The next day. Today, Father had a day off from work, after telling him about how I and Leticia’s decision of taking a break from our adventurer activities. Therefore, we both decided to spend the morning together after having breakfast.

While lounging around in the living room, Father approached me.

“Lark, how are your adventurer activities going?”

“They’re going really well. I’ve been training with Idel-san until yesterday, so I think I’ve improved quite a bit.”

“I see. Then, how about I test how much stronger you’ve become?”

“That sounds good. Please go ahead.”

And so, we grabbed our wooden swords and moved to the backyard to have a practice match.

We established some rules: no using magic other than body enhancement magic, no attacking dangerous areas like vital points, and no blocking attacks with anything other than the wooden swords. After a brief warm-up, we began.

“You’ve become stronger, Lark!”

“I’ve leveled up, and my abilities have also improved!”

“It certainly seems that way!”

“And besides, I’ve been training diligently for the past few days. Even Father should experience some pain!”

“Alright! Give it your best shot!”

While exchanging blows with our wooden swords and conversing, we found it difficult to create an opening against each other. At this rate, we would remain deadlocked.

To untie this situation, I made the first move. Holding the wooden sword with both hands, I swiftly charged at Father. The moment I closed my distance, I jumped, gaining momentum, and swung down with a powerful overhead strike.

In an attempt to guard against the attack from above, Father swung his wooden sword upward. At the instant our wooden swords clashed, I momentarily released the strength in my one hand, intentionally weakening the impact. Naturally, my wooden sword was easily deflected, but I had anticipated this, so I could quickly proceed with the next move.

However, Father, who had expected a full-force attack, was caught off guard, causing him to lose his footing.

“Ha!”

“Alright!”

Without missing the opportunity presented in that moment, I immediately readjusted my grip on the sword mid-air and swung down at Father once again.

“Urgh!”

Caught off guard, Father unexpectedly caught the attack with his arm. That action meant my victory.

“Alright! I won against Father!”

“…Tch, seeing a child grow this quickly makes me feel a little lonely… But well done, Lark.” Father approached me, patting my head. His tone sounded frustrated, but contrary to his words, his face wore a gentle smile.

“Why are you so happy?”

“I was able to witness the moment of my child’s growth,” Father continued to pat my head vigorously.

After sweating during the mock battle, we decided to clean ourselves by taking a morning bath. As we undressed and entered the bathroom, Shafal emerged from within my body. ‘This creature usually only comes out when it’s time to eat or take a bath.’

While washing Shafal’s body with soap, I noticed that its belly was soft and squishy. It shouldn’t have had any excess fat before… come to think of it, it feels like it has grown in size overall.

“Shafal, have you grown a little again?”

When I asked, Shafal, covered in fluffy bubbles, nodded with a look of contentment. “Every day, I absorb a large amount of magical power, so it’s only natural to grow.”

“Grow quickly and let me ride on you while you fly.”

“Yes, let’s promise that.”

‘I hope Shafal can grow safely.’

I rinsed Shafal off with hot water and then cleaned myself before soaking in the bathtub. After getting out of the bath, I pondered what to do in the living room.

‘Ah, I know, it’s still a little early for lunch, but I’ll make a time-consuming dish to pass the time. When it comes to time-consuming dishes… a stew sounds just right.’

First, I cut the vegetables and seasoned the meat with salt and pepper. Then I sautéed the ingredients and added the red wine and special sauce that I had bought for cooking, and let it simmer… It doesn’t have many steps, but it takes quite a long time because it needs to be simmered. While tending to the fire, I chatted with Father about trivial things and waited for it to be done.

Eventually, it simmered nicely, so I turned off the heat and served it on plates. At that moment, Shafal also appeared.

“Let’s eat.”

We offfered our prayers and were about to start eating in the living room when the doorbell rang.

“We have a visitor? I’ll be right back.”

Father went to answer the door, so I waited without touching the food. Meanwhile, Shafal continued to eat without a care.

“Lark, come here for a moment!”

I heard Father calling me.

As I approached the entrance, I saw my classmate, Roeck, and a well-built middle-aged man standing there.

That man… if I remember correctly, he’s Roeck’s father and the president of the Dursley Company, Mr. Luke Dursley. I had greeted him as Roeck’s friend before the long vacation, so we are familiar with each other.

“Roeck and Mr. Dursley? What’s going on?”

Curious, I asked, and Roeck responded to my question first, “Lark, it’s actually about the rice we handle at Taldora-san’s shop…”

At that moment, Mr. Dursley restrained Roeck with his hand and started speaking in his place, “Hey, Roeck. Let me handle that topic. It’s about the rice that Lark often buys at Taldora’s place. I also realized its value and decided to import it on a large scale. I’d like you to fully entrust me with the future sale of rice.”

“Really!? Thank you so much!”

In other words, it means that from now on, they will steadily expand the sale of rice at the stores affiliated with the Dursley Trading Company.

Mr. Dursley continued the conversation, “Yeah, and there’s one thing I’d like to ask… I don’t mind handling the importation through our company. However, since rice is an unfamiliar ingredient so far, people may not easily want to buy it just by selling it. That’s why I want Lark, who knows the greatness of rice well, to promote rice-based dishes.”

“Promoting rice dishes…?” I echoed with surprise at the unexpected proposal.

“What do you think? Can you do it?”

Hmm… Honestly, I’m interested, but I’m currently active as an adventurer, so I wonder if I have the time for that… No, but I definitely want to convey the greatness of rice to the people in the capital. Besides, there was also a book written about rice which I borrowed from Wallace-kun before, and it said that they wanted to spread rice all over the world.

“…Yes, if it’s me, I’ll do it,” I replied back to Mr. Dursley.

‘However, even though I accepted his suggestion, how should I promote it specifically?’

While I was thinking about it, Mr. Dursley gave me some advice, “In that case, how about opening your own shop? You can sell rice dishes at that shop.”

“Huh? Is it easy to have your own shop?” I asked in surprise, and both Mr. Dursley and Roeck nodded at the same time.

They said they would explain the specific methods, so I thought it would be pointless to keep talking and we all moved to the living room. When we arrived in the living room, Shafal wasn’t there. Not only Shafal, but the simmered dish that my father and I hadn’t touched was also empty.

‘That useless dragon… Did it eat everything and run away somewhere in the house? I’ll deal with Shafal’s punishment later. For now, let me clean up the plates.’

Once everyone was seated, Mr. Dursley spoke first, “Well, about the question earlier… If Lark registers with the Commerce Guild and gets a letter of recommendation from someone in a higher-ranking commercial company, it is possible for you to own a shop. By the way, you can register with the Commerce Guild even if you’re registered with the Adventurer’s Guild, so there’s no need to worry.”

‘A higher-ranking commercial company… The Dursley Trading Company is undoubtedly a higher-ranking one.’

“So, you’re saying that Mr. Dursley will write a letter of recommendation and help me open my own shop?”

When I asked, he nodded, “Yes. I think that would be the quickest way. What do you think? Of course, I’ll also arrange for some assistants.”

‘Debuting as a merchant… sounds a bit interesting.’

However, contrary to my excitement, Father who was sitting beside me had a complicated expression. “Lark… Just to confirm, you’re still a student at the academy, so you have to attend school once the long break is over, right?”

When Father said that Roeck spoke up in response, “Lark, as the top-ranking student, you should be able to skip classes other than exams, right?”

‘Oh, come to think of it, there was such a system…’

“…That’s not allowed, you know? Since you’re attending the academy, it would be a waste if you didn’t enjoy your student life properly.” It seemed like my thoughts were read, and Father quickly interjected.

That’s right, he does have a point. But I still want to try opening a shop…

As I hesitated, Mr. Dursley came to my rescue. “Guldo-san, in that case, why not try starting a food stall for the remaining month or so until the end of the long break? It’s much easier to do with a stall, as you only need the products, and you can quickly pack up as well.”

“Hmm, well…”

‘Father seemed indecisive. I have to push him now!’

“Father, I beg you! I want everyone in town to know the goodness of rice! If the food stall doesn’t work out, I’ll quit immediately!”

“…I understand. However, make sure it doesn’t interfere with your student life, and if it doesn’t go well, you close the stall.”

“Thank you so much!”

With the conditions attached, I managed to get permission. Alright, I’ll make sure it’s a success!

Afterward, Mr. Dursley and I headed straight to the Commerce Guild. While Father and Roeck were waiting at home.

Inside the Commerce Guild, there wasn’t much difference compared to the Adventurers’ Guild. However, as expected, there were merchants all around, giving a calm atmosphere overall. We waited in line at the reception for a while until a female receptionist called us forward.

“What can I assist you with?”

“I would like to join the Commerce Guild…”

“I understand. Then, please sign this document. Also, as the registration fee, please submit five silver coins.”

“Understood.”

I paid the five silver coins and signed the document.

After briefly checking my signature, the receptionist handed me a card.

“What’s this?”

“That’s a guild card. It serves as proof of affiliation with the Commerce Guild, so please be careful not to lose it.”

I see, so it’s card-based, unlike the Adventurer’s Guild.

When I read the characters written on the card, it says, ‘E-Rank: Lark Voltoris.’ It seems that ranks exist in the Commercial Guild as well.

As I was looking at the card, the receptionist woman spoke to me, “Are you going to establish your own trading company?”

“Huh?”

Not understanding what she meant, I asked for clarification, and the woman explained it to me in detail.

In short, if you register with the Commerce Guild, you can create a trading company with your own name, like the Dursley Trading Company. Creating a company can be helpful in transactions between merchants and such.

I didn’t have any serious intentions of becoming a full-fledged merchant, but since there didn’t seem to be any particularly troublesome procedures, I decided to create one while I was at it.

After creating the trading company, Mr. Dursley took out a rolled-up parchment from his pocket and spoke to the receptionist woman, “Also, I’d like you to issue a permit for this kid to open a stall. Can you do that? This is my letter of recommendation.”

“Yes, understood. It’s a recommendation from Dursley-sama, right? Please wait a moment,” the receptionist woman replied in a professional manner and withdrew to the back. A few minutes later, the woman returned with some documents in hand. “People who wish to operate a stall must have their eyes on these documents. I apologize for taking your time, but please read them.”

“Understood.”

I glanced through the offered documents.

The documents mainly listed the prohibited actions when opening a stall. For example, if you imitated someone else’s merchandise without permission or deliberately obstructed another merchant’s business, you would be expelled from the Commerce Guild. Additionally, if you continue operating the stall, you need to pay money to the Commerce Guild once a year. Well, all the provisions seemed fine as long as you conducted business normally.

Since I had read and memorized all the documents for the time being, I returned them to the receptionist woman. Just when I thought it was over, she asked me some questions from among several documents. They were all basic things, so I answered all of them smoothly.

“You’ve passed. Well then, I will issue the permit, so please wait a little longer.”

Huh? Was that a test just now? I was a little surprised because I wasn’t mentally prepared at all. It could have been dangerous if I didn’t have ‘Enhanced Memory Capacity.’

The receptionist woman left her seat again and soon returned with a card in hand. “This is your business permit. It permits only the operation of a stall, so if you want to engage in other types of businesses, you’ll need to come back to the guild.”

“Understood. By the way, it was written in the regulations that I have to pay money to the guild once a year. When should I pay?”

“It’s one year from the month you received the permit. If you close your stall in the middle, you still need to make the payment, so please be aware of that. Also, the amount is determined based on the rank of the Commerce Guild. If you have any questions that arise while continuing your business, feel free to ask at any time.”

“Understood. Thank you very much,” I bowed my head and left the reception desk.

Since the procedures went smoothly, I decided to return home with Mr. Dursley. When I arrived home and went to the living room, Roeck, who was sitting in a chair waiting, approaches me.

“Lark-kun, were you able to register?”

“Yeah, here.”

I took out the guild card and the business permit that I just received and show them to him.

“You even got the permit. That’s great. Some people get down when they fail, so I was a little worried.”

“I was surprised because I didn’t know there was a test.”

As I say this with a smile, Mr. Dursley joined in the conversation. “If I told you in advance, I wouldn’t know your aptitude. Well, anyway, Guldo-san, Lark-kun’s answers were perfect. He has talent as a merchant! It seems like he’ll be fine even if he quits school. Hahaha!”

“Haha, is that so…” Father chuckled a little and then turned to me. “Do your best, Lark. If anything happens, I’ll help you anytime.”