Gloriosa Boutique
The 6-passenger small ship I saw for the first time, was of a slightly futuristic design.
I’d imagine the small-sized ship to be the shape of a car without tyres, but I guess maybe I should say it’s closer to that of a ship; it’s thin, or rather, it doesn’t have height. I’m sure it has a shape close to a triangle if you look from above.
The space for people to ride is close to that of a car, and the windscreen is attached diagonally, matching the angle that is increasing from the bow. It’s the form where 3 people sit in a row on the front and back seats.
Behind the seats is a space where you can leave your baggage and no windows. The doors are the so-called gull-wing doors of Earth’s cars that open upwards. It’s convenient that the doors act as a shelter when it rains. And then, propellers are attached to both sides on the front and back. Propellers are attached to the tip of the propeller-use frames that extended out on the left and right on the front, and they’re attached directly to the ship’s body on the back.
There’s no driveway on the castle’s first floor because there are neither cars nor carriages in this world. The castle’s main entrance is 2 floors high. It’s composed of a platform so that these ships are able to dock there. We boarded this ship from that platform.
Jemma, Ariana, and Sandra were in the front seats, and I was implored to sit alone in the back seats. It looks like Jemma is steering. When she held the round car’s steering wheel with flat-rectangular-shaped handles on the sides with her left hand and controlled the lever with her right hand, the ship’s body went into a forward-leaning posture and advanced smoothly.
“Is this ship owned by the store?”
“The only ones that can own ships are countries. There are several harbours in each town, and you either get on an empty ship, or you call it to your own house or store to use it”
“Then, you do not necessarily have to go all the way to the harbour and return it?”
“Yes. After this, when it arrives at the store, and the people disembark, the ship will automatically return to the harbour”
“Is that so……”
Woah. How very futuristic.
“Ah!”
“Wha-, what is the matter?”
“Is what’s floating over there, by any chance, the Moon Capital?”
“Huh? E-, eeh, it is……”
“Ah. It is my first time seeing it from below; I did not think it would look like that. Is what’s along the beach below the shrine?”
“Yes. That is correct. I think it will look like the shrine is connected all the way to the Moon Capital by a stairway when you look at it from here”
“Eeh, it does. Furthermore, there are numerous torii1 built on the rocks? that are floating in sequence from the bottom like a stairway huh”
“Eeh, when you look up at how the crimson torii connects to the sky from the shrine, you can see two moons shining and the palace where Gods reside in front of it. It is named the Moon Capital from that mystical view”
“Is that so. I did not know why, it was called the ‘Moon Capital’, but it does come off as such when you look up at it from below like this huh”
“Yes. But those rocks are not connected. It comes off like they are stacked and connected when you look at it from the front over here, but when you look at it from the side, the individual rocks are separated, and it is impossible to walk across”
“Hooー, this, too, is sophisticated huh”
“When Tsukuyomi-sama is talking out of sight like this, I really do end up wondering if you are someone close to 30 years old huh”
“I would think so……my mental age is 28 after all. I do not mind even if you talk to me more informally hereafter, especially when it is in the store or it is just us, you know”
“I-, I believe that might be difficult……”
“Well, as much as you can is fine”
“By the way, regarding the undergarment this time around, you have to secure quite a bit of capital investment and manpower in order to spread it around the world hereafter, do you not?”
“Would we come to need that much?”
“Of course. It is necessary for the women around the world. If I am to go with a number, 1 person will need 3 pieces on average. If we assume the total population is 500 thousand and there is 1 man in 5 people, there will be 400 thousand women. Even if we exclude the elderly and children, there will likely be more than 200 thousand people who fit the bill. In that case, we will need 600 thousand pieces”
“W-, we are unable to make that many! What should we do”
“As I thought, I think we have to make a factory that specialises in undergarments. And for the other countries’ shares, we will teach them how to make it and let the countries who want to make them make them”
“Ye-, yeah”
“Ariana. You can discuss it with Helena-sama. The country will take the helm and make it from here on out as an industry of the country. You will not be able to feed the citizens even if you simply increase the number of people in order for the country to develop. You have to increase the agricultural produce as well, and productions like this are also necessary. It is something the country ought to take the helm”
“That is why we will have them make plans, starting from building a factory. In the near future, I will also personally talk to Fernando-sama about it”
“Ple-, please do; we will be counting on you”
“Tsukuyomi-sama, we arrived at the store”
“This is the place huh. What a marvellous store huh”
“Thank you”
As I thought, the store’s entrance is on the second floor. I got it from seeing it since just now, but every building has an entrance on the first and second floors, and the second floor is a bigger entrance. It looks like in the case of stores, the second floor is the store, and the first floor is the workshop and warehouse.
Gloriosa Boutique is a rather large-scale store. As you would expect of being a purveyor to the Royal Family.
When the ship arrived in front of the store, about 30 young women were lining up and bowing. Ariana calls out to the employees when we disembark the ship.
“Tsukuyomi-sama arrives!”
“Welcome!”
“Everybody, hello. Thanks for having me”
We were brought to a staggeringly luxurious reception room right away. And then top-class tea was served.
“Tsukuyomi-sama, I have something to discuss with you”
“Yes. What would it be?”
“The undergarment, of which we received the request this time around, is something Tsukuyomi-sama proposed. When we sell it to the world from here on out, we have to pay Tsukuyomi-sama, the proposer, a proposer fee. I would like to ask what percentage of the sales to make that”
“Normally, within the selling price of garments, roughly what is the ratio of the cost and profit?”
“Yo-, you are aware of something like that as well huh. Pardon me. The proposer fee will be 30%, the cost and the expenses needed for production will be 40%, and the remaining 30% will be the profit normally”
“This time around, how much do you plan to make the selling price of the commoner-use undergarment?”
“As of now, we are considering 1 large silver coin”
“Well then, it means the proposer fee is 3 pieces of silver coins, the cost and production expenses are 4 pieces of silver coins, and the profit is 3 pieces of silver coins huh”
“Yes. That is correct”
“You are saying that I have the right to decide that proposer fee’s percentage huh”
“Yes”
“What will you do if I say I want not 30% for the proposer fee, but 40%?”
“W-, we will……either cut our profit, or raise the price……”
“Is that so. I do not want the price to go up. Please make the proposer fee 10%, add the other 10% onto the employee’s salary, and use the remaining 10% to lower the selling price then. Is it possible?”
“Is something like that……really alright?”
“Ariana. Would it be possible for the female employees who came to greet me just now, to buy the undergarment created this time with the wages they worked and earned themselves?”
“I-, it is……embarrassing to say, but I believe it might be difficult with the current wages……”
“Is that so……when those still-young girls saw that undergarment for the first time, I am sure they were fascinated”
“And if they know that they cannot buy it even though they are making that marvellous undergarment every day from here on out, they will end up losing their dreams and hopes, will they not? That will be sad”
“I think it is exactly as you say”
“Ariana. Has there ever been an instance thus far where the products made in this store are sold universally across the world?”
“No, there has not”
“Well then, this undergarment will become the first ever product that is commended and regularly used by women around the world forever. And furthermore, it will also become a key industry of the country. You would probably understand how much you could take pride in it if I could have you think about it”
“Would they, who support that work that you can take pride in, be capable of good work working on such low wages that they cannot even buy the undergarment they make themselves?”
“It really is exactly as you say. We have been wrong. It is exactly as Tsukuyomi-sama says”
“You do not have to make such an apologetic face. It is not that you people thus far had been wrong. But it is different from here on out. You have to change”
“As we discussed previously, you can make new dresses from this undergarment as well. You will become busier and busier. If you do not tie down those with high technical skills like Sandra and Jemma by assigning them positions with responsibilities and paying high wages, they will end up running to other factories or countries, you know”
“My! It is true that that is exactly so huh……Tsukuyomi-sama sure sees through everything and guides the people in the right direction huh!”
Uーn. I wonder if the people of this country, be it Helena-sama, get moved easily.
“It is great that it looks like I managed to get you to understand. Ah! That’s right. Regarding the proposer fee, please make the proposer fee 20% only when it comes to the share of the sales to the royal family and nobles, since it is unnecessary to lower the price by 10%”
“Understood. We will perform Tsukuyomi-sama’s registration to the Trade Union on Tsukuyomi-sama’s behalf”
“What is the Trade Union?”
“Yes. They register the design of the new undergarment and manage it so as to not allow others to arbitrarily make something the same. They also collect and pay the proposer fee”
“I see. Got it. I’ll count the registration on you then, alright”
“Understood”
“Ariana, would it be alright for me to take a look at how all the employees working now?”
“Yes. Of course. Over here please”
The factory was on the first floor. When I followed Ariana down, Jemma and Sandra, along with roughly 30 of nothing but young women in their 10s and 20s were working.
“Ariana. Would it be alright for you to let me slightly, talk to everybody?”
“Yes, of course. Everybody! Tsukuyomi-sama seems to have something to talk to everybody about. Please stop what you are doing and gather up!”
I ended up becoming visible to only the women in the very front row after everybody had gathered since I’m small. I used Levitation and hovered all the way up to a height where everybody’s faces were visible since there was no other choice.
“Uwaaah!”
Everybody ends up letting out their voices. I wonder if they’re surprised? Everybody, their faces are turning beet red.
“Everybody, I think you are already aware, but I am having everybody make the women-exclusive undergarment under my proposal. This undergarment, it will come to be sold to every country in this world hereafter. Because of that, just this store alone will not be enough at all. It will be turned into a key industry of this country from here on out, and they will probably come to make numerous large-scale factories”
“The undergarment everybody makes will come to be commended and regularly used by the women in the entire world forever. Please take pride in the fact that you can make such an undergarment with your own hands. And then Ariana promised me that, using the profits from selling this undergarment, she would raise everybody’s wages”
“Uwaaーh!”
Cheers and applause reverberated inside the factory.
“Everybody, after your wages increase, please do buy this undergarment and beautiful dresses and have fun prettying yourselves up”
“Tsukuyomi-sama, thank you!”
“Thank you!”
“Ariana. My apologies for saying things arbitrarily”
“Not at all. I think everybody’s motivation went up. Thank you”
“I’m glad if that is the case. Well then, I will be returning today. Jemma, Sandra. I will come again for the menstrual products’ matter”
“Yes. Please visit any time. We will be waiting!”
It’s completed with this when it comes to the undergarment huh. All that’s left is the production of menstrual products.
