"Aaaah... it's morning now, huh?"
I opened and rubbed my eyes, got out of bed, and walked towards the window to see the sun already shining brightly from the window. Even though yesterday was tiring after learning about this world and making toiletries, I felt like I had a good rest last night and was ready to tackle the day ahead.
"Okay, it's selling time!"
Before leaving the inn, I told the receptionist lady that I would be staying for a few more days and handed her six silver coins. I also asked her where the merchant guild was as she handed me a piece of note with directions on it.
"So this is the merchant guild, huh? What a magnificent building..."
Arriving at the merchant guild, I was fascinated by the tall Gothic-style building in front of me. And to think if that place would be my starting point to make a living in this world, I couldn't say more about it.
"Welcome to the Remantia Merchant Guild. I'm Tiffania. What can I help you with?"
The moment I entered the guild, a pretty woman with glasses named Tiffania welcomed me, and judging by her appearance, she might be around the same age as me.
"I want to open a stall."
"Well, please write your name here..."
After I told her my purpose of visit, she opened a book that was on top of the table, and she pointed her finger at a certain page. I wrote my name on it while I saw her take a blue-colored card from the drawer. She pointed that card at me and at the page that had my name written on it. Suddenly, the writing of my name on the sheet disappeared, and then I saw my name was written on the card alongside the picture of me and a green-colored merchant guild's stamp with a number '0' on top of it.
"Here's your card, sir. You are a Class Zero merchant. Merchant classes are divided into two, Zero and One."
Class Zero? What does that mean?
"Umm... Can you explain more?"
"Yes, Zero is the lowest merchant class. It's for the street vendors like you, sir. Also, merchants who rent their property and don't own their shops belong to this class. And they won't be obliged to pay taxes yet."
Ah, I understood.
So basically, there was taxation in this world, and freeing street vendors and small shop owners from paying it was the right idea because of their fluctuated income. And yeah, it was a relief for me too because I didn't have to think about paying taxes. Although that was still questionable for some parts, I could ask for it later.
"Okay, I get it. Then, what about Class One?"
"Yes. Class One is for merchants who own their store outright and maintain stable earnings, and this is when tax obligations begin. The amount of taxes will be defined by their income reports."
Now that was interesting. So if I owned my store someday, I would have to pay taxes, huh?
"Umm... about your explanation of class Zero. What will happen if wealthy merchants just keep renting a place to avoid taxes?"
"Yes. If that happens, the merchants would be blacklisted and lose their rights, and they would be punished for committing a fraud."
"I see..."
Whoa, that was very strict, huh?
Although, that was acceptable in my opinion. It would guarantee the big trees wouldn't hog the cheap spots and help the new sprouts to grow. And it was kind of funny because capitalism already existed here.
"Okay, thank you for the explanation."
"And about your stall..."
Ah, right. I almost forgot about that.
"Do you want to open for one day, one week, or one month?"
"I'll go with the first option for now."
"And about the location, do you want a stall at the city center or outside of it?"
"What's the difference?"
"If you choose the city center, you would obviously get a priority with a lot of traffic. But the rent is slightly expensive, and you should make a reservation many days in advance."
As I thought, a strategic place means more traffic and income possibility, but it wasn't cheap, and I couldn't get it straightaway.
"Well, I took the second option, then."
"Yes, it would be one silver coin, sir."
"Here you go."
"Thank you, let me process your sales permit, so please wait for a moment."
"Okay."
After I paid the amount and waited, Tiffania returned with a piece of paper and a larger paper that looked like a city map. And she also held a pen.
"This is your sales permit, sir. And as for your stall, it's located... here."
She drew a cross sign at a specific point on the map, showing that my designated place was indeed far from the city center.
Actually, I didn't mind with it. I mean, what I needed now was to sell my toiletries and make some money quickly here.
"Yup, it's good."
"I see. Do you have any questions?"
"No, I think that's all for now."
"Well, please do your best at the store!"
After I earned Tiffania's encouragement and parted ways with her, I headed straight to my stall's location. Along the way, I also bought a cheap mat and a small table, which I then put inside my dimensional inventory with my [Storage] skill.
Arriving there, I saw people already selling at their stalls, and as expected, there weren't many people who came to buy because of the location that was far from the city center. But I didn't care about it anyway, so I immediately began to prepare for sales.
I laid the mat on the ground, then put them on the table, and arranged the soaps, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and sanitizers on top of the table. I also put down a small bowl of water that I prepared earlier. For the final touch, I sat cross-legged on the mat and waited for the buyers to come.
"Alright, let's do this!"
However, after 30 minutes, no one came and just passed by. Most of the people glanced at me and walked away in a kind of fear. Well, it kind of made sense because I sold soaps, things that people considered expensive in this world, and some other alien stuff people never knew about.
But I was still optimistic, so I just waited again for another 30 minutes, and then for 1 hour. Yet still, there was no sign of selling, and instead, I heard a growling sound from my stomach.
"Ah, yeah. I'm hungry now. I haven't eaten anything today..."
I sighed and rubbed my belly, trying to hold the hunger for a little longer.
"Alright, just wait a bit more. Maybe luck will come soon."
And then, I noticed a woman with a grocery in her hand approaching. She walked slowly and somehow looked hesitant, and her eyes darted around like she wasn't sure if she should be here. She stopped right in front of my stall. The woman lowered her head slightly, looking shy and anxious. With that, I began with greeting her first, and the woman asked me back with a low voice.
"Ah, welcome, my lady!"
"Umm… excuse me, what are you selling here?"
"Well, I'm selling soaps, my lady."
"S-Soap?"
As I thought, she was shocked and instantly stepped back, like I just shouted something outrageous at her.
"Is that… is that really soap?"
"Yes, but don't worry. I know you don't believe it, but I assure you, it's real. In fact…"
As I said that, I pointed toward the pile and at the small bowl of water I had placed earlier.
"If you don't mind, please take any soap you want and try it out yourself. Just dip it in the water, rub it on your hands, and see the magic."
She looked nervous, but I kept smiling and nodded at her to convince her. After a short pause, she crouched down and reached out to pick up one bar of soft pink soap. Then, she slowly dunked the soap and began rubbing it on her hands. The moment it started forming bubbles, her eyes went wide.
"It's… it's real. It's really soap…"
"I've told you, right? Now, try smelling it."
Obediently, she sniffed her hands and murmured something like she was still in disbelief.
"Amazing. It smells like flowers…"
"See? I'm not lying to you."
Maybe because I managed to prove it to her, she began staring at the soap like it was a rare treasure, holding it tightly with awe. However, there was still doubt on her face, and I knew exactly why.
"How much… how much does it cost?"
"Just five bronze coins, my lady."
"Five?! Only five?! Are you serious?!"
Yeah, I wasn't lying, you know?
I mean, after you found out my soap was real, were you still doubtful when I told you it was cheaper than you thought?
"Of course, my lady. Only five bronze, and you can take that soap."
Suddenly, the woman stood up, her shyness and doubt gone away as she shouted at me and handed me the coins.
"Then I'll buy one, please!"
"Thank you very much, here you go."
After I took the coins, I handed her the soap, and she brought it close to her face, sniffing it again with awe and disbelief, like she just won a jackpot.
Then, the next thing happened was I saw her eyes dart around the table, and with curiosity on her face, she pointed at other products and bombarded me with lots of questions.
"Umm… these other things… What are they?"
"Sure, let me explain to you, my lady."
First thing first, I picked up the shampoo bottle.
"This one's called shampoo. It's used to clean your scalp and hair. Just pour a small amount, rub it on your head, and rinse it with water. It makes your hair clean, soft, smell nice, and free from itch."
"For the scalp?"
"Yes, that's right."
Next up, I picked up a small cloth bundle and opened it, revealing the toothpaste inside.
"This one is called toothpaste. It's for cleaning your teeth."
"Cleaning teeth?"
"Yes. Just scoop a little with your twigs or cloth, and scrub your teeth with it. You should do it twice a day, once after you wake up and once before you go to sleep."
"Umm... why should I do that?"
"Well, it helps keep your mouth fresh and clean, and it keeps the teeth strong."
"I see. I never heard of something like that…"
Then, I held up a slightly smaller cloth pouch and opened it, revealing the deodorant paste inside.
"This one's deodorant. It's for removing body odor."
"Odor?"
"Yes. You scoop out a bit with your finger, and rub it under your armpits. It prevents bad smells and keeps you fresh all day."
"That sounds useful."
Now, for the last item. I picked up the smaller bottle with a clear liquid inside as I began to explain about the hand sanitizers.
"This one is called sanitizer. This is used for..."
But suddenly, I stopped my explanation because I remembered something. This was a medieval world after all, so how could I say something alien like bacteria or viruses to them?
And after a few moments of thinking, I finally found perfect words to continue.
"Ehem, sorry. This is used to remove tiny, unseen things from your hands. You should use it before you eat."
"Tiny, unseen things? What are those?"
"Yes, my lady. They're things you can't see, not even with magic, but they're all around us. They make people sick if you're not careful. This liquid kills those things and keeps you healthy."
"I see. So, it prevents sickness?"
"Exactly!"
She was silent for a moment, but then she asked me again.
"How much are they?"
"Shampoo and sanitizer are one large bronze coin each. Toothpaste and deodorant are eight bronze coins each."
"Really?!"
When I mentioned the price, she was surprised and shocked again, but she wasn't in doubt like earlier. It was pure awe and happiness.
"Yes, that is how much they cost. Slightly more expensive than the soap, but I can guarantee you won't regret buying it."
"It doesn't matter for me, I'll take one of each, please!"
"Thank you very much, my lady! So it's three large bronze and six bronze coins in total."
"Here you go."
She handed me the coins and carefully packed the items in the grocery bag she carried.
Then, just as I thought she would turn around and leave, the woman suddenly turned back and faced the street.
"Everyone!!!"
Her voice echoed across the area, making people turn their heads in her direction.
"This store is selling soaps! Real soaps! And all kinds of other strange, amazing things, cheap and high quality! You have to come and see this!!!"
"Eh? What?"
Before I could even react, people started to turn and walk toward me, with more and more following. In a blink of an eye, people flocked and surrounded my stall like a never-ending wave. They quickly pointed and asked so many questions at me like paparazzi.
"Is it true you're selling real soap?!"
"What's this thing? Is it edible?"
"Wait, you said this liquid is for hair? How does it work?"
After that, my first day of sale was a success, selling out all my toiletries in less than 10 minutes thanks to that lady. In total, I earned 1 large silver coin, 2 silver coins, and 3 large bronze coins, which was 12,300 yen. And inside my dimensional storage, I still had the raw materials for the toiletries, which I could make for tomorrow's sales.
"Okay, let's go home now."
With that, I made my way back to the inn.