CH 39

“Oh, by the way. It’s going to be sold as a side dish or bento, so we have to apply to the Merchant Guild, right? I hope we don’t get nitpicked.”

After finishing the tasting and cleanup of the beef stew, I remembered what I wanted to ask and directed the question to Chloe and Anna-san, who looked satisfied with their full stomachs. Barbera was also present, but I didn’t expect her to answer honestly, since she was a dragon.

“What are you talking about, Naoya? If it’s ready, just sell it to the customers. I can even buy them all if you want.”

“Please let the customers buy them. Besides, if you buy them all, you won’t be able to eat them and they’ll just rot. Are you really an Elf?”

“That’s a great idea, Chloe-san! Ordinary ‘item pouches’ don’t stop time, but it’s certain that they’re less likely to spoil!” Anna-san exclaimed.

“Even Anna-san is broken. Oh, so if we put them in the ‘item pouch,’ it lasts longer. Is it because there are no bacteria at a certain temperature or something like that?”

“…Food hoarding.”

“Well, humans can’t hoard food or sleep…but Barbera is a dragon, right? So she might be able to hoard food,” I joked.

Despite saying that it’s a new product that will be sold to customers, the clumsy knight who declared she would hoard them and the Lich who I thought was normal.

Barbera’s eyes also shone at their words.

All three of them seemed to like the cutlet, hamburger, and beef stew.

I said beef… even though it’s a monster. It’s called “horned cow,” so beef is fine. There are also short-horned cows in Japan.

“That’s not what I meant! Chloe, remember the girl selling galettes who was scolded by the Merchant Guild Leader? She was told not to operate without permission and to pay for the location fee.”

“Naoya, what are you talking about? This isn’t a town, you know?”

“I don’t feel like we’re communicating. Can someone hold a communication training for inter-world communication?”

“Chloe-san is right, Naoya-san. To start a restaurant or stall in a town, you need to apply to that town’s Merchant Guild, but this area isn’t in the town. We don’t need to apply.”

“Seriously? Wasn’t Chloe the one who was weird? Oh, come to think of it, ‘location fee’…”

It seems that in this country, you don’t need to apply for, obtain permission or a license to sell food and beverages. In Japan, on the other hand, you have to undergo the somewhat troublesome training for the food hygiene manager and pay attention to hygiene inspections.

However, even in a different world, it seems that you have to apply to the guild to operate in the city. This is not for hygiene management, but for paying the location fee and taxes.

“Wait, wait, wait. How does Aion Mall pay taxes then? When I went to the city with Chloe, I heard that various guilds collect taxes.”

“Don’t worry, Naoya! We have an agreement with the country, so Aion Mall’s otherworld store pays taxes directly to the government!”

“I see, it’s a national project. By the way, that’s why Knight Chloe was dispatched, right? And because it’s a national project, there’s a sales target that must be achieved, or the country will withdraw its support and the store will be shut down. That’s a heavy burden!”

The monthly sales target of one hundred million yen is both the goal of the company, Aion Corporation, and seems to be an instruction from the country.

They allowed the opening of Aion Mall’s otherworld store because it would be profitable. Of course, there might also be a demand for rare items brought in from Japan.

“Make sure to explain all of this properly! And make sure it’s written in the handover documents! What are you making me carry as the first store manager, Ioriii!”

My lament echoes in the empty space of the mall.

Chloe looks a little bewildered, and Anna-san is smiling wryly.

Barbera approaches me and peers into my face.

“Are you okay? Would you like some beef stew?”

That’s something you said when you offered a drink, not a stew. Even if I drink it, I won’t feel better. But it’s delicious, so I might feel better.

“About the container. Naoya, how about using this plate we used for the tasting?”

“For eat-in, that’s fine. But if it’s for take-out, the plates will disappear in no time.”

The beef stew tasting from the morning until midday was moderately well-received. The customers were put off by the appearance and took some time to try it.

Chloe begged the local farmer, the traveling merchant summoned up the courage to try something new, and Barbera put it into the adventurers’ mouths at lightning speed. Once they tried it, most people said it was delicious. Some said it didn’t suit their taste, but that was a matter of preference and seasoning. It was still a prototype after all.

In the afternoon, after the customers had left, they ate the beef stew we set up at the tasting booth near the store entrance. Chloe, Anna-san, and Barbera naturally ate as well.

“Chloe or Anna-san, do you know of any cheap disposable containers we can get around here? For cutlets and hamburgers, use flat plates, and for stew, use deep plates. Well, all deep plates are fine. Anyway, we need something to put the food in.”

“Something to put in… for meat dishes…? Don’t tell me, Naoya! Are you going to attack me and say, ‘Let me put my meat in there?’ Kuh, kill me!”

“That’s a terrible leap of thought. I said plates, not that kind of thing, you perv.”

“Deep plates… in other words, we need a shape that won’t break or spill when we put beef stew in it, right?”

“Excuse me Anna-san, are you thinking about a skeleton’s head right now? You’re not going to suggest putting beef stew in the skull, are you? It’s too gruesome and won’t sell, you know?”

“… Chomp it all?”

“It’s not even a plate anymore. That’s just you going to eat it as is, as a Dragon.”

I sighed as I dealt with the three as usual. I approached the skeleton wearing an apron who came over when there were no customers and handed over the garbage.

“We’ll collect and give them a discount or cashback, but the number of plates we have is limited. Farmers might be fine, but adventurers and traveling merchants are likely to break them while they’re out and about.”

Considering that, using a plastic container instead of a plate might be better.

I know that there are bento boxes and disposable paper plates in the closed daily goods section.

There are also plastic containers in the prepared foods section.

If the premise is recycling, then–

“No, if they sell well, the number of containers will be a hindrance. It would be better to buy them in town and use them with the premise of recycling.”

“Naoya, would a wooden plate be okay? Which one, I’ll go chop down some wood for you! As a holy knight! Here I go!”

“Usually Elf banned something like cutting down the forest. But thinning is natural for races that live in the forest… Huh? Chop it down?”

Without asking for my comments or questions, Chloe runs through the dirt parking lot.

Fast.

“So fast! I mean, isn’t she too fast?”

“Naoya-san, Chloe-san is a knight. And she’s also using the ‘body strengthening’ magic for her additional speed.”

“…I’m faster.”

“Oh, there’s something faster than that? And Barbera is even faster than that. As expected of a dragon. Hahaha.”

A dry laugh escapes me at the physical abilities of this other world.

For some reason, I pat Barbera’s head as she tries to compete.

Chloe quickly runs through the parking lot and reaches the edge of the forest.

“Feel the sharpness of the spirit sword Epee De Poix! Hiyah!” 

“Well, it’s not look that sharp, it’s just a wooden sword. But it can cut.”

When Chloe swings the spirit sword, the nearest tree in the parking lot falls with one blow.

Even though she’s an Elf, she has no hesitation about cutting down trees.

And I don’t understand why she’s using a wooden sword to cut down a tree. This other world is dangerous.

Chloe swings the spirit sword several times towards the fallen tree.

Then, she bends down and picks up something before running back to the parking lot.

“How’s that, Naoya? The sharpness of the Spirit Sword Epee De Poix is amazing, right?! How about using this wooden plate?”

Saying that, Chloe throws something she held in her hand to me.

I catch it and look at it carefully.

“This is thinly sliced wood. If we purify it, we could use it for cutlets or hamburgers. I won’t make any more jokes about it. I won’t make any more jokes about an elf who cuts down trees unnecessarily, even though it’s a wooden sword with incredible sharpness.”

I clean the wood slices and turn them into plates.

Since the Aion Mall Otherworld store is surrounded by a forest, We can prepare a large quantity of them, and there won’t be any hygiene issues with purifying them. Perhaps they’re even used in a fancy cafe. However…

“Beef stew won’t work with this.”

“Hmm. Naoya, even if the Spirit Sword Epee De Poix has such sharpness, it’s tough to carve the wood, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And it’s a sword passed down for generations in your clan, but it’s being treated so poorly.”

It’s a wooden flat plate.

Or rather, it’s a thin, straight wooden board.

The beef stew will spill out.

“It’s too unstable to carry around. Hmm…”

“Hehe, you seem to be troubled, Naoya-san. Then, let me show you and Barbera-chan’s idea next! Now, Barbera-chan!”

“…Graw”

I heard a deflated voice, but despite its lack of energy, Barbera flew out with incredible force.

Before I knew it, she was naked.

“Hey, Anna-san! It’s not good to see a naked 10-year-old! Give her some clothes– oh, this happened before.”

Barbera, who jumped out from Anna-san’s shadow, flew diagonally upwards.

In mid-air, Barbera shone. I closed my eyes involuntarily because of the bright light.

GROOOAAAR!!!

When I opened my eyes, there was a bright red dragon. Barbera was gone.

“I saw it twice now, but it feels weird. Can’t you do something about the difference between the ‘graw’ before she jumps out and the ‘groaaar’ after she transforms? The gap is too much.”

There was no answer to my grumbling.

Anna-san smiled, and Chloe said, “Barbera looks so cool!”

When I looked absent-mindedly, Barbera, in her dragon form, spread her wings. Slowly flapping them, she floated up from the parking lot of the Aion Mall.

With her red body floating in the blue sky, the red dragon flew away into the distance.

“Naoya-san, please wait for a moment. Barbera-chan and I will propose a container.” 

“Oh, sure. By the way, Anna-san, Chloe. The dragon just flew away from the Aion Mall. Is it okay if people see it? It might be seen from the street or the city, but the story is going to hold up, right?”

There was no answer to my question.

“Hey, Chloe, why are you looking away? Anna-san, what’s with the sweat? Oh, even Lich also sweats, not that–!”

Chloe started to whistle poorly.

Anna-san turned to look at the skeleton squad that seemed to be coming to see what was happening.

“Hey, hey, hey! If a rumor goes around that a dragon appeared, the already few customers will decrease, won’t they? Chloe, go to the city and explain that it was a mistake! Come on, use magic! Tell them it was an illusion!”

“Naoya is a genius!”

“Enough already, just go! Anna-san,”

“I’ll tell Barbera-chan to come back and hide, You are coming too, Captain!”

They disappeared quickly. The skeleton squad too.

I was left alone at the entrance of the mall.

I was feeling a bit dizzy, probably because I had been up all night.

“Come to think of it, I saw the dragon on the rooftop at night. When she introduced herself and transformed into her dragon form, she didn’t fly…I hope we don’t lose any customers.”

The Aion Mall in the other world is open for business as usual today. In a bad way. I can’t help but think that this kind of normality and everyday life is just wrong.