269 - - 二百六十七話 お店の完成

First of all, we decided to build a cafeteria, and I was quite surprised when I observed Ruby and the others building the cafeteria. Not to mention that Saffy can make ice, but Emme's action of growing trees in the shape of furniture was a real eye-opener for me. It's so cool, I'll have Dory make one for me too.

"This is our store!　I'm a cook!"

The dining room was furnished, and Ruby announced loudly that she was ready. She looks extremely happy.

"Now I don't have to worry about where to put my tools!

"We have an ice compartment, so we can store a lot of ingredients."

"Lots of seasonings too ......"

"I'm sure you'll learn a lot of new dishes."

Emme, Saffy, Citrine and Onyx respond to Ruby's voice. ...... I guess they had to go through a lot of hardship to cook with the rules and restrictions of the spirits. The joy oozes from every word.

The sight of girls of junior high school age gathering together and rejoicing with each other is also very funny. If they looked like college students, they would probably want to mix with each other intensely.

...... Let's move on from this nonsense. We still have to decorate the general store, the money exchange, and the children's inn. We need to put some stuff in the store too, so we better hurry or we'll lose the day.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but let's get on with it. I'm thinking of building a general store or putting up dishes and condiments, which do you prefer?"

The food is going to go bad, so it's better to give it to them later.

"""""Line it up! """""

All five of you are breathing perfectly. Then let's get out the seasonings, tableware, cooking utensils, etc. that we bought in the labyrinth city for the restaurant. As soon as the condiments are placed on the table that Emme has made, the five spirits start to make a fuss over the condiments again. We saw it yesterday, didn't we?

"Come on, stop fussing, we have to put it all in order quickly. We have three more stores to finish decorating."

""""" yes"""""

Ruby and the others move in unison after a breathless reply. As expected of advanced spirits, their movements are lean. They put their luggage in order quickly, as if they have known each other for a long time and know what is to be put where and by whom. I thought about helping them, but then I realized that I would be getting in the way.

"Sylphy, the store will be ready today or tomorrow.

"Hmmm, we haven't even decided what kind of menu we're going to serve yet, so tomorrow is not a good day to start. We'll do our best to hurry, but not until the main course, Ruby and the others, are ready.

Come to think of it, ...... we don't even have the recipe for the dish yet, and we don't want to bring in guests out of the blue. After I heard from Sylphy, I felt like I had to hurry, but I shouldn't be in too much of a hurry either. Sylphy and the others are making all the arrangements, I just have to help them with what they ask me to do.

I chat with Sylphy and wait for Ruby and the others to finish cleaning up. It would be awkward not to help at all, but it's better to stay out of the way than to get in the way.

"Yuta's brother, we're done!"

Ruby cheerfully reports that she has finished cleaning up. The atmosphere has become more like a restaurant as soon as the tableware, seasonings, and cooking utensils are laid out on the table. It may be a little too stylish to be called a diner, but I guess it doesn't matter as long as it looks cool.

"Thanks for your hard work, everyone. We're going to the grocery store next.

"You don't need a break!　But can't you put the ingredients in the ice room?"

"The food will go a little bad in the icebox, so we plan to put it in after all the stores are finished."

It will only make a difference for a few hours, but there's nothing wrong with putting the food in the icebox now, but it's in our best interest to keep it in good condition for as long as possible.

"I see, then we'd better get the rest of the store ready to go!　When it's all done, we can do a lot of cooking, right?"

You think like Mr. Torque. I don't know why I'm surrounded by people and spirits who are so crazy about cooking ......, but I brought Ruby and the others because they are spirits who love to cook, not to mention Mr. Torque.

"Yeah, you can make a lot of food. I'll give you the recipes too, so you can experiment with them."

"Mwah!　Come on!　Let's go, Yuta's brother!"

Ruby, fired up by the fact that she could cook, ran out of the cafeteria. I wish I didn't have to look so much like Mr. Torque.

...... Emme and the others run after Ruby, so Sylphy and I leave the diner, too. We don't have to run since the restaurant is right next to ours.

"You are so full of energy!

"Yes, it is. Are the other senior spirits like that?"

"...... Well, the senior spirits at the brewery are a bit more mature, and I think those kids are especially childish. Maybe they've been having so much fun with their friends that they're feeling young."

Ruby and the kids, they look like they're having a good time. They spend their days doing their hobbies and being full of energy, so they haven't had time to grow up.

I don't know how long spirits live, but it seems like quite a long time, and it's probably great that they can stay young. ...... got me thinking about something philosophical. For the first time, I realized the effect of being smarter by raising my level. My intelligence hasn't improved much since B. .......

**

Thanks to the hard work of Ruby and her team, it didn't take long to finish decorating the store and displaying the merchandise. In the general store, Citrine was the main person building the shelves and counters.

When I asked Emme if it would be cool to make shelves out of wood, she replied that a general store does not get a lot of sunlight and that it would be hard on the wood since the products are always on display.

I wondered if he was worried about the sunlight and water because of the ...... trees. The cafeteria has a glass front and gets a lot of sun, so there is no stress on the trees except when they are eating. It's a twist and turn, though. I don't think I'm getting too smart after all, intelligence B.......

The general store is completed by quickly displaying the goods purchased at Marie's place. There is a wide variety of goods, which is not bad, but there are gaps on the shelves. I'll stock up on some new items when I'm in town. Maybe it's the influence of a certain super-cheap store, but it would be more exciting if there were more products than we can display.

The exchange counter is simply a counter and a bench for the spirits waiting for their turn. Since it was so dreary, we set up a table and chairs in the vacant space. It is doubtful if they will use it since there is a cafeteria nearby, but it would not be a problem if there is another space where they can take a rest and relax.

The children's dormitory was a quick job, since all we had to do was to set up a bed and some simple furniture. However, a little problem arose when we asked Nomos to build a larger space for the children to play.

Safi said that the ground was too hard for them to play. Nomos had made it flat and hard like a ceramic, but it was indeed very hard. No matter how hard it is for the spirits to get hurt, we don't want them to roll around on the hard ground.

It would be different to grow a lawn in the house. Candidates are to put up a wooden floor, or buy a soft carpet ...... or a soft carpet. I think I saw a fluffy carpet made of giant deerskin on sale, so I'll get that one.

"There are a few problems that I would like to improve, but for the most part, I think I'm done."

Yes, just the really basic parts. Now that we have at least a minimum level of acceptance, we can start to build the village together. Basically, we will be self-sufficient in what we can, but if anything is needed, Yuta, please help us out.

With the help of the spirits, we can manage most of the things by ourselves, but there are certainly some things that would be less time-consuming and labor-intensive if we don't have the time or if we buy them. It's easy enough to buy something on our way to town, no problem.

"Okay, feel free to let me know if you need anything at all.

"That would be great. Thank you, Yuta.

"You're welcome."

Well, if we are so indebted to them, it will be too hard to repay the favor we have received from Sylphy and his friends. ...... Well, it would be a pity to hurry Ruby and her friends any longer. I turn to Ruby and the others who are looking at me expectantly. I know, the ingredients and the recipe.

"Well, let's go to the ice room for now..."

We arrived at the ice house, pulled by the excited Ruby and her friends.

"You've put a lot of work into this. What about that top part?　It's kind of complicated, are you going to put some special ingredients in there?"

"This is where Saffy makes the big ice cubes!　They put ice on the ground too, but the cold air goes down there, so it cools better!　The pipes over there are for draining the water so that when the ice above melts and turns to water, it doesn't wet the food!"

Ruby proudly explains. The old refrigerator system. ...... I knew that the cold air goes down, but I never thought of applying it to an ice compartment. I just did it by brute force, thinking that freezing all over the place would do the trick. I feel a little depressed because I feel like I've been given a knowledge cheat contrary to the template.

"So we're going to hang the meat!　Meat tastes better over time!　It's a lot of work to control the temperature and humidity, but it's worth it!"

......Oh, I can make aged meat. Sylphy, you've brought in some great talent. I knew about the existence of aged meat at a barbecue restaurant or something, but I had no idea what to do with it and never got around to it.

Maybe the cooking skills of Ruby and her friends are more amazing than I imagined. Come to think of it, spirits live longer, so they can practice cooking for a longer period of time than we humans can imagine.

"Aged meat? Does it make the meat of demons taste good, too?　If that's the case, I'd like you to take care of my meat as part of your job.

"Did Yuta's brother know that meat tastes better when you let it rest?"

"Yeah, I knew that aged meat tasted good, but I didn't know how to lay it down, so I never got around to it."

"Oh, that's Yuta's brother. The other spirits didn't understand that it would only rot!　The type of meat determines whether it should be aged or not. Most meat from weak demons tastes better when it's aged!　The meat of strong demons loses its taste when the magic power in the meat is removed."

...... I see. I was excited to see if the dragon meat would taste better, but it doesn't seem to work out that way. I would have loved to taste a higher grade of deliciousness of those meats.

But maybe Ruby and her friends can recreate the dishes and snacks that I don't know about or have given up on. I'm getting excited too. Let's listen to what they have to say and ask for their advice! I'm starting to have fun!