CH 40

The grounds of the Aion Mall in the otherworld were spacious. Just like the Aion Mall in Japan, the buildings were huge, and the parking lot was also wide. The front entrance faced the road leading to the city, and the rest was a forest.

Ahead of the parking lot, a skeleton peeked out from under the shade of the trees. Looking around, it slowly emerged from the forest. After confirming that everything was okay, the armored skeletons continued to emerge one after another.

“Naoya-san, sorry to keep you waiting! I brought back Barbera-chan! She’s in her human form now!”

Following the skeleton troops and the skeleton captain riding on a skeletal horse, Anna-san came out of the forest. Behind her was Barbera, a girl who looked about ten years old.

“…….. Hmmph.”

“Um, Barbera? I know that you’re not in your dragon form, but why are you puffing up your cheeks?”

“She wanted to say ‘I’m home!’ And someone answer ‘welcome back, Barbera!’”

Covering her mouth with her small hand, Barbera puffed up her cheeks like a hamster. Chloe, who had made a round trip to the city at high speed, seemed to have heard Barbera’s greeting.

“So, what was Anna-san and Barbera’s idea? It wasn’t that difficult, well, it was for Chloe, not me.”

“It wasn’t that difficult! We just told them that ‘that dragon was an illusion made with magic,’ and everyone immediately understood! They said, ‘It’s what Chloe-san does,’ thanks to her past achievements!”

“Don’t be so proud, Elf. That’s thanks to your failure and being a klutzy knight. Thanks to that, we were saved, but still.”

“I’m sorry, Naoya-san and Chloe. Now, let me show you our plan. Come on, Barbera-chan.”

“…Ppu.”

Prompted by Anna-san, Barbera opens her mouth. Something gooey came out of her mouth, which was tightly packed.

“Eh- errrr, what’s that? Barbera? Anna-san?”

Something brown, like beef stew but more solid, oozes out of Barbera’s mouth.

“Are you okay, Barbera? Is it gross? Anna-san, what’s this?”

“Barbera-chan, there are no customers here. You can turn back into a dragon now.”

“…..Nngh!”

Barbera closes her mouth and jumps up while pressing it with her hand.

There’s a flash of light.

Then a tearing sound is heard.

When the light subsides, there’s a red-scaled dragon there.

Torn clothes lay at the dragon’s feet.

“This time, she didn’t take off her clothes. That’s why they got torn. Can’t you use magic to fix it somehow?”

There’s no response to my question.

Anna-san urges Barbera, “Come over here,” and Chloe’s eyes sparkle as she looks at the dragon.

In dragon form, Barbera screams.

“Gwoh gobo! Gaba gaba gaba!”

But instead of a roar, she spits out something incomprehensible, like someone gargling.

Just like in human form, she spits out something that looks like beef stew.

“Hey, Barbera, are you really okay? Don’t tell me I shouldn’t give beef stew to the dragon?”

“Hehe, that’s not it, Naoya-san. Can’t you smell the scent of beef stew?”

“Huh! Then what is this, Anna? This slimy, muddy thing…oh! Could it be that you’re going to rub it on me? Like, ‘Hey, Chloe, please give Naoya, who stayed up all night, a massage with that body of yours’? Kuhh- Kill me!”

“Ah, I thought it would be different, but it ended up the same usual ol’ Chloe… Mud? Sticky soil? Don’t tell me….”

Ignoring Chloe, who had started her usual delusions, Barbera just stared at us. She had a relieved look on her face, as if she had finally managed to spit out all the dirt she had been holding in her mouth.

Although it was impossible to tell the expression on a dragon’s face, she was probably relieved.

As the skeleton with an apron and clothing approached Barbera in dragon form, the skeleton captain in his luxurious armor flipped his cloak and stood guard.

This time, the dragon glowed and disappeared.

Anna sneaked around behind the skeleton captain and was heard rustling around as she said, “Okay, put your arms through here.”

“Their cooperation is too perfect. Come to think of it, if Barbera came out of the forest in human form, that means they’ve already put clothes on her once.”

After a while, the skeleton captain stepped aside.

What appeared was Barbera in her human form, puffing out her chest proudly.

“…Dirt. Brought it.”

“O-ooh! T-thank you for the hard work? By the way, there’s no way that amount can fit in Barbera’s mouth in human form. As expected of a fantasy creature, don’t judge anyone from their outer appearance.”

The muddy dirt that Barbera had spit out not only exceeded the capacity of her mouth in human form, but also the capacity of her mouth in dragon form.

“What we need are flat dishes for cutlets and hamburgers, and deep dishes for beef stew. But the soil that was brought is sticky. So Anna-san and Barbera’s idea is…”

“Yes, Naoya-san. We’ll use this soil to make dishes!”

“Ooooh! As expected from Anna! Thank you Barbera for bringing it!”

“Ceramics, huh. They’re fragile, but… We don’t have a kiln, and fuel costs would be high.”

“Hehehe. Naoya-san, let’s try making them first. I’m sure you’ll be surprised!”

“Alright.”

Anna-san immediately plunged her hands into the sticky mound of dirt. Barbera also approached and scooped up some soil with her small hands. The Skeleton Unit around them also joined in.

“No, Skeletons. It’s great that you have extra hands, but you can’t knead the dirt. They’re bones, not hands… unlike hamburgers, unless?”

Muttering complaints, I also joined in.

“Oh wow, it’s slimy and sticky! …N-Naoya, wait, this isn’t in a lewd way, okay? I was just talking about the dirt.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But still, with this much moisture, is it really okay? No, don’t think about it. Don’t think about how it might have been in Babbera’s mouth.”

Ignoring Chloe’s words, I work absentmindedly. The clay used to make pottery is usually kneaded with water to adjust its moisture level, but I don’t think about the details. After all, it was just in Barbera’s mouth, so this moisture might as well be dragon saliva. I also don’t think about the fact that I’m working with a large group of skeletons.

“There are too many things that I shouldn’t be thinking about! This really is another world!”

Anna-san and the skeletons make shapes for the pottery and leave them on the exposed parking lot. I follow suit and make dishes of various depths. I also make lids considering portability. They’re just lids to cover, but it’s better than having nothing.

“…This, fun.”

“Don’t play it like clay. Barbera, try making a dish too.”

“Hahaha! Look, Naoya! This is the Clay Sword Epee De Poix!”

“Someone’s having more fun than Barbera. No, this is another world, so maybe there’s a magical something that turns it into a sword?”

“But there isn’t, is there?”

“Hey Elf over there, don’t ruin my fantasy imagination Stop playing around and make the dishes, geez! Really, should I really rely on you guys?”

What the hell are these guys?

It’s the seventh day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall otherworld store.

Takeaway containers for cutlets, hamburgers, and beef stew are still undecided.

In other words, they can’t be sold yet.

…The goal of achieving a monthly sales figure of one hundred million yen seems too far away.