Green Business 2 - (Original Fantasy, GoblinShopkeeper!SI)
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Within a month of business, my shop was soaring and placing itself well above its previous two rivals.
Starting from Viagra, I soon decided to focus on the medical products with the appropriate warning papers since the lack of proper hospitals meant that I was the safest best for most illnesses. I even established a discount for medicines for kids as to expand the business without endangering the income of the poorer customers. Saved also a few lives with that effort.
Took a while to amass wealth, but the business was booming, and I could tell that this was only the beginning of more investments to accomplish as... the momentum was going to run out.
Being a shopkeeper was nice and all, but the profit was a bit of a 'dual-edged' sword for me. I could get a treasury going if I wanted, but my inner capitalist sought to expand and actually 'get better conditions' for more growth.
After all, this town was what one would expect from a midling settlement. Not poor, but definitely far from a major city in the kingdom. And I couldn't wait for the local administration to do this on their own.
To give credit where it is true, Mayor Mallicus Larniv was a new face in an old system. He had been sworn in roughly two years ago and he had even taken the time to campaign for his 'election'. In truth, he had to win over the previous mayor who was, despite his many views on races, a reformist. So, his campaign's promises were all about expanding local services, more housing, and even upgrading the streets.
All of that didn't occur in those two years. Not for a lack of trying though, I could say this much. Mallicus had the ideas, the drive, but a town's coffers were not the same as a modern city would be: there was no loaning, no deficit spending, and no bullshit to pump out more money in the system.
Hence why I was invited right away after the guy received my letter mentioning I wished to invest money in his plans. Literally the very day I sent it.
So, I took my leave after my afternoon shift, walked up to the town hall, and I am greeted almost immediately by the guy. How much time did he spend waiting for me? Definitely hours. Still, after a most awkward first contact, the man takes me to his office and we talk business.
He asks me how much I am willing to donate, and he almost faints as soon as I land fifty shiny Gold Coins out of the sixty at my disposal. Just ten of those can be enough to set me for life, so I was pretty much giving up 'five out of six lives' to see this town improved. He talks the talk, bringing up papers and prospect for projects. A school, an hospital, better roads, new houses, and even a reduction in taxes.
"M-Maybe more can be done with this donation," He admitted, sounding still shaken by the astonishing amount of cash now landing on his lap - cash he didn't have to redistribute to the usual government's expenses. By the time we were done, I felt my wallet lighter and my inner businessman giggling at the potential growth of the town as a whole.
The ensuing month is promising: a guild from the royal capital is tasked with the chore of getting this place pimped out. The locals were awed as soon the entire place was reworked within a cleaner and more 'new' look. It wasn't a jarring total rework, but it sure felt like the town had been revitalized.
With new houses and new buzzing, more people were moving in with more requests, my shop becoming the optimal point to seek products from. The hospital relied on my medical products too at a reduced price, same for the school as it needed food for their cafeteria. Good food, not grub.
All in all, the money was flowing, I paid less taxes and the town was slowly turning into a proper city.
But of course, as if to remind me that the world of business is not that simple... I was hit by a newly-formed phenomenon that was really turning me in a 'racist'.
"I want a refund- this- this thing didn't work as intended!"
The elf woman that bought a vibrator from me almost slammed the box with the item within it onto the counter, causing quite a ruckus with her loudness and actions.
"Ma'am, I am sure that-"
"Refund! Now!"
Lesser shop-keepers would have budged at this. But I was familiar with a very interesting detail about elves that I knew from my time in elementary school - these people were extremely 'innocent' when it comes sexual things. Not like they don't know what sex is or that they don't want to perform it, but by edict of some centuries old Elf Queen, no 'worthy' elf woman shall perform sex unless under the holy blessing of marriage.
With the numbers of male elves reduced dramatically following the last conflict the Queendom faced with the Orcish Republic, it goes without a saying that things have been particularly sucky for the elf girls. The worst bit is that some were even keen to migrate whenever there was a large opportunity for them to resettle, away from the elven laws and... perpetrate what I would call 'passive-aggression rough sex requests'.
This terminology implies a lingering issue with elves - while Orcs have long come forward and had strictly forbidden rape of women both in times of peace and war, this had the unintended effect of killing off the population growth for elves as, differently from common belief, elven women tended to produce elves rather than the spawns from the same race of their non-elven partners.
So, no raping means no reproducing at a steady rate, which then creates a fugly habit with elf girls trying to 'infuriate' men and try to have them fuck them silly. The reason it is a common habit is because most commoners don't think with their head and 'fucking an elf sounds hot'.
As a goblin with a strong respect for my mother, I was told many times that elven women can be of two kind: they either are the virgin kind or they were the STD kind. If they fuck outside of marriage and they have a high body count, then they fucked enough to the point of getting some venereal shit.
In the past, this behavior was curbed through several generation of elves just being told that they could fuck without fearing retribution and... there were some respectable elves in town- even of the old kind for their kin. The issue comes with the migrants from the Elven Queendom and their generally stereotypical mindset around humans and non-humans. Arrogance is common, distrust among races is problematic and-
"I am afraid I will have to first check through appropriate tools if you have even used it. It's the rules, ma'am."
As expected, she panics on the spot. "N-No, don't-"
"You didn't use it?" I snapped back, feeling a bit annoyed. "Look, lady, I am understanding and all- but you better tell your friends to stop repeating the same fucking scam all the time. You damage this shop's good reputation, you give me griefs, and no- it is not 'sex material'. Get out, you are banned from this shop!"
The blonde bolted out as soon as she saw me lift a mighty mace. Growling, I marched up to the large 'Banned Folks' list in front of the counter and added a new name to it. Out of all those listed there... all of them were elves.
I already petitioned for 'lessons on legality' for those new folks in town, but it was the kind of stuff that couldn't be forced onto those people without 'infringing into their rights'. I understood the point of that, but the way they were going around 'infringing' others' rights felt like a necessity at this point.
Business was nonetheless fine, but I was soon to get a bit of a surprise.
さくら's POV
Her steps were troubled by a urge sense of tiredness.
Gashes and injuries all over her body as blood stained her fur, hidden by her cloak as she quietly made her way into this stupid human town.
She looked for silent help, knowing she couldn't ask for it. Pride before the fall, that was what her mother taught her to do. She still struggled forward and then frowned at a small shop that seemed claimed by large crowds.
Chief among the details that caught her attention was some papers against the glassy wall suggesting medical products.
She had some spare coins, and she needed to get herself patched up somehow. These were strange lands, the people spoke differently from the Land of the Rising Seas - her home, her distant hope. As she wobbled her way into the shop, ignoring the curious gazes of the humans, she made it to the counter.
Much to her surprise, a short green humanoid stood there as the shop's owner. Akin to a Kappa, but alas bald and without a beak or a turtle shell. He initially looked tired and annoyed, but then he 'sobered up' as his gaze took notice of her shivering state.
She almost fell down as her pink-eyed gaze found his confused and worried brown eyes. She could just utter some words before the bald creature vaulted over the counter to catch her mid-fall.
"すみません..."
And then さくら lost her consciousness, her survival now up to others.
AN
Man, things are going to get 'kawaii as fuck' (just like Papa Franku intended).
Still, a few important things I need to say before anyone gets the 'pairing boner' going: this individual (さくら) is not part of MC's harem. She is not a cliche character and... she is not going to be easy to 'understand' since she doesn't speak the 'Kingdom of Humans' Lingo. She comes from the South-Eastern Ocean and she has wounded up in this land due to some unique situations tied to Fantasy Japan being quite fucked up.
Also, to help with the lore, there's a map in the QQ version. I can't post pics here so... yeah.