By recovering the tuition money, I now had a thousand gold in hand.
Now that I had some starting capital, I intended to begin the business in earnest. There was no reason to waste time, so my first priority was securing the storefront I had already chosen.
“Oh my! Young Master Maxim! To think someone of your esteemed status would visit this humble place again!”
The middle-aged building manager I had met before welcomed me with an amiable smile. His speech and demeanor were completely different from when we first met. Most noticeably, he had stopped calling me “you” and started addressing me as “Young Master.”
“I would like to lease this shop.”
“You personally, Young Master?”
“I am thinking of starting a business. Is there a problem with that?”
“Not exactly a problem. It is simply rare for nobles to engage in business themselves. I just found it somewhat surprising....”
Buying and selling goods was not the only part of doing business. Negotiating a lease was part of business as well, which meant my business effectively began now.
Even though I had a thousand gold, that was nowhere near enough capital to start a business comfortably.
Therefore, if I could save even a little through the lease agreement, I had to do so.
In short, I intended to negotiate the rent down.
Whether that would work on the middle-aged man before me was another question.
“What is the going rent?”
“The lease is renewed every two years, and the monthly rent for this unit is set at three hundred and fifty gold.”
From what I could tell, the space was around thirty-three square meters.
Despite not being particularly large, the monthly rent was still three hundred and fifty gold. That alone proved that this was unquestionably one of the prime commercial districts inside the Fence.
“This unit seems unusually small compared to the others. From what I can tell, it is the only one that is not even half their size.”
“To be entirely frank, if you look at these documents, you will see that it is actually slightly more than half their size. On the other hand, under the Duke of Arnia’s orders to accommodate merchants, the rent has been set at less than half the price charged for the other units.”
“I see.”
Look at how quickly his attitude changed.
So he was not going to make this easy.
The tone he had used when calling me Young Master disappeared completely. Now he sounded thoroughly businesslike.
Even his expression reminded me somewhat of real estate agents I had dealt with in my previous life.
More importantly, perhaps anticipating that I would try to negotiate the rent, he had cleverly invoked the Duke of Arnia’s name first.
In other words, he had preemptively defended the price.
‘This is the Duke of Arnia’s territory. If the Duke personally set the rent, there is no way I can touch the price itself.’
But I could not give up here.
If I could not save money on the rent, I would have to find another angle and squeeze out whatever advantage I could.
There had to be something.
Some way....
‘Come to think of it, the merchants at the nearby shops said this place had been vacant for quite a long time.’
That suddenly occurred to me, so I asked the building manager about it.
According to him, the shop had been vacant for an entire year.
“A storefront in a commercial district this good went without a tenant for a whole year?”
“Yes, well....”
“There really was no business willing to move in?”
“Even I never expected it to remain empty for an entire year. I was certain there would be some suitable business eventually, but almost no one came forward wanting to rent it.”
“That is probably because of the Duke of Arnia’s policy, is it not?”
“That is true, but what can be done? Nearly every type of shop suited to this area is already present in the surrounding commercial district.”
Businesses of the same type could not operate within a designated distance of one another.
Ironically, the Duke of Arnia’s policy intended to protect merchants had ultimately created this situation.
Then again, since both the land and the building belonged to him, perhaps he did not particularly care.
“There are several food-related businesses around here, though.”
“Yes. There are some exceptions. Restaurants, for instance, may operate in the same area as long as they specialize in different kinds of food.”
“Hmm. The criteria seem rather vague.”
“Regardless, the important point is that nearly every viable type of restaurant is already here as well. At present, there simply is not much left that could move in.”
“True. There is already a hospital nearby, a fruit shop, a smithy, a clothing store, and practically everything else one could need.”
Apparently, the final decision could even change depending on the subjective judgment of the administrator overseeing the district.
From the building manager’s perspective, then, it was inevitable that he could not provide perfectly clear criteria.
Although it was the Duke of Arnia’s policy, the system was nowhere near as organized as those in the modern world.
Perhaps that was simply a characteristic of a less developed era.
Or perhaps the game developers had neglected this particular detail.
In simple terms, the system was full of loopholes.
And I intended to exploit them.
“If this shop has remained without a tenant for so long, then unless an entirely new kind of business suddenly appears....”
“I did not see anyone selling coffee anywhere nearby.”
“Selling coffee?”
“Judging by your reaction, that is unusual enough. In that case, there should not be any problem with me running a coffee business here.”
“Yes, of course! There is not a single person selling coffee anywhere around here, or even in the other commercial districts!”
“Then can I assume that, at least for now, I am the only person who could realistically move into this shop?”
“Pardon?”
“Am I wrong?”
“N-No. What you say is correct, but....”
For the first time, the building manager’s gaze wavered slightly.
A crack had finally appeared in the poker face he had maintained so well.
“Hmm. If I do not sign the contract today, there is no telling how much longer this shop might remain empty....”
“Y-Young Master, I understand perfectly well what you are asking for, but as I said earlier, there is nothing I can do regarding the rent itself. I swear there is not a shred of falsehood in that!”
“On the way here, I noticed quite a few vacant storefronts in the other commercial districts as well. I suppose the buildings there are facing similar problems?”
“E-Even so, surely the commercial district here is better?”
“That is true, but if the difference in rent is substantial, it might be worth considering. Perhaps I should think about it a little longer.”
“Come now, Young Master. Surely there is no need for that....”
“Thinking about it, this does not seem like something I should decide too hastily. I will speak with the managers of some other commercial buildings first, and then we can talk again. Let us go, Isaac.”
I stood and turned away.
That was when the building manager’s urgent shout came from behind me.
“W-Wait! Please wait, Young Master!”
“...?”
“O-One month! I will give you one month!”
“What do you mean by one month?”
“D-Did I not behave rudely toward you last time because I failed to recognize you, Young Master? My offense of insulting a noble was grave, and I have felt terribly guilty ever since!”
“And?”
“If you returned to sign a lease, I had already intended to waive the rent for one month! But if you turn away so coldly without understanding my intentions....”
“Is that so?”
Now I understood.
The building manager’s performance was closely tied to the rent the property generated.
Although he could not alter the rent itself because the Duke had set the price, granting a temporary exemption was apparently within his discretion.
‘If he is willing to waive the rent, that means vacant storefronts are causing just as much trouble in the other commercial districts too. If things go well later, those empty units would be perfect for franchise locations.’
It was essentially the modern concept of rent-free tenancy.
Such incentives were often offered for newly constructed buildings, during real estate downturns, or when sluggish business conditions made it difficult to attract commercial tenants.
The building manager had clearly concluded that rather than leaving the unit empty indefinitely, it would be far more profitable to waive one month out of a two-year lease and collect rent for the remaining period.
“Two months.”
“Ah! Y-Yes! Very well! Since you generously forgave my insolence last time without punishing me, Young Master, I will gladly waive two months of rent!”
I was just about to nod in satisfaction when Isaac suddenly poked me in the side.
Then, without warning, he turned toward the building manager and spoke in a solemn voice.
“Three months.”
“...S-Sir Knight! V-Very well, three months! But absolutely no more than that!”
Isaac puffed out his chest with obvious pride.
Then he looked at me smugly.
“What do you think, Young Master? How was my quick thinking?”
“Oh. I have to admit, that was genuinely well done. Excellent work, Isaac.”
“Ahem! You flatter me.”
I had not expected to secure three rent-free months.
It was a moment when Isaac, now completely on my side, felt remarkably dependable.
***
Unless the Duke of Arnia was a fool, he must have realized that there were serious flaws in his commercial policy.
Perhaps the rule prohibiting businesses of the same type from operating within a designated distance would be changed before long.
The fact that I had managed to lease a prime storefront under such favorable terms before that happened could only be considered good fortune.
The timing had worked out perfectly.
Furthermore, if I proved that there were still viable types of businesses that had yet to enter the commercial district, that might even give the Duke a reason to maintain his flawed policy for a little longer.
‘And if that happens, I could fill the vacant storefronts in the other commercial districts with cafés under equally favorable conditions.’
The managers of other buildings might even have offered better terms.
After all, they were undoubtedly struggling with the same vacant-storefront problem created by the Duke’s policy.
But no matter what terms they offered, I would still have chosen this location.
That was how much I trusted the judgment I had developed while building a franchise with a thousand locations.
‘At least inside the Fence, there is no other commercial district quite as good as this one.’
The district lay along the main road connecting the academy’s south gate and the fountain plaza.
By my standards, it was the ideal place for a café.
‘I have submitted my leave-of-absence application and finished the lease agreement. Now the important part is preparing for the business itself....’
Once the first chapter of the scenario began, the main episode, Opening of the Semester, would start.
That meant talented individuals from the Empire and its principalities would flood into the Fence, where the academy was located.
Arnia Academy accepted anyone with sufficient ability, whether noble or commoner.
But one thing was especially important.
Nobles never sent their children to the duchy alone.
‘I might be a son my family has practically disowned, so they only sent Isaac as my guard knight. But the children of other noble families will be completely different.’
Would the children of powerful noble houses walk such enormous distances to get here?
Of course not.
With nobles subtly competing to display their prestige, they would undoubtedly arrive in all manner of extravagant and colorful carriages.
And they would bring plenty of attendants to drive those carriages, along with numerous guard knights.
Commoners would also gather throughout the surrounding area just to watch the dazzling procession arriving from distant nations.
It was one of the few times each year when such enormous crowds gathered here, so the merchants inside the Fence naturally did everything they could to make a fortune during the rush.
“...So, to put it simply, that will be the busiest and most profitable season of the year.”
“Isaac. You understand surprisingly quickly.”
“It may become an opportunity for you to move closer to graduation, Young Master. With the crowds making the commercial districts busier than ever, I also believe we cannot simply stand by and let that opportunity pass us.”
“Exactly! I need to make a fortune while I have the chance.”
“Precisely! If you are going to run a business anyway, should you not make your very first achievement impressive enough to add another accomplishment to your record for graduation?”
“Right. More or less.”
No matter what I explained, Isaac had an uncanny ability to connect everything back to my graduation.
Still, I did not particularly mind.
Whatever his reasoning, if it helped him understand what I was saying, that was enough.
“Still, this is truly ironic.”
“What is?”
“By chance, we now have an entire month before the semester begins, do we not? And all of this was only possible because of your reputation as a wastrel, Young Master. I never imagined that would prove so useful.”
“Was that supposed to be praise or an insult?”
“Are they not more or less the same thing?”
So he meant both.
Just as Isaac said, my reputation as a wastrel had actually helped us a little.
Count Edwell must have thought he would sleep more peacefully if he shoved his unpredictable son into the academy dormitory as soon as possible. Thanks to that, despite there still being plenty of time before the semester began, he had hurriedly sent me to the Duchy of Arnia.
Somehow, that had bought me time.
Even so, there still was not enough.
“We need to finish the interior within two weeks if we want enough time to test the coffee and secure all the necessary supplies.”
“It takes two whole weeks just to decorate the interior?”
“It might take even longer. I expected the interior work to take more time than acquiring the equipment and ingredients. That is why I wanted to finish the lease first.”
“Hmm. I do not think it will take that long.”
“That is because you have never done interior work. Hiring laborers would shorten the time, but we need to save as much money as possible.”
“Thanks to me, we do not have to pay rent for three months. Are we still short on funds?”
“Yes, you definitely helped. But like I said, we still need to purchase equipment and raw materials.”
Ultimately, we had to work within the capital available to us.
That meant, for now, we had no choice but to handle the interior ourselves.
“I knew I should not have trusted you so easily.”
“Hey. Is that really something you should say? You are my only employee right now. We are in the same boat! We need to row together and make it to our destination!”
“What good is being in the same boat when only one of us is capable of rowing properly? Will we even reach the destination on time?”
“Wait. Are you saying you are extremely confident in your ability to row?”
“Heh. As always, Young Master, you truly cannot do anything without me. This is precisely why I can never leave your side without worrying.”
His laugh was filled with irritating confidence.
Just as before, Isaac puffed himself up proudly.
“In any case, interior work simply means making and arranging the furniture, then decorating the place in a way people will find appealing, does it not?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Do you have a design plan?”
“I am not a professional, so calling it a proper blueprint might be excessive, but I did sketch something out. It is more like a drawing showing the optimal workflow for operating the shop and the furniture we will need....”
SWISH—
Isaac snatched the drawing from my hands as soon as I pulled it from inside my clothes.
Then, in that distinctive solemn voice he used whenever he was trying to look impressive, he said,
“I can easily finish this within two weeks.”
“You can? How?”
“Have you forgotten your past misdeeds, Young Master? Whenever you got drunk and rampaged through shops in the Edwell territory, smashing them apart, who do you think repaired and rebuilt them afterward?”
“Th-That happened too?”
“Drunkards rarely remember their own mistakes. In any case, it seems I will have to put my skills to use once again for the sake of your graduation.”
I might only have one employee, but I had apparently hired an exceptional one.
No.
That employee had been by my side from the beginning.
“Isaac....”
“There is no need to be so moved. When you think about it, all of this is thanks to you, Young Master.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
With Isaac taking the lead, the interior work began.
As though proving that the confidence behind his smug expression had not been empty boasting, Isaac displayed skills that bordered on professional.
I merely assisted him.
Using nothing more than my rough sketch, he acquired all the materials we needed.
On this first day of construction, he had somehow obtained lumber for free and was already building furniture.
Where in the world had he gotten all of that?
And how had he learned skills like these?
Just as I was about to bombard him with questions, I suddenly remembered what Isaac had told me earlier.
A thought crossed my mind.
‘Just what the hell did I used to do back in the territory...?’
No matter how deeply I searched my memories, there was no chance I would find an answer.
I had no idea how much destruction the former Maxim must have caused for Isaac to acquire skills like these.
‘Wait. Could it be that Isaac actually has more talent as a contractor than as a knight?’
For the first time, I spent an entire day feeling genuinely grateful that Maxim Edwell had once been such a wastrel.