Chapter 287: Ryoku Has!

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At our parting, Lady Ally whispered, “As thanks for paying heed to my selfish request and letting me rent a broom, I will let you in on a little secret. …The noble youth, who frequently approached you today, is Duke Summersol’s son and also the little brother of your mother.”

Hoh. So he wasn’t in love with my mother, huh? I guess that makes him my uncle, if we go by blood relationship.

Seeing my reaction, Lady Ally looked somewhat disappointed.

“…It didn’t perturb you overly much, did it?”

“I cut my ties with them, so even if you bring up a talk about some sort of blood relative, it doesn’t really matter to me as I left that family anyway. The fact that relatives swarm to successful people never leads to anything decent also plays a role in this.”

Lady Ally laughed when she heard me say so with a shrug.

“Certainly, you don’t need any assistance. You stand on your own two feet while being unwavering. Rather, I suppose there’s plenty of wild beasts who jump at the leftovers of your success.”

“No such wild beasts have appeared yet. And as a matter of fact, I’ve been waiting for such beasts to show up since it’d be fun if they did, but it’s true that I don’t need any help. I can get my hands on riches whenever I want and I don’t need any fame. Also I’ve got absolutely no interest in someone else giving me some rank or post as I’d be greater than them anyway.”

Lady Ally laughed once more.

“You’re as arrogant as the rumors state. But, I don’t hate that part of yours. I doubt anyone else lives as freely as you do. …As such, take this as my private request: Please be good friends with Scarlet. I ask you as her mother.”

“Of course. I promise that I’ll strive at building a relationship where we support each other as friends.”

I shook hands with Lady Ally.

…Still, that guy was my uncle, eh? And here I’d thought he was trying to make a move on me after falling in love with me at first sight thanks to my charm…

All of our noble customers have apparently finished their shopping at long last. The men had checked out the whole place once more after their break, wasting money on all sorts of unnecessary stuff. The women clearly got their fill on the second floor, and now they were adamant about going back home since they wanted to try out their purchases right away.

When we asked them whether they could give us some pointers on how to better serve our customers, many of them said that 『we’re unsuited to serve noble customers, but since our products would cover for those inadequacies, it’d pose no problem』. Basically, they told us indirectly that they’d be troubled if we served them too perfectly as it’d make it hard for them to enjoy their stay here while forgetting all the usual formalities.

『It’s a store that’s catering towards commoners, so it’s okay to be somewhat loose on the manners, right?』 was the apparent idea here.

All of us followed them outside the store, lined up and deeply bowed as they left. We remained like that until all their carriages had left.

Afterwards, Bennyboy raised his head while cheering in celebration.

“Today alone was enough to earn back all the money invested into building the store!”

All of us clapped our hands while shouting in joy.

…So the ducal couple and their friends spent so much money? They might have prepared a sizable amount of cash since they’ve also got their reputation to uphold, but are they going to be alright?

“It’d be great if the ducal couple and their friends didn’t get into trouble in the future because of having spent so much money here,” I commented out of worry.

Hearing that, Bennyboy cheerfully replied, “Well, those are two different pairs of shoes. Lady Indra, let’s celebrate! All of you, you did great today! It’d be awesome if we could always continue like this! Anyway! Even without sales like today, we’re in safe waters since it looks like all of today’s customers have become regulars of our shop!”

Bennyboy got all joyous and merry, so I calmed him down a notch.

“Now, now, calm down a bit. But very well, let us celebrate. Everyone did their best after all. Today’s noble customers were extremely gentle and tolerant even for nobles, so I can’t tell you whether the same will apply for future noble guests, but even if other nobles should threaten you, they’ll probably be able to somehow handle things for you, if you rely on the ducal couple and their friends. And in the worst case, Sword and I will deal with it through physical force. Please call us if something happens.”

“””””Yes!!”””””

The deputy shopkeeper Baroque tactfully asked, “Where should we go? With these numbers we must reserve seats…,” so I restrained her.

“I think cleaning up the third floor and partying up there will do. I’ve added a kitchen to that floor as I assumed such events to occur. If my stall employees and I prepare the food, it’ll be done in a whiff. I’ll also throw in the ale and cider we sell at the stall as a freebie.”

“””””Yahoooooo!!!”””””

The ones cheering the most were the members of 【Pale Moon of Dawn】 and Bennyboy.

“Eh…? But…”

On the other hand, Damsel Baroque was rather uncertain about this.

“Lady Indra’s homemade cooking is the best in this country! It’s crazy delicious, I swear! Absolutely!!” Bennyboy emphasized.

“Without trying to brag, but I’m good at cooking. Or rather, I’m good at making things, to put it mildly.”

“No need to be so reserved about it,” Bennyboy objected.

＊

I contacted the Taking It Easy members through the wireless communicator and got them to come here.

But then I suddenly remembered something and called out to Damsel Baroque who was about to head out in order to get things ready.

“Oh, right. I don’t know whether you’re Bennyboy’s right hand or better half, but seeing how he trusts you, I’ll give you this here.”

“Pardon?”

I handed a tablet to her.

“It’s not as powerful as Bennyboy’s, but you can use this to operate the store. The basic things are handled by guard golems, but you should learn how to operate it and use it when necessary, too. Also, please be affectionate with the guard golems. Tell that to everyone else as well. The guard golems are intelligent, so they’ll rejoice, be full of enthusiasm, and do their guard duty diligently, if you treat them nicely. So, make sure to share some love with them.”

*poof*

The Ryokus materialized in response to my words.

“””Hello! I’m Ryoku!”””

Next, Sword’s Ryoku said, “I’m Mr. Sword’s personal Ryoku!”

Moreover, my Ryoku also added, “I’m Mother’s personal Ryoku!”

I blinked my eyes in surprise.

I pointed at the Ryoku, “Y-Y-Y-Y-Youuu…just now…”

My Ryoku said an original line just now, didn’t he!?

“I was planning to make you happy, Mother, so I changed my greeting. Ahem!”

“Ryokuuuuuuuuu!!” I hugged him tightly while deeply moved. *rub rub* (T/N: Author used a sound effect for an overwhelming emotional feeling, so I altered it a bit to her showing affection)

The other people present are apparently watching this with somewhat distant looks, but I don’t care!

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