Chapter 23: The Officer

“Is this the place?”

“Yes, sir!”

I was enjoying my time with Layette since there were no customers around, when I heard a brisk voice from outside the shop. Most kids would get scared and run away when they saw my face, so it’d been over ten years since I could play with one! What was the harm in spending a little time... Oh, I guess there were more important things at hand, huh.

I had a bad feeling about this... And my “bad feelings” had the unfortunate tendency to be right.

What’s that? It’s not just a “feeling” at this point? Huh, maybe that was why they tended to be right.

“Layette, go hide upstairs.”

“Okay!”

Without hesitation, Layette went running upstairs just as she was told. It wasn’t that I was being cold to her. I’d taught her time and time again that it was important to follow my orders in these situations, because the slightest delay could put me at a disadvantage. In other words, obeying my orders as soon as possible was Layette’s way of showing her loyalty to me.

Cling...

“Is this the shop known as ‘Layette’s Atelier’?”

“Yes it is. Can I help you?”

The man who rang the doorbell as he entered was obviously military personnel; and not just a common foot soldier, but someone higher in rank. There were some more military men behind him... younger in appearance, and clearly a lower rank than him.

“Is the owner here?”

“Yes, that would be me.”

“What...? Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. I’m not asking for the current person in charge, but the main proprietor of the business.”

“As I said, that would be me. Signing the lease, paying the rent, purchasing the goods, selling them, and being harassed by military men is all my responsibility.”

“Wha...”

I wasn’t sure if his second surprised reaction was from the fact that I was the owner, or because he was being talked back to by a child.

“So you’re Layette?”

“No...?”

“““Huh?””” They all had blank expressions on their faces.

I didn’t name it “Layette’s Atelier” instead of “Kaoru’s Atelier” just for this sort of reaction! I think...

“Just don’t think about it too much... It’s just a name!”

I had a feeling he’d demand to see Layette if I told him there was someone else by that name, so I quickly made up an excuse.

“Oh, I see... Then let me ask you something. Can you tell me in detail about the medicine being sold here that cures soldier’s disease?”

Huh? That was what he wanted to ask about? Why was a military officer asking about some plain old medicine for athlete’s foot?

“Well, there’s not much to say, it’s just medicine... The supplier and manufacturing methods are trade secrets. If you’re going to tell me to give those up, I’ll have to ask you about classified military information in return.”

“What! Well... I suppose you have a point.”

I thought he’d get angry with me, but he responded to my coldness with a bitter smile. Maybe he was a surprisingly reasonable person?

“Then let me change the question. Is it possible to purchase this medicine in bulk?”

If he was here for business, that was another story.

Customer service smile, customer service smile... Why are they all pulling back? Pisses me off!

...Well, I’m used to it by now, having lived with this face for twenty-seven years.

“Certainly, though my supplier does have a limit. Oh, and the army will not be able to replicate it. Even if they learn the manufacturing method, we certainly aren’t making excessive profits with these prices. If you gather the ingredients, separate them, boil them, refine them, mix them, then boil them again all at the army, it will likely be much more costly than purchasing the stock here. Though I doubt you’d know how to find the herbs required to make it in the first place. You’d need to know not just the region, but which trees to check, or whether they’re at the riverside, in the forest, at mountain top, or in the sandy soil...”

“I suspected as much. It was highly doubtful you were making much profit at all, selling them at three small silver coins a bottle. In fact, you’re in the red with just the price of the bottles alone... Though I’m sure the cheap ones are for gaining publicity, and serve as bait to get them to buy the more expensive medicine...”

Wow, impressive! He read into the excuse I’d prepared in case someone asked about this! Well, I supposed anyone could figure that out, unless they were an idiot.

I’d considered raising the prices and offering partial refunds for trading in the bottles, but decided against it. I didn’t want to take back any bottles they touched with the same hands rubbing all over their athlete’s foot! Who in their right mind would?! I was helping them with the cheapest option by providing a relief measure for those who didn’t have much money anyway.

Hm? How was I helping them when I’d be draining money from them for the rest of their lives? Because I’d be giving them motivation to work in order to buy more medicine. Be a NEET no more! I was helping them greatly by giving them that extra push. It was a certified act of charity.

It’d also help my financial situation at the same time, so the relief measure went both ways.

“Though even three silver coins isn’t expensive by any means. The bottle priced at three silver coins would recoup the losses from the lowest tier, then the customer works their way up to the bottle priced at one small gold coin, where you must be gaining your profits...”

Such an astute analysis! He wasn’t an officer for nothing!

...Too bad he was completely wrong. Though I figured no one could create unlimited bottles and medicine for free, so I couldn’t blame him.

“Ahaha, well... Oh, that reminds me. If too much of the medicine is being made, the plants necessary to make the medicine may be wiped out in this region. That may force me to relocate in search of a new place to harvest the ingredients...”

The officer visibly frowned. Just how much of it was he planning to buy...?

In any case, that should’ve prevented him from placing orders in unreasonable quantities or asking about the manufacturing method. Good thing I’d come up with excuses beforehand just in case...

“Then how many bottles can you provide per day?”

“What? Per day?”

That’d be rather inconvenient. Making the medicine wasn’t an issue, but I’d already told the other customers purchases were limited to two per person, and it’d be annoying to deal with a mob of soldiers coming to my shop every day.

What to do...

Oh, I had something to ask first.

“Um, are you the military officers for the royal army?”

I had to confirm who these soldiers were. Hopefully they were part of the medical team of the royal army. If not...

“Ah, I apologize. I’d been asking so many questions without even introducing myself. I’m the second battalion commander of the royal army, Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas. These two are my corporals, Tyde and Mericus.”

“What...?”

I was aghast. Not only was he not part of the medical unit, judging by his title, but...

“U-Um, how many battalions does the royal army have? And how many officers are...”

If I’d asked these questions of military personnel on Earth, I may have been questioned under suspicion of being a spy. But in this world, the number of soldiers wasn’t something you could really hide, and it was something to be flaunted with pride rather than be kept a secret. The citizens of the kingdom and neighboring countries were sure to know this information already, so I doubted it’d be a problem now.

“Ah, the royal army consists of ten battalions, totaling 10,000 men. Though a little less than half of them aren’t combat personnel but support troops, such as transport soldiers and administrative officers.”

As expected, the lieutenant colonel seemed unconcerned as he described the size of the army. He seemed to realize I knew next to nothing about the army and went into great detail for me too. Maybe he thought this would be necessary knowledge for doing business in the royal capital and was lecturing me out of kindness, or maybe he realized why I was asking the question...

It was probably the latter. He must have suspected what I’d be asking next.

The lieutenant colonel explained that in the royal army, squads consisted of nine soldiers, which was the smallest type of unit. Forty men consisting of four squads, a platoon leader, and three assisting corporals made up a platoon. Four platoons made up one company, and 640 men consisting of four companies plus personnel from the command division and supporting personnel made up one battalion. There were ten battalions, from the first to tenth. He also added that there were other divisions such as transportation, training, instruction, and other such supporting and subsidiary branches. With all of those people combined, there were about 10,000 in total. There were ten times the number of citizens they had to look after.

Though this wasn’t just any capital city, but the royal capital itself. Goods, money, and personnel came in from throughout the kingdom. The king had direct control over the area and the army here, and the royal army had to protect more than just the royal capital. The troops headed by the lords of each region were unique in a variety of ways. The lieutenant colonel’s explanation had confirmed my apprehensions.

“So this means the royal army has nine other battalions, with nine battalion commanders, who are of equal rank as you...? Would there be a chance they’d all come to this shop demanding the remedy for soldier’s disease?”

“Absolutely. I doubt they would come in person, but I can say with certainty they would send over their subordinates.”

“Whaaat!”

What nonsense is he saying with such a straight face?!

“D-Does this mean I’m going to have this conversation nine more times? With people who will insist I prioritize sending medicine to them?”

“Oh, I’m sure of it. We may be a part of the same army, but each battalion is a rival to one another. We would all want to secure any good product for ourselves. And this wouldn’t be limited to battalion units; I assume companies and platoons will come in individually as well.”

“Whaaat?!”

This was bad...

This lieutenant colonel seemed respectable enough, but I suspected there were people in the army who were pushy and believed every citizen should automatically obey them. If people like that began demanding I supply them with all my medicine, it’d be difficult to deal with. Not to mention that my shop would be saturated with soldiers if even a small unit of them decided to visit at once. I didn’t want to get involved in all this, and I definitely didn’t want to deal with arguments between different units.

A civil war within the royal army. The cause? Medicine for athlete’s foot. The girl who was the root of all this gets executed as a spy from another kingdom.

Arrrgh!

I began panicking at the horrifying thought as the lieutenant colonel spoke to me.

“Don’t worry. This is why I, a battalion commander, took my time coming here in person. The other units will likely send over a corporal or someone of a similar rank, so you can tell them you’re making deliveries under the order of Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas, the second battalion commander, and direct them to me. I doubt anyone would be willing to challenge you after that. As well, I don’t plan on hoarding it all for myself. I will distribute it to everyone else for the base price. I would only ask the other battalions for small favors in other fields.”

...How dirty! So this must have been how he climbed the ranks in the army!

But something just came across my mind...

“Um, what if someone from another unit came in as a normal customer instead of a representative of the army?”

“What?”

“What?”

““Whaaat?!””

It seemed the lieutenant colonel wasn’t so impressive after all...

After discussing it further with him, I ended up deciding to deny any customers who would try to buy in bulk as a representative of their unit, and anyone who came to purchase as an individual would be limited to two bottles. He agreed to put out an official notice stating soldiers could only purchase the soldier’s disease medicine through military channels. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to deal with the long line of soldiers that would surely form in front of my shop every day. There may be those who would sneakily buy some in civilian clothes, but I didn’t mind if it were just a few of them. So long as they didn’t obstruct my business, they wouldn’t be too big of a problem.

If they did do something like that, their colleagues, seniors, and superiors would find out and punish them, so I doubted many would attempt it. The lieutenant colonel said they could get medicine and treatments from the military medical unit for free, so there shouldn’t be too many people willing to go through all that just to spend money out of their pocket. I didn’t know how reliable the predictions of a “noble-born elite field officer” were, but all I could do was pray he was right.

As well, I’d make deliveries for orders made by the second battalion once a week. It was a bit hard to sell in bulk at my shop after explicitly saying we were a retailer and not wholesale, since I had to consider how it’d make me look. Besides, I wanted to go out and about sometimes instead of being cooped up in my shop all the time.

Though secretly, I was thinking how the military HQ would probably have plenty young, elite soldiers, and meeting a bunch of people could be beneficial for finding someone to marry. It’d also be helpful for my safety if soldiers memorized my face and decided they wanted to protect me.

Very helpful indeed...

If something were to happen to me, the supply of their medicine would be cut off. They probably would’ve ignored me if some punk was bothering me on the streets, but they’d definitely help me out if they knew me.

Wait, does this mean the 10,000 men in the royal army would be my personal bodyguards? This is too amazing! Roland and the others are unneeded now! Muahaha!

“I’ll be counting on you then!”

With that, the colonel lieutenant and his men departed. Right after, Roland and Francette entered.

“Was there trouble?”

It seemed Roland had been watching over me from outside the whole time. He was probably going to charge in if anything happened to me.

I’m sorry for thinking you were useless.

“It’s okay, just business talk. Thanks.”

I’d at least give him some words of appreciation. I didn’t know how long he’d been out there, after all. Francette could’ve even been out there all night... Just kidding, ahaha...

Wait a minute... Francette? What’s with that sleepy-looking face and yawn just now? And those bags under your eyes?!

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! L-Let’s just go ahead and drink some of this, Fran. No, no, just shut up and drink it!

In the evening...

A carriage seemed to stop in front of the store. Then customers entered.

“...Hey, is there where that soldier’s disease medicine is being sold?”

A married couple who were obviously nobility and seemed to be about thirty or so, and their two attendants came inside.

“Yes, can I help you...?”

I missed my chance to have Layette flee upstairs. With no other option left, I tapped her head as a signal to have her keep quiet and fade into the background.

“All right, give me everything you’ve got. You will be sending everything you get in stock from here on as well. The price will be for 30% off.”

“I decline.”

“Good. Then first, give me... H-Huh?”

The customer’s eyes went wide as if he hadn’t expected a mere commoner to dare deny his order. He was probably planning to monopolize my medicine and sell it to the army for a profit or use it for some sort of political advantage... But wait, why would some freakin’ medicine for athlete’s foot be so important?! Were we talking about strategic materials for war here?

In any case, no way was I letting him take off 30% just like that. Sure, I didn’t have any cost of goods, but that was just by coincidence. Now that I considered myself a merchant, I wasn’t going to let him walk all over me like that. Haggling was a part of business transactions, so I was willing to oblige, though whether we would strike a deal was a different story.

Trying to force a deal was out of the question. Completely unacceptable.

I’d be putting an end to that real fast. I could hardly call myself a merchant if I ever accepted such a thing. I only spent about half a year working in my previous life, but I had a high sense of pride for my work and camaraderie for my colleagues.

“H-How dare you! You think you can get away with opposing...”

“Bulk purchases of the medicine for soldier’s disease is being handled by Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas of the royal army’s second battalion. Please direct any such inquiries to him. I’d also like to add that we have an agreement so any actions that would obstruct the army’s purchase of medicine will be reported to the lieutenant colonel, and he will be taking care of any such issues...”

“Wh-What?! You mean Lieutenant Colonel Nevas von Vonsas, third son of Count Vonsas...?”

“I’m not familiar with his full name, but yes, it is Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas, the second battalion leader.”

The nobles went silent for some time, then turned around to leave. But I quickly called after them.

“Excuse me, madam, would you care for some hair wash or facial remedies while you’re here?”

“What?”

I wasn’t keen on making too many enemies, so I didn’t really want them to leave in a bad mood. Plus, I wanted to take the opportunity to start selling the cosmetic stuff that had been sitting on the shelf. I was pretty confident that once people began buying and using such products, they’d serve as real-world advertisements and lead to even more sales.

“This medicine removes dirt from your hair and makes it silky smooth, and this one makes your skin soft and moisturized! With these, you can regain the youthfulness in your skin!”

I gave the wife a sales pitch you might hear from a cosmetics salesperson at some department store. She was about that age where women began worrying about their declining skin condition.

She paused. “I do wonder if you’re telling the truth... Do you understand what would happen if you deceive a noble? You wouldn’t be forgiven just because you are a child.”

It sounded too good to be true... A small-time shop being tended by a child couldn’t possibly have such a miracle medicine...

Even with these thoughts in mind, it seemed she couldn’t resist my enticing words. The fact that her noble husband took his time to visit my shop probably helped support the notion that it sold medicine of value as well.

I left Layette behind the counter and walked out to the floor of the shop. “Please look at my hair.”

The wife looked at my head with a dubious expressed, ran her fingers through my hair, then moved in closer to smell it.

“H-Hey, what are you...”

Ignoring her husband’s words, she stroked my face, rubbed it, then squeezed it between her fingers. My smooth skin wasn’t due to skin care products though; it was due to my youth, being in a fifteen-year-old’s body. I didn’t even use any skin care products in the first place. That stuff wasn’t really needed until about age eighteen or so.

But there was no need to tell her such things, so I stayed quiet. It wasn’t my fault she made the wrong assumption, and my skin care products were effective, so what was the harm?

“I will purchase them. Bring me a full set.”

“H-Hey, shouldn’t we...”

“Calamus, pay her.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Hey...”

The transaction was done with the husband being completely ignored...

Shampoo, conditioner, skin lotion, serum, milky lotion, and some cream. Since they were for a noble, the products all came in artistic crystal glass containers. I even included a free small bottle of perfume as a bonus.

“That will be six small gold coins. The instructions on how to use them are written here. The amount and order of usage are listed there, so please be sure to follow them.”

“Very well. I certainly hope they’re effective, for the sake of your life...”

My, what a scary old lady!

But I’d succeeded in sowing the seeds for selling more skin care products. All I had to do now was wait for word of mouth to spread!

The nobles left without me even learning their names, and I thought it was about time to close shop for the day. But just as I was about to do so, two soldiers entered. They seemed to be a commissioned officer and a corporal.

“I’d like to purchase the soldier’s disease medicine in bulk...”

Oh, here we go again...

I guess I’d have to deal with these types of people until the lieutenant colonel could get to all of them...

He must have been fast to act and quick-witted for someone of his rank to come here in person, and so soon too... But he did end up saving me a great deal of trouble, so I guess I was thankful. Though he was doing it for his own merits and not out of the kindness of his heart. I guess it was what you’d call a mutually beneficial relationship.

Too bad these guys took the time to come here, when all I’d give them was the rejection speech. I suppose I could at least sell them two bottles each though. The lieutenant colonel’s notice probably hasn’t gotten around to them yet.

Now I can just look forward to more shampoo and cosmetics being sold and go on with running the business...

At that time, I hadn’t realized...

There was no way a noble woman would go around spreading the secret of how to preserve her beauty, and that this was clearly the type of secret she’d try to keep for herself. The shampoos and cosmetic products didn’t seem to be selling at all, and it took me quite some time to realize this.

Damn it!

＊　　　＊

“Hey, lady, want me to hold your groceries for you?”

A boy who seemed to be about seven or eight years old approached me on my way back from buying vegetables at the market. He may have been of a western ethnicity, but he was still smaller than me, considering his age.

It was true that it was a bit tough carrying the massive quantity of food like radishes and cabbages, but this wasn’t my first time doing it and it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Using the Item Box would have made it a breeze, but I didn’t intend on abusing it. I was concerned about being spotted using it too.

The first time I went shopping at the market, Francette appeared out of nowhere and offered to carry my groceries, so I shooed her away in a fluster. A little girl making a knight carry her things would’ve stood out like a sore thumb. That would’ve been a surefire way to attract some unwanted attention.

Anyway... this boy surely wasn’t offering out of the kindness of his heart.

“I’ll do it for just two bronze coins!”

Yeah, thought so...

Two bronze coins would be about twenty yen. With the prices here, doing it three to four times would earn enough to buy one radish. That’d be enough food to feed a family of four, meaning four people would be able to live another day.

“All right, hired!”

“Thanks!”

I talked to the boy about various things on our way to my shop. Speaking to people of his status was quite interesting and offered valuable intel. They tended to tell it like it was without unnecessarily worrying about propriety and such.

“...That’s why we don’t really get to eat till we’re full much of the time, so we’re working to earn money too!”

Our conversation had moved on to the boy’s personal life. According to him, he lived at an orphanage. He wasn’t belittling himself or trying to get some sympathy; he was just telling the simple facts. Even then, his words seemed to contain the sentiment of, “Someone as rich-looking as you probably has no idea what this life is like.”

“An orphanage, huh... I had kids at my place who used to be orphans too. Neither of them could get into an orphanage so they lived in an abandoned building and nearly died a bunch of times because they didn’t eat anything for days. Ahaha!”

“Wha...” The boy stopped walking.

“I’m all alone in this world too, but I hired them to work for me... Why’d you stop walking? Is something wrong...?”

If you lived in an orphanage, you were already fortunate enough. Just as there were those with more in the world, there were also those with less. The slight differences in the starting point wasn’t a big deal in the end. This boy must’ve considered himself unfortunate for being an orphan, which wasn’t wrong.

However, there were countless people in the world who were less fortunate than him. The important thing to consider was if they were unhappy one day, would they be unhappy the next? Would they be unhappy the day after that? What about ten years later? Twenty years?

It’s not yet time to be flustered. Nor is it time for sorrow. That’s all there was to it...

“Oh, we’re here. This is my shop.”

The boy seemed a little surprised as he saw “Layette’s Atelier.” I gave him his two bronze coins, then he returned to the marketplace. He was probably going to go find his next customer. I prayed he’d continue on the righteous path instead of turning to pickpocketing like Emile and Belle used to do...

“Oh, Emile, could you make some deliveries with Belle for me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure. What do you need me to deliver, and where?”

Emile was finally learning not to instinctively speak to me in a formal manner even when I talked to him out of nowhere. I was glad the distance between us seemed to be closing in.

＊　　　＊

The next day, they loaded up the cart they’d borrowed from a neighboring shop, and Emile and Belle departed from Layette’s Atelier. Their destination was the orphanage Kaoru had heard about from the boy yesterday. The cart was loaded with some of the vast stockpile Kaoru had stored within her Item Box. Roland and Francette would sometimes hunt for rabbits, deer, or boars while they were camping, and whatever they caught were being kept within the box.

As soon as Emile and Belle arrived at their destination, they were surrounded by a large group of orphan children. It was still early, so it was before they went out to try and earn some coin. It was also quite rare for outsiders, young ones nonetheless, to visit bringing such a great amount of goods, which was why they’d come out in such numbers.

An aging woman, who seemed to be the director, and several other caretakers appeared in a fluster. Emile pointed at the cargo and stated, “These are from Lady Kaoru.”

It wasn’t an issue for him to address his employer as such. Every adult besides Kaoru, Roland, and Francette were enemies. This was what Emile believed, and even if these people were there to help the orphans, he couldn’t help that his speech became stiff when talking to them. He could compartmentalize speaking to those at the Hunters’ Guild as work, but he ended up coming off as curt when it came to dealing with adult strangers like this.

“...Kaoru?”

“The person with the scary eyes,” Belle cut in to reply to the director’s question.

Then a boy’s voice responded. “Oh, is she the one who hired me yesterday?”

“Yes, she did mention she hired someone to carry her groceries from the marketplace.”

“I knew it...”

The key phase of “scary eyes” was enough to identify Kaoru in all of the royal capital. It was extremely convenient.

At the same time, however, Belle and the boy were very rude to do so.

“So, Lady Kaoru instructed us to deliver this as a gift to all of you.”

The children cheered in response to Belle’s words, and began swarming all around the cart. The adults tried to stop them, but it was a futile effort.

A whole deer, horned rabbits, fruits, and more were taken from the cart. Cheap, bulky-looking vegetables and fish that were cheap due to being bought at a coastal city had been omitted. It was mainly meat and fruits that they’d rarely be able to eat otherwise. The deer hadn’t even had its intestines removed, but it was still as fresh as the day it was hunted due to being stored in the Item Box. Of course, this meant the intestines were also edible as well. There was no way the orphanage would throw out some perfectly good, fresh intestines.

“““Oooooohhh!”””

A deer. Not a monster like an orc or forest wolf. An actual deer! Even the adults raised their voices in admiration. That was just how rare and valuable of a feast a deer would provide.

They could purchase five kilograms of orc meat rather than one kilogram of deer meat for the same price. This went without saying. This was why deer meat would never be served at the orphanage; there was just no way.

“Everyone, it’s time for a song! A song and dance of appreciation for Goddess Celestine!” the director called out, then the children surrounded the cart and began performing a strange dance.

And so, the orphanage was in a state of chaos.

“...I want to go home.”

At a loss at what to do, Emile muttered. Belle nodded in agreement. But they still had to return the cart they had borrowed. To do that, they had to wait for the dance to finish...

The two stood there, and one of the boys spoke up.

“Is it true you two were orphans?”

It was the boy Kaoru had hired.

“...Yes. Belle and I were orphans when we were young. Orphanages were paradise compared to how we grew up. There were seven of us, crawling on the ground and licking mud, just barely managing to survive, like insects... Every year, more would join us, and every year, several of us would die. That’s what our life was like. That is, until the day we met Lady Kaoru...”

Emile looked off into the distance.

“Please tell me! How did you manage it? How did you become a full-fledged hunter with such impressive equipment so quickly as an orphan? How did an orphan like Kaoru end up owning a shop like that?!”

Before he knew it, the singing had stopped, and the other children were surrounding Emile and Belle.

So many eyes, staring right at him...

H-Help me, Belle!

Emile turned around to find Belle had quietly stepped away to put more distance between them.

“Beeelle!”

And so, Emile began desperately trying to provide an explanation that made sense, while maintaining that Kaoru was just an ordinary girl. It was certainly difficult to explain Kaoru’s story without her goddess powers or her title as an angel.

Lady Kaoru, I’m sorryyy!

＊　　　＊

It had been five days after I made a deal with Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas to deliver medicine for him. It was about time I could tell him I’d received my bulk order from my “manufacturer,” so I decided to go deliver the medicine. I’d already paid an orphan child to go deliver the message, so the appointment was set.

It was common to hire orphan children as messengers, and they wouldn’t possibly do a halfhearted job and risk the reputation of their orphanage. This much was obvious, considering no one would trust orphans with such jobs in the future if their reputation was tarnished. That’s why they were much more reliable than asking some random adult to do it.

Besides, I was used to asking the orphanage to complete jobs for me. I’d done so with the children of the Eyes of the Goddess.

Now that I thought about it, Emile and Belle were orphans too. They couldn’t get into an orphanage, had no food, couldn’t get medicine when they got sick, had lice, and were uncertain whether they’d live the next day. Though that was hard to imagine now...

But ever since I sent them to the orphanage, the orphans had sure taken a liking to me... I’d occasionally send them food, so maybe they appreciated me as a sponsor or patron, or some sort of generous supporter. There were usually some orphans on standby in front of my place, but there had to be a better place than that...

Not to mention that the gate guards of the army wouldn’t turn away orphan messengers. They were aware those children would take on such jobs, and some soldiers used to be orphans themselves. There were even some orphans who’d lost parents who used to be soldiers. Very few soldiers mistreated them for that very reason.

In any case, the message of my delivery had been communicated to them already. I was also bringing Layette with me of course. This was part of my plan to get recognized by some soldiers so they’d help me later, so there was no reason not to bring her.

Yes, the idea was to make them think Layette and I were to be protected if they didn’t want their supply of medicine to be cut off. Even if Layette wasn’t directly involved in the creation of the medicine, if I ever caught wind of a soldier seeing her in trouble but ignoring it...

I was going to make sure the lieutenant colonel knew what I’d think if such a thing ever happened. Oh yes, I’d tell him in great detail.

Now, the problem was the quantity of medicine to be delivered. It would be suspicious if I brought too much, and he’d complain if I brought too little. Striking the right balance was the difficult part.

I’d only be delivering the ones priced at three silver coins and three small gold coins. He thought I was losing money on the three small silver coin ones, and it’d be a problem if I gave the army medicine that only prevented the issue from getting worse instead of curing it.

It took about a month for the silver coin one to cure the condition, while the small gold coin one took about five days. The amount of time varied based on factors such as the degree of the condition upon starting the treatment, the user’s body chemistry, and the method of application. In terms of amount, it required about forty applications for the toes on both feet. I overestimated the amount to make sure it’d be cured with one bottle.

Though the silver coin one could require more than a bottle if the condition spread further from the toes or the medicine was applied poorly. This was part of the reason as to why I limited purchases to two bottles per person. So the silver coin one should’ve been enough for one person a bottle, and the small gold coin one should’ve been usable for about eight people per bottle. Although it was ten times the price, it could be used on eight times the people and took less time to cure, so I thought it was pretty fair.

For the first delivery, I settled on seventy-two bottles of the three small gold coin, and twenty-four bottles of the three silver coin medicine. Each box contained twenty-four bottles, four boxes in all. Doing the math, 72 x 8 + 24 equaled 600 people total. Ten deliveries would provide for 6,000 people. I doubted every soldier needed treatment, so they probably wouldn’t need that many.

Yeah, that should do it.

Once most of them were cured, I’d sell some more to anyone with recurring symptoms.

...Wait, my sales for this batch will be twenty-two gold coins, three small gold coins and two silver coins? Whaaa?!

I need to open a bank account... Wait, there’s no such thing here! I’ll go to the Merchants’ Guild... Wait, what about my Item Box? C-Calm down, me!

The reason I was bringing more of the small gold coin one was because I wanted to decrease the number of patients as soon as possible, considering there were so many of them. Surely it was important to make it seem like I needed stock for retail sales, but I was prioritizing the good stuff for the army.

Okay, let’s go!

I held hands with Layette and began walking toward the army facility, located near the northern gate of the royal capital. The military-related buildings and facilities were located on the inner side of the outer walls, but the training grounds, which required much more space, were located outside. I mean, if there was ever conflict there may be a siege, so it only made sense to have military facilities inside the walls. In the case of a conflict, they’d go directly outside from the northern gate instead of through the city, but if they weren’t short on time or if they wanted to increase morale, they’d march through the city and out through the southern gate.

Hm, I guess they do bother to use their brains...

I put twenty-four bottles in each of the four boxes, then put two boxes each into two bags and carried one on each shoulder.

Uuugh, so heavy...

Roland and Francette followed from behind, pretending not to know me. I think they were worrying a bit too much. It was still morning in the middle of the main road, and I was heading to the army headquarters. You couldn’t really get much safer than that.

How was I supposed to have privacy if they worried and followed me everywhere I went? I wouldn’t even be able to go on a date in peace. Not that I had anyone to go on a date with...

When I arrived at the main gate, they let me pass right away. It seemed they were aware of my arrival, as there was actually a guide waiting for us there. Though I guess they couldn’t just have us wandering around without knowing where to go, and it wasn’t like we could use a phone to call someone over, which explained why someone was waiting for us. I guess that much was to be expected of a capable lieutenant colonel who outperformed all his colleagues.

Roland and Francette couldn’t follow me inside, so their secret send-off ended here. Now they could go on a date or something.

...They wouldn’t be waiting for me until I was done, would they? I mean, I already told them I may take a while since this was my first visit and I’d probably be speaking to the person in charge of ordering and maybe take a look around, so I doubted they would...

I was taken to a room with a nameplate on the door: “Second Battalion Commander’s Room.”

...I thought I was being taken to the person in charge here!

Well, we were dealing with important strategic goods (for his soldiers), so maybe he was being cautious about reselling and pilfering.

“Welcome.”

I was seeing Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas for the first time in five days. He was all smiles and seemed to be in a good mood.

“Because of you, I was able to settle various negotiations and conflicts with other battalions. I thank you.”

Huh...

The bags were heavy, so I took out the medicine boxes and placed them on the visitors’ table. I put one of the now-empty bags into the other bag, along with the emptied medicine box.

“Three boxes of seventy-two bottles worth three small gold coins each. One box of twenty-four bottles worth three silver coin each. The total comes to twenty-two gold coins, three small gold coins, and two silver coins.”

“Very well. Here.”

The soldier who guided me there brought out a small cloth bag from the lieutenant colonel’s desk.

The quantity and price had already been written in a letter that was delivered by the messenger from the orphanage. This was common courtesy as a working adult. It would’ve been troublesome if I had requested such a large amount to be paid upfront in cash on the spot.

I pretended to put the cloth money bag in my own bag, but put it inside my Item Box. A capable woman doesn’t walk around carelessly with a huge sum of money.

“I’ve put out a notice to go through me for any inquiries about the medicine. I presume there haven’t been any issues at your shop?”

“No, thanks to you...”

There had been several soldiers coming in for medicine for two or three days since that day, but I was able to handle anyone asking for bulk purchases on their superior’s orders with the lieutenant colonel’s authority. I treated any soldier who didn’t know about the circumstances as a normal customer, so there hadn’t been any issues.

“Well then, I’ll be looking forward to the future deliveries. Do you have any requests from your end?” he said with courtesy, perhaps because we were children.

Maybe he was just saying it for the sake of politeness, but he had committed by saying it, so I was going to take advantage of it, because that’s how I roll!

“Then please show me around! I may come back to deliver medicine somewhere else here, and I find these places interesting!”

Yeah, that wasn’t a lie. My earnings with the soldier’s disease medicine would probably slow down in about two months, so I wanted to scope out the area to search for other potential business opportunities. I could also accomplish my original goal to get recognized and look for handsome men at the same time.

That’s right, I’m a go-getter!

Thought it wasn’t as if I was desperate or anything.

No, really.

“Let’s go then.” The lieutenant colonel rose.

You’re gonna show me around? Not your subordinate?!

“Well, I’m just glad a cute young lady has interest in the workings of the military.”

Really? I had a feeling there was more to it...

In any case, the lieutenant colonel showed us around the property as per his suggestion. We had a sort of placard displayed on our chests and backs as we walked around. I’d written the following on the signs the previous night:

“Medicine Shop Layette’s Atelier.”

This was to show everyone that the medicine for soldier’s disease was being supplied by our shop. This was half the reason I was there making deliveries in the first place.

We were the center of attention! It was customary for everyone to look and salute as soon as the lieutenant colonel appeared. There was an even greater visual impact with little girls like Layette and myself next to him, along with the signs. How could we not attract attention?

I wasn’t sure if the lieutenant colonel knew what I was up to, or just thought I was advertising my shop... But in any case, we succeeded in imprinting in the minds of the royal army’s soldiers that if something were to happen to us two, their beacon of hope, the soldier’s disease medicine would no longer be attainable.

＊　　　＊

After the lieutenant colonel showed us around, he brought us to the mess hall. It was a military mess hall, so it wasn’t open around the clock or anything. They only served food during the soldiers’ meal times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Any other time, they were prepping and ordering food, cleaning equipment, and handling office work, so they were never just sitting there bored. But those sorts of tasks were done at the cooking grounds or offices instead of the food storage area, so there was no one at the mess hall at the moment.

“This is the mess hall for corporals and lower ranks. Officers have a separate mess hall of their own. Though company commanders and higher are to take their food to their room unless we are having a group meal together.”

“Hmm. So that way, the higher-ups won’t all go down at once if there’s a disease going around or the food gets poisoned...”

“Huh?”

The lieutenant colonel seemed a bit surprised. Maybe that wasn’t why it was set up that way after all.

“We sell medicine for illnesses, and antidotes, too, just so you know.”

“R-Right...” He seemed to be a bit taken aback.

Huh, maybe in this world, they didn’t do things like sneaking into enemy posts to poison their wells or chop up plague-infested corpses and launch them into enemy territory with catapults during a siege. Those were common tactics on Earth...

Oh, there are some things posted on the board.

“I will be purchasing the soldier’s disease medicine in bulk. Soldiers are to refrain from visiting the retailer of their own accord, and must receive treatment at the infirmary.”

Huh, this must be the notice the lieutenant colonel put out for me...

There were various other pieces of paper pinned to the board, like a recruitment notice for the swordsmanship society or a puppy needing a home.

I’d seen these sorts of notices on the board at my company’s food court too. It seemed it was the same wherever you went.

Next, he took us to the outdoor training grounds, where soldiers were busy doing drills. Apparently, the large-scale military exercises were done at the spacious maneuvering ground outside the city gates, or they did marching drills on their way to a location some distance away to train there.

I looked over next to the training grounds and saw a small group of people operating what seemed to be some sort of box. The lieutenant colonel explained when he saw me watching with curiosity.

“Ah, that’s communication training. That box contains hand flags in the day and candles in the night, and the front can be opened and closed to send out signals. It’s still daytime, so they’re practicing with red cloth instead of candles.”

Huh, so they had flag and flash signals here. Sort of like Morse code.

“I can read them to a degree, but never officially trained for it. I can’t read it when they signal that quickly. Though I wouldn’t need to send signals myself in my position, so I can just take my time should the need ever arise. I say leave the signaling to the signalers and cooking to the cooks.”

Yeah, he had a point. Higher-ups should leave tasks to whoever’s in charge of them instead of butting in every time. That sales manager badly needed to learn...

Uh, never mind. That was all in the past...

“Huh? What’s that?” I noticed them making signals for us. “‘Who are they’... ‘Medicine shop sisters’... ‘Why are they here’... ‘To come see me’... ‘The little one is mine’... Do you mind if I go punch them in the head?”

“...How are you able to read that? But yes, I’ll allow it.”

“Ah...”

Yes, it was because of “that”: The ability to speak, read, and write any language.

Their Morse code counts as a language too?!

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...So, that’s about everything there is to see at this base.”

Yes, I won! I ran over to the signalers and kicked them.

But this was considered a “base,” huh... Even though it was part of the royal capital?

Speaking of which, there were naval and air bases, while the army had garrisons. Maybe it was like how ships and planes couldn’t operate without a home base, but the army could go anywhere so long as they had supplies, so “base” just meant where they were currently and was used interchangeably with “post.”

Though, unlike the navy or air force that deployed out of their base every time, the army didn’t necessarily return every time they went out, so maybe it wasn’t a “base” in that sense. Maybe because the royal army didn’t tend to fight outside the kingdom from one battle to another, the place they were stationed at was considered their base.

As I had completed my goals and returned to my shop, there was no way for me to know...

A rumor had been going around between the soldiers that “the older sister from the potion shop with the mean eyes provided great services by kicking you”...

＊　　　＊

Three days later...

“I would like to purchase the soldier’s disease medicine in bulk.”

A somewhat elderly, officer-looking man arrived at the shop. This was odd, seeing as the lieutenant colonel should’ve told him about our arrangement...

“Um, about that... The royal army second battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas should’ve...”

But the man scowled, and basically spit out his next words.

“The royal army second battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas... That man monopolized the medicine for the royal army and hasn’t supplied the guard regiment with a single bottle! But when my men come here, they’re told to contact him instead... You must do something. If you don’t, there will be conflict between the guards and royal armies! We work as security at the royal palace, protection for nobles, and honor guards for ceremonies, so we cannot just scratch freely like the royal army can! Why do you give them favorable treatment and give us nothing?!”

Ahhh, that was unfortunate...

Lieutenant colonel, you’ve only been giving it to your own men?!

But I supposed there’d be no merit for him to provide for other organizations...

Yet I couldn’t just let this pass. Even though I didn’t know about the guard regiment, this was pretty horrible.

“Very well. My next delivery will be sent to the guard regiment. How many guards are there?”

“Ah! Ahhh! That’s fantastic! Thank you, I truly appreciate it! Due to our station, there aren’t very many of us. There are four platoons, headquarters, support personnel—all together about 200 men.”

According to the officer, who was apparently a captain of the guard regiment, the transportation units and such who accompanied the royal family on their foreign travels came from other teams, and wasn’t on the scale of a standard company size. Perhaps the lieutenant colonel was ignoring them because of their small troop size, or they simply didn’t get along.

Well, 200 or so didn’t sound like a problem. It would only take twenty-five bottles of the medicine worth three small gold coins. I doubted every one of them had the condition, but a box of twenty-four should be more than enough.

It was a bit odd that this man was a captain leading platoons though. Platoons were usually led by a second or first lieutenant, so maybe the ranks were inflated in the guard regiment. Oh, but if they made the top rank of the guard regiment a captain or major, it would cause major problems within their power structure! I guessed it just ended up that way when they assigned ranks from the top without considering the number of men.

“I actually have one more request, though it’s a bit hard to bring up, considering you just granted me a favor...”

“Oh? What is it?” He seemed hesitant, but I decided to hear him out.

“I was hoping you could supply your medicine to the royal sentries as well...”

What?! The sentries were basically like police officers on Earth, and served to maintain the peace at the royal capital. Their daily work consisted of mock training, and unlike the royal army, who could earn accolades and promotions for their performance, every day was a battle on the job for them. They had to deal with criminals and drunk soldiers or hunters swinging swords around, and certainly didn’t get praise or treated like a hero for facing such dangers or capturing criminals.

Was he saying these people weren’t getting any of the medicine either? I messed up! Because of my ignorance, I thought all soldiers of different branches were simply soldiers, and didn’t consider how they could all be separate entities. This captain was even considering organizations other than his own, but that lieutenant colonel...

Oh, I got it. A “capable” person was the type who was good at gathering profits for themselves. This, in turn, meant keeping others from benefiting as well. But just how far did this notion apply? I’d need to be careful too...

“Very well. It seems I’ve been trusting the royal army a little too much. Please tell the sentries to send someone over my way.”

They probably had already, and I must’ve sent them away to contact Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas. So then they must’ve come by as an individual, but I’d been limiting daily sales to avoid suspicion, so it was probably sold out by the time they visited after work.

I felt bad... Though I chose to sell the type of medicine nobles and rich people would be interested in instead of the type that cured injuries or illnesses to avoid this sort of trouble, so why was I dealing with this now? Was soldier’s disease that horrible of a condition?

...Yeah, it probably was.

Damn it. I guess I’ll increase my numbers for general sales.

...Sales for my other medicines weren’t doing so well. And why weren’t my shampoo, conditioner, and other cosmetics selling? I wondered if that noble wife was advertising for me...

＊　　　＊

“Hey, lady, want me to hold your stuff?”

After I finished shopping at the marketplace and began heading back to the shop, a voice out called to me. An orphan child had offered to help me every time as of late. Guess I was sort of a regular.

“Yeah, if you don’t mi... Huh?”

It was an unfamiliar face. I wasn’t good at memorizing people’s faces, so it wasn’t like I knew what all the orphans looked like, but it was usually the same few kids who went to the marketplace to find work. This one looked more ragged than the children from the orphanage too...

I thought about this idly as I started handing over my bags, when...

“Hey, what are you doing?!” It was the usual boy. “Kaoru is ours! Don’t even think about it!”

Huh? Since when did I belong to the orphanage?

Oh... So this was a competitor. Did that mean this child wasn’t from the orphanage?

“You’re from the riverbank, aren’t you? You can do business here, but you aren’t touching Kaoru!”

“What? It’s none of your business who I work for! I’m putting my life on the line out here. I don’t have it easy and get spoon-fed two meals a day like you!”

Huh... If he thought an orphanage child had it easy, there was only one explanation; those who thought even kids in an orphanage were wealthy and blessed.

A street urchin.

“Whoever’s faster and provides the better offer wins. That’s business. So, how much?”

“Two bronze coins.”

I guess the rate was the same, as expected.

“Okay then, deal.”

I handed my bags to the street urchin child, and the boy from the orphanage watched with a dumbfounded expression.

“Huh...?”

There was a look of disbelief and betrayal in his eyes, but... it’s not like I owed him anything.

As we walked together, I began gathering more information as usual. Of course, the children at the orphanage weren’t the only orphans in the royal capital in a world like this. I should’ve known that after seeing everyone at “The Eyes of the Goddess.” At the very least, the orphanage kids wouldn’t be starving to death. These street urchins were a different story, since there was no one here to help them.

“I have a former street urchin at my place too. He’s working under me as a guard now.”

“Huh...?”

“Emile, Belle, I need you to get the cart for me again. We’re going out with it tomorrow.”

““Huh...?””

Emile and Belle would do anything to protect Kaoru. They’d memorized all the faces of the children at the orphanage, thinking they could be useful as a shield for Kaoru, should the need ever arise. But the boy carrying her bags earlier was unfamiliar, and his clothes should’ve been a bit more presentable if he were from that facility.

They had a bad feeling about this...

The next day...

The three of them packed supplies onto the cart and headed toward the riverbank. Kaoru was also there this time, assuming there’d be no cooking tools or seasoning available.

And so...

“You guys used to be street urchins?”

“Y-Yeah...”

“How did you earn such nice equipment so quickly?”

“W-Well...”

Emile turned around to find Belle had already backed some distance away.

A few days later...

When Kaoru went shopping at the marketplace, numerous children were following her closely. They were divided in two groups and glaring at each other behind her...

“Gimme a breeeak!!!”