CH 102

Oo~ooh, I was so scared! My heart is still pounding. I wonder if that was saying too much… I just wanted to tell them I wish they would calmly break off my engagement with Ludwig and marry him to Helene instead, but…

Well, I can’t help but worry about it now. I can’t do anything about what I’ve already said, so let’s think about the future.

The first is a letter to Ignaz. I’ll have him re-investigate anything about the Lingerburg case.

After that, on my way home from school, I will look around the royal capital town and look for a certain person. Speaking of the family servants that have been met in person, I think Helmut and Isabella are the only ones who know all of them. I don’t know anyone else from that time. If they had escaped from Carruzan and were in hiding, there is a possibility that they would be in the royal capital with its massive population. Anyway, I have no choice but to search for them, even if it means going combing through every last one of them.

While running into my carriage to escape the royal castle, I will have various things in mind from now on.

For several days after school, I ran around without a destination, but in the end, I couldn’t find the people I was looking for. If it was that easy, they would have been found long ago in the first place. I just feel impatient, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Besides that, I have to go to Caanza’s Head Office today. Since the crepe maker and tools are complete, I’m going to show them off and teach them how to use them.

If you cook with this, a reliable standard size is almost guaranteed. I’m not sure if it’s easy to work with, but if you get used to it, it might be better to have a tool like this.

“Miss Flora? We’re already here?” Katharina asked.

“Huh? Ah, yes. I’m getting off now,” I said.

She must have wondered why I didn’t come down immediately the moment we stopped and peeked inside the window. I’m also worried about House Lingerburg and Alexandra, but right now I have no choice but to do what I can and must do one by one.

“Good day everyone,” I said.

When I came to Caanza’s office, there were several men and women besides Hugo and Leonor. Apparently, they are the staff who will be making and selling the crepes. A strange girl looked at me with a surprised face, as if she had an idea of who I was.

Is that so? If I were in her place, I would be surprised if a mysterious noble girl suddenly entered my store. She probably didn’t know who I was, either, because of my order to keep information control tight and avoid telling anyone anything they didn’t strictly need to know.

Well, I don’t need to say I’m the ow~ner~. Today I just wanted to bring my tools and show them how to use them. As long as I can show the production staff how to cook the product, that’s fine.

“I’m also not familiar with how to use this, but you should be able to work more uniformly and efficiently with this,” I explained.

“Ooh…”

“This is…”

After talking for a while, I moved to the kitchen and showed everyone the custom-made tools. A tool for leveling the crepe like a T-shaped dragonfly on a round grill without rims. The ladle is also a special size and you can scoop up almost the required amount of crepe batter in one go. Just scoop it up with the ladle, drop it on the grill, and spread it out with the dragonfly. This alone should cook a nearly uniform standardized crepe.

“It’s the first time I’ve actually used it, so it’s not very good, but with this, anyone should be able to cook it in the same way,” I said.

“I see.”

“This is good.”

Even though it was clumsy, when I tried to cook one, the crepe team members exchanged various opinions. In the end, I kept evading their asking who I was, so they asked among themselves, “Who is this noble lady?”, but it seems that crepe cooking is more interesting than that. They don’t follow up on me much. Or maybe Hugo and the others had already persuaded them not to.

The crepe team is actually cooking and talking about further improvements, so I leave them alone a bit and talk to Hugo and Leonor.

“How about it? Have you decided on the types of crepes and the selling price?” I asked.

Crepes can be changed as much as you want, depending on the ingredients wrapped inside. It is no exaggeration to say that the success of this project depends on the first menu, so you have to carefully consider what kind of menu to offer and how much things will cost.

“It’s difficult to decide the price,” Kyle said. “We can’t make it too expensive… but, we can’t make it too cheap, either, considering the ingredients we use.”

I thought as much. If the price goes too high, it doesn’t matter how good we make it. The bottom line is that this is for the common people. If it becomes too expensive, ordinary people cannot buy it. It might be nice to have something like that on the menu… ah!

“Is there a certain type and price that can be used as a reference?” I asked.

“In that case, take a look at this…” Leonor said, handing me a scribbled note.

This is probably a memo of what everyone was discussing until I came. If I read this, I can understand the hardships of everyone.

If you want to make it delicious, you will have to use a lot of different ingredients. Then the price will rise. Then, if you try to narrow down the ingredients or use cheap ingredients to keep the price down, the menu will be unsatisfactory instead. Of course, even if it is not good enough, the crepe itself is a new product and will have a sufficient impact on initial sales. However, it is a delicate matter to say whether they’ll become repeat customers and whether others will want to buy it after the novelty wears off.

The place where everyone falls into is the dilemma of how to provide cheap and good products. If you go cheaper, you lose quality. If you prioritize quality, the price goes up. Various ingredients and prices are scribbled as if it is difficult to find a place that seems right.

“How about something like this, for example?” I said. “Prepare a few standard items with standard prices and ingredients, and then prepare items with high prices, luxurious ingredients, and elaborate tastes. Then, depending on the day, you can choose from several price ranges depending on your mood and financial situation, so I think people will buy it again and again.”

Decide on a lineup of standard prices, and prepare low-priced and high-priced items. If you have the option of trying a low-priced item as a trial or trying to eat something a little richer on a certain day, try that next time, or if you don’t have much money that day, there’s still a cheap option. I wonder if there will be more repeat customers at the end of this.

Of course, unlike modern Earth, there are no preservatives and no refrigerators. Even at ordinary restaurants, there are almost no menus, and it is common for only fixed offerings to be served. If you’re going to run a crepe cafe, if you’re going to increase the menu this much, it’s going to be a limited quantity per day.

There is no choice but to increase the number of standard items and limit the number of high-priced items to a maximum per day. There is no way to keep materials indefinitely and there is no guarantee that they will sell out, so if you don’t do that, you will end up in the red.

“I see…” Kyle said, “so you’re trying to put out products in a wide price range instead of forcing them to be in similar ranges.”

“And since it’s a new product, the customers probably don’t know what a crepe is,” I said. “That’s why we’ll prepare a glass shelf and put several kinds of actual crepes on it. Of course, those aren’t meant to be served to customers. It’s not something you’ll sell them, it’s something for them to see what a crepe looks like.”

This is an imitation of Japanese fake food samples. However, I can’t make samples, so I have no choice but to make the actual product and show it to them. As a precaution, if the raw crepe is displayed for too long, the cream may start to run or the fruit may start to deteriorate. If it looks bad, there is a risk that it will be bad publicity. It is necessary to investigate such things in advance, such as how long they will remain visible even if it is just as an exhibition.

“I see, I see. Split the price ranges. Then there is the product sample,” Leonor said.

After that, we will think about lineups, such as something that can be a low-priced meal for the day, a lineup of sweet snacks that are likely to be popular with women, and a lineup of premium-priced luxury products.

The location has been bought and is undergoing renovation work. Staff training is also progressing. The crepe sales team is still practicing making crepes here. There are various things to prepare additionally, but so far it’s going well. What to do with the crepe lineup and price will be for later. It can be a disaster if the crepe is not accepted first. The lineup to be launched on debut must be carefully selected.

“Oh, and that girl named Bianca, can you put her in charge of the new store?” I asked.

“Huh? Bianca?” Hugo asked.

I think that Bianca is pretty good. She is very considerate and caring. Of course, her customer service skills are also suitable, but if she takes care of the whole operation, we will be able to achieve various results.

“I don’t think it’s possible to suddenly become a store manager, so how about someone else assisting her and becoming the Head of Customer Service?” I asked.

“Hmm… then that seems like it would be alright,” Hugo said.

He seems to be seriously considering my idea. As the person in charge of all operations in the city, he can’t have someone suddenly become a manager of a store. I don’t think she has that kind of experience or know-how, and there is also a credibility problem here. However, it is also a good thing to leave such things to other subordinates. Managers and supervisors need other abilities.

Properly manage the store and make the clerks work well to achieve results. Inventory management, accounting, and ordering supplies are not the manager’s job. Such things should be done by subordinates who are suitable for such things. Manage the store and arrange for employees who will run the store well. The only people who can do that are people like Bianca who can be so considerate. Well, it’s just my imagination!

“I would like to entrust both the crepe cafe and the general goods store with our Head of Customer Service,” I said.

“I thought I was able to find good subordinates, but they’re already being taken from me? That’s a shame on my part,” Hugo said.

Leonor and the others laugh at that. Since the new store concept was set up, they’ve been recruiting people again, and there are a lot of people who want to work at Caanza. The numbers are ridiculously high, so you’ll likely find a good person again with those odds. Maybe because it’s Hugo, the replacement might already be decided.

“Excuse me. I brought you all some tea,” Katharina said.

“Thank you,” I said.

Katharina serves tea when we have just finished talking. I guess she was waiting on purpose. And this tea also has a purpose.

“…Hm? This is different from normal tea,” Hugo said.

He seemed to notice immediately. This is different from ordinary tea made from tea leaves. Actually, this is dandelion coffee. I do not approve of dandelion coffee as a substitute for coffee. If you think it’s a substitute for coffee and drink it for that purpose, I can’t tolerate it.

However, if you think about things and drink this as just dandelion tea, you will feel that this is what it is. Just thinking that it is a substitute for coffee is not convincing, but if I think of it as its own drink, I can drink it. Rather, it may be possible to establish it as an inexpensive drink for people who don’t or cannot usually drink tea.

I’m thinking of putting this out as a cafe drink. Even though it’s a café, if all the drinks we serve are ale, wine, and squeezed fruit juice, I can’t think of it as a café. So I wondered if there was a substitute for coffee or tea.

However, as mentioned above, I do not accept dandelion coffee as a substitute for coffee. However, if you think that dandelion coffee is a drink in itself, you can drink it. Though, I can’t stop seeing it as a coffee substitute myself.

“This is dandelion tea. What do you think?” I asked.

“It is delicious.”

“Can you make tea from dandelions?”

“What price would you be able to sell this for?”

I will answer all their questions. Dandelion coffee itself is relatively cheap to make. It’s easy to get. Unlike ordinary tea, if the price is cheap and it is easy to obtain, there is a fear that it will be imitated immediately. So it would be better to avoid the name dandelion tea. If the name is as it is, it is giving a hint that dandelions should be used to make it. There is a good chance that someone will come up with the same method while processing dandelions.

“Hmm… Then, Sir Floto, please give us a name,” Hugo said. “Give this new tea a good name.”

Hey, hey… I’m not good at thinking about that sort of thing… if you don’t think of something that won’t be found out immediately by its name… but it’s not something that has nothing to do with fate, it’s a name that seems to have something to do with dandelions…

“…Then, Hokouei.”

“Hokouei?” Hugo asked.

Well, even if people from the Kingdom of Ploiss hear it, they probably won’t understand the meaning. In Chinese medicine, dandelion is called “Hokouei.” I just took it from there. People who don’t know about Chinese medicine will not understand its meaning at all.

“Then this tea is Hokouei!” Kyle said.

“It seems that the manufacturing costs will be reduced, so let’s make it a good new product,” Leonor said.

They both give their stamps of approval. With this, the crepe cafe seems to be doing well.