A month has passed since the summoned beast class. The weather is getting gradually colder, with the season transitioning from autumn to winter.

And, as winter approaches, it means that Father’s and my birthdays are coming up. We share the same birthday, you see.

One morning, when Father and I were discussing what we’d like for our birthdays, Rin was surprised, “You and Guldo-san share the same birthday!?”

“Yes, we do. I was surprised when I found out.”

“Me too. I was shocked when I learned from Ars-sama back when I lived in the castle.”

“I’m born in spring, so I feel left out…” Rin replied, seemingly oddly depressed.

“Um… since you’re born in spring, and Leticia-san from our party is also a spring baby, you’re not left out.”

When I comforted her in a strange way, Rin was happy and bit onto it, “Is that so?”

Did I respond correctly?

“By the way, what are your plans for today, Lark-kun?”

“I’m thinking about going to my shop. How about you, Rin?”

“Uhm… Oh, can I help you at your shop?”

“That would be great. Let’s get going then.”

So Rin and I headed to the shop. Upon opening the front door and walking inside, Naraba was preparing in the kitchen.

“Good morning, Naraba-san.”

“Good morning, Lark-kun. And good morning to you too, Rin-chan.”

Naraba politely returns the greeting. By the way, Rin had helped out at the shop several times in the past month, so she’s familiar to Naraba.

“Good morning. Naraba-san, you’re always up early.”

In response to Rin’s comment, Naraba-san laughed. “Even though you say early, I just woke up a while ago. As I live here while working, I don’t need commuting time, which makes things easier.”

Oh yes, we renovated the shop the other day and prepared a room for Naraba-san.

But when Naraba first asked me to prepare a room, I was surprised. That was about three weeks ago.

“Eh, you want to live and work here… Naraba-san?”

When Naraba proposed the idea, I asked him back in disbelief.

Naraba nodded earnestly, adding, “Yes. The business is thriving and I want to increase the amount of prep work. I also feel like it’s a waste of time commuting from my house to the store recently… would that be unacceptable?”

“I’m not planning on refusing, but… is this really okay? You have a family, right?”

Naraba is a respectable father with a wife and young children.

“Yes, I’ve discussed it with my wife about living in the store. I think the time I spend with the kids will decrease a bit, but it should be fine. Besides, I plan to return home on my days off.”

The look in Naraba’s eyes told me he was serious.

I thought for a while and slowly nodded, “…I see, understood. Then, I will ask a carpenter to start renovations.”

“Thank you very much.”

And so, the construction work started that day. Later, when I visited Naraba’s family as the store owner, his wife said this to me:

“He seems so happy going to work every day recently. We, the kids and I, want to support him when we see him like that. Please continue to take care of my husband.”

Even so, it feels strange for the family to be living apart… Ah, that’s it.

A good idea came to mind and I quickly proposed it to his wife and children. Although they were surprised, they accepted, and I immediately requested additional work from the carpenter.

About two weeks later, Naraba was extremely surprised when he saw the renovated store. “L-Lark-kun, we were originally planning to just set up a bed for one person in part of the break area, weren’t we? Somehow, the whole building feels larger…”

Yes, just like he said, I’ve decided to expand the entire store and added a third floor.

“Yes, we added a third floor. Naraba-san, I think it’s best when a family can live together, all under one roof. If you live and work in the store alone, the family will be split apart, won’t they? So, I thought, why not create a space in the store where the whole family can live? By the way, your wife and children have already agreed.”

“But, even if you say that…”

“Well, well, let’s just go upstairs for now.”

I nudged him, who was still not able to fully digest the situation, and headed up to the third floor. The third floor was made to look grand, thanks to the construction workers.

In front of Naraba, who was looking around the room in surprise, his wife and children, who had been hiding, came out.

“We wanted to surprise you, so we kept it a secret until today. Was it a bad idea?”

“No… There’s no way it could be…” Naraba hugged his wife and children.

I was glad they were happy at the time, but I was brought back to reality when Naraba spoke to me, “So, Lark-kun. Have you decided what to do about the new menu?”

That’s right, I need to discuss this with Naraba-san.

The thing is, in my enthusiasm after the lavish renovation, I had recently purchased the vacant property next to the shop, land and all. I had then connected my shop and the building, expanding the site area. The cost was covered by the shop’s earnings, thankfully.

Of course, we will continue selling grilled rice balls, but now that the shop has expanded and we have secured a dining space, we have decided to launch a new menu.

“Yes, I intend to make the next dish using rice as well. So, I’m thinking of launching two new products at once.”

“Oh, you’re launching two items?”

“Yes, one is something to be eaten in the dining space, and the other is a dessert.”

“Dessert…?” Naraba muttered with a curious expression on his face. ‘Well, that reaction is natural.’

“Yes. I’ll explain in detail when everyone is together, so let’s get prepared for now.”

Saying that, we three started the preparation. A little while later, Leticia and the employees, Liliana and Sona, arrived at the shop.

Okay, let’s start the explanation.

First, I showed them the popcorn, which I had made before and was liked by Roeck.

“Wow…? Lark-kun, is this really a dessert?” Naraba asked with a puzzled expression.

Well, the appearance of the puffed rice is kind of similar to popcorn, so it’s natural to think it’s strange.

“It looks strange, but it’s a proper dessert called popcorn. Please try it.”

After saying that, I distributed popcorn to everyone.

First, Leticia put one in her mouth. “….! This is delicious~!”

Alright, it seems she liked it.

While the ladies were munching away, Naraba was doing a food report with great interest.

“…I see, this is delicious. The crunchy texture is comfortable to chew, and the moderate sweetness makes you want to keep eating.”

Even Naraba, a professional cook, gave high praise. This is something we should start selling as a new product right away.

However, the problem of the manufacturing process being difficult and not scalable remained…

Just then, conveniently, Liliana asked a question about it, “Lark-kun, how do you make this puff candy?”

“Well, you see… I create it using my synthesis magic, so it’s hard to make with the equipment of this shop. That’s why I’m thinking of branding the puff candy as a limited item and setting a daily sales limit.”

As I answered, Naraba crossed his arms and opened his mouth, “I see, if it can only be made with Lark-kun’s magic, it would be troublesome if we didn’t label it as a limited item. Understood.”

“Yes. I intend to ask a blacksmith to make a production machine for it in the future.”

“Have you decided on the daily sales limit?”

This time, it was Sona who asked.

“Umm, for now, I’m thinking of limiting it to fifty bags each in the morning and afternoon, a total of a hundred bags a day. What do you think?”

“A hundred bags, huh… You might get customers who can’t buy it and complain.”

At Sona’s words, Naraba nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Leticia asked, “Hey, Lark-kun. How much do you plan to sell each puff candy for?”

The price, huh… Because I’m using sugar, the cost of materials would be higher than the grilled onigiri. Actually, sugar is quite a luxury in this world.

“Umm… Given that I’m using sugar, I’m thinking of setting it at ten copper coins per bag. That’s twice the price of a grilled onigiri.”

As I replied after some thought, Liliana furrowed her brow, “Hmm… Depending on the content, it seems a bit expensive. There might be people who hesitate to buy.”

However, Naraba shook his head and gave his opinion, “No, if you’re using sugar, the price seems fair. It’s expensive, but…”

At that moment, Rin, who had been silent and listening to the conversation, spoke up, “Why not market it as a product for the nobility?”

Hearing those words, Naraba exclaimed, “I see!” He then continued, “We do have nobility visiting the store occasionally, and it might be a good idea. Other stores often carry high-end products, so we won’t be criticized. And even though it’s aimed at the nobility, it’s not priced so high that ordinary people can’t afford it.”

Come to think of it, I remember seeing a high-class menu for the nobility when I went to a city diner with Father. It’s a strange culture, but I guess it’s normal in this world.

“So, should we launch the puff candy as a product for the nobility?”

When I asked, Naraba, Liliana, Sona, and Leticia all nodded at once.

Having settled the discussion, I moved on to explain and cook another dish. As they watched the cooking process, Rin and Leticia, who were familiar with it, said, “Ah!” as if they had realized something.

A few minutes later, I finished making the new product – fried rice – and served it on plates for everyone.

When I encouraged them to taste test it, Naraba, Liliana, and Sona cautiously tasted the fried rice. By the way, Leticia and Rin, who have eaten the fried rice many times, were eating it heartily without being urged.

“This taste is…! La-Lark-kun, the recipe for this dish–”

“Now, now, the store will be opening soon. I’ll explain again after we close the shop.”

I pushed back an excited Naraba and left the kitchen to put out the open sign in front of the shop.

At dusk, after closing, we gathered again in the kitchen. Not sure where he heard it from, but Mr. Luck, the president of the Dursley Commerce Company, was also there.

When I explained the cooking process again, Naraba said in surprise, “I’ve been thinking about it since this morning, but the cooking method is surprisingly simple, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you can even customize it once you get the hang of it.” Saying so, I handed over the recipe of fried rice to Naraba.

“Hmm… then, what about the price?” Mr. Luck, who had been silently watching, asked.

The fried rice is voluminous enough to fill a plate, and it has plenty of ingredients, so the cost of materials is unexpectedly high…

As I was hesitating, Mr. Luck threw me a lifeline. “Then, let’s set it at fifty copper coins. If we source the ingredients from my company, we can get them a little cheaper, so it will be profitable.”

With that, the price was decided.

But if we sell it for fifty copper coins, we will have to handle a large amount of coins, which will make accounting difficult. I wonder if I should make and install a ticket vending machine that counts money automatically and issues meal tickets. Then all we need to do is exchange the meal ticket for the meal… Well, I don’t know if such a thing can be made in this world. I’ll consult with the blacksmith when I find the time.

With that in mind, we concluded the day.

◇

A few days later, I had completed the procurement of the new product’s ingredients and established the preparation process. We were ready to start selling.

I spoke to Naraba, Sona, Liliana, and Leticia, who were in the kitchen.

“Starting today, we will begin selling the new product, the fried rice. It may not sell very well on the first day, but don’t worry too much at first.”

Everyone nodded at my words and moved to their respective positions. I also went outside and put out the open sign for the shop.

As I waited for the first customer, a regular elderly lady, who seemed to be with her husband, promptly entered the store.

“I noticed there was construction around here recently, so you’ve renovated, huh. Today, I’ll have two of these fried rice,” she requested.

“Thank you very much!”

Immediately, I relayed the order to Naraba and Sona and guided the elderly couple to the dining seats. A few minutes later, when Naraba brought the two plates of fried rice, I carried them over to the table.

“This is our new product, fried rice. It’s fresh and hot, so please take your time to eat,” I stated, using the words I had pre-prepared, as I placed the fried rice on the table.

“Oh, this has a different delicious aroma from the grilled rice balls,” they admired.

“Yes, indeed.”

The cheerful chatter of the elderly couple filled the air.

They then scooped up the fried rice with spoons and tasted it.

“Oh, this is delicious~”

“It’s exceptional, indeed.”

The feedback was more than satisfactory.

After that, the fried rice was a hit, and customers came in one after another. Around noon, the influx of customers became overwhelming, and with just five of us, we couldn’t keep up. This was starting to get serious…

While I was pondering what to do, I noticed Rin, who happened to be checking on the situation, so I requested, “Could you go to Dursley Trading Company and ask Luck-san for some help?” A few tens of minutes later, Rin came back with chefs from the Dursley Trading Company to lend a hand, and somehow, we managed to get through.

When it was time to close up shop, I thanked each of the chefs while handing them their wages.

“Thank you all very much.”

“Not at all, it was a good experience.”

After the chefs departed, I cleaned up the dining space and reflected on the day’s events.

“It was the same when we introduced the grilled rice balls…I haven’t learned anything, have I…”

Next time we introduce a new product, we need to prepare more carefully…