The Flying Emporium

Severin and Emily continued to discuss some of the intricacies of building and running an inn.

The first and most obvious issue they had to address was regarding their finances.

First of all, there was Severin’s impulsive action of acquiring the narrow pathway that reached all the way to the edge of the floating mountain, which left its mark on the shop’s business account.

And secondly, there was the recent purchase of the new workstation, which had also cost a good chunk of gold.

Adding up these expenses they were left with only about five thousand gold.

If the amount were to be transferred into his own account and be available for private purchases such as finally being able to purchase a private room or maybe new clothes, Severin would’ve considered the amount to be enormous. The way things stood, though, that very same number did barely amount to anything. At least if one took into account their future spendings, as it only covered roughly one-twentieth of the amount needed to accomplish their mission and build that inn. And that was only if they somehow managed to build the structure on the parts of the land they already owned, which, given the current layout of the premises, was not really an option.

Still, after only a most perfunctory lesson, in addition, even Em had to agree that the required money wasn’t too much of a concern.

“Just the new Stat Elixirs alone will make us a small fortune. With a price of one hundred gold each and considering the carrying capacity, that adds up to one thousand per person. Just Andreas’s group alone was already twenty people strong. Which means a total of...,” Severin’s pause and his look prompted Em to start doing the math. Which she did, with the help of her fingers.

“Twenty thousand!” The proud and confident answer earned her an amused smile and a thorough head-ruffling.

“Right.” The thought that not every single one of the group’s members might end up buying the whole amount available to them didn’t even occur to Severin. Instead, he predicted the earnings to be even larger than that. “And let’s not forget the rest of our merchandise. Most importantly the combinator. The way that thing works and charges that means it might even be possible to earn all the money we need in just one or two days. Especially now that restocking is that easy. With the new tools and your help, I mean.”

Being reminded that she now actually worked in this place and that she would earn a real salary, Em couldn’t help herself from putting her newly learned math skills to the test and started trying to figure out how much one percent of twenty thousand actually was.

Seeing the girl counting on her fingers once again, Severin decided against interrupting her and instead kept his thoughts to himself.

‘I should also take the cost of adding some extra rooms into account. And maybe some other upgrades. That being said, the way things look right now, money really doesn’t seem to be the issue here.

I’m more concerned about being able to handle the work. Even if Em turns out to be able to handle the store’s business on her own…

Then again, I should be granted another [Employee] slot, right? No matter how blackhearted the System is, as long as it concern’s business itself, the thing shouldn’t be too stingy to provide some more help. Worst case, I’ll have to purchase the right to hire more people or some bullshit like that. The question is…’

“What are you thinking about?” The girl now had a bright grin on her face. Whether or not the number she came up with was actually correct, the amount very much satisfied her. Enough for her to momentarily forget she was originally having a, admittedly rather one-sided, conversation with her boss. Coming back to her senses she now tried to once again involve herself.

“I was thinking about hiring a new [Employee].”

“Eeeh?! I was only thinking…I’ll keep working hard! Don’t fir…“

“Calm down. What are you talking about?! Of course, I’m keeping you.” Her reaction seemed almost funny to him.

“Then why…?” Her little heart was pounding very hard. For a moment, she had feared a moment of greed had cost her everything.

“Think about it! Naturally, we’ll need other people working here if we plan to expand the business. Especially when it comes to serving the customers of an Inn.”

The thought of running the thing, all by himself, was a nightmare to Severin.

And who knew if the System would keep working the same way or if it suddenly changed the rules? Severin never had to clean his little store. There was no dust, and dirt just magically disappeared on its own. But in an inn? Who was to say those rules would still apply there. Wasn’t cleaning tables and rinsing tankards and mugs an inherent part of the job?

Nodding, mostly to placate herself, her proposal was also the most obvious one.

“I could always get some of the other…” She left the last word unspoken. It wasn’t necessary. Severin, who naturally had already thought about that possibility, decided to pass over her suggestion.

“I had already thought about asking Sam for some referrals. I can’t imagine someone like him not having a bunch of useful connections. Even to some classless folks. In fact, I already considered the option back before Xander brought you here. I certainly prefer that option over asking Andi. Or any other guild, for that matter.”

“Hmm. The guy seemed trustworthy enough.” An unusually thoughtful look appeared on the girl’s face, catching Severin’s attention, as she agreed with his assessment.

“Haha. You haven’t even talked to the guy!”

She shrugged with her shoulders. “I’m good at judging people. You need to be if you wanna survive,” she answered very matter-of-factly, shutting Severin up. For a moment.

“Right,” was all he could awkwardly answer. But it was indeed his best bet. The [Berserker] wouldn’t ask too many questions. Not that it really mattered at this point anyway. There was no need to be all that secretive anymore. When Em first arrived, it was apparent to all, that she was a classless stray. Since then, something had obviously changed. The moment they all came back and saw the very same girl suddenly being able to craft those precious masterpieces, nobody would believe some half-assed excuse of her being a natural talent, or something like that. Especially an old hand like Samuel, who, more so than the others, was at least somewhat able to discern the mastery needed to craft these items, wouldn’t be fooled all that easily. So he might as well ask that man for help and be a bit more upfront.

‘Beat’s the alternative, that’s for sure. I can’t hire another child. Not if I want this to be a full-fledged inn. With a real tavern and all that. Can’t have some overly shy and scared child deal with a bunch of drunk and rowdy adventurers. Or worse, an overly aggressive and distrustful one. Doesn’t seem appropriate. And I don’t plan on opening an orphanage. It’s not what my customers would want either. Not after risking their lives in some dark hole.

No, it has to be someone with experience. Someone who can handle themself. Don’t even care if it’s a big-bellied grumpy man or a big-b...’