That next morning was horrible. Ryuji felt sick, his head was pounding, and the sun was way too bright. He realized this was a hangover from drinking the night before and swore he would never drink again. After barely making it to the privy at the end of the hall, the smell helped him empty the last of the ale from his stomach.
He then washed up and set and got into a new set of clothing since his other clothes smelled like they were dipped in ale and left to sour. He went downstairs to thank Karen for helping him to bed and found that a couple of the cat beastfolk from last night were still there, including Gato. He went over to them but Teresa waved him over and insisted they could sleep it off. He thanked her and gave her a small silver to cover his tab and the inconvenience. As usual, she tried to protest it was too much but he was out the door before she had the chance.
Ryuji went by Lizbet’s stand and had a surprise waiting for him. Lizbet’s daughters were both there waiting for him. At first, they looked mad and he figured that they thought that he was pulling their chains. To keep things from going in that direction he spoke first going straight to Lizbet.
“So young lady, have you come to a decision? I may need your help finding a place that would work because I admit I don’t know what kind of building you would need for a bakery. So, how about it? Oh, and please introduce me to these other gorgeous young ladies beside you.”
Lizbet just smiled and shook her head before smirking at the two bewildered-looking daughters. “See what I mean, be careful of this golden-tongued little devil. I don’t want either of you falling for him!”
As she chuckled her daughters looked scandalized. Then she spoke to Ryuji again. “This is my oldest, Sennet.”
At her introduction the tall thin beauty with light brown hair and eyes to match bowed her head and then spoke to Ryuji. “It’s nice to meet you, milord. This is my younger sister, Janet. *at the introduction the slightly shorter but much better-endowed girl with dirty blonde hair in a ponytail bowed.* We are pleased to meet you, milord. I was wondering, however, if you could tell us how you plan on dealing with our business? We need to get a few more details before we could decide.”
Ryuji then spent the next few minutes explaining how he intended to invest upfront and keep a running ledger of the store’s profits. They also asked if he would let them look at the ledger and he readily agreed. He then tore out a sheet of paper and had Lizbet draw up the contract citing an inability to cheat them if they wrote it. The contract was contingent on them finding a piece of storefront property that they could use and him being able to purchase it.
The details were the interest rate, which if the store made a low profit would take between thirty and sixty years to pay back. Any money paid above the minimum would count towards the principal, not the interest. By the end of the hour or so he had been talking with them they had an agreement. It would still be a while before they could act on the contract because finding a place to set up shop might take a bit. Ryuji decided to stop by the tax office at lunch.
He hurried to the magic shop and Dorn sniffed of him and got a big knowing grin on his face. He told Ryuji to be careful of drinking and trying to do magic. Ryuji grimaced at him and swore he was never going near the stuff again. Dorn laughed so hard that he started coughing. Ryuji spent the time until lunch translating another couple of pages of text. It was slow going but he was starting to get the hang of it by the time he heard Dorn yell for him to take lunch. As he was heading out the door Dorn couldn’t resist getting in a parting shot. He told Ryuji not to have too much ale with his lunch and went back to laughing maniacally.
Ryuji made his way to Lizbet’s and bought the usual butter bread before heading to the tax office. When he first arrived in front of the building he thought the young cat-girl had given him the wrong location. He looked to the side and made sure that the stable was next door to the right. The building in front of him didn’t look like a business but a home. He shrugged and went up the steps and knocked on the blue and red door.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
There was a moment’s pause then an answer came from inside, it was a woman’s voice. “Yes? Come in, the door is open.”
Shrugging he opened the door and stepped into the building. The inside was, as he had feared, set up as someone’s house. He looked around the room at the ornate wooden furniture with gold inlays and at the paintings on the walls until finally, his eyes settled on the occupants of the room. At the far side, sitting in what looked like an overstuffed armchair was an older woman with long curly brown hair wearing a long elegant gown reading a book. Standing beside the chair was a young man with short golden blond hair wearing an odd gray suit holding a silver tray with a drink on it.
After a moment the woman closed the book and reached up for the drink the man handed down to her, after taking a sip and replacing the drink on the tray she turned to look in Ryuji’s direction with a slight smile on her face. “My, what a handsome guest I have today. What can I do for you, my handsome elven guest?”
Ryuji cleared his throat feeling distinctly uncomfortable and made a shallow bow before remembering that he hadn’t seen anybody bowing here. “I beg that you pardon my intrusion, I may have been given the wrong directions. I was informed that this was the tax office for the dutchy. If I have indeed come to the wrong place, I ask that you would indulge my ignorance, young lady. Perchance you might be able to guide me to the right location? If so, I would be ever so grateful.”
The woman looked as though she was about to burst out laughing but she stifled it before replying. “There’s no need to be so formal with me my lord. I’m not of noble birth but this is indeed the office of the tax collector and my home as well. What might I do for you my most eloquent elf lord?”
Ryuji had to consciously stop himself from slouching in relaxation. He wanted to tell her not to treat him like nobility either but he thought better of it and went on quickly. “I was informed that in order to procure a place of business, I would need to apply for the tax title here. I have a couple of businesses that I was hoping to see into a storefront. If possible, I was hoping to see what parcels of land were available, including a few locations for my residence.”
The woman seemed to think this over for a moment then stared at Ryuji as if trying to discern his true intentions. After a moment she shrugged and turned to the man in gray. “Garron, fetch my ledger and the city map please?”
After the man left the room, she got up and made her way over to a desk in the opposite corner of the room. She sat behind it and motioned Ryuji into the seat facing her. When he got closer, he could tell that she appeared to be around her late forties or so but her skin didn’t look worn and weathered like most of the people he had met. She had a single mole under her left eye but otherwise, her skin looked unblemished and her hair was dark chocolate brown and well-maintained. He figured this must be a fairly cushy job if she looked like that.
Moments later the man returned with the requested items and she wasted no time in unrolling a large map across the empty desktop. To one side she set down the ledger and flipped about a bit before looking back at the map, then at Ryuji. “So, what kinds of businesses were you wanting to start? I do have a very few buildings available in the nobles' district but most obviously aren’t.”
“Oh, no. I don’t need anything in the nobles' district. I was hoping to find two storefronts, one for a leather goods and the other for a bakery. I wouldn’t mind also finding a small home but I can wait on that. The other two are more important.”
The woman seemed quite amused. “Quite the odd pair of businesses. As it turns out though, I have the perfect spot for a bakery. The store used to be owned by a baker a number of years back but the couple died and nobody had any use for such a specifically modified piece of property. That one is fairly cheap. I can let it go for only twelve small gold. As for the leatherware store, you have a number of options ranging in price from a small corner shop for ten small gold to a former inn for which you would have to negotiate the price with Count Rork himself.”
“For now, I think I would like to reserve the bakery and I would like to get a list of properties available that might work for my other storefront. Oh, and can I get the places detailed on a map? I get lost easily; you see.”