CH 117

“Stuffed Animals & Wooden Doll Riot.”

Translated by Dawn

“Stuffed Animals & Wooden Doll Riot.”

A few days after completing the marketing survey at the Adventurers’ Guild, sales of the stuffed toys and wooden dolls began. Since then, we had made some changes to the stuffed animals and wooden dolls, adding two smaller sizes to the stuffed animals and placing the wooden dolls in wooden boxes so that it would be impossible to see what was inside from the outside.

By making the stuffed animals in two different sizes, the aim was to separate them for children and adults and at the same time, to make the children’s version more reasonably priced than the adult version. The wooden dolls were created based on the same theory as that of the “Gacha” toy machines on earth, which cleverly took advantage of the “you don’t know what you’re going to get until you check the contents” theory.

The stuffed animals were priced at 2 small silver coins and 8 large bronze coins for the smaller sizes for children, and 5 small silver coins and 6 large bronze coins for the adult sizes. The wooden dolls were priced at 6 small silver coins and 8 large bronze coins, the most expensive of the new products, due to their elaborate appearance, the information on the dolls, and the rarity of each wooden doll.

“Is this going to be all right?”

“What?”

“Will it sell?”

“I don’t know. If we knew from the start that it would work, then every merchant in the world would be a great merchant.”

I was currently working with the employees who were busy preparing for the opening of the Greg Trading Company, making final checks on the new products section.

Greg was anxious about whether the new products would sell or not, and I gave him my reasonable opinion. Greg nodded his head as if he was convinced by my words and smiled bitterly.

Even on Earth, there were many products that had a good reputation in the past but did not sell so well when they were actually put on the market. It was very difficult to determine which products would sell in a situation where everything was different than on Earth, including the ability to communicate information and the types of products being sought after.

However, in this world where there were few rivals and taxes and laws were not as regulated as in the previous world, wasn’t it a…cheat to do business in a situation where you have knowledge on Earth?

“Well, I guess it’s time to open up.”

“Boy, are you sure you don’t want to go to the dungeon?”

“It’s all right, it’s all right. This is just a hunch I have, but I have a feeling it’s going to be crazy.”

I couldn’t help but have the feeling that I’d be going to war today, ever since I woke up this morning. I suspected that this day might mean the beginning of a new story for Greg Trading Company.

“Boy, it’s time.”

“Alright, then…let’s open!”

With my declaration, the entrance to the store was opened. Dozens of customers who had already lined up before the store opened rush into the store, and in no time at all the store walls are crowded with shoppers. I took up a position in the corner where stuffed animals and wooden dolls were displayed and took charge of the sales floor.

Since it was revealed that this was my store, there was no point in hiding, so I decided to take charge of the first day’s sales, even if it was only this time. When I told Greg about this, he said, “I’m kind of sorry,” but I felt that I had to be in charge of the first day of sales for this product, so there was no problem.

“U-umm, what is this?”

“Welcome. This is a stuffed animal that we are going to be selling today.”

Since it was a customer service business, I tried to use polite language with my customers. ……Hey, now you’re wondering if I can speak politely, right? I’m a former salesman, you know? Don’t underestimate me.

“This is a stuffed animal?”

“Yes, how do you like it? Isn’t it cute? The smaller ones are to be used as toys for children, and the larger ones are for adults to pet or display in their rooms when they are tired or want to be healed.”

“They are really cute. By the way, how much is it?”

“The small one costs 2 small silver coins and 8 large copper coins, and the large one costs 5 small silver coins and 6 large copper coins.”

“Ugh, it’s surprisingly expensive…….I’ll come again.”

“Yes, we look forward to seeing you again.”

Apparently, the first customer gave up on the purchase…no wonder. In fact, the price of this stuffed animal was quite high. While the average person’s daily food budget was at most 3 large copper coins, the price of a small one was about 9 times that, or 2 small silver coins and 8 large copper coins. For adults, the price was more than 15 times higher: 5 small silver coins and 6 large copper coins.

However, we had no intention of lowering the price any further. The price was exquisite and just barely profitable, based on the quality of the stuffed animals and the market price of the materials used. The materials themselves, however, were not purchased from somewhere else but were obtained by me directly from the local market, so the cost used was almost zero.

Since Greg Trading Company intended to take over the entire process of purchasing materials, production, and sales of this product from now on, I decided that the current price setting was appropriate. Since this was the first step for this trading company to become a true trading company, I wanted to make as few compromises as possible.

“Hm? What’s that noise?”

After a while of being in charge of serving stuffed animals, suddenly a roaring sound that shakes the earth was heard. The sound gradually became louder and louder, and it seemed to be approaching the Greg Trading Company.

I ran outside to see what was going on and saw what looked like a cloud of dust rising in the distance on the main street. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a cloud of dust that was being created by the influx of people.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were the same adventurers who had helped me with my marketing survey the other day and that they were coming toward me, looking very frightened.

I hurriedly returned to my post, and the adventurers, who had come rushing into the area, spotted me and approached me, their footsteps making a heavy thudding sound.

“…Welcome.”

At any rate, as long as they had come to this store, they were customers, so I greeted them with a drawn face and a visit to the store. Then, a female adventurer danced in front of me and began to say something that made me embarrassed to react.

“Chappie, please!”

“Yes?”

What? What’s that mean? However, I came to understand her imitative behavior when I saw her face. I looked at her face and remembered that she was a female adventurer who had given the name Chappie to a stuffed animal I had shown her during the marketing research. In other words, when she said, “Chappie, please,” she was asking for a stuffed animal.

“Chappie! Chappie, please!”

“Ah, yes, yes. Please present your ticket.”

“Mhm.”

As a reward for their cooperation in the marketing survey, I handed out paper tickets that could be exchanged for a stuffed animal of their choice. When I asked her to show me the ticket, she opened her clenched fist and there was a crumpled paper ticket….It was the moment when I finally understood the meaning of the fist that she had held out.

From there, the male adventurers wanted wooden dolls and the female adventurers wanted stuffed animals, so the female adventurers were left to Molly, who was standing by as an assistant, to deal with the male adventurers.

“Please present your ticket.”

“Is this right?”

“Yes, thank you. Then please choose one of these boxes.”

He then pointed to a pile of boxes. The wooden dolls were placed in wooden boxes, the contents of which could not be seen until the boxes were opened. In other words, you never knew what you were going to get until you opened the box.

The male adventurers, with a keen eye, examined the crates and pointed to the one he had decided on. I picked up the designated crate and handed it to the male adventurer.

“Can I open it right now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, here we go.”

As I said that, the male adventurer began to open the crate with great gusto. What came out was a very elaborately made……Dash Boar looked as if it would start moving at any moment.

“Yes, it’s a Dash Boar.  It’s the lowest rarity, rank F.”

“Hmm. Hey, can I have another box?”

“Sure, but it’ll cost you money.”

“No problem.”

“Then it will be 6 small silver coins and 8 large copper coins. Also for those who have a ticket, the first box is free of charge, but the second box will cost you money. If you have a ticket, you can buy up to two wooden dolls, and if you don’t have a ticket, you can buy only one.”

The adventurer who had purchased the first wooden doll was about to purchase a second box when I made an announcement to the customers present. I thought there might be some complaints about the content of the announcement, but it seemed that only people with a good grasp of things were present, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

Incidentally, I also put a purchase limit on the stuffed animals, and regardless of whether they had paper tickets or not, each person was allowed to purchase up to two stuffed animals.

Regarding the production of stuffed animals and wooden dolls, since this was the first day of the sale, I and my artisan golem made full use of it to prepare a certain number of items. Of course, some of them were made by employees, but most of them were made by me and my artisan golem. Especially for the wooden dolls, there were no employees who could make decent wooden dolls, so all the dolls were made by me and the artisan golem.

The number of products to be sold today was 500 stuffed toys and 300 wooden dolls. The stuffed animals could be produced by our employees, so they could do their best, but as for the wooden dolls, we may need to find and secure a craftsman as soon as possible.

Incidentally, the rarity of the wooden dolls was basically based on the rank of the monster they were modeled after. The F-ranks were Goblins, Slimes, and Dash Boars, the most common monsters for novice adventurers, and the E-ranks were Forest Wolves, Horned Rabbits, and White Caterpillars, which were actually their rank the same.

Next in line for rank D were the higher goblin species such as the Goblin Warrior and Goblin Archer, as well as the desert-dwelling Sandworms and the delicious meaty Sappy, while rank C were Orcs and Poison Mine Spiders, monsters with rank E, but with I put it in this rank because it was the first boss of the dungeon that appeared in the first level of Orargrand.

From this point on, the B ranks were the rarest category, and their lineup was also gorgeous, with the top species of each monster, such as the Orc General and Goblin Knight, as well as the 15th-level boss Mongolian Sand Worms. Next was A rank, where the king-type monsters were chosen: the Orc King and the Goblin King.

Finally, for the S rank, I was selected the Elder Scorpion King, Jewelry King Slime, and Grande Wyvern, monsters that I had seen when I escaped from Nagartinya’s barrier. These were the specific contents of the wooden dolls.

Incidentally, the higher the rank, the smaller the number of pieces made, and only one piece was made at a time for the S rank. Since we made 300 pieces, you would be lucky if you got one out of every 300.

“Yes, too bad, it’s a Goblin”

“Damn it.”

“Yes, it’s a forest wolf, rank E.”

“Rank E. Well, that’s better than F.”

“Oh, it’s a Sappy, rank D.”

“D-rank!”

As they were opening the boxes, a number of familiar faces arrived, including Gyrmzak and his party, Olberto and his party members, and for some unknown reason, Hageld, who was in charge of the dismantling site, and Murian and Sakol, guild employees.

“Master it’s here.”

“Good morning, Master.”

“Oh, boy, you’re a shopkeeper today?”

“Does this place sell food?”

“Good morning, Rolando-kun.”

“Welcome. Well, it happened to be like that. Olberto, we sell only decorative items. If you are looking for food, we sold something at the stall outside. Are you here today for stuffed animals and wooden dolls?”

Gyrmzak, Maylene, Hageld, and Olberto spoke to me in that order, and I responded to each of them. Apparently, their purpose was, as I said, to buy the stuffed animals and wooden dolls that would go on sale today.

Incidentally, when I conducted marketing research for male adventurers, Hageld had replaced Murian and Sakol as the male guild staff representatives. In case you were wondering, the three of them were also given paper tickets as a reward.

“Master, I want a stuffed animal!”

“The stuffed animal booth is next door. If you want a stuffed animal, tell that girl.”

I pointed to the den of demons where the female adventurers were gathering. The women were undaunted by this and were more than willing to roll up their sleeves and lick their lips. Excuse me, this is not a dungeon, but a store.

I watched as the female adventurers rushed into the crowd without my voice reaching them, and decided to deal with the remaining men.

“Then, I’ll start first!”

With that said, Gyrmzak leaped forward. By the way, since Gyrmzak and his party did not participate in the marketing research, they didn’t have any paper tickets. It’s 6 small silver coins and 8 large copper coins, every time!

Gyrmzak held out the wooden box of his choice, and out of the box, which opened vigorously, came…

“What’s this?”

“Congratulations! You’ve hit the jackpot, rank A!”

Out of the wooden box that Gyrmzak chose was the Goblin King, and since I had only made two of each of the A-rank wooden dolls, that meant he had drawn 1 out of every 150.

Just in case, I had made a kind of bell to ring when they hit the jackpot in the lottery, so I would ring it if they were rarer than B-rank. The bell echoed through the store, and everyone’s eyes turned toward us.

“Yes!”

“I never thought it would be pulled here. That’s some good luck.”

“Ehe, it’s nice to be praised by Master.”

“Well done, Gyrmzak. We can’t lose.”

Other adventurers tried their hand at it, but the results were dismal, with only F- and E-ranked items, and not a single rare one in succession. Then, with all their might, that man went into battle.

“Then, let me pick it. This ticket will do, right?”

“Yes, please choose one of these boxes.”

“Here I go.”

“Now please take the box.”

That man, I shouldn’t have to tell you, was Hageld, the head of the Adventurers’ Guild Dismantling Site. As usual, his shiny head, without a single hair, shone brilliantly like the sun.

When he received the box from me, he began to open it with a careful hand, as if it were an occupational hazard. I was almost speechless for a moment when I saw what came out of the box, but I quickly regained my composure and continued with my customer service duties.

“Congratulations! You’ve hit the jackpot, S rank!”

“WHOAAAAA!”

The bell rang with my loud voice. An equally loud cheer echoed through the store. Hageld drew a Grande Wyvern, of which only one had been made out of three hundred.

The S-rank wyverns were all made by me to ensure quality, and their exquisiteness was well sculpted. After all, I have seen the real thing with my own eyes.

“O-ohh, did I hit the jackpot? But this Grande Wyvern…I’ve never seen it before.”

“Well, it’s an S-ranked monster.”

“Hm? How did you know this monster was S-ranked? Only a few guild officials should know of it, right?”

“…That’s because I’m an A-rank adventurer!!”

I was momentarily nervous at Hageld’s pursuit, but I instantly turned the tables on him, making full use of my high status, which was on the verge of an SSS rating. As the adventurers were gushing over my turnaround, all of them who had come to the store finished their purchases.

I sold about 50 stuffed toys and about 80 wooden dolls. The number might not seem like much, but with the adventurers alone, the shop made a profit of about four large silver coins. Since the paper tickets were free, the profit should have been more than eight large silver coins, but since I did not consider this a large amount of compensation for their cooperation in the marketing survey, I considered it reasonable.

The sales that day did not reach 200 stuffed toys, and the sales of wooden dolls also did not reach 100. I guess the price was too high for the average person to afford. I also had a day when I was thinking…

The next day, adventurers who bought stuffed animals and wooden dolls bragged to other adventurers on the same day they bought them, customers who had heard about the stuffed animals and wooden dolls on the first day told other acquaintances, mother adventurers with children bragged to other children about the gifts they gave their children, and the general public The rumor spread instantly by telling acquaintances, and the next day, even more so, a long line of people formed at the GREG Trading Company. Great, great, great……this is so great!