第１８２３堀：用意が追い付かないのはそれはそれでダメ (Part1)
Side: Labyris
"So, did the product presentation go well?"
After Yuki returned, I listened to him speak about sending envoys to Ohe. I never imagined Mikos would give a demonstration over there. After all, it wasn't a catalog prepared for Ohe, but for a place called the Jeyaes Kingdom. Well, there's nothing wrong with showing it to them, but practicing it on a king, a princess, and the captain of the Royal Guard? That's surprising. I suppose they must have wanted it too...
"It went well. No, perhaps too well?"
Yuki's gaze shifted to Mikos and Kagura, who had given the demonstration. I looked at the two of them as well.
"Yes. Mikos explained it so well that they immediately said they wanted to buy it."
"Ahaha~, I didn't think it would go *that* well~."
It seemed both Kagura and Mikos were surprised. This is something we should be happy about, that it went *too* well, but...
"Haa, so, it seems it's selling better than expected, and you're here to discuss increasing production? But in that case, shouldn't you be asking Ratz, who manages production?"
Indeed, what was strange was that they were bringing this discussion about increasing product production to me. Ratz managed product development and production for these kinds of items.
"No, you see, we had agreed to prepare twenty units for inventory. Even with Ratz."
"Only twenty units?"
I was surprised to hear the number Yuki mentioned. I never imagined home appliances would have an inventory of only twenty units.
"Why did it come to a number like twenty, even with Ratz involved? Looking at the catalog, it's neither particularly expensive nor cheap, and I'd think nobles, or rather, the nation's key figures, would want them no matter what?"
Indeed, I had seen the contents myself, and I couldn't imagine them being satisfied with a mere twenty units. There are many nobles, and I'd think they'd want as many of such convenient items as they could get. But Yuki and Ratz couldn't possibly not know that, could they?
"No, it was basically intended for the King and his family, and a few key figures. For washing machines and refrigerators, one per household should be enough, right?"
"Exactly, exactly. Unless they already knew about them, we didn't expect them to order a lot for the first time~. And Ratz also said that the space needed to store manufactured home appliances takes up surprisingly a lot of room."
"Ah, I see."
It's easy to forget, but while we use the Item Box skill as a matter of course because Yuki is here, it's fundamentally a very rare skill, and it's normal to store large quantities of goods in warehouses. After all, in an emergency, if the person holding those goods isn't there, no one can retrieve them. In other words, manufactured products need to be stored somewhere at their actual size. That incurs transportation costs, and requires space.
"Considering these numbers, is twenty of each actually quite tight?"
There are roughly a hundred types of home appliances. There are quite a few large ones too, and considering other products, the warehouse would likely be quite full.
"Exactly. I consulted with Ratz, and we concluded that if we rashly increased warehouses and production, and then they didn't sell, it wouldn't be profitable."
"Well, that's true."
"Besides, even if we could easily increase the number of warehouses, transportation methods and production volume wouldn't suddenly increase."
"That's also true."
Just because space increases doesn't mean production numbers or the number of people for transport will increase. And naturally, maintenance costs would also increase. I understand that if they don't sell, it's a loss.
"This time, it's also serving as a test, but we can't deny that Ohe might be a special case. There's a possibility they won't sell at all in the Jeyaes Kingdom."
"That's right. With Ohe, there was already an established relationship of trust. I think that's a big factor. No matter how well Mikos demonstrated, I don't think they'd sell out instantly."
"Eh~, Labyris. Let's say it's thanks to Mikos-chan's wonderful talk."
"Then, will making a lot solve the problem?"
"I'm sorry. I don't have that much confidence."
Mikos immediately bowed her head. Haa, just like her. Well, that's one of Mikos's good points.
"So, I understand that the number of units that will sell is unpredictable, but why are you coming to me about it? If it's about discussing production numbers, that's even more Ratz's domain, isn't it?"
Calculating the distribution of these kinds of goods is Ratz's job, by listening to the projected figures from each diplomat. But this time, there are no diplomats, so we can't predict how many will sell, which is why things are like this.
"Ah, well, I consulted with Ratz about that. While it's certainly good to produce and sell ourselves, this time it's unpredictable, so we decided it would be better to procure them using the Dungeon Master's skill rather than making them wait. And when it comes to exchanging Weed's DP..."
"That's it. In that case, it's me. However, you'll need Seraria's permission, and Eris's too, of course, won't you? It's national treasury DP, after all."
Going through me means using Weed's assets, its blood tax. Of course, since I'm ostensibly appointed as the Dungeon Master, I'm the only one who can exchange various things with Weed's DP, but I can't just use it as I please. Without permission from Queen Seraria, of course, and Eris, who holds the finances as the head of accounting, the DP cannot be used. I don't think they could possibly not know that...
"I know that. But we're struggling with how to persuade Eris, let alone Seraria. Ratz is already saying that we should just give up, pay out of our own pockets, and proceed based on the results."
"Ah~, well, it's difficult to request a budget without any estimates, isn't it? Paying out of one's own pocket is, well, the safest option, I suppose. But then, why are you talking to me about it even more?"
"No, in any case, production might not keep up, and I thought it would be better if we could summon home appliances. We've managed to create Weed-made appliances, not just Japanese ones. So, it's about registering them."
"Ah, so it's about how it's no good if we can't make them immediately when we need to. The method for updating..."
"I'll grant permission, so please check it now."
That's what it is. It means increasing the items I can procure with my Dungeon Master skill. If they increased on their own, I wouldn't know, and since I'm the one ordering them, they probably want me to properly understand the products.
And when I opened the "Dig Here, Woof-Woof" product purchase section, a new catalog category had been added.
"You went to the trouble of creating a separate category?"
"If I didn't, they'd end up in other categories. And searching for each one individually would be a hassle, wouldn't it?"
"...Indeed, searching would be troublesome. It's helpful if they're separated by catalog product."