“Alright, Fia, I’ll handle the payments, and I’d like you to pass the products to the customers once I’m done. Okay?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big store, so you don’t need to feel nervous. And even if some of the customers look intimidating, they’re all nice people.”

“Haha, that’s true. Most of us look scary, including me. But that just adds to the charm of being an adventurer!”

“This city is full of kind people. It’s a huge help for someone like me who’s just starting a business.”

“Yeah, they call this place the City of Beginnings for a reason. It’s really comfortable to live here. I should probably move my base to another city soon, but I keep getting drawn back.”

“Too much comfort can be a challenge, huh? Ah, thank you for the two gold coins. Fia, could you hand over the fire starter?”

“Y-Yes! Here’s your fire starter. Th-thank you ve-ry much!”

“…”

“…Thank you very much!”

She was so nervous that she stumbled over her words. It was so endearing that not only I, but the other customers couldn’t help smiling warmly at her.

“Thanks, young lady.”

“Y-Yes!”

“We’ll be getting new stock soon, so please come again!”

“Will do! See you around!”

The man at the front of the line, who had bought quite a bit yesterday, took a fire starter today and left. I hope he’ll come back when we level up the shop and can offer more items.

“I’d like a fire starter as well. I saw someone using it yesterday, and it seems much more convenient than my old flint.”

“Thank you! That’ll be two gold coins. We have many other products as well, so feel free to take a look. Here’s your fire starter. Fia, could you please pass it over?”

“Y-Yes! Thank you very much!”

“Thanks, young lady!”

Yeah, I thought so—male customers would much rather have a cute girl hand them their items than someone like me. It’s the perfect division of labor.

“Lilia mentioned something about a compass. Which one is it?”

“Here it is. When you hold this compass level, the red needle always points in the same direction. If you enter the nearby forest, the needle will point deeper into the forest, so to exit, just head in the opposite direction.”

“Wow, that’s handy. I’ll take two of them.”

“Sure, that’ll be four silver coins. Fia, two compasses, please.”

“Yes!”

“What about this tool here? How do you use it?”

“This is called a carabiner, and it’s used to…”

“Miss, I’ll take the spoon, fork, and cup as a set.”

“Y-Yes! Um, um… The set of three will be three silver coins and three copper coins!”

It’s starting to get busy already. Thankfully, Fia’s help lets me explain products to one customer while she assists others, avoiding long wait times like yesterday.

Even though it’s her first day working in the shop, Fia’s doing an amazing job. Honestly, I expected to spend more time teaching her today, but she’s handling things smoothly. If she’s up for it, I’d love for her to keep working here.

“Looks like you’ve got a decent crowd.”

“Oh, Roya and the others, thanks for coming!”

“Congrats on opening the shop, Tetsuya!”

“Sorry we couldn’t make it yesterday. Our quest ran late.”

Roya, Nicole, and Fal stopped by after finishing a quest. Their armor was a bit dusty, likely from their recent task.

“No worries. I’m just glad you came. Didn’t you guys already buy most of my stock?”

“I’ll take one compass and three carabiners. It doesn’t hurt to have spares, and carabiners are handy even indoors.”

“Got it. That’ll be five silver coins. Thanks for coming.”

“One compass and three carabiners. Thank you very much!”

“Oh, you’ve already hired an employee?”

“Oh my gosh, she’s adorable! What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Fia. N-Nice to meet you.”

“Ahh, so cute! I’m Nicole. Nice to meet you, Fia!”

“N-Nice to meet you, Nicole-neechan!”

“‘Neechan’... Ahh, she called me neechan! So adorable I can’t take it!”

“...Alright, that’s enough. Calm down.”

“Sorry, Tetsuya. Nicole gets like this whenever she sees cute things or girls.”

“Yeah, Fia looks a bit scared, so maybe tone it down…”

I totally get why they think Fia’s adorable, but Nicole is taking it a bit far. I should make sure I don’t end up looking like I’m five seconds away from being reported for something inappropriate either.