CH 36

On the seventh day after I arrived in another world, and the sixth morning after I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworld Store.

There was a crowd of people in front of the store entrance.

A crowd of five or six people.

“Anna-chan, what’s this? Can I really eat for free?”

“Yes. But it is a tasting, so please only eat once per person. If you want to try it, please do, too, Mr. Peddler. It’s delicious!”

“Hoh, cutlet and….. what is that?”

“It’s called hamburger steak. If it is well-received, we will sell it next time.”

“Wow, they are delicious. How much are you planning to sell it for?　Ohoho, well then.”

At the entrance of the Aion Mall Otherworld Store, there is a roundabout where carriages can be parked, and there is also a fountain next to it.

Farmers, peddlers, guards, adventurers, and other customers always pass through this area. Some just take a break and don’t go into the store, others just use the restroom.

So I set up a sample booth there to coincide with the peak of customers in the morning.

I woke up early in the morning to coincide with the early opening time, and worked with the skeleton crew to prepare the food.

Actually we had food reserved for the sample, but not that much.

But it was no problem. After all, the number of customers is small. In a way, that’s the biggest problem we have.

“Naoya, the cutlets and hamburgers have been very well received!　When are you going to start selling them? I can buy them, can’t I?”

“Moderation is the key, Chloe. Don’t buy so much that your customers can’t afford it.”

“Kuhh! Then I guess I should just buy the ingredients and make it myself! Naoya, when are you going to publish how to make it and sell the ingredients! I thought you said you were going to!”

“We have a grocery department, and we intend to, but …… Chloe, can you cook?”

“I-I’m a [Holy Knight]! If I had it my way, that’s about as good as it gets! Anybody can do it, right? I mean, who can’t cook?”

“Whew, that sounds like the talk of someone who can’t cook.”

“Ugh. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll ask Anna to make it for me, or Naoya… Ha! Naoya, don’t tell me! You’re trying to [I’ll cook and feed you… the payment is, I’ll eat you]! You’re trying to lure me with meat just to get my ‘meat’!”

“Are you an old man? Don’t lose your appetite in the first place. Also, please distinguish the meat that is actually edible and not that kind of meat that you mentioned in the later part.”

I taught Anna-san how to make cutlets and hamburgers during the morning preparation.

Anna-san is in charge of the sample corner so that she can answer customers’ questions if they ask.

I have no intention of hiding the recipe.

This is Aion Mall’s Otherworldly Store, after all, not a restaurant.

At the same time as selling pork cutlets and hamburgers as side dishes for lunch boxes, I intend to sell the ingredients used in the supermarket section.

“Hey Naoya, are you sure you want me to show you how to make this? Won’t people copy it at restaurants and food stalls?”

“Oh, that’s a decent question coming from Chloe. Well, there is no problem. It would take a lot of time and effort to make it in a restaurant, and the selling price would be high. The bottleneck is the price of the oil and the time and effort required to mince the meat.”

“But you’re going to sell minced meat, too, right? If so, it’s something that can be made elsewhere.”

“I think that’s fine. If sales at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store don’t increase because of the food I made, I will introduce other items on the menu.”

“The other menu …… ? D-don’t tell me there are other meat dishes! Naoya, make it right away! I’ll give you lots of feedback!”

“Chloe, you just want to eat, right? Oh, well, I’m going to start preparing it this afternoon, and tomorrow I’ll have the third dish for you to try.”

“Naoya! Let us take care of this and get started right now! …… By the way, it’s a meat dish, isn’t it? Can’t you make it faster? For lunch or for dinner.”

“Don’t be too eager to get into meat, Elf. That’s not going to happen because it takes time. Plus, didn’t I ask Chloe to stock up? I need you to go into town for some lunch.”

“Kuh! So, you’re going to make me impatient! I bet you’ll say, [If you want to eat this, do what I tell you!] kuh, you beast!”

” The way you treat me is terrible. I feel like I’m being accused and harassed.”

Ignoring Chloe, who was still in a state of shock, I observed the crowds of people at the sampling corner.

Both cutlets and hamburgers seem to have a good reputation.

I haven’t decided on the price yet, but I’m assuming the cutlet is about the price of two meals in this world and the hamburger is about the price of one meal.

The pork cutlets are expensive because of the high oil content, but they are the main attraction of the menu.

“I want you to buy a variety of vegetables from the farmer’s field, and then ask them how fast and how many eggs we can buy. Also, if there are other vegetables for sale at the market in town, don’t forget to ask the butcher too.”

“Ah, of course I know that, Naoya! I got the memo!”

“I know you have Anna-san’s big ‘item pouch’ for transport and the Aion Mall Otherworld Store has a freezer, but don’t buy too much meat, okay? Unlike Japan, livestock farming and distribution are probably not as developed, and I’d like to know the pace at which you can buy meat.”

“Mm-hmm! Don’t worry, if push comes to shove, there’s me, Barbera, and Anna’s skeleton squad! If we don’t have enough meat, we’ll go hunting!”

“If we let the …… employees do the stocking, the hunt is about to happen. It’s not just a different culture, it’s a whole different world.”

“The meat sold at the butcher’s is usually from monsters killed in the area! There is also a small amount of meat that is brought in by magic tools for safekeeping.”

“Ah, I wonder what happens to the time inside the item pouch, the magic tool of safekeeping? Is it one of those things where time stops?”

“Naoya, the ‘item box’ that completely stops time is a legendary magical tool. The normal ‘item pouch’ has normal time flowing through it. If you want to carry it from afar, you need to put ice together with it.”

“No, I don’t get it. How does space work? Why does it get cold if you put ice in it? I’m scared of magic. This is another world.”

I couldn’t help but look at her with a faraway look because our common sense is so different.

Seeing me like that, Chloe tilted her head and looked at me strangely. If she didn’t talk, Chloe would be quite beautiful.

“Hey big-sis, can you sell me some of this? I’m not used to eating preserved food in the open air.”

“Thank you, Mr. Adventurer. But today is just a sample, and we haven’t decided when we will start selling them.”

“Guah-, seriously? Geez, let me know when you decide to start selling them!”

“Yes, of course!”

The response to the sampling was positive.

Also, it seems that even adventurers don’t realize that Anna-san is a Lich.

It’s something I knew, but just in case, just in case.

“Okay. As long as we don’t say anything, it doesn’t seem to matter if the undead are involved in the cooking.”

Chloe didn’t seem to hear what I said in a whisper.

“Well then, Chloe, I’m preparing the third dish. Anna-san will be in charge of serving the customers, Chloe will do the shopping, and Barbera-“

“Barbera’s on patrol, you know? She’s going with Captain Skeleton to see if there are any monsters outside the territory.”

“Ah, right. I see that dragons and skeletons are getting along very well. Yeah, that’s fine then.”

This is a different world infested with monsters.

Security, vigilance, and killing are important, so it’s a good thing that Barbera and Captain Skeletor are doing a good job.

Though they are in fact monsters!

I kept my criticisms to myself.

Anyway.

Now that we have vegetables from the farmers, let’s go to the kitchen and try our third dish!

With skeletons with aprons today, too!

…… Don’t think, don’t think. Thank goodness for the labour force. A wonderful workforce that works diligently and silently with no labour costs. Thank you skeletons.