Miya Ryuguu, Level 31
The System reported a bunch of trivial data. In this simulation, appearance was the most useless attribute.
My face was plain and unremarkable.
"So it's fine if I send Buck to negotiate with Mondstadt merchants, right? He's very approachable."
［But you also gave him the task of sourcing ingredients］
"...Ehe!"
I wasn't exactly idle either.
"Madam Nastalya Petrovna, excuse me—do you have access to procurement channels for Snezhnayan Fire-Water?"
I addressed a woman dressed in Snezhnayan merchant attire.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, and most importantly, she looked relatively young—like a proud golden chinchilla cat.
Snezhnayan merchants carried cultural traits I found familiar. Since their prototype was Russia, no business deal couldn't be settled over drinks and a sauna session. If one round didn't work, you just needed more Birdie Vodka.
——
"Really, Inazuman etiquette is so troublesome—do you need some honey?"
"No, thank you, Madam. This is delicious enough."
I sat stiffly on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea.
Nastalya Petrovna had insisted I call her "Madam."
I actually missed the days when my Russian classmates dragged me out for drinks.
I'd mentally prepared to conquer this Snezhnayan merchant through a hearty drinking session—or even force.
But when Madam Nastalya heard my inquiry, her eyes lit up. She excitedly exclaimed, "I knew someone in Inazuma would buy it! This is the soul of Snezhnaya!" and eagerly asked if I had plans next.
—Then she dragged me to where the foreign merchants resided.
Snezhnayan afternoon tea was damnably sweet.
And she actually added another sugar cube, two spoons of honey, and asked if I wanted syrup-drenched shortbread.
One afternoon tea session felt like I'd overdrawn my sugar quota for the next lifetime. Madam Nastalya was as enthusiastic as my classmate's mother.
"It's wonderful that you're willing to buy so much, Miya. I guarantee it's worth it. Your tavern can partner with me long-term." Madam Nastalya chattered incessantly while pulling out a thick stack of contracts, permits, and similar documents. "Inazuma's Sakoku Decree nearly bankrupted me. I originally dealt in silk—wanted to transport it from Inazuma back home. Snezhnaya only has sturdy furs—would you like another shortbread?"
"...No, thank you, Madam." I trembled.
She raised the documents angrily. "I signed hundreds of papers for this! Look! Those officials just kept giving me the runaround! In the end, I had to sell that silk at a loss to that damned, bullying soldier just to pay rent and avoid starving in a foreign land!"
"—The money for the Fire-Water was barely loaned by kind Mondstadt merchants willing to help! I promised them I could sell it, but before you came..."
Madam Nastalya actually wept a few tears of frustration before continuing, "Before you came, I ran around to all the restaurants! They told me Inazumans only drink sake—that watery stuff! No offense, but it's too thin for my taste! In Snezhnaya, sake won't warm you up! Relying on that, you'd freeze like a fish jumped from an icy lake in seconds!"
Speaking rapidly seemed a racial trait of angry Snezhnayans. I even heard her roll her Rs twice.
She talked for half an hour without me getting a word in.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of various permits and contracts were produced—and she kept pulling out more.
It looked like a groundhog digging a burrow.
"Ah, Miya, forgive my rudeness."
Only when she finally pulled out a pair of filigree-embellished glasses and a bottom-of-the-trunk document did the madam truly quiet down.
She even handed me a beautiful fountain pen.
"Alright then—that's a swan quill pen. You can keep it if you like. Now, let's discuss prices. For long-term cooperation, I'll give you a discount."
I could finally set down the tea and unfinished shortbread.
My mouth was numb from sweetness.
"Madam, how much stock do you have on hand?"
Madam Nastalya produced ledgers. "Currently, thirty barrels. Each barrel, minus tare weight, holds 10 kilograms of Fire-Water. At 100 Mora per kilogram—60,000 Mora takes them all."
I thought for a moment. "Madam, that price could buy land in Inazuma. How about 50,000 Mora?"
She shook her head. "Fire-Water shipped from Snezhnaya is top quality! You could even test its purity with Pyro—"
"Oh, let's not."
I didn't want to burn the place down testing alcohol purity.
"So 50,000 really won't work?" I pressed. "I'm your only Fire-Water client. No one else is buying it."
"Think, Madam. Neither Mondstadters nor Inazumans appreciate it. Only I know this is premium stuff. Since we're partnering long-term, why not make the start easier?"
Madam Nastalya sipped her tea, thinking. "No, Miya. Lowest is 55,000."
"Deal!" I immediately signed the contract.
I'd read the partnership terms carefully. Admittedly, the clauses were very characteristic of Madam Nastalya—clear and straightforward, stating cooperation period and prices plainly, without any capitalistic traps.
［You only haggled down 5,000］
"5,000 is still money."
The cooperation period was three years. Not too long, I thought.
Just then, loud noises came from next door. Madam Nastalya made a disgusted face, stood to lock the door, listened briefly, then quickly returned to her seat.
"Madam, who are they?"
"People from Snezhnaya here in Inazuma." She shook her head. "They're unreasonable—noisy and rude like bandits. They serve the Tsaritsa, so they act high and mighty."
"We all respect the Tsaritsa, but such people are hard to admire."
Madam Nastalya clearly didn't want to discuss it further. I followed her lead, chatting about Snezhnayan culture and customs.
But people next door serving the Tsaritsa...
I filed that away.
"Little Miya, you look younger than my sister who just came of age. How did you start a tavern?"
"My mother was a bartender. I learned her skills and didn't want to waste them—plus, being your own boss is freeing, isn't it?" I grinned, answering readily.
"Oh, your mother... I'm sorry." She gave me a comforting hug.
The madam held great enthusiasm for me.
And I was soft-hearted against kindness.
Madam Nastalya was new to the alcohol business, and I was new to entrepreneurship. Two blind cats had found a dead mouse—thankfully, the madam wasn't a heartless merchant.
"Since it's been so long since you returned home, won't you visit after the Sakoku Decree lifted?"
"Ah—I'd love to." She fretfully played with her hair. "But I promised my family I'd return only after making money. You know, my younger brother Ajax—five years my junior—already became a soldier for the Tsaritsa and travels the world! And here I am, accomplished nothing, almost thirty already!"
"If I go back, my father will just say I'm worse at business than ice fishing! I can't even sew as well as little Tonia!" Madam Nastalya covered her face. "I don't want him to look down on me, but it's been five years..."
"Worse at business than ice fishing. Worse at everything than ice fishing."
The madam had completely shed her initial elegance. She grew sadder, then suddenly hugged me—
"I want to go home too! It's not good out here! I miss home so much...!"
I took back my words.
She wasn't a chinchilla cat. She was a golden retriever.
Nastalya Petrovna cried like a two-hundred-pound child. I was too short and nearly suffocated in her proudly voluminous hair—a waterfall of strands—while struggling to comfort her.
No, more importantly—
Had I heard the name "Ajax" somewhere before?
——
Escaping the embrace of an enthusiastic Snezhnayan woman felt like being reborn. My legs were still weak.
Outside, dusk approached.
［You look like you've been trampled by a herd of golden retrievers］
"She seemed like she hadn't talked to anyone in eight hundred lifetimes." I plucked several strands of Madam Nastalya's hair from my collar—long, well-maintained, golden-shimmering locks.
"Speaking of which, how did Buck do?"
"I was successful, Boss." The data-being spoke up behind me, making me jump.
He pulled a small cart laden with various items.
Buck was as neat and gentle as when he'd left in the morning, his hair perfectly curled. He handed me two contracts.
"Are Mondstadt merchants easier to deal with?"
He shook his head, still harmless. "They just made me drink with them. But in the end, they all passed out, and I got the contracts—even 60% under your 100,000 Mora budget."
My mind conjured the shocked cat meme. I suddenly recalled a certain alcohol-loving Anemo Archon and his people—
Right, Mondstadters were bigger drinkers.
I hope no one died.
I couldn't resist poking Buck's flat stomach—soft, not bloated. "You don't get drunk?"
［Data isn't affected by alcohol］
"Let's see... mint, black tea, jam, cups, cocktail tools, coffee beans, milk... If we only have Dandelion Wine, cocktails, grape wine, and Fire-Water, it's not enough." I surveyed the items, recalling what Minella had taught me, and signaled Buck to move them into the tavern first.
"We need more alcohol."
I frowned in thought. Though reluctant to involve a certain someone, I had to.
"Buck," I said.
"We need to connect with Mondstadt's alcohol giant through the merchants."
—Diluc Ragnvindr.
***
Sorry for the delay. Anyway, tell me your thought.
5 Chapters at once
1 chapter at times, 5 in total.
choose.