlet on my arm.

“Is this outfit not good enough?”

“Of course it’s not! Kenji, you’re a sub-captain now!”

There’s a reason why Sara calls me a sub-captain. At first, I tried to have everyone call me “President” since it’s a company, but the term didn’t catch on because no one had heard it before. The largest civilian organizations they knew were mercenary groups or adventurer clans. In those, the leader is called a “Captain.”

However, the Sword Fangs Legion had reservations about using “Captain” because, for them, the only and absolute Captain is Jilboa. So, the term “sub-captain” becomes established as a designation for someone below the Captain but not a Vice-Captain.

Though it doesn’t matter as long as it fits the role, I’m still uneasy being called “sub-captain.” Every morning when I enter the workshop, the artisans greet me with “Good morning, sub-captain!” and I can’t help but wonder when I became the leader of a mercenary group.

Nonetheless, Sara and the workshop staff seem to like the term “sub-captain.” The door to my messy office has a sign that reads “Sub-Captain’s Office.”

“Kenji, as a sub-captain, you must be meeting with nobles and big merchants, right? You can’t go around dressed like this!”

I think to myself that Sara, being a former adventurer from a rural village, probably doesn’t know much about fashionable attire for nobles or wealthy merchants, but I also have to go out, so it’s perfect.

I leave the management of the workshop to Gorgoro and ask my bodyguard Kiriku to accompany me. With Sara as my guide, we head to a clothing store in the second district.

Since I have never experienced choosing and buying ordinary clothes in this world, I find it quite interesting. In a world where casual wear for ordinary citizens doesn’t exist, most clothes are second-hand. People of noble families who can afford new clothes usually have tailors come to their homes to make garments.

That said, there is still some fluidity in social class here. New nobles who have achieved great deeds, merchants who have expanded their businesses, and adventurers who have befriended nobles all experience some level of social advancement. These individuals, even though they have money and skill, often lack the accumulated sense of propriety and formality.

On the other hand, there are those who fall from grace. Among the assets sold off are items like furniture, clothing, and jewelry, which those moving between social classes need.

Where there is demand, there is supply, and there are trading companies that handle such goods. Guided by Sara, we head to one of these companies that deal with second-hand items and clothing.

When I ask how she knows about such a store, Sara mentions that Kiriku told her. The Sword Fangs Legion has recently grown rapidly, and not just Jilboa but also Vice-Captain Swiberry are being invited to feasts attended by nobles and big merchants. They often find themselves short of appropriate clothing for their guards, so they started using such stores.

Kiriku originally came from a trading company, so he seems to have local knowledge of such business dealings.

Thus, we end up trying on clothes at the store…

“…It seems like none of these look good on me,” I say.

“Shut up! You’re the one who chose them!” Sara retorts.

Despite trying on various outfits, none seem to suit me. Trying a top adventurer look, I lack the gravitas; trying a young merchant look, I come off as too rough; and trying a new noble look, I seem lacking in refinement.

It’s as if it’s hard to tell what kind of person I am.

Anyway, if that’s the case, I’ll buy some young merchant clothes.

In any case, I decide to purchase an outfit that resembles a young merchant’s style. There might be opportunities to directly engage with nobles or big merchants in the future.

It’s not a cheap purchase, but considering it as an expense for business attire, it’s necessary.

“Well then, shall we stop by Kwan Workshop for a bit?”

“Huh? Aren’t the deliveries already done for today?” Sara asks curiously.

Lately, Sara has been checking the delivery lists and is familiar with the movement of the shoes.

Listening to her confident voice, I reply, “Well, there are some prototype samples for personal use,” and we head to Kwan’s workshop.

When we arrive at the workshop, I greet the sales representative, Anor, and ask him to bring the box containing the prototype shoes. Like the other products, the shoes are in a wooden box branded with Gorgoro Workshop’s insignia, but this box has red lines dyed into it.

We sit in the customer waiting room, and Sara opens the box. As Sara cautiously opens the wooden box, inside are the Guardian Shoes, painted red and slightly smaller than the usual size.

“Wow, they’re so cute! These are women’s shoes, aren’t they?” Sara exclaims.

“Yes. These are prototype Guardian Shoes made for female adventurers. How about trying them on?” I suggest.

“Can I really try them on?”

“Yeah.”

Sara has never worn protective shoes before. All the previous products have been for men, so they don’t fit her. After trying on the shoes and performing various movements like jumping and kicking to see how they feel, she tries to take them off, but I stop her.

“Why? Can’t I take them off?”

“No, those shoes are yours. I intended to give you the first pair of women’s shoes. Thanks for everything so far.”

Sara’s support has been the catalyst for me starting my business, and it’s thanks to her that I’m able to run it. I want to express my gratitude by giving her the shoes.

Upon receiving the shoes, Sara says with a smile, “You should have told me from the start! If I had known, I wouldn’t have kicked the wall!”

She hugs the box containing the shoes and seems to appreciate the high-quality socks with frills and the floral-scented leather maintenance oil that I have included.