After finishing a peaceful breakfast, we hurried to display our products to resume business.
"Don't you think it would be better to put the popular items near the entrance...?"
"If we do that, customers coming for potions will have to push past the people looking at cosmetics just to get inside. People shopping for cosmetics usually stand around for a while deciding what to buy, rather than picking something quickly. This layout will be much more comfortable for both groups to move around."
"I see... So that's why you allocated so much space to the cosmetics section?"
"Yes. People coming for potions usually just grab what they need and head straight to the counter. They don't need as much space, so I invested the extra room into the cosmetics side."
"I see... That makes a lot of sense now that I hear it..."
"Then, let's finish up the display and get ready to open."
"Right. It looks like quite a few customers are already waiting outside, so let's hurry."
Lord Miach chuckled weakly as he checked the crowd through the window. Now that we had moved to a larger building in a high-traffic area, the increase in customers was remarkably obvious.
"Well, then..."
Having completed all preparations, I took a deep breath and swung the shop's firmly closed doors wide open.
'Ring~'
"Welcome! This is the Blue Pharmacy!"
"Now's our chance!!!"
"Kyaaaa!! The door opened!!"
"Hey! Stop pushing! I was here first!!"
"Where's the new product they talked about?! I missed out last time because I was on a dungeon expedition!!"
As soon as I opened the door, customers surged in with the force of a Monster Wave. In our old shop, this would have turned into an instant chaotic mess where it wouldn't have been surprising for someone to get trampled.
"Huh? It's surprisingly roomy in here?"
"Hey, they say cosmetics are in the back! Potion buyers, line up at the counter immediately!"
"Oh... This extra space definitely makes shopping easier."
The spatial layout strategy refined over decades by big-box stores back on Earth worked perfectly in this world as well.
Adventurers who only wanted potions grabbed their items near the entrance and headed straight for the register, while customers looking at cosmetics naturally dispersed into the wider area in the back. Thanks to this, there were no shouting matches or tangled foot traffic.
"Kai... the effect of this is incredible...?"
Naza, who was busy raking in money at the register without a second's rest, took a brief moment to look at me and gave a thumbs up.
"I told you, senior. Designing the traffic flow alone changes the turnover rate."
"Forget turnover... the speed at which the money is coming in has changed..."
For a split second, I thought Naza's eyes had literally turned into valis symbols... Must have been my imagination, right?
After the storm of the morning business passed, the shop finally quieted down around lunchtime.
"Phew... Moving the shop was definitely the right choice."
"Haha, it might be hard on the body, but the mind is at ease. We don't have to deal with customers getting squeezed like before."
Lord Miach also looked satisfied as he smiled at the empty shelves. Of course, the task of refilling those shelves now fell to us.
"With this much volume, I think we can start hiring some h... I mean, some staff."
"Staff, huh..."
"The shop is definitely large enough now that hiring someone wouldn't lead to us tripping over each other."
The reason I was pushing so hard to hire someone?
"To be honest, I want to start heading down to the Dungeon soon..."
I wanted to go to the Dungeon—more specifically, I wanted to get stronger.
'Whatever the Administrator used to recreate my body to fit this world... there's a high probability that "whatever" belongs to the owner of the memories I received.'
While this was exactly the kind of world I wanted to be in, I had technically been brought here... forcibly? My only goal was naturally to live a fun life, but...
'Sadly, with the memories I have and the fact that this world has literal protagonists, I need a certain level of power to maintain that kind of life.'
To do that, I needed to reach at least Level 2 or 3.
"More than anything, I need a proper weapon soon... and it's time to bring 'that' out of storage..."
"...'That'?"
"By something in storage... ah, do you mean the press?"
I nodded at Lord Miach's question.
"I've been maintaining it so it can run anytime... but it feels like a waste to just let it sit in the warehouse without using it."
Lord Miach pondered for a moment and then punched his palm as if a good idea had struck him.
"Now that I think about it, Hestia mentioned she was working at one of Hephaestus's shops in Babel. Why don't you go there?"
"...Lady Hestia?"
"Hephaestus is one of Hestia's close friends from back when they were in the Heavens. It was actually Hephaestus who looked after Hestia when she first descended to the Lower World."
"Oh ho..."
Come to think of it, I remembered reading about that in the original story.
"Then I'll take the blueprints and ask Lady Hestia for some help!"
"Be careful on your way."
"Don't worry about the shop, we'll look for new help..."
And so, I immediately grabbed the blueprints for the press and the Power Fist—in case I needed to explain anything—and headed toward the Tower of Babel.
"Hmm... I'm pretty sure it was on the 8th floor..."
Recalling my memories of the original story, I took the elevator in Babel to the 8th floor. Instead of rushing to find Hestia, I took a slow walk around the floor, checking out the equipment.
'The quality is definitely on a different level compared to the items I saw at other weapon shops.'
In a place like this, perhaps they could properly manufacture the push daggers I mainly use, or even the karambit I haven't been able to find or make yet? Just as I was thinking that—
"Hey! You, new Goddess! Stop daydreaming and work properly!"
A booming shout erupted from inside a shop right in front of me.
"Heeek?! S-sorry... No, I mean, I'm very sorry!"
Startled by the scolding, a familiar goddess with black hair in twin tails and blue eyes began frantically wiping the glass of a display case with a rag.
'...Found her.'
There was Hestia, being scolded by a woman with an eyepatch over her red eyes and dark skin, her black hair tied up messily.
'Wait, who is that woman? To yell at a god like that... is she an executive of this Familia?'
Setting my questions aside, I approached Hestia, who was shriveled up while wiping the display case.
"...Would you like some help cleaning?"
"Huh? Oh?! Kai, is that you?! What brings you here?"
"I came because I have a favor to ask you, Lady Hestia..."
I whispered, gesturing with my chin toward the woman in the back.
'Who is that person to be treating a goddess like that?'
'Ah, that child is...'
Hestia tried to answer, but before she could, I felt a chilling presence behind me and reflexively stepped back.
"Oho? I was just playing around a bit, but your reactions are fast. More importantly, it seems you're an acquaintance of our new Goddess here?"
"Heek?!"
The eyepatched woman had appeared behind me at some point and was now looking down at me with interest. Up close, I could tell by her aura, the muscles in her arms, and the callouses on her hands that she was no ordinary smith.
"H-hello. I'm Kai, from the Miach Familia."
"Miach? Ah, the brat from that softie's place who's been selling those new cosmetics and Dual Potions lately. Well then, I assume you didn't come here during business hours just to flirt with our part-timer?"
She crossed her arms and glared at me. There was no hostility, but she had the typical prickly attitude of a master blacksmith. Not intimidated, I pulled out the blueprints I had prepared from my tunic.
"Of course not. Actually, there's something I want to show Lady Hephaestus, so I came to ask Lady Hestia to facilitate a meeting."
"To Lady Hephaestus? Pfft, hey kid. Do you have any idea how busy our Goddess is? If she met every random person who wanted to show her something..."
She tried to cut me off with a snort, but I paid her no mind and unfolded a blueprint, shoving it right in front of her eyes.
"Would you still say that after seeing this?"
"...Hah?"
She glanced at the blueprint with an annoyed expression, but then her red eye—
"...What is this?"
Widened instantly like a cat that had found a new toy. She began scouring the drawings.
"It doesn't just apply downward force... Rotational force, and what's this? You're boosting pressure by forcing oil into tubes? Hah, what a crazy idea. And this structure... it uses magic stones as a power source while controlling the explosive force?"
She muttered to herself, unable to take her eye off the blueprint, before snapping her head up to look at me. Her previous annoyance was gone, replaced by the smoldering, sharp gaze of a master smith.
"Hey, these blueprints look damn plausible... but isn't this only possible in theory? Can you actually build this?"
As expected, she wasn't fully convinced by paper alone. Smirking as if I had been waiting for this, I pulled out a heavy object wrapped in cloth from my tunic.
"I thought you'd say that, so I came prepared."
"...What's that now?"
"It's a weapon that applies the miniaturized cylinder and piston structure, which are core parts of the press. Think of it as a prototype and a proof of concept. And of course, I've already used it several times in the Dungeon without any issues."
'Clack.'
When I unwrapped the cloth and slipped the Power Fist onto my hand, the steel gauntlet—showcasing a rugged, mechanical beauty—revealed itself.
"Oho...?"
Tsubaki's eye glittered with a look that crossed curiosity into greed. She couldn't contain herself, grabbing my wrist to inspect the joints and magic stone circuits of the Power Fist meticulously.
"I see, the magic power is compressed here, and then the moment of impact, the piston is pushed back to trigger an explosion that converts into propulsion? Ha! This is a seriously insane design."
"As you can see, there are no issues with the operation. And..."
I continued, delivering the finishing blow.
"I've actually already built an early-model prototype that only has simple striking functions, and it's currently sitting in our Familia's warehouse. As you can see from the blueprints, the final machine is far too large to carry here."
"...What? You already made one?"
"Yes. But with my current skills and facilities, I was only able to implement the basic striking function. To control rotation and pressure simultaneously to process metal with precision, like in the blueprint..."
"You need expert facilities and skills, right?"
Tsubaki, without letting go of the Power Fist, grinned at me. It was the smile of an angler who had just hooked a massive fish.
"Hey, kid... Kai, was it?"
"Yes? Ah, yes."
"You pass."
"...Huh?"
"Follow me. I'm taking you straight to my Goddess."
"Wait, right now?"
Without even waiting for my answer, she grabbed me firmly by the scruff of my neck.
"Don't you know you have to strike while the iron is hot? How do you expect me to wait after seeing something this interesting!"
"Hey! New Goddess! I'm going to see the Boss for a bit, so keep an eye on the shop! Don't even think about slacking off, you hear?!"
"Eeeek?! W-wait, Tsubaki?! Where are you taking Kai?!"
Ignoring Hestia's screams, Tsubaki lifted Kai by the collar and strode into the staff-only area at the back of the shop.
'...I mean, it's a success, but is this right?'
Things were moving along so well it felt like I was speeding, but either way, I had successfully boarded the express train to the finest forge in Orario.
...According to what Hestia told me later, the way Tsubaki was carrying me by the neck looked exactly like a kitten being dragged away by its scruff...