CH 7

The Aion Mall Isekai Branch Store is now open for business.

But as Ms. Iori said, only 『Some part of the supermarket section』 is open for business.

I hid myself in the enclosed drugstore section and sneaked a peek at how they prepared for opening the store.

“So, this is what they are doing when they open the store………?”

Pushing aside my frustration and shock as I watched them.

The 『Some part of the supermarket section』 that is open for business is apparently only the fresh product section.

Mostly vegetables that the farmers’ ladies had brought in from their carts earlier.

Or rather, they displayed what the ladies had brought while chatting with each other, and that was all they did for opening the store.

“Well, this is better than not opening for any business at all.”.

After the ladies displayed the items, they chatted with Chloe, the former manager, for a while and then left.

I guess they are asking where the products are lined on.

Now Chloe, the former manager, is absentmindedly making rounds in the aisle.

“The only fresh products, they don’t seem to sell food brought in from Japan. ……”

Instant foods, seasonings, snacks, kitchenware – of course, Aion’s section is not only limited to food related stuff.  .

But the shelves lined with products brought in from Japan- or rather earth, were shoved off in the aisles.

The drugstore where I am hiding and the gardening section are also off limits, and the stairs to the second floor where clothing is sold and the third floor where furniture, appliances, toys, and stationery are sold are also emptied.

And of course, the emptied tenant space and food court also deserted.

“This isn’t how a mall is supposed to be, I don’t mind if they sell their own fresh product here.”

I, Naoya Taniguchi, 24 years old, the manager of this Aiwon Mall Isekai Branch Store and also the person in charge of everything, must manage all of this by myself.

Chloe, the former manager, who looks like an elf knight who is in a good mood, cleaning and rearranging vegetables.

I look down at the documents that I didn’t get a chance to check last night.

There was a brief summary of the situation at this mall.

The dirt road in front of the store apparently leads to a town.

The nearest town is 30 minutes away by horse-drawn carriage and about an hour on foot. That’s a pretty long time to travel just to reach a city.

There seems to be a lot of farmland on both sides of the road towards the town, so the ladies I saw earlier must be farmers around here.

After working on the farm in the morning and bringing the goods for sale to the Aion Mall, they took a break and returned home to resume their farm work.　

Wholesaling vegetables at this mall is a way to make a little extra money for these ladies.

It is an hour’s walk from the nearby town.

Naturally, there are not many customers.

The customers who came to the store in the morning were a merchant-like family, another merchant-like person, and a couple of people who looked like guards.

And warriors in leather armor with weapons?　A man who has the profession as a fighter?　There were a few pairs of not knight like attires people, I guess they are adventurers.

It’s almost noon, and the number of customers wasn’t increasing at all.

You see, I can even count how many customers have come since this morning!

The only people using horse-drawn carriages were merchants, and the distance from the nearest town may be quite a hassle to do.

Even if this were Japan, some customers would drive an hour to visit the mall too.

“How much will today’s incomes be? I’m screwed. I don’t think I can achieve 100 million yen a month, or 3.34 million yen a day on average.”

I went outside the mall then I sat down on a bench.

Instead of lunch, I nibble on the vegetables that customers have been buying in droves.

Even though they were buying them in droves, it wasn’t that kind of huge sales, mostly one or two droves per person

Hey, this stuff is bussin’. It is fresh, clean, sweet, and has a delicious crunchy texture. I don’t know if this is a vegetable or fruit just because it tastes like melon. Can I eat the skin?

I spit out the peeled skin with a peck into the garbage can that I had prepared.

Chloe had told me that I couldn’t eat the skin, but I tried it out anyway.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Chloe, let’s just say I was curious.

“Would you like to go see the farmland of the aun- the ladies next time? I have to check the soil of their farm.”

The condition of the soil, the water used, the presence and type of pesticides, and what kind of products they would plant.

All the vegetables that are sold at the mall are going through a quality check first before displayed on the aisle.

It’s hard to select the safe imported veggies, and I heard they said they run through unpaved roads for hours just to deliver the goods. Someone even said the experienced farmer knows the soil quality just by licking it.

I don’t have that kind of ability because I just worked in the supermarket for three years. I know something about that because I’m still a grandson of a farmer after all.

“Hey, this vegetable could actually be a monster! Or maybe this is something like a material coming from inside a monster’s body! Holy sheep, that’s so stupid even I can’t laugh at it!”

I just hold my head while saying something like that.

I ate the melon-like thingy again.

Yep, this is tasty.

Just from one bite I can guess this thing has a high sugar content, this thing can be chilled down to make it more tasty.

I vaguely look at the parking lot.

Around the bench is a sidewalk made with something brick-like material, the sidewalk goes down one step to asphalt, and some part of the parking lot made by paved soil then goes down all the way to the main road.

Most of the parking lots are just bare unpaved soil.

The road to the front entrance was asphalt, and I realized in the morning why there was a rotary road and a drop-off spot for customers.

This is a pathway for carriages.

Even if the road is muddy, the carriage can enter the premises, and the carriage can proceed to the store entrance easily.

The merchant who got on board got off at the drop-off spot, removed the horse’s carriage reins, and left the loading platform as it was.

Horses are taken to the fountain area next to the rotary to be watered and groomed.

“Well, this fountain area is wonderful.”

“Indeed. Are you going somewhere after this?”

“I’m planning to go to the neighboring town and sell the items I bought at the Aiwon Mall. You see, I’m a merchant who doesn’t have a store.”

“Oh, to the neighboring town. How long will it take from here?”

“Usually three days by horse-drawn carriage. I’m grateful if this water place is a little further away from the city or in a camp area. Well,my wife and daughter like this place, and this place is perfect for a rest area.”

“Unfortunately you can’t move this water fountain huh..”

Hold on, this place isn’t a rest area, you came here to shopping.

I may say that I’m a customer service professional who can ignore such words. 

The one who talked to me sitting on the bench was the merchant who bought the vegetables.

His wife and daughter probably went to the bathroom and he had no idea what to do.

“Well then, Everything I need to do here is done. I’ll visit this place again next time!”

Seeing his wife and daughter come out of Aiwon Mall, the merchant installed the carriage on the horses’ side reins after he bathed its head.

“We look forward to seeing you again next time!…… except for using this place as a rest area.”

In the second half, I said it in my mouth so he couldn’t hear it.

I know. It’s not the merchant’s fault.

The reason why the Aiwon Mall is considered only as a resting area is because, a watering place, and toilet is because currently there are no attractive products available.

He bought me a melon-taste-like vegetable for three family members, I think he meant it for the parking fee or something.

He probably can get what he wants to buy in the city here, probably he and the other merchant don’t know it.

“Hey, maybe I can go to the city and see what they have in there. If I sell a product that is also sold in the town, customers wouldn’t bother to come here to buy it. What about the marketing … but the ex-manager of this store is Chloe. That Klutzy Elf … “

I stretched my body while I was still on the bench.

What am I going to do if anyone sees me?

It’s okay, because there are no customers on the premises beside me now, and that merchant family has departed too!

Aiwon Mall Isekai store has no guests right now!

I’ve never seen Aiwon Mall with no customers at this time!

“And here I am, the manager of the Aiwon Mall Isekai branch store and the person in charge of everything in this mall!”

The cry of my anguish was sucked into the sky of another world.