Kousuke, gazing at the papers spread across the desk, let out a big sigh before speaking.
“Hmm. Executing all of this at once is impossible, so perhaps it’s better if I pick out a few things and get everyone’s opinions later?”
“Well, that’s probably the safest approach. If something’s no good, they’ll voice their opinions, right?”
Floria nodded in agreement with Kousuke’s words, and Silvia and Colette also showed expressions of understanding.
As Kousuke said, if they were to strictly implement everyone’s opinions, he understood that the shop, despite being inconspicuous, would become extremely well-known through rumors.
Since that seemed unavoidable, they felt it would be the same to just leave it to Kousuke.
Besides, regarding the matter from earlier, they realized they were in no position to critique Kousuke’s actions.
If they were going to be criticized regardless of their opinions, they decided to just let Kousuke handle it.
***
Back at the House of Genesis, Kousuke was looking at the papers where he had compiled the notes everyone had written.
He had summarized everything that was written provisionally, and upon rereading it, he found many surprisingly useful opinions.
Of course, some of them were at a level that would be considered a mistake if implemented, but he decided to overlook those with a touch of good humor.
Nevertheless, he hadn’t excluded such opinions from the beginning because he felt they might be useful somewhere, somehow.
Even if they couldn’t be used for this particular matter, there might be an opportunity to use them at another time.
In that sense, all opinions were necessary for Kousuke.
Floria approached Kousuke, who was deep in thought.
“How is it? Have you made any progress?”
“Nah. Not yet. There are so many things I want to try doing because they all seem feasible?”
“I see.”
Kousuke smiled and continued to Floria, who nodded with a slightly troubled expression.
“It’ll be alright. I won’t choose anything too outrageous.”
Even Kousuke understood that it would be a mistake to incorporate the opinion Silvia had submitted.
A shop blessed by the gods would attract not only customers seeking tools but also clerics from all over.
Even if he accepted the commotion that would arise over the tools and the shop, the other elements would only be a hindrance.
Floria then shook her head at Kousuke’s words.
“No, that’s not what I mean. I find it a bit strange why you wouldn’t use an excellent example that’s right in front of you.”
“Hm? An excellent example?”
Kousuke tilted his head, not understanding what Floria meant.
“The Fox Inn.”
When Floria said this briefly, Kousuke’s face lit up with understanding.
The Fox Inn continued to be a popular spot among those in the tower, known as an inn that was selective about its guests.
Its existence, combined with the treatment of foxes within the Lily Shinto Shrine, led to whispers that it was an inn run by an Avatar.
Floria suggested that if they were to create the magic tool shop this time and have it co-located with the Fox Inn, most of their current worries would be resolved.
However, Kousuke had no intention of co-locating the magic tool shop with the Fox Inn.
“The Fox Inn and the magic tool shop have slightly different customer demographics, you see. I’m a little hesitant about it.”
“Is that so? Adventurers also come and go, so I don’t think it’s that different?”
While some guests who were not adventurers also entered the Fox Inn after being chosen, due to its location in the tower, over two-thirds of the guests were still adventurers.
Kousuke believed that the customer demographics were subtly different because he intended to stock only items used by adventurers in the magic tool shop he was planning to create.
Of course, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t going to stock anything, so Floria’s opinion wasn’t entirely off the mark.
Kousuke nodded once at Floria’s suggestion and decided to honestly explain his current thoughts.
“I understand what you’re trying to say. However, as the creator, I want to make things without being constrained by customer demographics.”
“Is that so? It’s going to be a hobby shop anyway, so I think you should just make whatever you like without worrying about the customers, don’t you think?”
Kousuke returned a wry smile to Floria, who asked this with a tilted head.
“Well, logically, that’s true. But when you open a shop, you do tend to worry about such things.”
“…Is that so?”
Floria understood what Kousuke meant, but she looked perplexed, unable to accept it.
In the first place, the shop Kousuke was planning to create was merely to prevent the items he made from gathering dust in his storage.
Therefore, he didn’t need to worry about customer demographics, let alone sales.
Considering that, Floria was right; he could just make and sell whatever he liked without worrying about the shop’s profits.
That was true, but perhaps due to his personality or disposition, Kousuke found it bothersome to simply run a shop that only incurred losses.
If he was going to open a shop, he wanted it to be profitable.
That said, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t make whatever he liked by co-locating it with the Fox Inn.
Ultimately, what Kousuke was concerned about was not wanting to “hitch a ride” on the efforts of the foxes who were working hard at the inn, but rather wanting to operate independently.
“–So, in my opinion, I’m not really considering co-locating with the Fox Inn?”
When Kousuke finished his explanation, Floria finally looked convinced.
“Ah. In the end, you just want to see how far you can go with the magic tool shop on its own, is that it?”
“Hmm, I wonder about that? For example, if Silvia wants to offer potions or amulets, I intend to allow it.”
Kousuke didn’t intend to sell only the magic tools he made himself.
At Kousuke’s words, Floria crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“No, now I’m even more confused… Anyway, you’re not planning to co-locate with the Fox Inn, right?”
“…Uh. Well, yes, that’s about it.”
Upon hearing Floria’s words, Kousuke gave up on explaining what he was truly thinking.
If he pushed it to its logical conclusion, it would just sound like his own selfishness, and he no longer had the confidence to explain it any better to others.
In fact, as Kousuke was explaining to Floria, he himself became slightly confused and forgot that he could have simply said he wanted to run it as an independent shop.
Kousuke remembered this later, but he ended up not mentioning it to Floria, and it wasn’t until a few days later that he brought it up.
Kousuke’s thoughts, which were swirling in his mind while troubled, became mixed with the thoughts he had while explaining to Floria, leading to his inability to properly articulate his point.
Regardless, I am not considering co-locating with the Fox Inn.
Since I’ve gone this far, I want to do it independently, without borrowing the power of the foxes.
