Kent’s Support

“Then let’s start with the report. Elnette, Josette-san, how were the reactions to that matter?”

Kent decided to ask Elnette and Josette, who had been off due to family circumstances since the day the second shop opened, about the results of what he had asked them to do.

“We carried out the promotional activities at the party as you told us, Kent-san. As a result, the response was excellent.”

“Josette-san, Elnette, thank you.”

Josette reported the results, and Kent thanked the two of them. Hearing that, Josette and Elnette showed slightly embarrassed expressions.

“I think the second shop will become busy starting today. Especially today, the results of Josette-san and Elnette’s publicity activities should appear, and I think there will be many customers. Once they buy the products, they will have to continue using the shop’s products, and they should start buying them regularly. If we increase that number further, the total number of customers will increase too, and I think the shop’s management will stabilize. When there are other parties, would it be all right if I ask you two again?”

“Of course.”

“If Kent says so, I will help.”

Josette and Elnette both readily agreed to Kent’s request.

“About that, I’m thinking of sending support from the first shop to the second shop today. Marie-san, Caro-san, Catherine, Patty, and I will go. Josette-san and Elnette, and Al, who isn’t here right now, and Emily, who can’t move, please take care of the first shop.”

Kent decided each person’s duty. The reason he did not put Josette and Elnette in the second shop was out of consideration, fearing that if people who had attended the party visited the shop and the two of them were there, they might suspect all sorts of things, such as that the two were colluding with the shop for business. Fortunately, it seemed that none of the nobles who had visited the first shop so far had participated in the party.

“Then I’m counting on you for the rest.”

“Please leave it to me.”

“I will do my best for Kent’s sake.”

““For Master, we will do our…””

Kent asked the four who were staying at the shop to watch over things, and Josette and Elnette replied. Just as Emily and Al were about to speak, their voices overlapped.

“I was going to say it first.”

“I will return those words exactly as they are!”

Al and Emily glared at each other. Thinking that the same thing as when the shop had been destroyed before would happen at this rate, Kent hurriedly stepped in to stop them.

“I asked you two to get along, didn’t I?”

“Hauu.”

“Dejected.”

After Kent said that, the two became quiet.

“Then, Emily and Al, please take care of the shop.”

““Understood.””

Thus, leaving the shop to Josette, Elnette, Emily, and Al, the five of them—Kent, Marie, Caro, Catherine, and Patty—headed to the second shop.

The location changed to the second shop. Rachel was preparing to open with a tired look.

“I have to do something… I have to…”

Rachel had been worried that the shop’s operations were not going well and had hardly slept since the opening day. Because of that, she had been holding on through willpower until before she left the first shop, but it seemed she had reached her limit. She unsteadily lost her balance and collapsed inside the shop.

“Manager!”

Laura, who noticed the sound, hurriedly rushed over and checked Rachel’s condition.

“She has a terrible fever. I have to do something.”

“Master pushed herself too hard, nya.”

“Who are you?”

There should only have been Rachel and Laura in this shop, but Laura was surprised when someone suddenly spoke to her from behind. Behind her stood a blond boy with cat ears.

“Oh my, how cute. No, no, this is not the time for that. I don’t know who you are, but the manager is in trouble. Could you call someone?”

“It’s all right, nya. Fatigue just built up, so if we let her sleep, she’ll recover before long, nya.”

The cat-eared boy said that, lifted Rachel up, brought her to Laura’s room, and laid her on the bed.

“I’ll borrow this for a bit, nya.”

“That’s fine, but who are you?”

Since she felt relieved after laying Rachel down, Laura had enough composure to pay attention to her surroundings, so she asked the cat-eared boy what she had been wondering.

“We see each other all the time, don’t we? I’m Mike.”

“Hah… Mike-san, is it…? Huh?”

Laura raised her voice in surprise. The Mike she knew was the golden cat that was always sleeping inside the shop.

“It’s probably just as you’re thinking. I’ll introduce myself again. I’m Mike. I’m what’s called a shop fairy.”

“Huh? A shop fairy?”

Laura remembered having heard about shop fairies from Etsigoya before, and she recalled the contents of that story. At the time, she had been told that long ago, there had been a fairy with such an existence, who used special abilities to help a shop in various ways and make it prosper. However, Etsigoya had apparently recognized it as a legend, and back then, he had spoken of it like a fairy tale.

“So shop fairies really existed.”

“More or less. I powered up a little, so starting today, I can help with the shop too.”

“Even if you say that, the manager is in this state…”

Laura looked worriedly at Rachel, who was lying on the bed.

“Josette… You seriously piss me off!”

“Eek!!”

Rachel suddenly said a disturbing bit of sleep talk. Startled by that voice, Laura could not help raising her own.

“Could it be that the manager and Lady Josette have a bad relationship?”

Laura timidly asked Mike.

“I don’t know that person called Lady Josette very well, so I can’t say, but from what I saw when she came before opening, it didn’t feel bad, nya.”

“I see… If so, that is good…”

Laura said that as if telling herself.

“We need to start preparing to open the shop soon, or opening time will be here, nya.”

“Oh no. But will just the two of us be all right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that, nya. Soon…”

Just as Mike was about to say that, the sound of several people entering the shop came from inside.

“Huh? Customers came in even though we haven’t opened yet?”

Laura hurriedly left the private room to serve them and went down to the shop on the lower floor.

“I am sorry, but it is not opening time yet… Ah, Owner.”

The ones who had entered the shop were the employees of the first shop, starting with the owner, Marie.

“We came to help. Where’s Rachel?”

“She collapsed a little while ago…”

“Huh?”

“Aka… no, Rachel’s condition?”

Kent regretted that he had not noticed Rachel was in such a state that she would collapse.

“She’s fine, nya. She’s sleeping in Laura’s room right now, nya.”

“Oh my? This scent is Mike-san. You have powered up, haven’t you?”

Mike’s appearance had changed, but before Caro’s sense of smell, it seemed she could immediately tell even if his form changed. Caro, who knew about shop fairies, seemed to have grasped the situation.

“Please leave this place to us and go check on Rachel.”

“Thank you, Caro-san. Then everyone, please handle the preparations.”

After saying that, Kent headed to the room where Rachel was sleeping.