“Fei-san, one reemiyen and stir-fried vegetables please.” [Ryouma]
“…Is something the matter, Boss? You just got back, but you look so tired.” [Fei]
“It’s a long story… ” [Ryouma]
After spotting a lost child, Bell-san and I took the child in our care and looked for the parents, but no matter how much we checked the area, we couldn’t find them. In the end, we had to bring the child to the guards. But then another problem came up.
The lost child refused to separate from Bell-san.
From the start, the kid was already about to cry, but Bell-san was used to children and she was able to console him, but… Yeah, it was pretty amazing. Who would’ve thought that kid could cry so much. Anyway, the guards were all like me, and well… As men with no childrenof our own, we all eventually gave up.
In the end, we had to leave the kid to Bell-san. I helped out a little by buying food, but after a while, she saw the clock and started to become troubled.
The church had opened a bazaar to sell the dolls made by the children and items donated to the church. The reason she was troubled was because it was almost time for her turn to watch over the bazaar. But at the same time, she couldn’t just leave the kid behind nor could she leave him to someone inexperienced like me.
So the natural conclusion was – of course – for me to take over her shift.
“Why would it end up like that?” [Fei]
“Actually, she told me it would be enough if I just informed the church, but I thought I would be able to help if it’s just a little. For some reason, though, the moment I started helping out, everything became hectic and all sorts of annoying people appeared.” [Ryouma]
Most people shopped with good behavior, but there were some problem people too. To make things worse, a group of drunks joined in. “Cheers to Tekun-sama!” They would say, while trying to enter the closed church… They’ve already come of age, so they’re not exactly a bunch of rowdy youngsters, so I wish they’d drink moderately and act their age.
Moreover, the people watching over the church were mostly made up of the church orphans. Of course, there were volunteer adults and guards too, but with all the trivial things piled up, we ended up having too few hands. I myself look like a child, so they thought I was one of the church orphans. And there was clearly a lot of hurdle for young women (obviously normal citizens) to deal with drunk uncles with good physique unless they were used to it already.
So, out of good will, in order to not allow them and the guards to lose face, I decided to take the front lines and deal with the customers while making sure to pay attention to the situation. From time to time, I would run to the storehouse to get an item and then go back to deal with the customers. When push came to shove, I had to jump out and hold a customer down.
But there were children watching, so I had to restrain myself. Besides, while that customer may have been a nuisance, I couldn’t exactly treat him like the thugs that troubled my store before.
Putting it bluntly, I ended up having to put more effort in order to not hurt the guy too much.
I’ve always been living a stress-free life since coming here, so it’s been a while since I’ve been stressed so much… I wonder if this is proof that I’ve been slacking too much. But then again, if I were to start feeling like I did back then, that would also be bad.
“In any case, good work out there. Here. You’re reemiyen and stir-fried vegetables. Sorry to keep you waiting.” [Fei]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
Anyway, let’s eat.
After paying, I took my tray and found a seat. The Semroid Troupe were performing regularly atop the stage, so there were a lot of people in the food court. It wasn’t like this morning when it was easy to find a seat.
“Ryouma-sama!” [Serge]
“Ah, Serge-san!” [Ryouma]
As soon as someone called me, I saw Serge-san raising his hands. He was mixed in with the normal customers and was also eating.
“If you’re looking for a seat, this table is free.” [Serge]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
I accepted his offer and sat on the same table as him.
“You’re eating too, huh.” [Ryouma]
“Yes. From here I can see how our stalls are doing and the food here is also delicious and affordable. Most of the employees also eat here.” [Serge]
“I’m happy to hear that. …Your stall seems to be doing well too.” [Ryouma]
The stalls of the Morgan Company were also filled with customers.
“Thanks to your efforts, there’s no end to the customers. It’s also because we’ve put up stalls where people gather, but that aside… Oh, that’s convenient. Please take a look.” [Serge]
“?” [Ryouma]
Looking at the direction he pointed at, I saw a customer arguing with a stall employee. In the customer’s hand was a music box.
“It’s fine, right? Just give me one more.” [Customer]
“My deepest apologies. But this product is currently limited to 3 per customer.” [Employee]
“That’s why I’m begging you. Can’t you do something about that? Look. I have a daughter and a son, and I have two married older brothers too. I want to buy them some nice souvenirs.” [Customer]
“…Customer. If I may ask, how many times have you visited our store already?” [Employee]
“Hah? This is the first?” [Customer]
“Really? Because I feel like this is your second time already…” [Employee]
“Aren’t you just imagining things?” [Customer]
“Really?” [Employee]
“…Fine.” [Customer]
“Thank you for understanding.” [Employee]
The customer put down the music box and quickly left the premises.
“What was that?” [Ryouma]
“He probably wanted to resell. Ever since starting to sell music box, people like those have started to appear. We’ve limited the number that can be sold to a customer to prevent them from buying everything up, but there are a lot of resellers like that who keep coming back.” [Serge]
“Is that alright?” [Ryouma]
“Don’t worry. We’ve prepared a lot of employees, so people like that shouldn’t be able to influence normal customers. We’ve already taken resellers into consideration and have thought up a plan. If word of the music box were to spread through selling, we’ll be able to use that to open up the market.” [Serge]
There were normal customers around us, so Serge-san omitted some of the details, but I could feel his overflowing confidence.
Tl Note:Another serving of extra release.
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