Bonus Short Stories

The Clothing Store Owner

My name is Zanac Zenfield. I’m the owner of the popular chain of stores, Fashion King Zanac. I originally founded my store after inheriting wealth from my father. It was a serious investment, and I nearly went bankrupt quite a few times, but after a lot of hardship, I finally found my footing.

I still remember that fateful day quite well. I was sitting in my carriage, trying to think of new clothing designs. I wanted to come up with something that would shock the entire world! I poked my head out of the carriage window in the hopes of gaining some inspiration, and then I saw him. He almost blended in with the scenery, but the young boy I saw that day had clothing unlike anything I had ever seen.

What was it? I couldn’t say for sure. The clothing was simple, yet functional and sharp. It was the big break I’d been seeking. I had my carriage stop, then I went to speak with the boy. I negotiated with him for his peculiar attire. That was my first encounter with the lad who would go on to become the grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya.

His clothing was simply sublime. I almost felt guilty for giving him only a measly ten gold. I had severely underestimated the quality of the thread work and the material. Using that clothing as a base, I started to design my own outfits. Before I knew it, Fashion King Zanac became a household name. Amazingly, it didn’t end there! The grand duke became a regular patron of my store and even submitted new clothing designs from time to time. The more we made, the more we sold, and the more nobles took notice. Nowadays, there’s a Fashion King Zanac in almost every major city on the continent. I never would have expected to make it this far in such a short time, and I truly owe the grand duke a debt for that. He’s been like a divine blessing ever since he entered my life.

And now, I face the most important challenge of my life... creating wedding dresses for his brides-to-be. This task has been no small feat. After all, there are nine of them! All nine dresses have unique materials, designs, and dimensions to them as well. Fortunately, the grand duke never seems to worry about expenses, so he commissioned me with enough of a budget to make multiple prototypes. Thanks to that, I managed to finally create a base dress that I think everyone will find appealing. I’m sure that once this wedding is over, the beautiful dresses will be coveted by brides all over the world! I’ve already set mass production plans into motion and dedicated an entire company subdivision to wedding attire. The grand duke even came up with a brilliant idea, saying that I could create a service for people to rent formal clothing or dresses from me for a limited period before returning them! Naturally, I’ll have to ensure the safety of my property by asking for an up-front deposit from potential customers, though.

Either way, this royal wedding will change the course of weddings forevermore. The name “Fashion King Zanac” will become inseparably linked to marriage. What greater honor could I ask for? At any rate, I should get back to work... Once people start ordering dresses, I’ll be busier than ever!

The Innkeeper

“Do you have any empty rooms?”

“Sorry, sir. We’re full up at the moment. But the inn two doors down should still have some space...”

The man bowed his head before leaving. I’m just glad that he wasn’t the type to explode into a sudden rage over a simple customer service issue. I’m currently in one of the Silver Moon Inns. Specifically, the Brunhild branch. The inn has come a long way from its roots in Reflet. My parents founded the original one, and now I’m the proud manager of the Brunhild branch because of just how busy it ended up becoming. Technically, this inn is state-run, but it uses the Silver Moon name and I’ve been hired by the local government to manage it.

The Brunhild Silver Moon is a sizable building with a few extensions built into it, but there are still cases where I have to turn away potential guests. Recently, the problem has become much more prominent, since the grand duke’s wedding is only ten days away. Rumor has it that it’s going to be a very special ceremony, so people have started showing up well in advance. Thanks to that, our rooms are fully booked right up through the wedding.

I’m glad for the customers, but we’re seriously running low on staff. We don’t just run a hotel, there’s a restaurant as well! All these newcomers are hungry, and it’s wearing us a bit thin. I figure I’ll have to go ask the guild if they can contribute a few lucky volunteers for part-time work.

“Welcome to— Dad?!”

Suddenly, as if right on cue, a familiar face walks through the door.

“Hey there, Micah. Lookin’ pretty busy.”

My dad, Dolan, has been invited to the wedding by the grand duke himself, and it seems like he’s finally arrived.

“Nice to see ya, Micah.”

“Man, it’s crowded in here...”

Barral, owner of the Eight Bears weapon shop, walks through the door. Right behind him is Simon, owner of Reflet’s general store. They’ve also been invited by the grand duke. As luck would have it, they managed to secure the last three rooms.

“Nice to see you guys. Hey, Dad. How about helping me out in the kitchen? The menu’s the same as the one in Reflet, so you’re good to go.”

“Aw c’mon! I just got here! You’re gonna put me to work right away?!” Dad’s sulking, but he’s arrived just in time to help me. “Desperate times, desperate measures, eh?”

“I’ve never heard that saying before, Dad.”

“The grand duke taught it to me!”

Dad’s grumbling a bit, but he’ set down his bags, so I can tell it’s for show.

“Guess this’ll pay for my accommodations, then.”

“Fair enough, just help me through to the wedding!”

With Dad and the other two helping out, I feel like everything will be smooth sailing. I’ve been invited to the wedding itself, so I still have to hire a few part-timers to cover for me on that day, but I’ll still save a lot of money with my newfound staff.

At that moment, another guest walks through the door.

“Do you have any rooms?”

“Sorry, sir. We’re full up at the moment. But the inn two doors down should still have some space...”

I’ve been saying that line a lot, lately. And I have a feeling I’ll be saying it a lot more over the next ten days...

Home Is Where You Make It

I’ve been thinking of moving house lately. It’s nothing urgent or anything, and I’ll definitely take my time looking for a new place. It’s just, I’ve been living in the same apartment for the last four years, and it’s a bit small for me. I collect board games, and I’m starting to run out of storage space. There’s part of me that says, “Why not just sell them?” but another part of me goes, “Like hell am I gonna sell them!” I’m sure we all have different priorities when looking for homes, but I just need a spacious place.

Unfortunately, if you look around for big places, they’re often either really old buildings, really expensive in terms of rent, or both. That’s not exactly desirable, you know? Old buildings might have really old-fashioned bathrooms, antiquated room layout, or they might be in need of serious maintenance. I’ve tried touring places with a real estate agency, but none of them really made me think, “This is the place.”

One of them didn’t have a big enough front door to fit my massage chair through. And there was no way I was leaving that baby outside! The entrance to the bathroom was also pretty narrow. Still, before I even had the chance to think on it more deeply... someone else rented it.

The other place was at the top of a building. It was a high-rise apartment building on the 9th or 10th floor! The size was actually pretty decent, but it felt like an old building that had been heavily renovated. The kitchen looked a little too old for my tastes, the stairs creaked when I walked up them, and the balcony looked just a little bit too rickety for comfort.

Another concern I have when looking for a place to live is soundproofing. I’ve had trouble with noisy neighbors in the past. Condominium units are the worst for this. Though sometimes the problem wasn’t related to the neighbors, it was just the location. I used to live near a station where tons of university students would congregate. Every night, they’d hang out there way past midnight, talking loudly and enjoying their youth. They even set off fireworks and stuff during the summer... It was really annoying.

You never really know what kind of neighborhood you’re moving into until you’ve actually moved there, though. One of my current neighbors has this really loud air conditioning unit outside their apartment. Sometimes, it revs up like a motorcycle engine. That’s one of the things I’m really looking forward to saying goodbye to!

Still, like I said, it’s not urgent right now, I just casually look at new listings online whenever I’m in the mood. Until the time comes, I’m just trying to organize my home so I can pack up and leave whenever I need to.