Rachel's Failure

With preparations fully arranged, the employees took their positions, and opening time arrived. Since Josette and Elnette had business to attend to at home today, they were left out of the members, and Rachel, the manager of the second shop; Laura, the clerk; and Marie, the owner who had come to help from the first shop, Catherine, Caro, Patty, Al, and Kent had come. Mike, the shop fairy, had made himself visible, but due to a lack of magic power, he could not maintain a human form, and since he remained in the form of a golden cat, he was out of the fighting force. The person himself was curled up behind the counter, sleeping.

“There aren’t any customers.”

“No one is lined up at all.”

Patty and Laura said that anxiously. There was always a line before Marie’s bakery opened. In a sense, the sight of there being no people lined up before opening might have been fresh.

“It’ll be fine. Nobles don’t line up at shops, so I think they’ll come with plenty of time to spare.”

Rachel said that confidently.

“““Welcome.”””

They immediately welcomed their first customers. The ones who entered were two young women, and from their clothing, it was clear that they were nobles.

“Oh my, is this not quite a luxurious-looking interior?”

“Yes. It is fairly well done.”

The two noblewomen said that while looking around the interior with satisfaction.

(Actually, this shop didn’t cost very much for the interior…)

Kent thought that inwardly.

“Welcome to our shop today. What may we help you with this time?”

Since they were the first group, Rachel went out to serve them as the representative.

“We came to have this thing called ice cream.”

“Thank you very much. Then I will guide you to your seats. Please come this way.”

Rachel handled the customer service without issue. After that, customers started coming in at a moderate pace.

“Please take a look at the sales area next door as well, if you would like.”

“Oh my, are you, a commoner, intending to make a sales pitch to me, a noble?”

“N-no, that was not what I meant when I said that…”

“How unpleasant. I will leave the money here, so I shall be leaving.”

The customers who visited this shop were after the ice cream. Since partitions had been set up, the sales area where shampoo and other products were placed could not be clearly seen from the light meal space. From the customers’ point of view, a sales area lined with rows of mysterious containers seemed to give them nothing but a sense of discomfort. After several groups of customers came and Rachel had gotten used to serving them, she made a sales pitch. Then the noble who had visited as a customer seemed offended and immediately left the shop. After that, she made the same kind of sales pitch to several more groups, but they showed similar reactions. Because of that, fearing that the shop would gain a bad reputation, Rachel stopped making sales pitches.

“Could it be that making sales pitches to nobles is a bad thing?”

After similar exchanges happened several times, Kent asked Caro, who was a noble, in order to investigate the cause.

“Yes. Basically, when a merchant makes a sales pitch to a noble, if it is the first time, they do so through a servant such as a butler or head maid. Making a sales pitch directly to the noble themselves is a breach of manners.”

“I see. I just learned that for the first time. So that’s why the customers reacted like that.”

“Yes.”

After hearing the reason from Caro, Kent was convinced.

“Huh? I didn’t know that. I was planning to talk to the customers who came to the shop and guide them to the sales area, but now I can’t use that method.”

Rachel, who had been listening to Kent and Caro’s conversation, said that.

Even after this, the nobles who visited the shop only ate ice cream and then left. Along the way, a few noticed the bread placed near the register, and some bought it as souvenirs before going home, but in the end, not a single customer stepped into the sales area where shampoo, conditioner, and other such products were placed until closing time.

Rachel’s face looked somehow gloomy as she calculated the sales. The bread had sold out, and the ice cream sales were not very different from those at the first shop recently, but since the bread had only been placed there to a token extent in order to clear the guild’s regulations, its sales amounted to only a drop in the bucket.

“Uwaaah, once I subtract the labor costs, it’s a huge deficit.”

Rachel said that after finishing the sales calculations. They had somehow secured enough to cover Rachel and Laura’s labor costs, but they could not generate money to repay Caro, who had financed the procurement and the costs necessary for opening, and they were also unable to pay the labor costs of the people who had come to help from the first shop. It was the first day of a huge deficit.

“Rachel-chan, thank you for your hard work today. Starting tomorrow, it will be regular business, but do your best. You failed a little today, but I believe things will go well from here on.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

Rachel felt that Marie’s kindness was somehow painful.

And this situation did not improve the next day either.

Two days had passed since the second shop opened, and it was now Tuesday.

“All right, let’s do our best again today.”

With Marie’s call, it was time for the first shop’s business to begin. Josette and Elnette had been off since Sunday and were scheduled to be off today as well. Rachel and Laura had also gone to the second shop, so just like yesterday, they were busy from the morning due to having fewer personnel.

“Kent-san, is it all right for you not to go to the second shop today either?”

Caro, who was worried about Rachel, spoke to Kent.

“That’s right. My little sister said she wanted to do it herself, so I’ll do what I’m told, but I don’t intend to interfere on my own.”

“I see… I am a little worried about Rachel.”

“Thank you for worrying about her. I’ve already made some moves just in case, so the second shop will be fine.”

“Is that so? If you say so, Kent-san, then it seems like it will be all right. I’m relieved.”

Caro believed Kent’s words as they were and accepted them.

(Caro-san really is an honest and good girl. I’m happy that someone like this is by my side.)

As he was thinking that, he felt Marie’s gaze from the back of the shop. She seemed a little angry.

“Mother, you’re being childish.”

“But, but, it’s frustrating that they’re entering a world of just the two of them. I want them to include me too.”

“You enjoyed yourself with Kent-san last night too, didn’t you? I could hear your voice saying how good it felt, Mother.”

“Huh? You heard that?… How embarrassing.”

Her daughter Catherine was soothing Marie. Though the first shop was busy, it was peaceful.

When it was time for school, Kent headed to school.

According to Tia, as of yesterday, all students subject to remedial lessons except Kent had passed their retests and finished their remedial lessons. July was also entering its final third, and Kent had plans after this as well, so it was about time he had to finish his remedial lessons.

“Then, may I ask you to let me take the retest soon?”

“Huh? Kent-kun, you haven’t made any progress at all with the remedial lessons, but will you be all right?”

Kent asked Tia for the retest. Originally, he could have taken the test right away, but it had been postponed because he had been teaching Tia teaching methods. Tia honestly absorbed what Kent taught her, and her way of teaching as a teacher had improved remarkably. Since he had seen that through, he made the request.

“I’ll be fine… probably.”

“I see… So the remedial lessons are ending, huh. If it’s you, Kent-kun, it feels like you’ll finish the retest easily. You taught me all sorts of things too, so Sensei has to repay you somehow, right?”

“Then let’s say you owe me one. Would it be all right if I ask you when something happens?”

“All right. But don’t make an unreasonable request, okay?”

In this way, Kent quickly took the retest, got full passing marks in all subjects, and finished his summer vacation remedial lessons that same day.

“Good work. Kent-kun, you’re finally on summer vacation too. Do you have any plans?”

“For the rest of summer vacation, I’m going to the neighboring town to take care of an errand I was asked to do.”

“I see. It sounds like you’re busy with all sorts of things. Sensei will be cheering you on from the shadows too.”

Kent answered vaguely. Tia also did not ask particularly deeply. The bell signaling the end of class time rang, and Kent finished preparing and left the school.