Evan D. Sherden. Opening a Hot Spring (4)
It took just one month for the popularity of the Brotherhood Bathhouse to dominate the dungeon city. It was being acclaimed slightly slower than Evan had expected, but still overwhelmingly faster than everyone else's expectations.
"Everyone must go to the Brotherhood Bathhouse!"
"I am in perfect condition!"
"Okay, then go to the Yellow Drake Guild! Today, we are targeting the 40th floor. Let's catch up with the guys on the front line!"
"Oh, oh!"
For several years now, the 30th floor was recognized as the deep end or the dungeon's deeper part. Explorers and adventures started visiting the Brotherhood Bathhouse once before entering the dungeon and again after coming out of it.
It had almost become a natural thing because after taking a bath, their efficiency in attacking the dungeons increased, together with wound recovery, fatigue relief, and vitality.
"What? Were you stabbed by a knife by one of the elite Orcs yesterday? The group commander wasn't expecting you would come out today… Will you be visiting the Brotherhood Bathhouse then?"
"Yeah. I'll be going there because the potion isn't enough on its own to heal the wound… How is it by the way? Is it that good like everyone says?"
"I would surely have died as even the priests from the Church were unable to heal me… That was what I thought anyway. The Bathhouse is a real revolution, a miracle!"
"We still have to break through the 27th?floor right? Let's get together and go!"
"Hey, give me a moment! I have to use the bathroom… All right, let's go! The leader is there with the whole group!"
The explorers who killed monsters on the 20th?and 30th?floors did not have enough riches to visit the Brotherhood Bathhouse every day. So whenever someone was wounded seriously in a fierce battle, they visited the Bathhouse to heal it and recover. This was because all of them were well aware of the bath's ability to recover and strengthen their bodies by now.
"I envy you. I want to go to the Brotherhood Bathhouse too…"
"I heard that the nobles are also present, naked as everyone else when you go there these days. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is. They say everyone baths there without any distinction between nobles and commoners. This is the policy of the Marquis."
"That's good. So the nobles are comfortable with this approach?"
"When I grow up, I want to go bath there too… On the day when I break through the 15th floor, I will go to the Brotherhood Bathhouse!"
In this way, the explorers who were relatively new and just starting on the upper floors, devoted themselves to attacking the dungeon more enthusiastically, dreaming of a day when they would be able to enter the Brotherhood Bathhouse daily.
This idea was encouraged by the fact that you could use the same facilities as the nobles, which were ridiculously expensive to come by normally. And that there were special drinks that were only available there…
Entering the Brotherhood Bathhouse itself was considered a great privilege. It was beginning to be seen as a symbol of a senior explorer, which motivated everyone.
"This month's profits of the Brotherhood Bathhouse are exceeding those of the Brotherhood Pharmacy, Master Marquis."
"It's surprisingly perfect, and it's going exactly the way Evan had imagined it. He already knows how to make surplus gains with a place like that…"
As the Marquis, along with Evan, was being briefed about the month's sale reports, he was yet again surprised.
The net profit of the Bathhouse was larger than that of the operating Brotherhood Pharmacy.
"The Brotherhood Pharmacy is good for explorers on the front line, and it can also be seen as a facility for the poor or low-level explorers who cannot get the help of a priest every time. However, Brotherhood Bathhouse has a different customer base. The difference in net profit cannot be helped."
Evan nodded as if he had expected this and laughed darkly.
"And actually, the cost of making the Bathhouse is incomparable to that of the Pharmacy."
"Did it all come out of your pocket? The vassals are already upset over the shares of the Brotherhood Bathhouse."
"Yes. I didn't want it to be messy so I took care of it all."
As it was a luxurious facility that was unparalleled compared to the Brotherhood Pharmacy, the vassals were excited at the prospect, thinking that they would be able to hold significant stakes in the Brotherhood Bathhouse.
However, it turned out that all the materials, magic tools, and artefacts that went into the construction of Brotherhood Bathhouse came from Evan's possessions. The second Master, Evan, who was only 11 years old, had made it all by himself!
"No, why aren't we being allowed to invest!? It's no wonder Master Evan is the one in charge of it and not just the Marquis! As a vassal dedicating allegiance to the Marquis, this is too unfair!"
"Randolph, calm down. Even the Marquis didn't invest. If anything is lacking, you will be asked for investing."
"…What does that mean?"
"It means that Master Evan not only provided the artefacts but also the money required. The sales at the Brotherhood Pharmacy are also skyrocketing."
No investment had to be made except for buying the land (the rights of the land itself were purchased at a fair price), so what the Marquis would receive from the Brotherhood Bathhouse wasn't taxable at all.
Of course, that alone was amazing enough.
The gains were enormous. When the Marquis would tell them that the Brotherhood Bathhouse had been originally entitled to duty-free benefits, they would all pass out.
"It's about repaying my father, of course. It's my job to do, but sometimes some vassals are obsessed with money more than necessary. Especially someone like Uncle Randolph."
"The Brotherhood Bathhouse is where you started your own business for the first time. I assure you no one would touch it as long as you don't them to."
That was also true. It was named "Brotherhood Bathhouse," but there were no brothers there. There was only Evan. It wasn't even the Marquis's, but Evan's business, or if you wanted to be particular, it was a joint business with Bernard.
"When people see a lot of income, their greed grows. That's why I want to block such a possibility in advance. But if my father is offended by this act of mine…"
"No, no way. You're doing so well, Evan. ?I've to start paying much less attention to the people we don't need."
"I am a nobleman myself, father, who is responsible for many people," Evan responded modestly and checked the growth trend of sales with Maybell. He considered and compared the various operations of the Brotherhood Bathhouse.
"Well, I will have to keep this entry fee for the next two years. From the following year, we will increase it by five silver coins annually. In the end, I will raise it to half a gold coin or 50 silver coins."
Evan thought he should charge at least one gold coin or even more in terms of the effects and the facilities Brotherhood Bathhouse provided. Even the customers (especially the nobles) who came to the Brotherhood Bathhouse thought so, but in fact, raising the admission fee right now would be a very bad idea.
Evan hoped that the people attacking the dungeon continued to be active, so he immediately set the price down considerably to 20 silver coins.
If the Bathhouse prospered further, Evan thought of raising the price little by little from then on to stabilize.
"And what I have here is a special membership."
Evan grinned as he pulled out a black rectangular card from his chest pocket. The card was engraved with Evan's name in luxurious gold letters. It was a card that granted the privilege of permanent free use of the Brotherhood Bathhouse to individuals who possessed it.
This was to be offered only to the Marquis's immediate relatives, including the Marquis and his wives, the employees of the Brotherhood Bathhouse and the Brotherhood Pharmacy, the members of the Iron Wall Knights, and the members of the upcoming Dungeon Knights. Of course, he had another card only for Maybell, who was in charge of the Brotherhood Pharmacy and the Brotherhood Bathhouse.
"In addition to that, I plan to make gold (50% discount) and silver (30% discount) grade cards to make a special contribution to the regular explorers of the dungeon or to selected ones who are very fast in growth. If I do that, then I will be able to donate."
"Then, just holding the card would be perceived as a privilege."
"That's right, father."
"Well, it sounds great."
It didn't mean that the Bathhouse would lose money by offering a discount. People would work harder to get the Brotherhood Bathhouse's special membership, which would eventually benefit the Brotherhood Bathhouse and the adventurers in return.
'This will improve dungeon exploration. And people will be stronger.'
Desire had always led mankind to develop in different ways. In the future, one enormous desire i.e., the Brotherhood Bathhouse, would drive the dungeon research forward.
As a result, when the dungeons would gradually change, the appearance of the dungeon city of Sherden would be quite different in all aspects from that of the original game.
'If I'm strong enough, I don't have to be the main character. I want to develop this city to its full potential.'
Evan realized he had a new desire now.
It wasn't that Evan was jealous because he was an extra. But he had come to love this world so much that he could not stand the people in it living unhappily and in jeopardy until the protagonist arrived and changed everything.
'If it's a world where only one person has to solve all problems, then it's better to perish than to wait.'
Raihan the Unbreakable Shield, Silent Knight Shine, Blood Witch Belois. Excluding the protagonist, how many were strong enough to change the world? Even Bernard Garcia, who was a bit reclusive, hadn't gone anywhere.
Evan decided that no matter what would happen to the protagonist, the world should not collapse, and he wouldn't let it. He wanted to add as many special people to his group as possible to make it easier.
"Evan, you have greatly changed the dungeon expedition. You have made me proud."
"Was I of any help, Father?"
"Sure, you were. I can't imagine what would happen to this dungeon city without you."
If Evan had been greedy, he would have wanted to appoint himself as the Marquis's successor or as his subordinate. At this point, Evan's contribution to the city was so great that no one, even Eric, could complain.
If the Marquis took the responsibility of being the external representative of the Brotherhood Bathhouse and shared its influence and expanded it within the Silkline Kingdom, then this alone would lead people to bow down to Evan.
"But I was just doing the small things I could do. Without my father and my older brother, I would not have been able to do any of it."
However, Evan knew that his influence would increase, so he stepped down by declaring that he would become the Dungeon Knights Commander after he got of age.
The Marquis was most concerned about Eric, who had yet to meet the Marquis's high expectations, and Evan, who was proudly standing in front of him.
'I'm not sure if Evan feels tied up so that he can't show off his abilities to the fullest, as he doesn't want to upset his family.'
He hadn't known that there would come a day when the name of the Marquis Sherden himself would be less influential than the name of the Marquis' second son.
However, Evan was not only designing the future of the Brotherhood Bathhouse, but the dungeon cities as well without even knowing what his father was going through. Evan was just standing there with Maybell, whose fate had also changed greatly by his direct influence on her.
The Marquis looked at his son and thought.
'If there is a hero in this world, then it's probably Evan.'
Countless people, including the Marquis, were convinced of this. But only Evan himself refused to believe that. Evan thought he was still a very weak and insignificant extra.
But no one knew how long that sentiment would last.