Chapter 282: The Pre-Opening Is for Nobility

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Carriages arrived and a number of people entered the store while being led by the doorman.

“Ser Indra!”

Spotting me, those were the first words of Duke Chaudgal while he threw his hands in the air at the same time.

“It is a pleasure to see you again after such a long time, Duke Chaudgal,” I greeted him with a cheerful smile.

“You sure built something amazing again!”

“A merchant, who helped us out a lot, requested me to build this store, so I constructed 『This World’s Big Store』 as imagined it and a 『Thrilling Big Store』 as even Sword wouldn’t be able to think of. This shop is dealing with many of the goods you can otherwise only obtain at Sword’s and my base. Please take your time and enjoy your stay here to the utmost.”

It’s not my store, so please go and greet the shopkeeper first, were my thoughts as I answered with an insincere smile. By the way, today I’m wearing a suit. One with a different color than Bennyboy’s.

Next to me stood Damsel Scarlet. She was also serving as guide.

A certain extent of impoliteness might be alright with Duke Chaudgal, but…he was already out of the picture the second he talked to me first, and not the owner of the store, and although the duchess might permit us being rude to each other while just having veins pop on her forehead, we didn’t know about the other guests, and thus decided to ask Damsel Scarlet to take care of them.

＊

First off, we introduced the shopkeeper Bennyboy, and his deputy shopkeeper, as well as old friend, Damsel Baroque (She was a woman! Maybe Bennyboy’s girlfriend?), and invited them inside the store. The displayed flying brooms drew the duchess’s attention right away.

…I feel like this woman is similar to Sword. She’s definitely going to like all sorts of gadgets. Moreover, she’ll love all the gadgets requiring good reflexes as you have to use your whole body to handle them.

“…What are those?”

Everyone turned their attention to the brooms while Duke Chaudgal bounced.

“Those are 『Flying Brooms』. They’re magic toys which are not for sale. You can think of them as means to attract customers as window decorations that are visible from outside.”

Duke Chaudgal looked back at me with his eyes sparkling, “Ser Indra, can you ride these!?”

Aaahh…you sure you wanna ask that? Your wife might lose all restraints, you know?

“Well…Sword and I can ride them, but even B-Rank adventurers struggle with those at first.”

The duchess immediately latched onto that reply.

“Hmm, I see. Are you renting them out?”

Resigning myself, I answered, “For 1000 platinum per three days.”

The other nobles started to murmur. I spread my arms.

“Or to be very blunt about it, we won’t sell these. You may only lend them. They are 『Items to Draw in Customers』 after all.”

I thought this would make her give up, but…!

“…How about in here for around ten minutes?”

The duchess clung on! Did she take that much of a liking to the brooms!? As I thought, she’s the same sort of person as Sword!

After sighing, I looked at Bennyboy.

“Please handle it as you see fit, Lady Indra.”

Bennyboy dumped it all on me!

I sighed once more.

“…Let’s get you changed after the whole tour of the shop is over. I would love nothing more than seeing you ride a broom in your dress, but if that leads to injury, it will become a huge disaster.”

“Sorry for being so unreasonable,” the duchess told me with a smile.

Her tone became much manlier and cooler. Is that her real character?

Damsel Scarlet giggled, “Lady Indra, you sure are very kind to women.”

I immediately corrected her, “You are misunderstanding, Lady Scarlet. I am not just kind to women.”

I’m kind to everything that is cute.

＊

As we led our guests around the store, the duke constantly remained excited and the other guests also loosened up a lot while being deeply impressed by what they were seeing.

…But then a single youth, the youngest noble among the invitees, approached me.

“Why are you cross-dressing as a man?”

After blinking my eyes repeatedly at that question, I became emotional. He’s probably the first person ever to realize that I’m a woman on our very first meeting!

“Me? Today I’m dressing as a man to accompany Lady Scarlet. I’m the only one here who was taught how to act as a male escort for nobility, so it cannot be helped. Usually, I would have preferred to receive you while wearing a dress, but to my regret, that is not possible.”

This guy didn’t back down despite my rambling. Most people would draw back when I talk to them with such verve!

“I see… That is truly regrettable. As far as I am concerned, I would love to see you wearing a dress. I am certain it must be a lovely and beautiful sight to behold.”

Oooooohhh! This guy knows his stuff!

“No, no, even if you got that far…but, you do have a point. I doubt you can meet a beauty of my level that often. Then again, I believe this outfit does not really hurt my charm all that much.”

He blinked three times after I said that, and then chuckled, “You’re a funny lady.”

“Personally I do not think so, but I am frequently being told otherwise.”

I mean I’m just honest to a fault here.

＊

Bennyboy was striving hard while being a nervous wreck as he led the tour.

“I believe the ladies would find interest in the products on the second floor, but before we go there, I shall guide you to the main attraction of our store, the liquor sales room. It has been designed in a way that will likely draw the attention of the men among you, but I think it will also impress the women.”

All of the invitees became speechless when we just passed through the corridor leading to the liquor sales room. And one of the women got super interested in the bottles being on display.

“Are those containers over here being sold as well!?”

Given that Bennyboy cast a fleeting glance at me, I nodded lightly.

“We are selling the bottles filled with liquor and also the empty bottles, but please bear in mind that they are extremely expensive.”

“Please tell me the price! I will pre-order them!”

It seems like she really wants to have these. But I can understand. The glass sculptures, painted porcelain, and so on had been carefully crafted by Sahad and the head maid. At this point, you could very well describe them as handmade works of art. I guess I’ll need to have them make some more again.

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