Chapter 291: It Looks like We Got on Track!

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After Bennyboy and Damsel Baroque finally showed up, I introduced Sir Ark as today’s number one buyer, someone pretending to be a commoner…and Sword’s acquaintance. The two bowed their heads many times over as they politely greeted him.

And then I handed him the membership card (of course it used biometrics and would blink if it was held by someone else) which we gave to all special customers, and saw him off. Sword accompanied him back home.

“I’d be quite bad if you got dragged into some crime. Actually, it’d be great if I don’t get arrested for bein’ misidentified as your kidnapper or somethin’,” or some such Sword mumbled under his breath.

＊

A little while later, after Sword came back with an exhausted expression, I asked him, “Sword, is he not your friend? He didn’t seem to me like he was your fan, though. He had such a gentle temperament that he could even talk with commoners while smiling. I’m sure you guys would get along well as lovers of new things, you know?”

Thereupon, Sword pulled a troubled face and looked downward.

“…Hmm? So he was your fan after all?”

As I peered at Sword while tilting my head, Sword finally answered, “…Mmh… Well, I think that was true in the past. Now our positions are different. He’s not as much of an oddball like Gerard… If things were different, we might have become friends, I guess.”

Hmm, I see

I wouldn’t particularly mind fans…no, nevermind that. I’d probably dislike being stalked by a guy like Duke Chaudgal. But, since he’s a friend I can simply get along with, it’s no issue for me.

I clapped Sword’s back so as to console him.

“…Your popularity sure is troublesome. People who’d usually become your friends end up becoming your fans before that…”

“Oh, you could tell?”

Given that Sword answered me halfway in jest, I nodded deeply.

“Even I’d hate to be chased around like Duke Chaudgal does to you. Since I became friends with him before that, it’s limited to me thinking that he’s a funny guy. However, it’s also hard on his family, I’m sure. Watching Damsel Scarlet suffer mental damage due to her father’s goofy antics, I feel pity for her.”

“Yeah, I really pity that girl as well.”

Both of us nodded very, very deeply. Afterwards we looked at each other and broke out into laughter.

＊

Bennyboy’s store quickly became the top store in the capital. It even reached the status of being a sightseeing spot in the city.

The regular customers could slowly browse the wares if they made an appointment in advance. As for the nobles, it was decided they’d need to get a referral from the Duke, his family and friends first before getting an invitation from us (since it’d develop into a situation with heads flying if things were handled carelessly. As things such as classification and order also mattered, they got us to create an applicant list and orderly work it down).

Lastly, there was the general public. Here we ran a lottery and the winners would be able to visit the store on the assigned date.

We had the low-ranking nobles who barely entered the framework of nobility, and nobles who couldn’t wait to get invited by us because they wanted to visit the store no matter what, visit on the general opening days for nobles-only.

Even if there were some smaller and bigger issues, Sword, I, and the Ryokus handled it with force.

In the first place, we made sure that only intellectuals could visit by using the ability to read and write characters as a filter, but even then criminals slipped in. However, this was actually fun for Sword and me since it was a lot more thrilling that way.

Then again, it was pretty easy to suppress them, so it was kind of lacking!

Us writing, 『We wish anyone related to the Ethan Store and Wave Store to refrain from participation』, was another key feature.

Bennyboy, you’re steadily working on getting your revenge, aren’t you!? Your little sister’s face cramped up when she saw this though!

But, she was too busy…

“Decreasing the number of lottery participants as much as possible is a good thing. Yep, I’m truly at my limit already!”

…as was clear from that statement. It looked like she didn’t care about her former fiancé anymore since she had simply too much work on her hand!

＊

It was decided that the third floor would not only serve drinks, but food as well. All employees had no spare time to cook food as they were too busy, and even Damsel Pumilla, who was originally hired to take care of domestic chores, was swamped with so much work that she had to ignore the housework.

She was so busy that she screamed, “More letters!?!?!?!”, after breaking. Didn’t Bennyboy want her to take it easy or something?

Instead he passed a new batch to her with a smile, telling her, “Do your best, okay? Here’s some more. Please take care of the replies!”

…With the situation being what it is, no one had time to do the housework, so Bennyboy hired employees who could be trusted with the cleaning as they came through the duke. He had them handle the domestic chores for his own home and the employees’ dormitory, and they would cook the staff meals on the third floor so that the employees could eat their food in the back.

Well, at first the employees came to eat at our stall, but the stall was always packed with people. Meaning they’d have to go without food, if the stall sold out before they had time to visit it.

The staff meals, on the other hand, would be served three times a day. Usually it was customary to go with twice a day, but after I advised, “They’re going to collapse if you don’t let them eat and rest properly as this is taxing work,” Damsel Baroque calculated the break periods and the employees started to eat their meals in shifts.

Bennyboy recruited people who were interested in cooking and excelled at it (because of the concern that unskilled cook applicants would quickly quit after stealing the recipes). After hiring some cooks, the Taking It Easy members and I taught them how to cook the staff meals. The menu consisted of sixty different recipes, so I’m sure the employees won’t get bored of the food anytime soon.

Also, the area would naturally smell of food if they cooked the staff meals, no matter how careful they were about ventilation. And the smell of food tickles one’s appetite.

Because of that, it was decided that a limited lunch and supper would be served. Given that it’d be a bother if some customers grumbled about being fed the staff meal if the dishes on sale were sold out, they also served light snacks.

The fake-rusk dish, which consisted of lightly heating up the Kingdom’s characteristic, hard bread, smearing wheat honey on it, and then sprinkling it with salt, sold like hot cakes despite being expensive.

＊

――So anyway, after most of the issues had been resolved, Bennyboy left together with an employee, who had requested to accompany him, to stock up.

We confirmed that problematic customers would be somehow handled by the Ryokus and horbs. Moreover, once Bennyboy bribed his acquainted guard Yasshi and his guard colleagues with ale and delicious jerky, and kindly asked them to keep an eye on things for him, the guards started to diligently patrol the area. Bribes are important, yep.

As things appeared to be on track now, Sword and I decided to leave, go back to our base for the moment, and then head out on a journey again in due time.

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