Earth Dungeon 51.2

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Chapter 51.2. Market

"Um, I'm sorry! Those folks from the abandoned town, their things have no value, well, I mean, it's just..."

"It's fine. I'm not bothered."

"Is, is that so?"

He could never take things at face value. Sweat trickling, the shopkeeper lowered his head, determined to apologize. He realized he might get killed.

But unexpectedly, the man smiled warmly and made a suggestion.

"By the way, I know of a good spot for a shop. How about coming to take a look?"

"Huh?"

It was a highly puzzling proposal.

Namely...

"Open a shop in my market in the abandoned town. Just a couple of times a week is fine."

That's the proposal he made. Of course, the shopkeeper couldn't refuse.

The day before that...

In the boardroom of the Amatsugahara Corporation headquarters, Sakimori gathered the executive officers and slammed his hands on the assembled modular table. The plaque on the door, "Executive Meeting Room", written in childlike, clumsy characters, rattled. A renowned calligrapher had done it, but apparently, the young calligrapher didn't understand how to write diacritics, so it ended up as "kai kikai kitsuki shitsu" instead of "yakuin kaikikai kitsukishitsu".

"We're broke."

Sakimori surveyed the executives with a sigh. The Corporation's original employees are Shingen, Katsuyori, Jun, and Hana,  the other children, and the part-timer, Numata, who was in charge of making tea. For some reason, Karin was also sitting there, wagging her tail.

"We've been broke~."

Giggling and clapping her hands, the young girl imitated me.

[The Vice President is me, right? Please make sure to prepare a mysterious girl plaque.]

The ghostly Shizuku-san perched on me, panting heavily, her ethereal form rustling and her feet patting rhythmically. She seemed to like the sound of "executive meeting" in the name. It was a tad chaotic.

Ignoring those two, Sakimori scanned the executives. Executive compensation: monthly salary of 1000 yen.

"No money... So, not making a profit, huh?"

Shingen asked, looking puzzled.

"The operating profit isn't in the red. It's the delivery of potatoes to the inner town, right? And the revenue from corn, potatoes, and bread rolls in the black market. We're making about 5 million yen in profit per month."

"Hmm? You're not including the revenue from your market?"

"That's... well, that's the problem. There was an oversight."

He sighed. Something unexpected had happened.

"Got it. I get it. The problem is that the abandoned town's market is too closed off, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's right." 

The catgirl raised her hand and proudly put on a smug smile. And she was right. Even if she's not a famous detective, the conclusion is clear.

"Customers from outside aren't coming. In my market, the people I pay salaries to are the ones who use that money to shop, so money isn't circulating at all. It's like playing house. At this rate..."

I crossed my arms and let out a sigh. If the population grew, it might work for monopolies, but... it didn't feel right for the market I envisioned.

"Yes, I understand the situation. Indeed, the money is just circulating within our group. There's no future in this."

"Isn't that fine?"

Katsuyori-kun, did you understand? Ooki, with his easy-going reply, goes make me some tea.

"Well, yeah, those people in the abandoned town have no choice but to work for me. Even if we increase the numbers, it's the same."

Because they have no money, they're in the abandoned town. And because they're in the abandoned town. They can't find decent work outside. There's no choice but for me to hire them.

They shop in my market and I get my money back. Go to the black market in the outer town to buy what's needed. Save. Yeah, my money keeps decreasing. That's not true, but it feels that way, you know?

"Initial investments like teppan grills for making okonomiyaki, or large stockpots. Plus, there are costs for cultivating fields, demolishing, and cleaning up ruined houses. Adding all that up, we're in the red by about 2 million. It's a debt from suddenly increasing our workforce."

Tripling the population, you see. And some villages join us after hearing rumors. Corporate capital investment, had a point, didn't it?

"I see. So, if you keep increasing the number of items you sell in the black market. I get it. You want to do something about your market, right? That's a tough problem, huh?"

Shingen crossed his arms, his expression serious. I can understand what he's trying to say. If we aim for a production base and sell more goods in the black market, we can turn a profit. But what I want is to create a market. I've come to understand that I can't do it alone.

"So, I'm thinking of getting people from the outer town to come. The roads are safer now, and it's only a 1 hour trip each way. I want to establish regular horse-drawn carriages, but Shingen's level is only 1. Let's say we'll have a few trips for now. Later on, they can level up through training. Let's promote Amatsugahara Market as a safe and reliable market in the future. We'll attract tenants and invite other companies besides mine."

"How are we gonna do that? The people from the outer town won't come to the ruins' market, will they?"

"Well, that's easy. We'll gather lower-tier merchants from the outer town."

"Will they be useful? Those guys look down on us, you know?"

Karin and Shingen are both skeptical, but that's a bit different. They look down on what they can afford. It's about their values.

"That's exactly why. It's impossible to attract morally upright good merchants. We have to take in the small fries. It'd be nice if someone among them changed their ways. If my expectations are right, things should improve at least a bit."

I have no choice but to go with the cards I have. But we don't even have those cards.

Smiling confidently, I surveyed my doubtful subordinates.