章 6: Shopping Part 2

"He has gone too far this time!" The woman yelled. "The boys were enough! But now he has a young girl as well?"

[Young girl?] Joshua thought to himself. [What girl is she talking about.] Joshua turned around to see what the crazed woman was talking about but saw no one else. It then dawned on him that with his weakened malnourished physique and long blonde hair he had been mistaken as a female from behind.

"Hello miss." Joshua said to try and defuse the situation.

"Oh, you are a lad." The woman said with a sigh of relief. "I thought my husband had finally crossed the line and was… well I don't know exactly. I suppose I wouldn't want him to not help a young girl if she needed it, but I would need to be present!"

"Husband?" Joshua was confused.

"Gerald." She said. "Honestly, he really needs to hang some family paintings or something."

"Had no idea." Joshua said. He thought Gerald's interests lay elsewhere and was surprised that he had a wife.

"I have all of your garments ready." Gerald said as he entered the chamber. "Oh, and I see you have met my darling wife. Isn't she just divine?"

"Yes, she is very becoming." Joshua said.

"Oh, you two stop with the flattery, it will go straight to my head." She said with a smile. "This is your latest charity case dear? You know we cannot afford to keep helping these young boys as we do. You promised me you would only take in the most dire of strays."

"Joshua here is a paying customer." Gerald said. "He is the hero adventurer that killed the demon of the forest."

"Oh!" She replied. "That is amazing! Joshua, was it? You are quite the talk of the guild young man. We are expecting remarkable things from you there."

"Tonya here is assistant guild master." Gerald explained.

"That reminds me, it seems our receptionist only gave you the first part of the reward." Tonya said. "Please come by the guild later today and receive your secondary reward."

"There's more?" Joshua asked surprised but thinking back on it the girl at the counter did say the gold coins were only part of the reward. He was so excited about that part he forgot there was more. "I will stop by this afternoon."

"Fantastic." Gerald said. "Now that we got that bit out of the way, try on your new clothes. I worked hard on them and used my lightest, most durable fabric. It is called steel silk. IT is silken fibers that have a fortification spell placed on them. Gives you the light comfort of silk with the durability of steel."

"That is amazing." Joshua said as he felt it in his hands. He slipped on the shirt and slid the underpants under his towel, before putting his pants on. He used a tie that Gerald had given him to tie his hair back into a ponytail. His shirt was a pure white, and his pants were a mahogany brown. He could tell they were made from a tougher feeling material but not like anything he experienced on earth.

"What are the pants made of?" Joshua asked.

"Oh, for those I used steel linen." Gerald replied. "Its same context as the steel silk, but a heavier fabric. This allows the pants to fit better and not bounce around so much as you walk. You are now wearing the equivalent of plate armor, but you are stylish, and it is super light and flexible."

"Sounds incredibly expensive." Joshua said.

"It is." Gerald said. "Truth be known, I got the material a long time ago and lacked any clients that could afford it. That is until now. Don't worry with your discount, I will let the armor go for only one gold coin."

"I knew it was expensive." Joshua said with a sigh. "Fine. It seems well worth it if I am going to be an adventurer. Nothing beats starting your quest with high level gear."

"Okay." Gerald said.

Joshua handed over his status plate so that Gerald could transfer the funds.

After the transaction was complete Gerald handed the plate back to Joshua.

"Thank you for all you do." Joshua said to Gerald.

"Only doing what needs to be done." Gerald said. "Now you just come back if you need any work done on those garments. You are bound to grow and need adjustments over time. Just bring them in and I will fix them on the cheap."

[I guess now is as good a time as any to start building my economic empire.] Joshua thought to himself. "How is business?" Joshua asked. "I couldn't help but notice earlier when Tonya was talking about money problems."

"People of this town are poor." Gerald said. "The lords have it all and the peasants have dirt. I do what I can, but due to my aid of the undesirables the nobility stopped coming to my shop. I am basically living off my family's money.

I too am a noble you see. But I cannot just live happily in my bubble while I know there are those who are suffering just outside of sight. Tonya is the breadwinner of the family for sure."

"That sounds terrible." Joshua said. "I have an idea that could help. Premade clothing. If you mass produce outfits out of cheap materials, they can sell for much less. Since you will only be making a few sizes, it does not take as much skill as well.

If you trained the boys, you rescued how to create the garments, the cost of labor would be reduced. They would get part of the profits generated and it would allow them to lift themselves out of the slums. You become the only game in town where people can buy ready made cheap clothing with interesting designs.

Putting emblems or designs on the front is a cheap addition that adds a lot of value to the consumer. I am willing to give you another gold coin as start-up capital for this endeavor, but I request that you pass ten percent of all future profit to me."

[I nailed that presentation!] Joshua thought to himself. [I knew having that tv run in the background while I was working would pay off. Didn't expect it to pay off by pitching products in another world, but still it paid off!] Joshua had a stupid grin on his face while he congratulated himself in his mind.

"What a unique idea." Gerald said as he placed his hand on his chin and thought. "It would help everyone involved and I see no downsides. Alright I agree. Ten percent of my profits will go to you in exchange for one gold coin."

Gerald put his hand out for a handshake.

Joshua walked over and placed his hand in Gerald's. They both squeezed tightly as they sealed the business deal with a handshake.

"I look forward to a long and happy partnership." Joshua said as he let go of Gerald's hand and handed his plate over one more time.

Gerald transferred the appropriate funds and handed it back to Joshua. "I do as well."

With that Joshua left, now fresh and clean with clothes that doubled as armor. He had spent two of his precious golden coins, but it was worth it in his mind. If correctly done this tailor shop will be a great boon to his income.

He decided to visit the blacksmith next, he needed a scabbard for his sword and a shield. He had a good feeling about the blade and did not think it wise to replace it.