Chapter 155: The Emporium
Iron Fortress, Riverside.
Kaito sat on a folding chair, fishing rod in hand. From the book beside him, the shrill wails of a "pathetic protagonist" echoed through a magical speaker—the latest product from the Ministry of Literature: the Audio Novel, a direct upgrade to the Talking Manga.
No need to read glyphs, no need to flip pages. One could simply lie back and let the "brain rot" consume them.
Kaito was entranted, his finger tapping the book. "Wait, what did that guy just say?"
He quickly rewound a few pages and hit the trigger rune again. The voice resumed. Kaito bobbed his skull along to the narration, utterly mesmerized, completely failing to notice his bobber sinking beneath the surface.
By the time he snapped out of his trance, the bait was gone. Not even a shred of worm remained on the hook.
Kaito stared at the empty hook in a heavy, three-second silence.
"A tragedy," he whispered. "Judging by that pull, it was easily an 800-kilogram King Fish."
He let out a sigh and retracted the line. This marked his fifteenth "skunked" trip of the month.
"Undoubtedly, that 800-kilo monster has eaten every other small fish in the vicinity, which is why I can't catch anything. This is an ecological disaster."
"As the Sovereign of the Empire, I must maintain the natural balance. I shall go and purchase several fish to release into the wild. Yes... purely for the sake of biodiversity."
Dumping his empty bucket, Kaito stood up and dusted off his robes. He began the walk toward the Commercial District. The audio novel continued to play as he walked; occasionally, he let out a dry, rattling chuckle.
"This author is a genius. How do they come up with such idiotic plot points?"
After an hour's walk, he finally breached the Commercial District.
And then, he froze.
The district was no longer the orderly sector he remembered. The streets—once wide and navigable—were now a chaotic bottleneck of stalls and storefronts. Fishmongers, butchers, weavers, weapon-smiths, and magic-item dealers were all crammed together. There was even an Orc running a "fated-encounter" fortune-telling stall right next to a Dwarven repair shop.
The rhythmic cling-clang of hammers mixed with the chanting of the seer to create a cacophony that made his phantom ears ring.
Kaito stood at the intersection, his Soul Fire flickering with growing annoyance. "What in the hells happened to my city plan?"
He started pushing through the crowd. Finding a simple fishmonger shouldn't be a boss raid, right?
Ten minutes later.
Kaito stood before a stall selling Mana Crystals, his face (skull) a mask of indifference. The vendor, an Elf girl, was aggressively pushing a glowing shard under his nasal bone.
"Lord Skeleton! Behold this crystalline beauty! A steal at only five gold crowns!"
Kaito waved her off. "I don't need rocks. I need fish."
The Elf blinked. "Fish? Let me think..." She rubbed her chin, then her eyes lit up. "Ah! I remember! You head three blocks forward, take a left, then a right. You'll see a weaver; next to him is a butcher. Behind the butcher is an alleyway. Go inside, find the man with the missing tooth, and—"
"Stop. Just stop," Kaito interrupted, his head spinning. "I'll find it myself."
Twenty minutes later.
Kaito finally unearthed the fish stall in a remote, forgotten corner of the district. The proprietor was an elderly man from Bone Village, currently dozing off on a stool.
Kaito reached out and tapped the counter. "Merchant. Fish."
The old man jerked awake, looked up, and nearly capsized his stool in terror. "M-M-Master Sovereign?!"
Kaito gave a casual wave of his hand. "Relax. I'm just here for the catch of the day."
The old man scrambled up, dipping a net into a tank and pulling out the largest, fattest trout he had. "This one! It's the pride of the stall! A gift for you, My Lord!"
Kaito shook his head. "I don't take gifts from my subjects. The price?"
"No, no! I couldn't possibly charge—!"
Kaito sighed. He reached into his robes, pulled out a single gold coin, and dropped it on the counter with a definitive clink.
"Keep it."
He scooped up the fish and several others, walking away with the heavy bags. The old man stared at the gold coin, his mind failing him.
"The Master... personally came to my stall... and paid a gold crown for a trout..." He began to tremble with excitement. "I'm framing this coin! It shall be an heirloom for ten generations!"
Kaito walked back toward the river, but his mind wasn't on the fish he was about to "release." He was thinking about the mess he'd just seen.
The commerce was thriving, yes, but it was disorganized. Too many vendors, too many types of goods, all jumbled together. If he, the Sovereign, struggled to navigate it, how much time were ordinary citizens wasting? The shops in the corners were effectively invisible. Business couldn't scale like this.
He sat back down on his folding chair and began to brainstorm.
How do I bring 'Order' to a bazaar?
How do I maximize consumer efficiency?
His Soul Fire flared with realization.
Categorization.
Concentrate vendors of similar types into specific zones. Fish with fish, iron with iron, cloth with cloth. That way, a resident only needs to know what they want to know where to go.
But categorization alone wasn't enough. For a city this size, that would still be a lot of walking.
What if... I put it all under one roof?
Kaito's eyes widened. "A Department Store! A mega-mall!"
The logic was perfect. Integrate the vendors, divide by floors, and assign specific wings. You go in, you get everything, you leave. No more wandering like a headless skeleton.
And currently, most merchants in the Empire were part of two major factions: The Merchant Coalition (the old world) and the Sunflower Guild (his new world). The Coalition handled the roaming caravans, while Sunflower monopolized the brick-and-mortar shops.
If he gave the Sunflower Guild the mandate to build a central emporium... with Evernight's construction speed, it could be finished in a week!
Excitement coursing through his ribs, Kaito turned and bolted toward the Sunflower Guild headquarters.
Sunflower Guild HQ.
Hans was hunched over his desk, auditing the latest ledgers. The currency reform was a success, but the partnership with the Merchant Coalition had caused their business volume to go vertical. The sheer amount of math was giving him a migraine.
The door flew open. Kaito marched in.
Hans stood up immediately. "Master?"
Kaito didn't waste time on pleasantries. "I have a vision."
Hans instantly adopted the "attentive student" pose. "Please, enlighten me, My Lord."
Kaito walked to the desk, snatched a piece of parchment, and began to draw. "Look. The Commercial District is a mess. I went to buy a fish today and it was a strategic nightmare."
Hans nodded. "True. Public feedback regarding 'market navigation difficulty' has been increasing."
Kaito continued to sketch as he spoke. "Therefore, we build a Grand Emporium. We integrate the vendors under one roof, divided by sector. Fish Sector, Meat Sector, Textile Sector, Hardware Sector..."
As Kaito spoke, Hans's eyes grew increasingly bright. "Master... this is brilliant!"
"It streamlines consumer traffic, enhances product visibility, and centralizes management. We could reduce administrative overhead by forty percent!"
Kaito nodded, pleased. "Exactly. That is the goal."
He handed the crude sketch to Hans. "I'm entrusting this to the Sunflower Guild. You will organize the vendors and plan the layout. I'll have Greed provide the 'Arcane Engineering' support."
Hans took the paper, clutching it like a holy decree. "By your command, My Lord!"
Kaito turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Oh, and one more thing."
He looked back at Hans with a very serious gaze. "When the mall is finished... make sure the Fish Sector is the largest and most prominent wing in the building."
Hans blinked, then smiled. "Of course, My Lord."
Three Days Later.
On a massive plot of vacant land adjacent to the Central Plaza, a gargantuan notice board was erected. It bore a single, bold title:
[THE EVERNIGHT MALL — GRAND OPENING SOON]
Beneath it were the details:
The Empire's first multi-tier integrated shopping center.
Integrating Fish, Meat, Textiles, Ironware, Magic Tools, and Literature.
Categorized for your convenience.
Opening in seven days.
All Sunflower Guild members: Relocation Mandatory.
The plaza erupted into a frenzy.
"A 'Mall'? What's that?"
"A place where the whole market lives in one building."
"That's... incredibly convenient."
"I won't have to walk three miles just to find a specific spice?"
"Praise the Sovereign!"
The individual shopkeepers were even more ecstatic. Being part of an "Official Imperial Mall" meant better security and higher foot traffic. They swarmed the Sunflower Guild office to sign up for floor space.
Greed's Office.
Kaito sat on the velvet sofa, legs crossed, listening to Greed's construction update.
"Master, per your requirements, the site is secured next to the Plaza. The footprint is approximately five thousand square meters. The design is a four-story structure."
"Floor 1: Fresh Goods. Fish, Meat, Produce."
"Floor 2: Daily Essentials. Textiles, Hardware, Magic Tools."
"Floor 3: Culture & Media. Books, Manga, Audio Novels."
"Floor 4: Reserved for future expansion/Administrative."
"Main structure will be completed in five days. Interior finishing in two."
Kaito interrupted him. "Wait." He sat up straight. "The Fish Sector on the first floor. Make it bigger. Much bigger."
"Make it the jewel of the building."
Greed paused, then nodded. "Understood, My Lord."
Kaito leaned back, satisfied. "Carry on."
"Once complete, the Sunflower Guild will manage operations. Merchants will pay a standardized rent based on floor and square footage. This will generate a massive, steady tax stream for the Treasury."
Kaito nodded. "Good work. If you need any help from the other Generals—particularly for the climate control or the lighting—just draft them. No need for my signature."
Greed bowed. "As you command, My Lord."
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