Starting from zero: growing up with knowledge from another world

Chapter 13

In the morning, I hastened my routine and went to the construction site, I wanted to renew the barriers and get a little work done before I went to get Maya for the meeting. I knew I wouldn't be able to get much done, so I quickly laid out more brick-shaped stone for the outer walls and load-bearing walls of the second floor and got them built up about four feet before I had to leave. I also built out the overhang intending to use it as a deck for the second-floor residence.

I ran over to the Cat's Paw before casting Cleanse, Dry, and Purification on myself, wanting to be sure I was presentable for the meeting. Walking in, I found Maya nervously checking her baked good for any imperfections, with her tail swinging side to side stiffly. While the sight was a bit amusing, I decided I should quickly move things along.

"There is no reason to be so nervous, those all look and smell delicious, besides, I'll be the one doing the negotiations. If for some reason, something comes up that would require making a decision we have not already discussed, I will speak with you in private before answering." When I spoke to her, she had, apparently, not heard me come in, and she stiffened up with her tail fluffing out.

"Oh, is it already that time, I didn't even hear you come in." Maya tried to act nonchalant after turning and seeing me, "I was just making sure there were no imperfections."

"Considering they are all things he has never seen before, he wouldn't notice if there were any imperfections anyway," I said to her while putting the dishes in my item box.

"Haha, I guess that is true." She replied with a nervous laugh.

"Are you ready to go? It's getting close to the meeting time. Where's Miya?" I asked, noticing that I didn't sense her presence.

"She said that meetings are boring before running to your house, saying she would play with Kaede." She said with a wry smile.

"Ah, well, that makes sense, and it should make the meeting proceed more smoothly," I responded with a sage-like nod, "Then, let's get going."

Maya locked the door on the way out, and we proceeded toward the inn where Marco was staying. On the way there, Maya asked questions about how the meeting would proceed, and in turn, I asked her questions about what I should do if certain questions were asked or proposals were made. I had a clear intent regarding how I wanted the negotiations to proceed by the time we arrived at the inn.

Upon entering the inn, I immediately spotted Marco anxiously pacing back and forth. As soon as he noticed me, he immediately stopped pacing and walked up to me with a huge smile on his face, barely maintaining his dignity as a merchant.

"You're here, excellent, I already had them prepare a private room for us. Come, let's go." He said, quickly moving us along. It seems he was planning to hold off on introductions until we were in private. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. My name is Marco Yamada, owner of the Yamada company." He greeted us as soon as the door closed.

"This is Maya, the amazing baker I mentioned before. You already know me, so I'll skip that part. Let's get seated since we can't take too much time, as her bakery is closed while we are here." I pushed the meeting along, preventing Marco from setting the pace.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Maya," She said with a small curtsy before sitting down at the table. Following her, Marco and I both sat down as well.

"For various reasons, I have been entrusted with negotiations regarding the potential sale of the recipe for fluffy bread. Before we get started, Maya has prepared some items for the meeting." I said, taking out the items I had placed into my item box before we came here.