Tori studied her reflection in the mirror. Honestly, she thought she was pretty cute. She might not be a beauty, but she could at least be called a striking beauty in the making.

Luckily, although this world felt like the medieval West, its hygiene was pretty good. With magic around, cleaning wasn’t a problem. An average adult had enough magical power to take a bath on their own.

She’d bought herself a set of clothes.

After all, she was about to look around town. She might be young, but she was still a little business owner, with Ethan’s support… She had to maintain a respectable appearance.

Of course, she knew that appearances didn’t mean much in any practical sense. But for a merchant, they were still important. If you looked respectable, nobles—who cared even more about appearances—would take you seriously and be willing to do business with you.

And Tori firmly believed that nobles wouldn’t hesitate to spend their wealth to maintain their own respectable image.

Before coming to town, she’d already made arrangements with a clothing shop and paid a deposit of two silver coins. Now the finished piece was ready.

The outfit leaned toward darker colors, with nothing cute about it. As a merchant, she wanted to look steady and reliable, not cute… Tori thought it over, comparing the clothes in the mirror. “I think it’s great in every other respect, but I asked you to keep it as plain and simple as possible. So, boss, why is there a strip of lace around the hem of the skirt? That doesn’t really fit what I asked for. You’re making it hard for me to pay you the rest.”

She checked herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. Actually, this one-piece dress was exactly what she needed. It was light gray, with the hem falling just below her knees. That way, even after she grew taller, she could still wear it as a short skirt—she’d worry about that later.

The craftsmanship was pretty good, too. The top had a round neckline, and a row of decorative buttons added a touch of maturity.

The faint patterns on the fabric were hard to see unless you looked closely. Tori had designed them herself: swirling motifs like auspicious clouds, subtle enough that they wouldn’t make the outfit seem frivolous.

Except for the price.

She’d paid two silver coins as a deposit, and still owed another three.

Of course, some people might think that was a bargain for handmade clothes. But comparing prices without considering productivity was a pretty unfair way to look at it. At least in this world, clothing prices depended mostly on the materials. Clothes made from monster hides cost many times more than ordinary ones.

Labor costs didn’t add much to the price unless the clothes were made by a renowned designer. Of course, skilled craftspeople were naturally in demand.

“Miss, I’m just saying—you are a young lady, after all. I know you asked for something more understated, but as the person who made the clothes, I still think I made the right call. You won’t regret buying this.”

Is this guy even a merchant?! Shouldn’t he be offering to take the dress back and alter it right away?

Tori put on a troubled expression. “But if you do this, I was planning to have all my clothes made here from now on. Now I’ll have to go somewhere else. The few silver coins aren’t the issue. The problem is that you didn’t make my order according to my specifications. That seriously damages your credibility, boss. This isn’t how you do business.”

“But…”

Tori waved a hand. “If that’s how you feel, then forget it. I don’t even want my deposit back. Sell this dress to whoever you like!”

“Wait! Miss, you had this dress custom-made…”

That was the trouble with custom-made clothes: you couldn’t just sell them off to someone else. And although Tori had paid a deposit, the shop would clearly make far more by selling the dress than by letting it go unsold.

“Then alter the hem for me.”

The owner hesitated. “All right, I’ll alter it for you. It’ll take some time.”

“How long? I’m pretty busy today. I still have other things to do.”

“Half an hour.”

Tori looked terribly conflicted. “This… I have a banquet to attend, and it’ll take time to get there, too… Forget it, forget it. I’ll just have to live with it looking ugly. I’ll take it as is!”

She seemed to steel herself. “Can’t you give me a discount?”

“Huh? A discount?”

“You didn’t make the dress the way I asked, and now I have no choice but to wear it anyway. How can you not give me a discount? At least take something off the price. How about twenty percent? I’ll give you two more silver coins.”

Only then did the owner realize what all that talk earlier had been leading up to!

His expression instantly turned wary. It was as if he weren’t looking at an eight-year-old girl, but a rival merchant across the table, locked in a tough negotiation.

“Twenty percent off is impossible! My costs alone came to three silver coins. Just look at the workmanship! I spent several days making this dress. How could I sell it at a discount like that? The people working for me have to eat, too!”

“Huh? Don’t try to fool me just because I’m a kid. The materials for this dress cost fifty copper coins at most. Four silver coins already takes your workmanship into account!”

…

In the end, Tori walked out of the clothing shop wearing the dress, having managed to pay only two silver coins. She beamed like she’d just won a battle.

She’d come to town on her own this time, too. After she’d shown her mother the gunpowder-like Potion she’d made, her mother had felt reassured enough to let her come.

Lydia had told her to get familiar with the process of making alcoholic drinks. Tori hadn’t come to town today on a whim; she genuinely meant to investigate the local market.

For example, what kind of drinks the taverns in Blackwater Town served. What about the drinks at inns and restaurants? And what was the situation with supplying the authorities or other groups? Who was making the products, and where could she get a foothold if she wanted to capture some of the market?

This wasn’t a matter of Ethan giving her a place and her putting up an ad. Sure, if she opened a shop, curious ordinary customers might come in, try the drinks, like them, and recommend them to others. That was how many old shops had gotten started. But waiting for word of mouth to spread like that would take far too long.

If she wanted to make money, supplying businesses that needed drinks year-round would bring in cash much faster. She wasn’t actually opening a winery, though it would still be her own business. The money was meant to make more money, so she could become a Potion Maker. Before long, her assets would be measured in gold coins, or even purple gold coins.

Even the lowest-tier advancement Potion cost ten gold coins! That was 100,000! Make one for ten people and that’s a million—an instant fortune!

Now that was some serious money!

She couldn’t even imagine how rich she’d be later on.

As the girl thought this over, she passed a wand shop and couldn’t help glancing inside.

Wands were so romantic!

But then she saw the sign: twenty silver coins to start. That’s ridiculously expensive! No wonder she hadn’t seen anyone using one! Tori gave up on the idea. Still, wands and magic swords could be hugely profitable businesses, too. As a merchant, she ought to look into them.

—So, here was the problem.

She’d originally wanted her father to go with her to investigate the taverns, but then she’d thought… that might not be appropriate.

She only realized the problem once she’d already reached town. No matter how you looked at it, as her father, he’d never agree to take his daughter to a tavern. Tori had been a father herself once, after all. She could understand perfectly.

She didn’t even think there was any point asking her father. If she did, her trip to town today would be a complete waste.

After hesitating for a while, she went to the inn where Ethan had stayed before. As luck would have it, he was there, so she explained what she wanted to do.

“Sure! I was planning to check out the taverns here, too. It’d be a shame not to visit one as an adventurer. You can drink at the adventurers’ guild, but most people there are just handing in or taking on quests.”

Ethan readily agreed, then took Tori to a nearby place.

“The Three Coins Tavern? Is there a story behind the name?” Tori asked, reading the sign.

“Oh, you know the statue in the middle of Blackwater Town? The story goes that when the man first came to town, he went to a tavern for a drink and realized he’d forgotten his money. The owner thought he looked like a fine fellow, so he gave him a bottle for free. It was the cheapest stuff they had, worth only three copper coins, but it still became a lovely little tale… Of course, that’s just the tavern’s own sales pitch. No one knows whether it really happened.”

So it was the classic trick of making up a story to lure people in for a drink. People in this world were just the same.

To be honest, Tori was a little nervous.

After all… taverns in this world weren’t like the bars in her old world. This world had magic! What if some big shot was inside, and someone said the wrong thing?

“You’ve chosen death!”

Then they’d wipe out the whole tavern with a single spell, and everyone else would get caught up in it, too. She looked at Ethan and suddenly thought bringing him here might have been a mistake. Who knew what could happen when you followed this guy around? Someone was bound to pick a fight…

“Clang, clang!”

When they opened the tavern’s wooden door, the bell hanging from it gave a clattering ring. As Ethan led Tori inside, they saw all kinds of people seated beneath the dim lights.

“Hey! Where’d this little punk come from, bringing a girl that young to a place like this? You even got your first whiskers yet?”

—That sort of exchange never happened. People merely glanced their way, then went back to their drinks and conversations.

Tori let out a sigh of relief. It made sense, but for some reason she also felt a little disappointed.

Was I actually hoping things would play out like that?

She shook her head, trying to shake the thought out of her mind.

“So, how do you want to investigate your market?” Ethan asked, looking at the girl beside him.

Tori glanced at the girl behind the counter who was serving drinks, then smiled. “Young Master Ethan, now’s the time to put that amazing charm of yours to work. Go order a drink, sit over there, chat with her, and see if you can get some information. How about it?”

“I thought I was only supposed to bring you here.”

Tori spoke earnestly. “Young Master Ethan, what I mean is, if the winery makes money, wouldn’t it be nice for you to earn a little spending money, too? It’s good for everyone, and that girl’s pretty cute. With your status, you just have to let her know who you are, and, heh…”

Are you really an eight-year-old girl?

How can you say such lewd things?!

Looking at the girl’s smile—one that could only be described as sleazy—Ethan suddenly felt like he might have invested in the wrong person. Could he still back out now?