Normally, if you have a genius in your family who has built a store that big in a generation, you would rely on them, right? How come you're in such trouble?
"I came to depend on you at first. But they said they couldn't help me if I didn't have the vision to succeed as a merchant.
No, no, no. Even so, management know-how and all that. Otherwise, why didn't you just have him be a co-owner or owner?
The owner of the store is that Mr. Giuseppe. Why don't you make Julia the manager?
All income and expenses are reported to Mr. Giuseppe and all sales are collected once they are collected by the owner. From there, he would allocate the store's budget and salary to Julia, the store manager.
If Julia has no talent for business, wouldn't it be better for her to be a salesperson and let her uncle, Giuseppe, be the center of the shop?
When I said so, Julia nodded her head in disbelief.
''It's my dad's shop and your uncle is running it?
I held my head up.
'On the other hand, why can't my uncle run the business?'
Yeah, because. This is my dad's shop. I used to work here, and there was talk of following in his footsteps.
You're saying that this is Julia's father's shop, not your uncle's shop?
He nodded his head in response to my question.
A child? Do you have a narrow view?
You know what? You do realize that Julia isn't good enough to run a store right now, right?
Yeah, it is. Yes. ......
So why don't you rely on your professional uncle to run the business?
I'm counting on you! I asked him to teach me because the business wasn't going well. But my uncle kept telling me that I wasn't cut out for it and that I should quit.
Julia, who looked down quickly, had a headache.
''Doesn't this world have a concept of a merger, joint operation or subsidiary?
''If it's absorbed, that means you won't be able to open your shop as a Juno anymore, right?
Uh, really? Oh, yeah? Do you think that for Julia, letting your uncle run the business means you agree that this store will go away?
Well, I don't get it. You didn't get it when you talked to Julia. At any rate, I understand why Julia didn't let her uncle run the place.
But I don't understand why he was so reluctant to let her run the store.
Let me talk to this uncle for once!
I shouted earnestly. That might just take away the cause of my stomach ache for the past few weeks, you know!
◆◆◆◆◆
A few days later, I make the usual clank-clank-clank sound and open the door of the shop.
'Ah! Mr. Rae!
Julia, who smiles at us happily, and
Well.... How do you do?
'Oh! Nice to meet you. You're Julia and your mother told me about you, Rae, right?
A man with an eagle nose and an all-back gold haircut.
This is the man who was standing at the cash register at Fradino's that day.
You mean he's Julia's uncle.
'Julia told me that you wanted to talk to me about running the store. Lately her questions have been more specific than usual. I was just wondering what kind of person I was dealing with to share my knowledge with my niece.
Oh, I see.
Julia must have called it in as soon as I asked her to meet with him before. Otherwise, I don't think he would have bothered to come over here when he was supposed to be busy.
'It's my brother's kid. I'm very tempted to do something about it, but to be honest, antiques are not my area of expertise. I didn't think I'd be able to get my hands on it and it wouldn't work, so I turned it down as far as running the business, but what do you want to talk about?
Haha. I scratch my cheek with a dry laugh. But those eyes are completely priced out of me.
''God! Uncle! Do you intend to talk to Mr Rai standing up? I'm sorry, but if you tell your uncle what Mr. Rae told me the other day, he'd love to hear from you: ......
Julia said that while lowering her eyebrows in an apologetic manner.
But I can't say that I'm running a shop here, albeit in a different lineage, and that's not all that trustworthy either, but well, I'm glad to have an adult acquaintance I can rely on.
'I was hoping to speak with my mother again. I'd like to hear more about you. I think I'm going to close the shop today, if that's alright with you?
Of course.
We proceed to the back of the store.
The space in the back is the store's storage room, but there's further access to the second floor for meetings.
Up those stairs, you'll find the living space where Julia and Ginevra usually live.
Of course, it's also possible to go up the stairs outside the building to enter and exit the living space.
When I went upstairs, Ginevra-san was preparing tea for the number of people in the room.
''Hm. It's been a while since I've been back. You're talking about the shop again. I'm not going to close the shop! She put me in charge of this shop. If she's the one who folds it, I won't just fold it up like that, not if you ask me. You've brought her here and now this is our problem! Don't you dare interrupt me!
As usual, the words are harsh and there's no way to get around them.
But as if he was used to such a Ginevra, Julia's uncle sat down in a chair with me and Julia.
'Once again, I'm Giuseppe. I'm the owner of a shop down the main street that deals in ornaments, weapons, and general armor for students.
Fradino's, right? I know who you are. My name is Rai Ortonek. I joined the school's knighting department this year.
The knightly department? Amazing. I heard from Julia that you spotted a real magic stone, so I thought it was the mage department.
Here too! What would be so funny if you knew so much about witchcraft from knightly school? No, you'd be crazy, normally!
I've been told that a lot.
'Well, ............ are there many kids like that this year? If that's the case, then we'll have to rethink our product line a bit.
'What? No, it's probably just me and the people around me.
'Right! No, but will that kind of demand increase in the future? Either way, if you continue to use our store, Rae, we'll make some changes in that area.
Giuseppe-san nodded his head in agreement.
Um, can I talk to you?
'Oh! I was, no I'm sorry. It's just that when we get into business, it's so interesting that we get off the main story.
'That's why your girlfriend can get away with it! Your uncle is old enough to know better.
'Totally. My brother Dino showed me such a lovely Julia, and now he's showing her to me.
Mr. Giuseppe is dying of a double combo from his niece and his mother.
Please stop it. Ms. Giuseppe's life is already zero!
"Ha, ha. I just couldn't help but put the store first.
If you love this place so much, you should get rid of it. She's your brother's business.
Mr. Giuseppe looked serious at the words, quieter than usual, but with weight, and then he breathed.
'That's why I came to talk to you,'
Giuseppe, with a serious expression on his face, looks at Julia.
'I've heard most of what Julia has to say about the state of the store's business. Honestly, after hearing that story, I decided that I should close this store before I get into debt.
I can agree with that.
Honestly, I don't mind being a novice, and even if this Julia and Mr. Ginevra ran this store, the place we'd end up in would be in debt.
'To be honest, I was fine with that. Then I would pay off the debt and it would be a good excuse for me to take both Julia and her mother in. So I was going to send Julia to the academy and eventually marry a man I approved of and let her take over the shop.
It would be prejudicial to say that he's a merchant, but it's tight.
He must have a lot of money to run a store on the main street.
The problem is the succession.
If you don't have a successor at the moment, then marrying your trustworthy niece to a man you approve of will silence the meritocrats and all those fussy about blood relations.
That's why I didn't give any practical advice and let Julia and her mother do what they wanted.
I looked at Julia and saw that her eyes were filled with tears.
Well, that's right. That's what you're hearing from someone you trusted.
Giuseppe-san also noticed this and laughed a little, lowering his eyebrows.
That kind of expression is very similar to both of them.
''Rae, you came and connected, albeit by the skin of your neck.