The next day.
Early in the morning, Ryouma dropped by the store before opening time. At the time, Carla was working at the reception.
“Good morning, Carla-san. How was last night?” [Ryouma]
“Good morning, Boss. There were no attacks last night too. What about your side, Boss?” [Carla]
“I was attacked by 13 guys. This is the money from that. Just put it in the treasury for now. You can deposit it later at the guild when you go to deposit the store’s income.” [Ryouma]
“Alright.” [Carla]
Carla was still preparing for the day, so Ryouma left her and went inside. Along the way, Ryouma greeted the employees that were rushing here and there to prepare for the store opening. Ryouma didn’t want to get in the way, so he entered the break room, but when he got there, a report on the store’s security was being given.
“Good morning!” [Ryouma]
“Good morning!” [Leelin and her dad]
“Oh, morning.” [Gordon]
“Good morning, Ryouma-kun.” [Cher]
“Sup!” [Guard recommended by Jeff]
“Are you in the middle of a meeting?” [Ryouma]
“We were just about done, actually. There were no problems last night too.” [Gordon]
Presently, there were 5 people in charge of the store’s security. The dad and daughter pair, Fei and Leelin; the adventurers, Gordon and Cher; and the young man, Dolce, who was recommended by Jeff for his experience working as a vigilante at the slums.
Fei and Leelin have been apprehending the thugs that caused trouble at the store even before the attacks began, but when the attacks did begin, they were able to show even more of their abilities as former assassins.
Gordon and Cher were recommended by the guild master of the adventurer’s guild, Wogan, himself, so their skills were guaranteed. Many people would favorably call out to them when they watched the store in the morning.
In Gordon’s case, many boorish men knew him. It wasn’t limited to just adventurers and commoners, so whenever it looked like some smalltime trouble was about to start, such as when two people bumped each other, Gordon could easily stop it. As for Char, he dealt with the customers politely, so he was popular with the middle-aged and older women.
The man Jeff recommended, Dolce, was a rough-looking man of few words. His relationship with his peers and his attitude toward his job was completely professional.
But regardless, thanks to these five’s efforts, the store could stay safe against the night attacks of the enemy. The most losses the ruffians could cause was when they would forcefully enter the store, which at most would just result in some cracks on the door and windows. That was something that could easily be fixed with some materials and mana.
Of course, the bill for the repairs would be covered by none other than the thugs themselves. But in the first place, the store was originally built with magic and essentially cost Ryouma nothing, so whatever damages the thugs caused was nothing to him. In fact, Ryouma even found the thugs’ attacks to have brought unexpected income.
And by profit, Ryouma was referring to the opportunity they gave him to learn about the customers and his employees.
“Hello! I am the delinquent adventurer! Look! I’m causing problems!” [Ryouma]
In an untouched area of the store lot, a wall was erected and an explanatory-like voice could be heard from a Ryouma dressed in overalls. When Ryouma said that line, the three girls working away from home took a transparent shield from inside the counter (made by magic) and equipped it.
“Dolce-san!” [Jane, Fina, Maria]
“!” [Ryouma]
“Oops. Can’t have you making a mess of the store!” [Dolce]
As the three girls quickly ran, Dolce came holding a sasumata [1]. When Ryouma saw that, he ran away while screaming unnaturally. At the same time, balls came flying at him, but he skillfully dodged and got away.
“…Good. I think you’re starting to get the hang of it.” [Ryouma]
Ryouma’s terrible acting was actually done in order to facilitate the store’s crime prevention drill.
In the instance a dangerous customer were to appear, the noncombatants are to quickly equip themselves with a shield, call for help, and run. This training is meant so that the employees could immediately respond. Other parts of the training also include throwing colored balls at the thief and refraining from pursuing the thief too far. The opinions of the five guards regarding how the employees should act during emergency were also taken into consideration.
It was for this purpose that Ryouma recreated the crime prevention tools used in his country in his past life.
“Dolce-san, how was it?” [Ryouma]
“No one got in my way… Boss.” [Dolce]
“Looks like you did great! Just do it like that, okay?” [Ryouma]
“Boss, lunch is ready.” [Carm]
“Thank you, Carm-san. Well then, everyone. Let’s clean up and have lunch.” [Ryouma]
“Yes.” [Jane, Fina, Maria]
Since they were now expecting to be attacked, Ryouma had to further fortify the store defenses. As a result, he needed to stay at the store more often than before. He stopped living like an executive, who would come to work late and leave early, and would now stay at the store from morning until midnight. But he didn’t spend all his time on work. Some of it, he spent interacting with his employees and customers.
Save for Fei and Leelin, who were used to carnage, the normal employees were bound to be uncomfortable in a violent workplace, so Ryouma bought some goods meant for self-defense and introduced it to them. In this way, he could make them feel more at ease, even if it was just a little. As a result, no chaos ever occurred in the store and no one resigned either.
Moreover, the conversations between Ryouma and the workers also increased, allowing him to become closer with them.
And so, they headed for the break room.
“Oh, good job training out there.” [Gordon]
“We ate ahead of you.” [Cher]
Within the break room was Gordon and Cher.
Ryouma extended his hand for the bread that was prepared for them.
“Huh? This bread… It’s fluffier than usual.” [Ryouma]
“Ufufu. It’s that natural yeast bread that you taught us about. Fina-chan and the others tried making one with grain berry, and the result was a delicious fluffy bread.” [Shelma]
“That red thing? Oh, after a closer look, it seems the inner part of the bread is slightly pink.” [Ryouma]
“It’s really fun seeing the difference in result when using yeast. It not as messy too.” [Fina]
“Right, right. It takes time to make yeast, but it’s really easy to use.” [Jane]
“Seed shells are a pain~ And the contents come out as soon as you break them, so it’s easy kind of messy~” [Maria]
“But if you can’t get the yeast cleanly, it won’t be delicious anymore, right?” [Jane]
“Which is why you need to monitor the process carefully when making it.” [Ryouma]
“I see… I guess it’s impossible for us to make yeast at home then.” [Gordon]
“It’s not that hard to make, actually, you just need to sterilize the container, and… Wait a moment. I thought you didn’t cook?” [Ryouma]
“Yeah, but your problems have already mostly been dealt with, right? If so, then my contract with you will be ending soon. And that means it won’t be long before I won’t be able to eat the food here anymore.” [Gordon]
“Shelma-san’s cooking is delicious, after all. It’s also nice not having to worry about what to eat.” [Cher]
“Her food is bliss.” [Dolce]
“Oh my. Please wait just one moment. You’ll be able to fill your bellies soon. Today’s meat was cooked with… charcoal, was it? Anyway, it was cooked using the fuel the boss provided. It’s really delicious.” [Shelma]
Shelma was bringing the food in when she heard the favorable comments, so she was very happy when left the break room. When she comes back next, she’ll probably have a boatload of meat with her.
Like that Ryouma and the people of the store happily spent their lunchtime without a whiff of care for the criminals who caused this situation.
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