I'm awake, and I'm excited. Tonight is the night! The night we've all been waiting for! Ladies and gentlemen, two weeks in the making... We finally might have enough high end clothes to adequately support the new age, self proclaimed... Monster Knights! We'll also be making Coins tonight. The Coins from my clothing deal with Clive. Spending those Coins, we will aim for improving life in the Goblin Village as well as fund my immense thirst for possessing a surplus of Candy. Not for eating, heavens no. We need Candy just to have Candy at this point. Vigi might also be done with my Lantern, so there's that.
Getting up from bed and getting dressed after returning to my Human form, I made my way towards the pile of level 3 clothing that I had made last night. I'm now spending my current MP to double its size. I'll sort through it after breakfast. This kitty is hungry. After adding the new clothes to the pile, I made my way into the Foyer to find that breakfast was currently still being made. Taking a peek into the Kitchen, it would appear as though Rabbit, Cyclozard, Cetilla, and Goblin Hunk are working on breakfast. Finding the combination somewhat peculiar, I decided to take a peek into the Dining Hall. Ahhhh~ Yep. Milton is having his highly anticipated get together with Rei. They're playing the Safari Card Game. The rest of the Dining Hall is empty right now, so everyone else is probably still asleep or in Halloween.
I decided to join the group in the Kitchen. It seems that tonight is one of those nights where we're getting creative with the platter. Cetilla is chopping up Fish into thin slices before Goblin Hunk cooks them. Cyclozard is running out to fetch berries from the nearby forests. After bringing back the berries, they are being thrown into a large pot. Budget Dragon is tirelessly working to smash all of the berries into a jam. They intend to spread jam on the cooked Fish.
They're all working desperately to make a more tasteful meal, but I'm certain that it's truly all just an effort to prolong the time required to prepare breakfast. It's all an effort to give Milton just a little bit of extra time before the others wake. It's somewhat entertaining to see them acting as though this is H*ll's Kitchen while literally making use of two ingredients, so I'm watching while I steadily chew on raw Fish. Unlike these fools, I actually woke up hungry and am not about to put off eating due to Milton's unnecessary side quest.
After finishing my own meal, I decided to ditch them and headed off to finish preparing for the shipment. I need to sort out these clothes! The massive pile of level 1 to 3 ones. I asked Weeping Angel to help block the path to the Foyer so that those guys wouldn't see me nude when they finally decided that the meal was finished. That would be embarrassing. Oh god… I get shivers just thinking about it. What? You don't use your Throne Room which is longer and potentially even wider than a football field as a walk in closet?! What's the point in having one, then?! With that in mind, I informed Weeping Angel that if anyone tried to peek then she had full authority to smash a nearby statue and activate [Pebble Storm]. I say informed, but I was actually frantically shouting at the top of my lungs from across the Throne Room while standing nude perched atop a small mountain of clothes. I think she heard me. I might have witnessed her nod. Thankfully, she didn't turn around to face me though.
After around two hours, I had finally finished checking the stats for all of the clothes. The piles for level 1 to 3 pieces are considerably larger, but every other pile aside from the level 15 to 20 pieces seems somewhat even. That's probably because it includes the results from the previous week though. I believe that the roll rates for [Disguise] have become very balanced. It no longer feels as though the higher end is tilted away from your reach. It's like the switch from a pyramid system to a pie chart system. I won't bother counting all of the piles, but the level 20 pile has 26 pieces. The level 15 pile has 14 pieces.
Leaving the Throne Room, I went to the Dining Hall to find that breakfast was served. I quickly grabbed a few bites of the cut Fish to taste the jam. It was pretty good. It tasted similar to cherries. I don't know how I feel about eating it with Fish, but I like Fish so I guess it's fine. After getting a taste, I informed the others that tonight was the night of my clothing shipment into the Beastkin Kingdom. I declared that I would require the help of two Catkin for leading carriages, and that I would also require the help of one friendly, inconspicuous Beast to help pull a carriage.
Cetilla decided to go meet up with her family again, so Rei and Milton both needed to step up and help lead the carriages. Budget Dragon happily volunteered for his second venture into the Beastkin Kingdom. I suppose it's the same group as last time then. Leshi or Kitsune might have volunteered, but they're both asleep. Wolfenrine didn't want to come due to White Sheep Lady staying here, the Flutterfairies don't have adequate STR to pull a carriage, and the Bear simply did not care. Oh well~ I told the others to gather in the Throne Room after 15 minutes. Cetilla and I are now counting Coins and filling up empty three Candy buckets with 150 of them.
After finishing, we set out on my Broom towards the Beach. Once we had arrived, I opened the Hallowed Gate and a few minutes later; the others had appeared. Cancelling the Gate, we began to travel as quickly as we could to Cetilla's family estate. This time, Milton is travelling on Budget Dragon due to Rei's reluctance and Milton's weakness. I'm in my smallest form while riding on Cetilla's lap and reaching out to the Broom with my paws. She's helping me keep balanced by holding my sides. She's also petting me, and I feel uncomfortable as a Human... But I feel good as a Cat. I'm psychologically torn about how to handle it, so I'm instead just accepting it while trying to not show my current inner turmoil.
Arriving at the Vellisroi Ranch, we were quickly greeted by Celine; one of the household maids. We're now being led through the home towards Roy who is apparently in his study. I say that, but Cetilla has full intentions to ditch me in order to go and find her mother after greeting her father. If there were only one thing that Cetilla wouldn't care for, it would probably be money. Business deals tire her. Actually, no. Business deals themselves don't tire Cetilla. Carrying them out is what tires Cetilla. She's all about it for the thrill of the negotiations, but as soon as it breaks down into something settled and expectable... She's gone with the wind. Celine who was leading the way has now stopped and began to knock on a door. It's probably the study.
"Yes, what is it?" [Roy] called from behind the door.
"Cetilla and her friends have returned." [Celine] answered professionally.
"Ah, please come in." [Roy] answered from behind the door. To which, Celine opened it and I was met with a somewhat small room filled with bookshelves.
There's a table near the middle of the room which Roy is currently sitting at. A book is open beside him, and there's a Lantern lit on the table to help him read. I'm certain that he can read without it, even in the dark; so it's probably just a wealthy person thing. There's a nice and circular glass window on the far end of the room, and aside from bookshelves; there are a few chests placed here and there. Documents are also plastered around the table, but the rest of the room isn't messy.
"Greeting, Nero. Cetilla, Rei, how have you been?" [Roy] greeted and asked the two.
"It's good to see you." [Nero] replied happily.
"I'm well~ Nero's here on business again. I'm going to go find mother, I'll see you later!" [Cetilla] answered with a smile before outing me and taking off.
"I've been good as well." [Rei] answered.
"More carriages? Rei why don't you go meet up with Veronica as well? I'm sure that she would love to see you." [Roy] asked with a smile while ignoring his daughter's brashness before continuing to talk to Rei.
"Indeed~ I once again am in need of three carriages." [Nero] admitted frankly while sighing.
"Nero needs my help with his business, so I'll go see her after." [Rei] replied with a smile.
"Well, I believe the prior arrangement should be suitable; how about you? That's good, she'll be glad." [Roy] asked casually before continuing to talk to Rei.
"Yes, I would like that very much." [Nero] replied with a smile while placing his three buckets of Silver Coins on the table.
"Alright, Celine; if you would be so kind… Please show them to three carriages." [Roy] replied with a chuckle before turning to Celine.
"Yes, right this way." [Celine] said while guiding me.
"Thank you, Roy~ I'll see you next time!" [Nero] called out while walking away.
"It's my pleasure!" [Roy] called out.
And with that, we were led to three Carriages. After calling on Mr and Mrs Scarecrow for assistance, we made our way back to the Beach. It took us around 15 minutes to reach the Beach. First, I called on my Clansmen to give instructions on how to prepare the shipment. I decided to have level 3 to 6 pieces spread out in each of the four corners for Milton's carriage. I left level 7 to 10 pieces for Rei's carriage, and level 11 to 14 pieces in my carriage. I was originally going to use the level 1 to 2 pieces to give to Clive in order to sell to commoners, but I really don't feel like needing to make two different trips. I suppose that I'll just try saving the level 1 to 2 pieces for the next festival's donation.
Loading up the three carriages ended up taking around 15 minutes. Milton's carriage took the longest to fill due to the level 3 pile being considerably larger than any of the others. While the Clansmen were working to load them, I took the time to procure some empty Candy buckets from the Treasure Room. I'm carrying 6. After securing them in the place where a second person would normally sit beside the person leading the carriage, and closing my Hallowed Gate; we set off. Reaching Clive's Clothing Store took around 25 minutes. I asked Milton and Rei to wait by the carriages as I entered the establishment.
I was greeted by several of the staff, while one of them slipped up the stairs to inform Clive of my arrival. The customers of the store who were shopping are looking at me as if I'm probably some rich kid who's getting preferential treatment from the staff on account of his wealth. It's not far from the truth, but it's still not true. I'm getting preferential treatment because I pay their wages, not because I tip them. I'm the main shareholder and distributor. It's different from just walking into a store and paying well. One might say that I work here.
"Welcome back, Nero. We have been anxiously awaiting your arrival, it's great to see you." [Clive] greeted while walking down the stairs and carrying a set of documents.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be back~ I take it those are the new ledgers?" [Nero] replied with a smile before gesturing towards the stack of parchment.
"Yes, business has improved dramatically. Take a look for yourself~" [Clive] answered while handing the ledgers to Nero.
"Wonderful. I'll oversee them in just a moment. First of all, I would like to explain to you all the receiving of tonight's shipment. In our first carriage, the one being led by the male Catkin; you will find level 3 pieces in the front left of the carriage. Level 4 pieces in the front right of the carriage, level 5 pieces in the back left, and level 6 pieces in the back right. In the second carriage, the one being led by the female Catkin; you will find level 7 pieces in the front left of the carriage. Level 8 pieces in the front right of the carriage, level 9 pieces in the back left, and level 10 pieces in the back right. In the third and final carriage, the one being pulled by a Drake; you will find level 11 pieces in the front left of the carriage. Level 12 pieces in the front right of the carriage, level 13 pieces in the back left, and level 14 pieces in the back right. Thank you for all of your hard work." [Nero] replied before going over the details regarding the shipment to the staff. To which, the nearby customers began to avert their eye contact.
Now then, looking at the ledgers… It would appear that the ledgers have become considerably more confusing due to the weekly shipments. I feel sorry for Clive who needed to keep track of it all, especially considering that I'm about to skip over his hard work right over to the conclusion. The level 1 pieces sold brought in a total of 540 Silver Coins at a rate of 30 Silver Coins per piece. They're sold out. Level 3 pieces made a total sale report of 1440 Silver Coins. Level 4 pieces made a total sale report of 1560 Silver Coins. Level 5 pieces made a total sale report of 2550 Silver Coins. Level 6 pieces made a total sale report of 1440 Silver Coins. Level 7 pieces made a total sale report of 1890 Silver Coins. Level 8 pieces made a total sale report of 1920 Silver Coins. Level 9 pieces made a total sale report of 2430 Silver Coins. Level 10 pieces made a staggering sale report of 6000 Silver Coins. Level 11 pieces made a sale report of 1320 Silver Coins. Level 12 pieces made a sale report of 1440 Silver Coins. Level 13 pieces made a sale report of 1950 Silver Coins. Level 14 pieces made a sale report of 2100 Silver Coins… Making for a total of 26580 Silver Coins. If we double the staff pay again, deducting the costs of managing the establishment brings us down by a measly 1680 Silver Coins, leaving me with a total of 12450 Silver Coins as profit.
It's quite close to the same amount earned last week. I have either reached a limit to the amount of Silver that I can drain from this economy on a weekly basis or I simply need to prepare more products. A lot of the clothes distributed by the Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand aren't too fashionable. If you don't have the full costume set for some of the pieces, they can be pretty difficult to properly pull off. It might just be that the remaining pieces are the ones which lack appropriate partners to coordinate with. It's hard to say. I suppose the best that I can do is wait another week to see if things pick up further now that a new shipment has arrived. Looking around, it would appear that not only Clive; but the entire staff is looking at me. I suppose they all finished their work, and well; Clive's still waiting for me to comment on the week's sales. My bad!
"Judging from the ledgers... Sales are up once again, and I would like to congratulate you all on a job well done! I believe another week of double pay to all the Staff is in order! Clive, if you would be so kind as to prepare my payment while I oversee the mystery pile; it would be very much appreciated." [Nero] happily congratulated the room before speaking to Clive.
"It would be my pleasure." [Clive] said with a smile as the nearby Staff happily began seeing to customers again.
Clive was probably afraid of how I might take it, but he handled it like a champ. I'm honestly not even discouraged though. 26 thousand Silver being brought in within one week is spectacular if I say so myself, even if it appears to be our current limit. Who knows? Maybe when I finally release level 20 clothes to the public, then our profits will skyrocket as previous customers flock back into the stores in hopes of gaining the new highest grade. By that point in time, a large number of people will have attained at least one level 15 piece and will be able to vouch for their effectiveness from personal experience. Due to how level 20 pieces will be in short supply, they might even be able to be sold for rates higher than what we would normally sell them for. It's really nothing to worry about.
Even with just 12 thousand Silver a week, I can still do quite a lot. Candy isn't very expensive. I doubt the tools or apples required to start my plans in the Goblin Village will be expensive either. If anything, the most expensive part of my plan might just prove to be me paying a Lumbermill to cut down our logs into planks. I'm going to make a conscious decision to make this paycheck stretch further. I'm not spending it on me. I'm spending it on the betterment of the Lost Kingdom. Yosh! I was thinking such things as I organized the 16 pieces of clothes which made up the mystery pile. They were all pieces from Milton's carriage. It couldn't be helped. His piles were larger than ours, and I guess they got a little displaced on the ride from the Beach.
Exiting the establishment, I asked Milton for a hand with carrying my Candy buckets. It's not that I physically can't carry 6 buckets of Silver Coins… It's just that the plastic handles of the buckets which magically do not snap also happen to be rather uncomfortable to hold when lifting a weight that they probably should be snapping from. After opening the door and arriving in Clive's office, I found that he had finished counting the Coins. He helped us put all the Silver into the buckets, gave me the 12 Gold Coins and bid me farewell before thanking me for continuing to grant the raise to the staff. He has a heart for his workers after all. He probably just couldn't afford to pay them higher before our business deal, and was shocked to find that I felt the same way. I put the Gold Coins into my pocket.
Leaving Clive's, Milton and I placed the Silver Coins into my carriage before we all set off the Vellisroi Ranch. Reaching the Ranch only ended up taking us around 15 minutes, and on arrival we decided to drop off two of the carriages. I told Rei that if she wanted to, she could use this time to go see Veronica as I still had some business to attend to. I told Milton and Budget Dragon that they could join, but they declined and chose to stay. And so, I asked Rei to tell Roy that I would return with the third carriage later. Oh well~ I asked Budget Dragon to help pull the carriage so that he wouldn't attract attention before I told the Scarecrows that they could return to Halloween. Budget Dragon simply would not fit within a carriage, so it was our only real choice. Thankfully, he's a strong guy so pulling a carriage isn't a big deal for him.
Along the way, I pointed to where we needed to go. We're heading to Vigi's Forge. It's directly south from the Candy Store, in other words… North of the Vellisroi Ranch. It's kind of close to Rei's old house. The one that she promptly abandoned to come live in the Wailing Keep? That one. It looks as though someone else is living in it now. I wonder how that works... Did someone just walk in and take it? Did some city official come by and realize that it had been abandoned, so they cleaned it up and sold it? I'm confused. Rei is pretty reckless, now that I think about it. I wonder where Milton was living before he joined us? After asking him, apparently he had been renting a room in an inn; so there was really no problem regarding his leaving without notice. He's responsible. We're now arriving at Vigi's Forge. Opening the door, it's quite hot in here. Budget Dragon chose to come inside, so I called on Mr Scarecrow to protect the carriage.
"Hello~ Is Vigi around?" [Nero] called while opening the door.
"What? Yeah. He's. Around. Back." [Komoto Dragonkin] replied in between slamming a Hammer down on a hot Sword.
"Thank you~" [Nero] thanked as he made his way through the Forge to find Vigi, currently appraising a spear made by one of his apprentices. It's the Raccoonkin.
"Well done. It could use some engraving around here though, just to make it a bit more visually appealing." [Vigi] praised the apprentice before giving some advice and turning to Nero.
"Hey~ If it isn't the Cat. I'm still working on your Lantern, trying to make it as well as I can to fit the price. I was able to get some really nice gems out of the ore though, so I'm sure that you'll be pleased in that department. I've been thinking about adorning the handle with them." [Vigi] said while taking out some gems for Nero to see.
"Haaaaah… They're beautiful. I can't wait to see what you do with them~ Actually, I came here tonight on a different matter. I was hoping to start a separate commission for your Forge. This one is a lot less notable though, and can likely be completed as a group project across your apprentices." [Nero] marvelled at the gems for a few moments before getting back on track. To which, Budget Dragon went off to go speak with the Komoto Dragonkin.
"A new project, huh? What did you have in mind?" [Vigi] asked while furrowing his brows.
"I was hoping that I might procure a plethora of nails, a few dozen watering cans, a dozen shovels, a dozen axes, a few dozen rakes, and several dozen hammers. They can all be built from preferably Iron, but I really don't care if it's necessary to use Steel due to a lack in Iron. I'll pay for them either way... But I can't provide the materials unless you wish to go on a mining expedition." [Nero] roughly listed off his needs before explaining in further detail.
"That's a lot of materials, are you planning something big?" [Vigi] asked while writing down the request using some sort of magic quill.
"I want to provide a means for the Goblins to build nicer homes. They'll need tools and nails, wouldn't you agree?" [Nero] asked with a smile.
"Rather generous... I'll try my best to procure the Iron. If I fail, I'll add Steel to your bill... But I won't build Steel nails. I'll make sure I find Iron for that much at least." [Vigi] said with a smile.
"Thank you very much, that's probably for the best." [Nero] replied while thinking.
"So do you have any number that you want to attach for the nails?" [Vigi] asked.
"Let's go with 500 for now. How much do you think that will come to?" [Nero] said before asking.
"500 Iron nails would probably come up to no more than 300 Silver Coins." [Vigi] replied frankly.
"That's relatively cheap then, how about the remaining tools?" [Nero] asked.
"Including the nails, I would say over 1 Gold Coin but no more than 2. 3 if it ends up needing Steel, but I'm optimistic that it probably won't if we only need 500 Iron nails." [Vigi] replied while sticking a thumb up.
"Very well. I'll give you 3 Gold Coins for the deal, please do your best. You may keep whatever spare there is. If you need additional funds, please do not hesitate to send word for me in the Lost Kingdom. If not, I will certainly return in 7 days, but will likely return much sooner than that." [Nero] replied while taking out 3 Gold Coins and handing them to Vigi.
"Sounds good. You can count on it, I'll get the job done. I was only saying it might reach 3 on account of me still needing my pay for the job. The materials themselves wouldn't cost more than 2 even if we needed Steel." [Vigi] admitted honestly.
"Alright, I'll be taking my leave now. Have a good night~" [Nero] bid Vigi farewell while waving.
"See ya!" [Vigi] called.
"He'd charge a third of the cost for his craftsmanship?" [Milton] asked me after we had left and dragged Budget Dragon away from his new friend.
"It's not so different from the Goblin Hooch Distillery. You really think they NEED 12 Fish to conjure a bottle of Goblin Hooch? It's about the desire for payment more so than anything else. Hey, you could also compare it to my clothing business. Do you think I really NEED 30 Silver Coins for a piece of clothes which could potentially cost me 4 MP to cast? Honey, I can and have done it for free on massive scales. I choose to raise the price to more than I deem its actual value so that I can purchase more of the things that I want." [Nero] explained the joys of commerce to Milton.
"Ahhh, so the reason why I was struggling to afford proper housing before meeting you is because I was only selling my Fish for what I deemed them to be worth?" [Milton] asked, seemingly understood.
"It's kind of like that. But also, it's because Fish just aren't that valuable. Sorry~" [Nero] replied with a smile.
"Why is that?" [Milton] asked.
"Just about anyone can go and catch a common Fish. The number of people who can create high quality clothing with nothing more than their own MP is probably only a small handful. It's a rare talent, so I can control the market for it. Find something special that only you can do if you want to become wealthy. Or, you can try to find something special that you can do better than anyone else. If not, continue Fishing for me so that you don't feel the need to become wealthy. Don't get me wrong, Fish are great. There's nothing wrong with choosing to be a Fisher. That being said, it just doesn't pay very well unless you can catch an absurd amount of Fish. It isn't plausible with rivers or waterfalls. You need oceans." [Nero] explained while holding his smile.
"Ahhh~" [Milton] exclaimed.
And with that, we continued on in our carriage being pulled by Budget Dragon. There aren't any apple trees in the Beastkin Kingdom, so I can't really try to attain any right now. We lack the logs needed to form a deal with a Lumbermill, so there's no point in trying to strike one. The Candy Store is closed due to it currently being night. Thinking along those lines, I told Budget Dragon that we could return to the Vellisroi Ranch. When we arrived, we were led by a maid to Cetilla and her parents. They were in what appears to be a living room. There's a low sitting table and several cushioned benches to sit on around it. They're drinking again. Jeez! What am I gonna do with you guys?!
Setting down the Silver Coins, we joined the group in drinking. We ended up playing the Safari Card Game, and whoever lost needed to drink. Throughout the night, we talked on and on about meaningless things which I honestly don't even remember. After we had left Roy's Ranch, we took another dip in the Ocean. I'm starting to feel guilty with all of my secret non festivity baths. Oh well~ I can't help but enjoy it. My Clansmen needed to appear in order to scare away the monsters of the Ocean, so we had a good time getting to see all of them. The splash fight was magnificent. We stayed on the Beach sand for awhile as we dried off before opening the [Hallowed Gate] and returning.
It was nearly dawn, but not quite yet. So, we joined the others are the campfire and had a dandy ol' time. The Bandsmen played the Monster M*sh, and it caught on in a flash~ When dawn was approaching, I went off to the Kitchen and grabbed a quick bite to eat alongside my drunken companions. We were all feeling somewhat hungry I suppose. We played one last quick round of Safari Card Game before sleeping, but Milton totally smashed his own face into the table before the game ended. He's K/O'd. Taking it as a sign from the gods, that we too must find solace in sleep... We all went our separate ways off to bed, leaving Milton to sleep at the table. On arrival into the Treasure Room, I quickly cast [Daily Candy] before catapulting myself into bed. Changing my form caused me to no longer feel as though I were clothed even if I were cozied into my shirt. It's fine~ Good morning...