Two days after registering with the Commerce Guild. I called Leticia and had her come to the Adventurer’s Guild. The reason is that I wanted to dissolve the party with Leticia because I wanted to focus on business during the remaining vacation.

We sat facing each other at an empty table, and I immediately bring up the main topic. “Leticia-san, I actually want to dissolve the party.”

“Eh!?”

She was extremely surprised. I regretted that I might have not used the right words just now and explained the situation.

After hearing my explanation, she sighed in relief, before making a suggestion. “If that’s the case, can I help you with your business, Lark-kun? I’ve always wanted everyone to taste your delicious cooking.”

“Is that okay? You won’t be able to work as an adventurer for a while, you know?”

“Yeah! Let’s take a break from adventurer activities. So, you don’t have to go through the dissolution procedure.”

It’s grateful that she says that. Let’s ask her for her help, by all means.

◈◈◈

Leticia joined us, and the two of us decided to focus on cooking. We planned for Leticia, who was full of energy, to work as a stall vendor. Next, we discussed what kind of food to sell.

“Lark, do you have any ideas for street food dishes using rice?” Leticia asked.

Putting my hand to my chin, I pondered for a moment. “Well…since it’s a stall, it would be good to have something that can be eaten on the go…” After contemplating for a while, I came up with a dish. “I know, how about grilled onigiri?”

“Grilled onigiri (Yaki onigiri)?” Leticia tilted her head.

I decided to make a sample for tasting. I took out freshly cooked rice that had been stored in the “convenient box” and put it in a bowl. After lightly mixing it with soy sauce, I shaped it into triangles and grilled it until it had a nice char on the surface using fire attribute magic.

I promptly gave the freshly made onigiri to Leticia to taste.

“Mmm! This should be good, right?” Leticia said with a smile on her face.

This dish is easy to make and doesn’t require expensive ingredients. Alright, since I’ve gotten her approval, let’s sell grilled onigiri at the stall!

◈◈◈

The next day, I was summoned by Mr. Dursley and headed to the headquarters of the Dursley Company. When I entered the designated room, I saw a middle-aged, tired-looking man whom I didn’t recognize talking with Mr. Dursley and Taldora.

“It seems you’ve arrived. Let me introduce you. This child is Lark Voltoris-kun.”

After looking at me, Mr. Dursley introduced me to the man.

The man stood up from the sofa and bowed, “I am Kent Eehl. Thank you for considering to help us spread the rice we produce.”

“We produce”…so that means this person cultivates rice. I didn’t expect to meet him in a place like this.

After that, I sat on the sofa in the room and listened to Mr. Dursley and Taldora’s detailed explanation.

It seemed that when Taldora went to purchase rice the other day, he told Mr. Kent, the representative of the trading partner, about my intention to promote rice. Mr. Kent then wanted to lend me his support, so he came all the way to the capital city.

After hearing the story, the man asked me a question, “May I ask why Lark-sama decided to promote rice?”

I couldn’t exactly talk about my past life in this situation. After pondering for a moment, I decided to respond in the same way I did when Taldora asked me a similar question before.

“Um… Well, the original trigger was when I borrowed a certain book from a friend who loves books and read it. That book had a lot of detailed information about rice. Since then, I had been wanting to try eating rice, and finally, I was able to buy it at Taldora-san’s shop. When I cooked and ate it myself, it was incredibly delicious, so I thought I would definitely like to spread it in the capital.”

After finishing my explanation in one go, Mr. Kent fell silent for a while and then slowly spoke, “…By any chance, is the author of that book named Taro?”

I recalled the name written on the book’s cover. Indeed, it was Taro.

“Yes, it was an unusual name, so I remember.”

“Oh, I see…”

As I answered, tears welled up in the man’s eyes. Slightly surprised, I watched as he wiped away his tears and explained the situation.

“I apologize… That book was actually written by my ancestor, Taro Eehl. My ancestor really wanted to promote specialty products made in our village, such as rice and soy sauce, so he studied writing and wrote that book. That’s the book Lord Lark read. It didn’t work out well at the time, but now it’s proving useful…”

Kent-san is a descendant of the author of that book…

“Thanks to that book, I was able to encounter rice and soy sauce. I have nothing but gratitude for your ancestor.”

While feeling slightly surprised inwardly, I said that, and Mr. Kent smiled happily.

At that moment, Roeck remembered something and spoke up, “By the way, Lark-kun, have you decided on the product?”

“Yes, I decided yesterday.”

“Oh, you’ve already decided! What kind of product is it?”

Since it would be difficult to explain verbally, I decided to borrow the company’s kitchen and actually make some samples. In fact, since deciding to sell grilled rice balls yesterday, I had been experimenting with various ways to make them at home. Normal grilled rice balls would be dull, after all.

First, I finely chopped sesame seeds and leafy vegetables and mixed them with rice, along with a special sauce made with soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings. Then, I shaped the rice into rice balls, brushed the surface with the special sauce using a brush, and grilled them to a nice crispness with fire attribute magic.

When I returned to the room where Roeck and the others were waiting, they all smiled when they saw the grilled rice balls.

“Hmm, the fragrant smell is so appetizing.”

“Wow! It looks really delicious!”

“This is slightly different from the onigiri I know.”

Mr. Dursley, Taldora, and Mr. Kent expressed their impressions one after another.

“For now, please try it.”

Saying this, I offered them the grilled rice balls, and the three of them each took one and took a bite.

“It’s… delicious!”

Everyone praised the grilled onigiri.

After finishing my portion in one gulp, Mr. Dursley opened his mouth, “Well, then let’s go with this. It’s easy to eat and suitable for street stalls. As for the price…”

“The cost of ingredients is not that high, and even with just one copper coin, there will be a profit,” I said, and Taldora shook his head in disagreement, “I don’t recommend making it too cheap. In addition to the cost of ingredients, there are also maintenance costs for equipment and expenses for hiring helpers. And if you set the price too low and attract a large crowd, other stalls will notice and take away customers.”

Then Mr. Kent made a suggestion, “In that case, how about daringly setting it at ten copper coins? I think it’s a price that perfectly matches the quality.”

However, Mr. Dursley opposed those words, “No, if it’s too expensive, customers might hesitate to come, and we won’t be able to achieve our initial goal of spreading rice. Let’s find a middle ground, and five copper coins should be reasonable. It might be slightly pricey for street food, but customers with a bit of money will be lured by the aroma and buy it.”

With the products and prices decided, I received the stall from Mr. Dursley. But it’s not like I would take it home; basically, it will be kept at the trading company, and I’ll come to pick it up when I open the stall.

After expressing my gratitude, I asked him about something that was on my mind, “When should I start opening the stall? I can start anytime, but just in case.”

“It’s better to start early. Can you start from tomorrow?”

“Yes, understood.”

After that, we discussed the details a bit more and left the Dursley Trading Company around dusk. Before going home, I stopped by Leticia’s house to inform her that I’ll start the stall from tomorrow morning and asked her to come to the Dursley Trading Company. Leticia was full of enthusiasm, saying, “I’ll do my best!”

Then I returned home and went to the living room, where Father, who had come home earlier, called out to me, “How did it go, Lark?”

“I’ve decided what to sell and the prices. Starting from tomorrow, I’m planning to open the stall right away.”

“You’re already doing it? It hasn’t been long since you started preparing, right?”

“Well, um, if anything happens, I’ll deal with it at that time.”

I answered like that, but Father still seemed worried.

◇

The next morning, I woke up early, prepared quickly, and headed to the Dursley Trading Company.

Mr. Dursley was waiting in front of the company, so he handed over the stall to me and told me the location where it was secured for today.

Surprisingly, the location was the main street in the commercial district. It seems there are high expectations. I have to do my best.

As he stepped inside the company, Leticia, who was about to assist me, arrived.

“Good morning, Lark-kun.”

“Good morning, Leticia-san. I’m sorry to have you help me so early in the morning.”

“Nah, I offered to help, so it’s okay. So, what should I do?”

“Could you help me prepare the pre-made portions? When customers come, I’ll ask you to handle the sales.”

“Sure thing.”

Leticia and I started making grilled rice balls together. We had already prepared the rice with sesame seeds and leafy vegetables mixed in, so all we had to do was shape them and lightly fry them in a pan, adding a special sauce. Leticia didn’t seem to cook much, but she was happy that she could make these.

The smell quickly had its effect, as a man arrived in front of the shop as soon as we started grilling.

“Wow, it smells really good.”

“Good morning. Would you like one? These are grilled rice balls made with rice, an ingredient that’s rare around here. It’s five copper coins for one.”

“Five copper coins, huh? Hmm, well, I’ll give it a try since the smell is enticing.”

“Thank you very much! Leticia-san, one, please.”

“Here you go! They just came out, so be careful, they’re hot.”

Leticia handed him a paper bag with freshly grilled rice balls.

The man took the paper bag and handed five copper coins to Leticia before taking a bite on the spot. “Oh, oh, this is… really delicious!” After uttering an impressed voice, the man devoured the rest of the rice ball.

“Sorry, but can I have three more? I want to give them to my children.”

Since the man handed over more copper coins, I prepared three more rice balls and handed them to him.

Satisfied, the man said he would definitely come back and left.

After the man was gone, people who had been watching gathered around, and things suddenly became busy. It was great that they were selling rapidly, but it was completely unexpected. I had hoped to sell around fifty by noon, but at this rate, the rice balls would be sold out in less than an hour.

And as expected, one hour later, the pre-made stock and the ones I had kept in the “Useful Box” were depleted. However, there were still many customers coming to buy grilled rice balls.

Even if I hurriedly made more now, there wouldn’t be enough to satisfy everyone. I had no choice but to close for the day…

I called out loudly to the people around the shop.

“I’m sorry! Since all the products I had prepared have been sold, we’ll be closing for today! We’ll be selling again from morning tomorrow, so please come if you’d like!”

The disappointed customers left the food stall.

After the crowd dispersed, Leticia, looking stunned, called out to me, “You, you were amazing, Lark-kun.”

“Yes, that’s true. I never expected to become this popular…!”

After being surprised by the first day’s sales, we finished cleaning up and entrusted the stall to the company before dispersing. We arranged to open the stall again tomorrow at the same time and place.

Since the stock of rice was already running low, I went to Taldora’s shop to replenish it before heading home. It seemed like Taldora had anticipated this situation to some extent and provided a large quantity of rice at wholesale prices.