After finishing breakfast, Lilia and I headed to Fia's house. Today, we planned to go straight to the shop and buy the items necessary for its opening.

"Good morning, Rea, Fia!"

"Oh, good morning, Tetsuya."

"Good morning, Tetsuya-oniichan! Huh? Lilia-oneechan!?"

"Ah, I hadn’t told Fia yet, but Lilia has agreed to join us as both a guard and an employee."

"I'm Lilia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rea and Fia."

"Lilia is a former B-rank adventurer, so she’s very reliable."

"A B-rank adventurer? That’s amazing, especially for a woman. My daughter might cause some trouble, but I hope you’ll take good care of her."

"Of course. I will protect Tetsuya and Fia with my life!"

Lilia is almost too cool. I can see why a woman might fall for another woman. But seriously, Lilia, there’s no need to put your life on the line for me.

"Looking forward to working with you, Lilia-oneechan!"

"Likewise. As an employee, you’re my senior, so I’ll be counting on you to teach me."

"Y-yes! I’ll do my best!"

These two should be just fine. After greeting Rea, Fia’s mother, we all headed to the shop together.

"So that’s how you met Tetsuya, Fia?"

"Yes! When my mom collapsed, Tetsuya-oniichan helped us. And Lilia-oneechan met him through a request he posted, right?"

"That’s right. It’s rare to see escort requests in this town, especially those involving rookie adventurers. I like taking on escort jobs since they’re a bit different from typical requests, and I can teach others things along the way."

Now that I think about it, she gave us a lot of advice while escorting me and Roya back then. Lilia always seems to take on jobs that support rookie adventurers—that’s so like her.

As Lilia and Fia chatted, we continued shopping for supplies. Watching them interact, I felt confident they’d work well together.

"This is the new shop."

"Wow! It’s huge! And so clean!"

After finishing our shopping, we returned to the store. Since we visited multiple shops along the way, we grabbed a quick bite from a food stall for lunch.

This was Fia’s first time seeing the rented shop. It was much larger than the stall she used before. Yesterday, Lilia and I had done some cleaning, so it looked relatively tidy.

"The inside is spacious, too. We can stock way more items compared to the stall."

"Ahhh, I have so much to learn!"

"I’ve made a list of product prices and will place it at the checkout counter. Each shelf will also have labeled prices, so take your time learning."

"I’ve never worked in retail before. Plus, as you can see, I only have one arm. I can manage the guard duties, but I’m a little anxious about helping in the shop."

"Don’t worry, Lilia. Your usual polite demeanor will be perfect. While checkout might be tricky at first, there’s plenty to do—like restocking shelves, monitoring the store, and assisting customers. Having another helper is already a huge relief."

Though both had their concerns, I was sure they’d adapt quickly. Customer service wouldn’t be an issue, but starting a shop might bring unexpected challenges.

I planned to stock items different from those sold at stores targeting rookie adventurers, but some overlap might still occur, potentially causing problems. That part worried me more than the customer service aspect.

"Alright, let’s tidy up the interior a bit more and set up the price tags we bought."

We spent the rest of the time preparing the shop’s interior. We attached price tags to the existing shelves that had been part of the property.

"So, I’m the one writing this, huh?"

"Of course. It’s your shop, after all."

"Yep! You can do it, Tetsuya-oniichan!"

With the shop mostly set up, all that was left was to make the signboard. In this world, writing in Japanese would automatically convert to the local script, but handwriting had never been my strong suit.

I’ve always struggled with balance and neatness, even back in school during calligraphy classes. Still, as Lilia said, it’s my shop. I bought some paint that could be reused after mistakes, so I just needed to try my best.

"...Alright, how does this look?"

"It’s great!"

"Yes, it’s very well done!"

After a few attempts, I finally created a sign I was happy with. It read Outdoor Shop in this world’s language.

"Now for the smaller sign. Let’s work on this one together."

Unlike the large sign for the storefront, the small one by the entrance would display pictures representing the shop’s products. We decided to draw an image of a compass, the shop’s main item, since tents weren’t available yet.

The existing shelves and fixtures from the previous tenant were a big help. Now, all that was left was to stock the products, and we’d be ready to open for business.