Chapter 773 – Milton Haye
Hello.
I’m a guy who runs a secondhand clothing store in Village Five, Johnson-desu.
Age?
Over a hundred but I don’t really remember.
My memory is filled with customers and old clothes.
Considering my customers, I should be around….200 years old.
Fufufu
Since I’m a demon, age literally doesn’t matter.
-0-
Then, everyone.
Do you know about the situation of commoners in regard to clothing?
The clothes of commoners are basically second-hand clothes.
When they can no longer wear the old clothes they are wearing, they’ll seek new old clothes.
That’s how it has been.
Therefore, very few wear new clothes.
New clothes for commoners mean new old clothes.
An average person has two or three pieces of clothing.
They don’t wear those two or three pieces of clothing all the time but rather, layer them according to the season.
Until a few years ago, that has always been the case in every place in the world.
However, Village Five is different.
A commoner here has around 10 sets of clothes.
Instead of layering their clothes, they wear summer clothes during summer and winter clothes during winter.
They also change their clothes depending on their mood.
Therefore, the residents look very colorful and my store, which sells second hand clothes, is always full of people.
This is probably because of how secure Village Five is.
Clothes are property.
If you think about the danger of your clothes being stolen, you usually won’t consider having extra clothes.
However, if there is no danger of your clothes being stolen, you would be more inclined to keep more.
Of course, another reason is that the residents have warm enough pockets to buy new clothes.
Yes, the residents of this village have money.
In addition, the taxes in this village are very low.
So much that the residents are worried that it is not enough.
I had a chance to meet with the acting village chief of this village and talked with her several times and succeeded in finding out the reason for the low tax rate.
She said the reason is that they are raising the residents.
-0-
What the village and city want are residents who are willing and will honestly pay their taxes.
And how can you make them do that?
The residents should be financially comfortable and benefit from paying taxes….which means that they should want to continue to live in the village or city.
Thus, you shouldn’t squeeze the wealth out of the residents through taxes.
Keep taxes low and provide entertainment.
And make it safe.
If you do that, people will gather.
If people gather, the village or city will have more tax money in its hand so there will be no problem in running the place.
Entertainment gives residents enjoyment and at the same time, boosts the economy by making residents spend their money.
When the economy is good, there will be more goods needed and more jobs.
Naturally, the more the public safety improves, the more the people will welcome it.
「The government’s job is to use the collected taxes. It can’t be saved. Money is something that has to move.」
That’s what the councilor said.
I kind of understand what he means.
Well, the secretary beside him said “It is also the government’s job to save money in case of emergencies.”.
-0-
In any case.
The idea of the acting village chief is to nurture the residents.
In other words, it should be to enrich the residents.
And the village chief also agrees with the acting village chief’s idea.
No, it should be more correct to say that the acting village chief is carrying out the village chief’s vision.
If that is the case, we can do business with peace of mind.
For the residents, secondhand clothes are one of the luxuries they can easily afford.
It doesn’t disappear like food and can be worn and enjoyed.
Ah, at my store, we don’t sell used clothes as they are. We adjust them to the size the customer needs and even add embroidery to give them uniqueness.
This is something that anyone can do at their own home but I aim to distinguish my store from other secondhand clothes stores by providing such a service.
In the secondhand clothing business, it is important to have a connection with the customers.
-0-
One day, I received a call from the councilor.
As for why, they want to buy a large amount of clothes and cloths.
We don’t want to be outbid because they will buy at a fair price but….
「Is there a problem?」
No, if we sell the quantity you are asking for, our store will run out of stock.
「Ah, we have no intention of interfering with your business. Just sell as much as you can.」
Thank you very much for your kindness.
Then, we will sell you what we can.
A certain degree of quality is required but given the amount, the value can be stretched.
Is the payment going to be in installments?
「We have money so we’ll pay in one go. Ah, if you prefer that kind of payment, we have no problem with it.」
Hahaha
I heard your idea of turning the economy around so I’ll use the money to….
Hnn?
Wait a minute.
Calm down, me.
Yes, calm down.
I have met the village chief.
It was when I came to visit the acting village chief.
We met by chance.
At first, I thought he seemed like an unreliable young man.
However, I soon changed my mind.
The clothes he is wearing are made of demon spider web.
How could a village chief, who can wear such a super high-end luxurious item in his daily life, be unreliable?
Besides, he is the one whom the acting village chief, who is known to be someone not ordinary, bows down to.
He is not someone I should take lightly.
I remembered that I had to brace myself.
Right.
The village chief’s clothes were made of demon spider web.
The clothes were the perfect size for the village chief.
Demon spider web, of course, can only be obtained from demon spiders.
It is extremely difficult to get demon spider webs since they are synonyms for disaster.
The existing clothes made from demon spider webs are adjusted clothes from a long time ago.
I assume that the village chief’s clothes are the same.
In short, it should have been adjusted.
In other words, there is a possibility that there are edge cuts!
It’s too rude to say that I want those scrap cloths however, even if I die, I want to take the chance of getting some of those scraps!
Even scraps of cloths from the clothes made from demon spider webs are a treasure to a secondhand clothes merchant like me.
I can say that I have no regrets in my life and I can boast about it to my children.
I want scraps of the clothes made from demon spider web that the village chief wears as payment.
Will I be scolded if I say it?
I shouldn’t do this but this is my only chance.
I tried saying it.
They refused.
Desu yo ne.
「There is no scrap from that. There is cloth but….」
……..
Eh?
「Is cloth okay? How much do you want?」
Ehto….
「It’s strange that the price of secondhand clothes is cloth. fufufu」
-0-
In my store, I have a cloth spun of demon spider web cloth.
Enough to make one outfit.
Maybe this thing…
It’s more valuable than the amount of money I gained from selling clothes all my life.
However, it seemed like only a magic knife or something better could cut this cloth so they also lent me one.
…………..
My store sells second hand clothes but I can also make clothes.
Let’s be honest.
I’m a rumored designer in the fashion world.
I am Milton Haye-desu.
When I was selling the clothes I made, calling them secondhand, I became a rumor.
In other words, I have a certain degree of confidence in making clothes.
However, I still can’t touch this fabric yet.
It’s not that I’m afraid of failure.
I have yet to know who to make the clothes for.
Since the clothes will be fully made from this kind of cloth, the price will be amazing.
Thus, the number of people who can wear it is very limited.
The first person that comes to my mind is the village chief.
It would be best to make clothes for the village chief to wear.
However, the village chief already has clothes made from demon spider webs.
Can I stand being compared to those?
I can’t.
I’m confident in making clothes but I don’t like to be compared.
If it’s comparison, Milton Haye would take you on desu.
The next person I thought of was the acting village chief.
However, the clothes that the acting village chief wears are made of magic.
She only wears clothes made of magic.
Since she likes them, would she go out of her way to wear the clothes I made?
Then, clothes for me?
……
What a waste!
Yeah, I can’t desu.
My sons and daughters are cute but given their age, they’ve already passed the cuteness stage and are full-fledged adults!
I have a good number of grandchildren but….I can’t just make for one of them.
Umu.
Trouble.
Who should I make it for?
-0-
The day goes on while I’m worrying about that….
「Councilor kon!」
The acting village chief was wearing a cute outfit made of demon spider web.
At that moment, I had a flash of inspiration.
Or it should be better to say that a new door opened.
I decided to make it for the councilor.
I decided.
Yes, cute clothes would be my rival but I don’t care.
I want to give form to the spark within me and have the councilor wear it.
The price doesn’t even matter!
I immediately went to cut the cloth….
Wait.
Calm down.
Calm down, me.
I have to speak with the councilor first.
Yes, please let me measure your body.
……
Can I even say that?
I tried to tell her!
TN: I only assumed the councilor is female given that Johnson was inspired by Youko’s cute outfit and I don’t think it’s Loch. If it’s Loch then someone is pushing him to be gay.
She refused.
Desu yo ne.
-0-
Then….
I can only measure you with my eyes.
Place something around where the councilor will be and make a measurement of her with those things as reference.
I can do it.
I can do this.
I will do it.
Please wait for me, councilor-sama.
I will prepare clothes for the new you.
I’m sure you’ll like it.
Fufufufufu
-0-
Youko: I gathered the cloths and old clothes for you. At least pay with your cloths.
Spiderlings: With pleasure
Cute Youko: Recently, there have been a lot of square and mesh-like objects placed around kon.