The Man Needs Ambition (4): The Friends' Skeptical Glances
My friends kept asking me the same question.
Why on earth was I taking those classes?
[Deep Understanding of Sub-Human History and Culture Volume 1]
[Deep Understanding of Sub-Human History and Culture Volume 2]
They were electives I had no real need to take. They weren't required for graduation, and they weren't easy-credit "honey" courses that handed out high marks, either.
Of course, taking one or two classes like that wasn't a big deal. Plenty of other students signed up for them purely as hobbies.
But the real problem lay elsewhere.
Advanced Magical Applications for Efficient Construction
Understanding the Empire's Revised Commercial Law
Exploring the Origins and Characteristics of Local Festivals
The Relationship Between Imperial Standard Language and Regional Dialects
Imperial Law, Daily Life, and Politics
…
…
I maxed out every advanced elective I could get my hands on. Every single one of them was a choice I made myself.
My friends all looked at me like I had lost my mind.
And those looks weren't entirely wrong. Cutting my sleep down to three or four hours a night just to fit everything in meant my head really did start to wander now and then.
But that was just exhaustion talking. Back then, I was completely sane. I had every reason to push myself that hard.
All of this will be useful later. No question.
This world had no internet. The illiteracy rate was absurdly high.
In other words, knowledge here was power—raw, undeniable power. Advanced knowledge even more so.
So I studied like my life depended on it, leaving no gaps. Somehow that was how I ended up graduating second in my class.
Anyway.
Thanks to all of that, the idea for differentiating the inn came to me at once.
An inn dedicated to demihumans.
In this city, every inn I had stepped into felt painfully lacking in consideration for demihuman guests. I still wasn't sure why.
Maybe because demihumans made up only a small fraction of the clientele and simply weren't worth the effort, or maybe the owners just didn't understand them well enough. Most places had done nothing more than slap on a few token gestures.
Either way, I was certain.
…This is going to work. No doubt about it.
It was bound to sell. Demihumans were few in number, true, and the sheer variety of species meant preparation would be a hassle—so the profits might not hit what I hoped for right away.
But those were problems I could solve later. Bump into enough walls and a path always opens up. Starting is the hard part; refining is easy.
And more than anything, there was something else I was counting on.
This… is a monopoly.
Any business that becomes a monopoly is guaranteed to make money. Maybe not immediately, but eventually—without fail.
That was the thinking behind the complete change in direction for the inn.
"…Kyle, where should I put these?"
"Leave one under each of those tables over there."
And so, late into the night, I was rearranging the interior of the inn piece by piece with Chloe, the innkeeper's daughter. After we had been at it for a while, I took one look at her face and suggested a short break.
She had worked all day and still carved out time to help me. I couldn't help but feel grateful for that earnest drive of hers.
"Thanks for the help. You must be exhausted…"
"What? We're doing this together. Of course I have to work hard too."
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, then carefully asked,
"But… is changing just this much really enough? Wouldn't it be better to prepare a little more and take it slow?"
"No. This is enough. Trust me."
MVP—Minimum Viable Product.
At this level of quality, we were fine. The first step was to build it and watch the market's reaction. Quality could always be iterated later.
"Hmm… if you say so?"
"I do."
She tilted her head, but a moment later she sprang to her feet.
"Anyway, I decided to trust you, Kyle… so I won't second-guess you."
"I appreciate it."
"So what's the next step? Let's knock it out quick!"
I smiled at her enthusiasm.
"Now we just need to make new menus."
"How long will that take?"
"Hmm… about a minute."
"What?"
Her eyes went round. I pulled out the sheets of paper I had prepared in advance, then flicked my fingers.
"This kind of thing is easy with magic."
—Snap!
Writing began to etch itself across every page at once. She watched, openly fascinated.
"Whoa…"
When the work was finished, I told her,
"Just set one on each table and we're done."
"Really? Then…"
I finished the sentence she left hanging.
"Yes. We open tomorrow."
Everything was ready. Now it was time to start receiving real guests.
The next day.
Early morning.
I arrived at the massive notice board in front of the Mercenary Guild. Crowds of mercenaries were already packed in front of it, murmuring among themselves.
"What about that request? The pay looks solid."
"It's decent, but… can we handle it with just us?"
Teams studying the postings together. Solo mercenaries weighing their options alone. People trying to form new parties on the spot. All sorts of people moved about in a busy haze.
…This is the place.
I had come here for one reason only: marketing.
To match the inn's new direction, I needed to bait my target audience directly—so I had chosen a location with heavy foot traffic. I watched the mercenaries carefully.
It didn't take long to find the kind of person I was looking for.
There he is.
Black hood pulled low, moving with a faintly sinister air. The dense fur visible on the hand that occasionally slipped free of the sleeve.
A beastman.
I walked straight up to him. The moment he looked my way, I greeted him.
"Hello."
"…?"
Yellow eyes studied me from inside the black hood.
"…What? Want to team up? Not interested."
A pretty prickly voice. This beastman seemed the wary type.
That was fine. I had already confirmed he was of the Cat tribe.
"No, nothing like that. Would you mind taking a look at this?"
I pulled a flyer from my coat and held it out—an information sheet for our inn.
"Inn advertisement? I've already got a place to stay."
He spoke as if the whole thing were a nuisance. But the next words out of my mouth made him jump.
"That place doesn't have Racho Leaf Tea or Martorita Leaf Tea, does it?"
"……What?"
I opened with the hook.
Racho Leaf. Martorita Leaf.
Herbs no member of the Cat tribe could possibly dislike.
"…You didn't just stock some cheap garbage, did you?"
Just as expected—the cat bit hard. I moved straight into the next strategy.
Principle Two of the psychology of persuasion: leverage authority.
"Absolutely not. You know Count Skeeter of the Cat tribe, correct? We've prepared the exact variety his daughter is fond of."
"…I-Is that true? You're not lying?"
"Who would risk their life on a lie like this? Of course it's true."
And it was true. I had stocked the very variety the Count's daughter had liked when I met her at the Academy.
Of course, she had been the sort of person who adored any Racho Leaf no matter the variety—she was rather free with her tastes—but that still meant I hadn't lied.
"Hmm……"
The Cat-tribe beastman looked like he was deliberating. This was the critical moment. I had to push before he could think any further.
Principle Four of the psychology of persuasion: emphasize scarcity.
"We had a hard time getting hold of this variety ourselves, so we only managed a small amount. If you come too late, there might not be any left."
"…How much do you have? I've got a job right now, so the earliest I can make it is evening…. It'll still be there by then, right?"
"It probably will be… but I can't make any absolute guarantees about that either."
I put on my most regretful expression. I could see his eyes waver. I waited a beat, then leaned in and whispered one last secretive offer.
"Call it fate that we met like this…. If you reserve a spot for today, I'll give you a special discount. It's only for you, so please don't tell anyone else. But if you show up too late, even I…"
While Kyle was out, Chloe worked the inn with a nervous heart that was nothing like usual. Over the past three days she had finished every preparation exactly as he had proposed. Today was the day they would see the results.
In truth, she hadn't fully understood most of what Kyle said.
Differentiating the inn. Niche market. MVP. On and on.
Every term was one she had never heard before. She had nodded along and listened carefully, but not because she actually grasped any of it.
Even so, she had trusted him for two reasons.
One was that he was an Academy graduate.
And the second was—
…I want to try something. Anything.
Because change was necessary.
She didn't want to grow old doing the exact same work every single day. Least of all while clinging to an inn that was already struggling.
Yes. Change. She needed some kind of change.
She had realized that through their conversations. Working all day and then working again after everyone else had gone to bed left her body more exhausted than ever. Yet her mind, somehow, felt sharper.
The thrill of change. Expectation.
Emotions she hadn't felt in a very long time. Or perhaps for the first time in her life.
"…Will it work?"
Sweat beaded on her palms for the first time in ages. She tried to force herself to stay calm, but the trembling refused to settle easily.
"Hah…. Don't get too excited."
Just focus on your own work.
In the end, not that much had changed. She would work as usual, and if a demihuman guest arrived, she would simply follow the manual they had prepared.
Afraid of making a mistake, she read through the illustrated manual one more time. Only after going over it carefully did she finally manage to steady herself.
It'll be fine…. It has to be.
Please.
Just one person. Please let someone come.
Please let something change.
"…Stop thinking and just move."
She shook her head and spoke as if making a promise to herself. She opened every window in the inn for ventilation, checked the tables, and finished preparing to receive guests.
And so the inn's day began.
She took orders as usual, cleaned, cooked now and then—and kept stealing glances at the door the entire time.
But by the time evening arrived, the guests she had been waiting for still had not come.
Ah…
No one had come.
Of course. Was this just how these things went?
Had she expected too much?
It was only the first day…
Tomorrow they would come. Hoping for results on the very first day had probably been greedy from the start.
She tried her best to smile. Just as she was finally managing to settle her emotions—
—Creak.
"Is this the place?"
Guests of an unfamiliar sort stepped through the door.