Kousuke, who had decided on the general concept of the shop while referring to the collected opinions, decided to consult with Silvia and Floria.
Silvia and Floria, after looking at the paper detailing the shop’s specifications, nodded in admiration.
“Hmm. It really feels like you’ve managed to consolidate all those opinions well,” Silvia said.
“Yes. I think this is still within the acceptable range,” Floria added.
“No, by ‘acceptable range’… it feels like you’re already saying it’s no good,” Kousuke replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
“As long as Kousuke-sama is involved, it’s unavoidable that it will stand out no matter what,” Silvia said.
“No, this time, I think it’s more because everyone got carried away than because of me,” Kousuke argued.
He had sought opinions precisely because he knew he’d be criticized if he thought about it himself, but the opinions themselves were all outside of common sense. While he wouldn’t say there was no point in asking for opinions, their original meaning had been lost.
Kousuke’s words brought forced smiles to both Silvia and Floria.
“Well, to begin with, it’s impossible to create an ordinary shop when the items are made by Kousuke,” Silvia said.
“That’s right. To prevent our products from being stolen, we absolutely need to enhance our security,” Floria added.
Though they spoke as if making excuses, they weren’t entirely off the mark. In fact, it was a significant problem that Kousuke himself was struggling with.
As Silvia had pointed out, if the shop’s reputation grew, it would undoubtedly attract theft. To prevent this, they would either have to hire people or rely on other methods. Hiring staff would incur considerable costs, making it too extravagant for a shop run as a hobby. Therefore, they had to resort to other security measures, which ultimately led to the proposal of extraordinary methods.
…That was the rationale, at least. Kousuke still suspected that everyone had simply offered their opinions for their own amusement.
Regardless, from a security standpoint, making it a perfectly ordinary shop would be nothing short of a bad move. Consequently, they had no choice but to rely on unconventional methods.
“…Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. I can’t help but feel that things are constantly becoming backward, but that’s probably just my imagination,” Kousuke muttered, as if involuntarily. Silvia and Floria offered him inscrutable expressions in return.
It was no exaggeration to say that every time Kousuke did something, it either resulted in or involved something out of the ordinary. However, he couldn’t simply do nothing and just live his life. Kousuke had already resigned himself to the situation to some extent. Instead, he had come to believe that minimizing the damage (?) was the important thing.
Seeing Kousuke gaze into the distance, Silvia responded with a comforting tone.
“That may be true, but I think thinking about it first is important,” she said.
“You’re right. We know from our past experiences that just going with the flow without any countermeasures is a bad idea, don’t we?” Floria added.
“Well, yeah,” Kousuke agreed wholeheartedly with Floria’s words, acknowledging that he had learned from various experiences. However, for some unknown reason, things always escalated even further each time.
If he were to become reclusive out of fear, he wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. Kousuke certainly didn’t desire such a life, so he had essentially come to terms with it. Silvia and the others understood this well, so they weren’t forcing him to stop.
As Kousuke nodded, Floria suddenly looked as if she had remembered something and asked, “Speaking of things becoming backward, what happened to the plan of not fixing the magic tools? If the shop ends up standing out, won’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Ah. There’s nothing that can be done about that now. So, we’ll only be putting items with completely concealed magic circles in the shop,” Kousuke replied.
“I see, so that’s how it is,” Floria nodded, seemingly convinced by Kousuke’s explanation.
If Kousuke truly set his mind to hiding the magic circles inscribed on the magic tools, most people wouldn’t be able to discern them. If all the tools sold in the shop were in such a state, the spread of magic circles from the sold tools could be minimized. With that, he could satisfy the original objective to some extent.
However, upon hearing that answer, Floria had a different kind of doubt.
“…I understand, but can I ask one thing?” she inquired.
“…What is it?”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just sell them to Crown directly instead of opening a shop in the first place?”
Kousuke, who had anticipated this question from the start, placed a hand on his forehead and replied, “You really think so?” He had thought the same thing the moment Floria voiced her doubt.
Kousuke had considered abandoning the idea of opening a shop the moment he realized what Floria was implying. However, he decided to proceed with it for another reason.
“Certainly, if we conceal the magic circles, we could sell them to Crown. But I think opening a shop is necessary in terms of ‘succession’,” he explained.
“Succession…? Ah, I see what you mean,” Floria tilted her head, initially not understanding what Kousuke was referring to, but then quickly nodded in comprehension.
If Kousuke were to continue supplying magic tools directly to Crown indefinitely, there was a possibility that they would become overly reliant on him. Of course, there was a limit to the number of magic tools Kousuke could create alone, but his influence was far beyond anyone else’s, and it couldn’t be ignored. Just as people in Crown went through succession, the same could be said for the creation of magic tools.
For that reason, Kousuke believed it was better to stop supplying Crown directly and establish his own shop. Furthermore, if he placed magic tools with hidden magic circles in his shop, his influence would be more controlled than before. Kousuke also planned to make a few small adjustments to ensure the shop wouldn’t be easily identified as his own.
“So, you’re planning to open the shop somewhere other than the fifth floor of the tower,” Silvia said, reviewing the shop specifications she had been shown earlier. She nodded in understanding at Kousuke’s explanation.
“Exactly. …Well, I don’t think it’s possible to completely avoid suspicion, but I believe we can mitigate it to some extent.”
“Indeed, that might be the case,” Floria agreed with Kousuke’s words.
Up until now, anything Kousuke had been directly involved with was generally confined within the tower. If a shop were to suddenly appear outside the tower, his direct involvement would be less likely to be suspected. Of course, there might be suspicions somewhere along the line, but it would be far better than opening it on the fifth floor.
For Kousuke, since not opening a shop was no longer an option, this was the best compromise he could think of. Incidentally, he hoped to open it not just outside Amamiya Tower, but on a continent other than the Central Continent. He hadn’t decided where to establish it yet, but he planned to take his time choosing, given the opportunity.
And so, the decision was made to build the shop outside the tower (probably on another continent). While the possibilities have been narrowed down to some extent, the author hasn’t decided on the exact location yet. It will likely be decided by the time this story is posted.
