Note: Although the translation quality is third rate, I have decided to take over this project. Please do point my mistakes (mainly grammar) as for now my only editor is Grammarly (not a promotion). end of note.
As I have become a sole proprietor, I went to the tax accountant office immediately. Of Course, the appointment was made in advance. I did a research on the internet carefully, compared their homepage appearances and chose one based on my consciences. If for some reason this one is a miss, then it"s simply just my failure at discerning things, I"ll just reap what I sow.
Then I listened to various things the tax accountant has to explain and signed the contract without a problem. With this, I"ll have nothing to worry about the tax returns.
After that I"ll just go home and create a new website. Yes, sculpture sales site, [Collette]. The website is entirely written in English. I tried to make the site difficult to find, difficult to understand, and difficult to use. It would be a problem if someone ordered after all. Especially the order from j.a.pan it"ll become bothersome, so there"s no explanation written in j.a.panese at all.
For the time being, the site only necessary for making alibis indicating that I"m doing sales activities. Otherwise, there"s no other explanation how an 18 Years old kid will sell artworks abroad without any advertising. But if I put an online ad, you can explain "there"s some overseas enthusiasts that happened to see the ad".
Umu, it is indeed perfect!
And finally, the production of the sculpture. Indeed, it would be convincing to have a sample pictures of the works on the site. It is too unnatural for a site that sells sculpture artwork to have no pictures.
To solve this, let"s transfer to a quarry in the other world.
If it"s here, there"s no specific owner as it"s just a rocky mountain, thus I can cut some even without permission. So, I took a part of the stone and transfer to my home in j.a.pan. Then return to the rocky mountain with the part of the rock that had been cut out, leaving only the finished sculpture. The cut-out part of the rock is left untouched and it is difficult to make something out of it, also it seems it"ll make some noise if it left as is, so I destroyed it. Even if it"s bothersome, don"t forget to clean up.
Then I went home and inspected the [Sculpture]. Umu umu! It"s not that bad.
Let"s not forget that in the past someone tried to duplicate a famous sculpture work and the results are disastrous. I have no artistic talent. That"s why ordinary sculpture is better for sales. My own creation is these [Mysterious Sculptures].
A seamless stone rings entangled to each other like a chain. A slightly distorted [Animal-Like] sculpture inside a meshed stone sphere.
(Note : Think of it as a distorted animal inside something like wireframe sphere. Maybe LN Version have the picture of it)
In addition, the crystal gla.s.s that I bought at the shop was slightly tall, and it appeared in a meshed stone sphere by using transfer.
(Note : By now she has 3 sculptures, the ring chain, the distorted animal inside a mesh sphere, and a crystal gla.s.s inside a stone mesh sphere. I have a hard time to comprehend the raw, but I think it"s pretty close)
Anyways, I continued to make what makes people think [How did she made it] or [It seems it took a lot of time and effort to made it].
After a while, a quite sum of sculptures were completed. I guess this much is enough….
The next day, I went to the shops around the royal capital and asked the clerk this [Are there any sculptures made by newbies that are likely to have a future? The ones that have the size and weight that I can easily bring back by myself… ]
Yes, it is to purchase products to sell at the sculpture shop [Collette]. I have no talent for making ordinary sculptures and thus why the condition [Made by newbies] were purposely listed.
Because it"s bothersome if they recommend a stupidly expensive one made by a famous artist just because they know my ident.i.ty as a Viscount.
What I wanted is just a work that seems to be quite promising that was made by a newbie. And the cheap ones at that. Well, it also to support the newbie artists who can"t sell their work.
Not a work of a successful artists, but the one made by the artists before their success. Buy cheap. Yes, it is what they called [Let"s be happy together].
And what did the clerk and shopkeepers recommend?
"By all means, the work of Alaris, this nude statue!" (Store Clerk)
"A certain Viscount sold their heirloom…" (Another Store Clerk)
"No, I clearly told you I want newbie"s work did I not? I don"t want to buy the works of famous sculptor of a n.o.ble family"s heirloom. I just want an unnamed newbie"s work that quite promising" (Mitsuha)
No matter how you say, rejected. [This work definitely will be befitting of a viscount], they said, there are many stores that tried to sell expensive things. Are they always have this att.i.tude towards all customers or is it because I am a n.o.ble? It is troublesome that my face is already known widely….
As I escaped from the stores on the main street and walked down to the back alley to take a break, I saw a small art show. The shop has a small appearance where owner does the shop keeping alone.
The store is not that rugged. Thinking so, I entered the store and look at the display shelves. The person who seem to be the owner do not desperately fly towards me, letting me search for goods peacefully.
Oh? Aren"t these pretty good!
Wood sculpture that a little rough but giving a good vibe. Stone sculpture with delicate and smooth finish. Not only the material but also the touch is obviously different, so it may be a work of different person, but several works are arranged in each case. It"s cheap and obviously made by unknown newbie. With the quality and price of this, it"s probably the best I can find.
Alright, I decided to pick you! (Note: she says, kimi ni kimeta, so it"s ambiguous)
"I"ll take these please!" (Mitsuha)
Three wood sculptures and Four stone sculptures. I bought all of the same artist.
The shop"s uncle was quite surprised but seemed happy. Not because the store products were sold but maybe he"s happy because the work of the newbie caught the customer"s eye.
The entire sculptures I bought were a bit too heavy, so I asked for delivery. No, even if I can bring these to a place where no one could see, it"ll definitely raise suspicions if I tried to forcibly take these home with me by myself.
Yoshi, with this today"s mission is over!
While claiming to be a sculptor, I"m just reselling artworks made by others, but that"s inevitable. When it comes to art dealers, there is a problem of where is the origin of the work and how much the initial price was. I can"t import them from abroad either, or if I buy it from someone in the country, I"ll come across dangerous things like sales tax that will rise suspicions. Therefore, I have no choice but to be the [Sole proprietorship sculptor] and [Product origin] at the same time.
Well, instead of selling the products under the personal name [Yamano Mitsuha], I"ll just sell it under the brand name [Colette]. n.o.body says I made them!
And if it"s a work of art, it doesn"t have a fixed price. I can decide for myself and no one will be able to complain.
Well, I"ll be the one who buys them, so there will be no problem.
And after buying them at a high price with the fake name and nationality made in other country, I will sell them at a fair price with the name of the real artist. At least as a courtesy of the artist.
Of course, the resale price is far lower than the initial price from [Colette]. Probably, given the exchange rate, it will be a price far below the initial purchase price, but because it is cheaper than the mortgage, the maker would be happy to sell it. It"s not a bargain, but a fair price on earth.
(Note: I can"t comprehend this logic though… And this is the end of her delusions, the next paragraph is continuation from right after she bought the sculptures)
Then after the goods arrives at the [General Store Mitsuha], I"ll take then to j.a.pan immediately, took pictures of the items for sale with a digital camera and with this the site preparation is OK.
The next day, after a long absence, [General Store Mitsuha] is Open for business again.
Before opening the store, I made a greeting to the neighbors and orphanage after returning from a long-term business trip.
And after I managed to deal with the invasion of the women who had their shampoo and body shampoo ran out, the store finally calmed down.
"Excuse me, Is this the Mansion of Her Excellency Mitsuha von Yamano?" (Visitor)
Buhh-! Well, yes indeed this is [Viscount Yamano"s Mansion], but it has never been called as [Mansion]. But if he said, [Is this the home of Viscount Yamano?] he must"ve come not as a general store customer. But have a business with me as a Viscount. It can"t be helped.
However, he doesn"t seem to be a n.o.bleman or merchant at all, a tall and thin man in his mid-20s. I wonder what business he has with me, not as a general store owner, but as a Viscount?
"Thank you very much for purchasing a lot of my work this time…" (Sculptor)
Oh, the sculptures creator! You came to thank the person who bought them. Is it so? You must"ve very happy aren"t you…
But it doesn"t seem it was his first sales; do you always go to thanks your buyers every time?
"No no, the work was good, so I was glad I bought it. Uh…" (Mitsuha)
"Ah, my name is Lortor" (Lortor)
Oh, is it the creator"s name?
There was a paper with the creator"s name on the shelves to get repeat customers, but I forgot.
He talked a bit but somehow Lortor was fidgeting as if to look at my reaction, and there"s no sigh of him returning home. The conversation dragging for a quite a long time, talking about the same and irrelevant thing repeatedly. As expected, I was a little tired.
"Excuse me, Is this the Mansion of Viscount Yamano?" (Another Visitor)
A timid woman around 20 years old come to the store saying something similar to Lortor. She asked, but without waiting a reply, she knew I was Viscount Yamano. As it is, she continued.
"Thank you for purchasing my work! Therefore, I would like to receive your support as continuous patron…" (Another Sculptor)
Eh?
Oh right, these artists in this world often rely on continuous patrons.
If a n.o.ble like your works, it"s natural to cling to one of a thousand"s chances.
"Oi, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I came here first! Don"t interrupt now!" (Lortor)
"What are you talking about!? My livelihood is at stake here!" (Another Sculptor)
"Well, my live is also at stake here! Don"t mess with me!" (Lortor)
Ah~, these reeks of trouble….