Inspecting The Storefront

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“Yes, how may I help you?”

Josette, acting as a clerk, responded to the call from the two young noblewomen from earlier.

“Everything was delicious. I would like to take some of this home as a souvenir for my family; could you wrap some up for me?”

“I am terribly sorry. Ice cream is sensitive to heat, and because the authentic flavor would be lost if it melts during transport, our shop does not offer it for takeout.”

“What did you say!?”

When Josette politely declined, one of the women suddenly flew into a rage and stood up.

“Is this shop actually refusing a request from a noble?”

“As I mentioned, ice cream is sensitive to heat…”

“It is this shop’s job to figure something out, is it not?”

Josette continued to serve her with a smile despite the woman pushing unreasonable demands, but she seemed quite incensed beneath the surface. Just as Kent tried to step in to follow up, Caro stopped him.

“Kent-san, it’s fine. Josette-sama will navigate this skillfully.”

The customers who had come to buy bread watched the scene unfold from a distance.

The other noble customers in the dining area seemed to know who Josette was; they looked at the angry noblewoman with pitying eyes that said, “You’ve really done it now.”

“Be that as it may, I can only tell you that what cannot be done, cannot be done…”

“What kind of clerk are you? To take such an attitude toward the daughter of a Viscount… I wonder what kind of upbringing this shop provides?”

The other woman, noticing the gazes of the surrounding nobles, looked at Josette’s face again and suddenly turned pale.

“Could it be… Josette-sama?”

The pale woman fearfully asked Josette for her name.

“I am, but what of it?”

“M-my companion has been extremely rude. Hey, you, apologize this instant!”

The companion suddenly grabbed the head of the angry woman and forced her into a bow.

“Wait, what are you doing!?”

“Just apologize!”

Forced into an apology while looking like she didn’t understand why, the woman let out a dissatisfied voice. Her companion quickly settled the bill while pulling her away by the hand.

“We are terribly sorry for the disturbance.”

The companion gave a bow, and the two of them left the shop.

“You’ve been acting strange for a while now!”

“You’re the one—didn’t you know who that clerk was? She’s the Duke’s daughter…”

“Wh-whaaat!?”

Bits of their conversation after leaving the shop could be heard, but the bakery regained its tranquility.

“See? It was just as I said, wasn’t it?”

Kent was convinced by Caro, who gave him a wink with her index finger raised. It seemed there had been several similar exchanges already, including that one.

“But this isn’t good as it is. I feel like it would be better to start a new shop to sell things like ice cream, even if only for a limited time… though I don’t have the funds to just open a new store.”

“In that case… should I provide them? I can’t put out a massive sum all at once like Josette-sama’s family, but if it’s a reasonable amount, I think I can prepare it.”

Caro replied to Kent’s mutterings.

“Onii-chan, are you making a new shop?”

Rachel joined the conversation between Kent and Caro.

“If nobles keep coming in and out frequently like this, it’ll be hard for other customers to enter. This shop has a low average transaction value, so if turnover drops, it affects income. I’m debating whether to separate them, at least for the summer.”

“Then why not just go for it and make it a shop for nobles instead of just ‘summer-only’? That way you can raise the transaction value and achieve a good niche separation.”

As Kent explained, Rachel seemed to become quite enthusiastic.

“The problem is the startup capital… Caro said she could prepare a little, but to make a splendid shop fit for nobles…”

“You’re going to use the place we seized before, right? The location is perfect, so it’s fine if the interior is a bit of a rush job.”

“You think so?”

“Hey, Caro. Incidentally, how much money do you think you can prepare?”

Rachel asked Caro.

“Well… about [Amount].”

“That’s more than I thought. It’ll be fine; we’ll make it back during summer vacation, so don’t worry. On that note, I volunteer to be the Shop Manager! Onii-chan can be the procurement lead and just buy the things I tell him to.”

“…So, that’s the situation. Marie-san, what do you think?”

Kent went to consult Marie, who held the final decision-making power.

“Let’s see… if Rachel-chan wants to do it, I’ll support her. Here, these are the keys to the shop. Good luck.”

With that, Marie handed Kent the keys to Etsigoya’s former storefront.

“Marie-san gave her permission. So, what’s next?”

“For now, we need to secure personnel. First, the three of us—me, Caro, and Onii-chan—will prepare the shop. But Onii-chan and Caro are going to the neighboring town once remedial lessons are over, right?”

“That’s right.”

Kent had already informed everyone that he would be going to the town of Sampto with Caro to complete the assignment given by Baron Frederick. Marie had given her blessing, saying, “Do your best.”

“Once school starts, I won’t be able to be at the shop either. We have to secure staff we can trust to run the place by then.”

Rachel happily began to draft concepts for the upcoming store opening.

Closing time arrived, and after Caro, Josette, and Patty went home and the group dispersed, Rachel spoke to Kent.

“Onii-chan, I want to go see the new shop right now. Come with me.”

Rachel insisted. Since her personality was such that she wouldn’t budge once she said something, he had no choice but to go along.

“Marie-san, sorry. I’m going to go check out the new storefront with my sister.”

“Eh? You’re going now? It’s pitch black outside.”

“She won’t listen once she starts. We’ll be back soon.”

“Is that so? Be careful on your way.”

Marie said, looking worried.

“Master, may I come along too?”

Al offered to join.

“It would be reassuring to have Al there. I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me, Master.”

“Alright, let’s go. Onii-chan, Al-chan.”

The three of them walked down the dark night path, heading for Etsigoya’s former storefront in the commercial district. Al returned to her fairy form and floated beside Kent. Because of that, she was invisible to Rachel.

“Onii-chan, is Al-chan following us?”

“It’s fine, she’s right here.”

“Really? Night paths without streetlights are a little scary after all. Can I hold your hand?”

“I don’t mind.”

With that, Rachel took Kent’s hand.

“Your hand is warm, Onii-chan.”

“You think so? It’s already summer, so wouldn’t it be hot instead?”

“Not really. Doing this makes me feel calm.”

Rachel changed the way their fingers were laced, switching to a so-called “lover’s grip.”

“I wonder how we look to people around us?”

“Like siblings?”

“Geez, this is where you’re supposed to say ‘like lovers’.”

“Is that how it works?”

“That’s how it works!”

Even though it had grown dark, they were in the middle of the commercial district, so while foot traffic was sparse, it hadn’t stopped completely.

“As expected of a place with good location conditions.”

“Yeah.”

Rachel said, sounding impressed.

“We’re here.”

“It’s been a while. I think the last time was when I came to buy bread with Caro and Josette-san—the four of us.”

“Was it?”

“It was.”

Unlike the glamorous shop it had been back then, and partly because it was night, the shop that had been ransacked and left in shambles felt eerie in a way.

“But it’s a bit scary, like a haunted house.”

“That’s why I said we should have skipped it.”

“But if I didn’t see the inside, I couldn’t get an image of the new shop.”

Rachel said, sounding grumpy.

“Alright, I’m opening it.”

Kent unlocked the shop and stepped inside. Since there was naturally no power, he lit a flashlight—something he usually avoided using in town to keep from looking suspicious.

“It’s really trashed. I see… this part should be like this…”

Using the personal flashlight Kent had provided for her, Rachel began her inspection while illuminating the interior. Since Kent had only come as an escort, he didn’t intervene much and simply watched over her.

“Master, are you not going to do anything?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve seen this shop before, so I’ll just wait until my sister is satisfied.”

“Are you and Rachel really siblings, Master?”

“Oh? Hadn’t I mentioned it?”

Since he had nothing else to do, he explained the circumstances up to now to Al.

“I see. So that’s why she is your sister.”

Al said, sounding convinced.

“Onii-chan, it’s creepy when you mutter to yourself alone.”

“No, I wasn’t talking to myself, I was talking to Al.”

“I know that, but from my perspective, it just looks like you’re muttering to yourself.”

Rachel said with a glance at Kent before immediately returning to her work.

“So she says. Al, could you show yourself?”

“Okaay.”

With a pop, Al appeared in her form as a small girl. As Kent and Al chatted for a while, Al suddenly stood up.

“Master. I sense something over there.”

“Eh?”

Al suddenly spoke while pointing in a certain direction.

“Wait! What are you saying all of a sudden? It’s scary if there are ghosts or something.”

Rachel became frightened upon hearing Al’s words.