“Dad, that’s bad manners, ya know? If ya wanna watch, then just go in.” [Miyabi]
I gave a sidelong glance to the dad that was being rebuked by his own daughter, and prepared the dishes for us four to eat.
“It’s done.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? Really? Then let’s eat already.” [Pioro]
The servants brought the food into the dining room, and we took our seats.
“Please, enjoy the Smash Boar Fried with Jija Set Meal.” [Ryouma]
“It really looks good. Itadakimasu.” [Miyabi]
Said Miyabi-san as she nimbly used the chopsticks and quickly put the pork fried with ginger in her mouth. Then in the next moment, her ears tensed, and with her eyes wide open, she said,
“Delicious! This is really, really, delicious!” [Miyabi]
“Oh wow, it’s true. I thought it’d be delicious watching you make it, but looks like the real thing’s even more delicious.” [Kurana]
“This fried jija is also good, but what was this soup called? Tonjiru? Well, it’s also delicious. And not only is it good, but since it has so much vegetables, it’s also good for the body. If this kind of dish were to be widespread, then soy sauce and miso will definitely start to sell!” [Pioro]
Looks like they like it. Well, I’m happy they’re enjoying it. I know Pioro-san’s also somewhat thinking from a merchant’s standpoint, but it looks like he's really enjoying it.
I tasted the dish I made while I explained it to them. And after eating, Pioro-san announced that the pork fried with ginger that he likes so much, will be added to the Fine Foods Store from evening onwards. And just as he had announced, the pork fried with ginger was there, recommended in one corner of the Fine Foods Store. He sure works fast…
The next day.
After having breakfast, I was about to go to my store, when a carriage stopped in front of the Saionji Firm.
Hmm? The things loaded on its roof rack are…
“Karla-san!” [Ryouma]
“Eh… Boss!” [Karla]
The one who responded to my voice was Karla-san. Apparently, because she had her back turned and was ordering other people, she wasn’t able to notice me.
“So you’ve arrived. Well done, you must be tired from your journey.” [Ryouma]
“Sorry for making you wait, boss. By the way, where’s the store?” [Karla]
“It’s that building over there that’s separated by the road.” [Ryouma]
I said, pointing to the store’s location. In response, Karla-san gave orders to some people I don’t know, and made them go to the store. Those guys are probably new employees. Afterwards, I brought Karla-san, Caulkins-san and the others with me, and dropped by Pioro-san’s place to say hi. Finally, the store's getting started.
Four days after.
It took us two days to settle the details regarding the store, and after reviewing the work to be done, we opened on the third day. Interestingly enough, the work actually went smooth for a first day. But apparently, it’s because they had given the new employees a crash course while travelling.
This new store has five new employees. One is exclusively for cooking, and the other four are clerks and at the same time bouncers. These four are apparently C Rank adventurers. When I asked why they decided to join the store, they said it’s because they’ve started to see their limits as adventurers. Moreover, when they happened to meet a magical beast outside, they even lost two of their friends.
During that time, they just ran away and were only able to survive because of luck and because their two friends who died frantically tried to get the magical beast’s attention when they realized they wouldn’t make it anymore.
Having been able to survive, they ran to the guild, submitted information about that beast, and had it subjugated. And as luck would have it, there was an A Rank party in that town, allowing the quick subjugation of the magical beast. In order to settle their feelings, they went to take a look at the place where the killer of their friends had died. But then they found out at the guild there that it was apparently a B Rank magical beast.
A magical beast that they couldn’t fight against at all was only one rank above them. Moreover, it was easily hunted by a party of adventurers. After finding that out, they just gave up on becoming B Rank adventurers up. To begin with, even C Rank requests alone are already sufficient enough to make money. So they just did those while saving money. And at the same time, they looked for a workplace they could settle down with. It was then that they heard about my store.
Although these guys can’t fight B Rank monsters, their strength is more than enough for handling ruffians. So there shouldn’t be any problem with them working as bouncers.
Moreover, they also asked whether I was an adventurer or not. And then when they found out that I was, they told me of their experiences, and warned me to prioritize my safety above all else. They’re good people. So I’m sure they’ll get along just fine with other employees.
Incidentally, just a few days ago when the store had just opened, Ken-san and his group came over. There were barely any customers at the time, so taking the opportunity, I serviced them to get them as regular customers. I also explained to them how the store works, and also introduced to them the employees. But somehow they ended up talking about the case a few days ago regarding the smash boars, and Ken-san’s story tugged at the heartstrings of the four employees, leading to them talking about various things, and the four giving advice to ken-san and his group. Actually, that talk about the employees being retired adventurers is something I only found out when I introduced them to Ken-san.