AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 132
Check my other translation works for other interesting stories
Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 10-35
Preparing for a sale is tough, but once it becomes a regular event, it gets much easier.
“Everything’s ready! I brought more change than usual too!”
“It may be a small gesture, but now is the time to repay the favor of being saved. Let’s burn with life and work hard!”
“Good job, Colette. That’s heavy, Francine-san. Let us know if you start feeling unwell, okay? Colette, don’t overdo it either.”
“Naoya-san, it seems the cooking is proceeding as planned, though we might be short on ingredients.”
“Well, that’s just how it is. Quano-san delivered seafood yesterday, but unlike my original world, we can’t just buy more with money.”
Even if things were uncertain at first, after doing it a few times, everyone started getting the hang of it. With just simple instructions from me, all the employees at Aion Mall Otherworldly Store understood and smoothly carried out the preparations.
In fact, they’ve even improved on things I forgot or hadn’t thought of.
“Naoya! I put up the ‘We have seafood’ sign! That should bring in even more customers! How many do you think will come? Could we break the record of 387? Maybe even reach 390…?”
“Why such a small increment, Chloe? Surely it’ll be more than that, especially since today is…”
“…Fish!”
“Exactly! Today we’re officially starting seafood sales! Oh, thanks for carrying everything, Barbera. As always, you’re amazingly strong.”
I patted Barbera’s head as she brought down extra tables and chairs from the unused second-floor food court. Her face was expressionless, but her horns, which sprouted from either side of her forehead, felt slightly warm, possibly from excitement. Her tail kept slapping the brick-like floor.
“Ahh, how adorable my daughter is! She’s definitely the cutest in this continent, no, in the entire world!”
“Oh my, you’re only noticing that now? I knew it since she was still an egg.”
It’s the 30th day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. Both preparations for opening and for the sale were progressing smoothly. Yes, the sale.
Today is the ‘Tenth! Twentieth! Thirtieth Dragon Sale!’
By the way, this country is located on a continent. Does that mean there are other continents in this world too? And, are Barbera’s parents not coming home today either? The highlight of the Dragon Sale is dragon meat, dragon steaks, and dragon tail soup, which is… originally from their world’s cutest daughter…
“Don’t think about it. Just feel. If they’re okay with it, it’s okay. It has to be.”
I told myself. When I looked up, I saw a carriage approaching along the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store’s street. It was the first shuttle carriage driven by a traveling merchant, offering free rides. Actually, it wasn’t just one carriage, there was a whole line of them. It seemed like some people were tagging along as well. I’m truly grateful.
I took a deep breath and declared:
“Alright! Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, it’s time for the third ‘Dragon Sale’ to begin!”
Chloe, Anna-san, Colette, and Francine-san responded with applause. The mascot ghost team, who were out managing traffic, clapped their ghostly hands as well.
Applause filled the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store and—
“…Gaooo!”
“Haha, thanks, Barbera. It’s the Dragon Sale, so it’s a good way to start. Although, that roar doesn’t sound very dragon-like.”
“GUOOOOOOON!”
“QUOOOOOOON!”
“I didn’t mean for you to actually give dragon roars! It’s fine, we’ll just say they’re people who are really good at mimicking dragon sounds. I’ll tell everyone we asked them to do it for the Dragon Sale!”
The synchronized roars of the “Fire King Dragon and Water Queen Dragon” echoed through the mall.
It’s been 30 days since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. The third Dragon Sale has started with a bit of chaos.
“Miss, I’ll have the salt-grilled fish over here!” “Hey, I’ll take a fish cutlet!”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
“Beastman girl, give me three soups over here!”
“Yes! Eating a lot will make you feel strong!”
“Seriously? Does this have dragon meat in it?” “No, it doesn’t. Colette-chan’s mother, you see, was weak and couldn’t eat much. That’s why she turned out like that.” “Damn, that’s a touching story. Colette-chan, give me some soup too!” “Ha! Not eating dragon meat, are you guys really adventurers?” “Those guys waited in line since morning and already ate. Are you really an adventurer, showing up this late?” “What did you say, huh?”
“Please calm down, dear customers. Fighting on our premises would cause quite a lot of trouble.”
The Dragon Sale, which had been busy since the opening, got even more crowded around lunchtime. Anna-san and Colette, who were in charge of the prepared foods, looked swamped. The peddler’s wife and daughter were also helping with sales and cleaning up in the eat-in space. From the start, we had all the costumed ghosts deployed as well. We didn’t bring out the skeletons, or ghosts without costumes, or other undead that would be too conspicuous, but still.
“Well, yeah, a fight here would cause serious trouble. Never mind Chloe and Barbera, but we’ve got Anna-san, and today, Barbera’s parents are here too…”
I glanced behind me.
Barbera’s parents were sitting on a bench outside the store. They weren’t eating anything, just sitting there smiling contentedly. Just watching their daughter work seems to be enough for them. Classic doting parents. Or doting dragon parents, I should say. If a fight were to harm Barbera, things would definitely get ugly.
“Is it really possible to buy fresh fish this far from the port town…?” “They must have transported it using an <Item Pouch>. But this freshness…” “They’re even giving customers a small bag of ice. I see, an ice mage must be behind this.” “The inside of the box is cold? I’ve never seen such a magic tool. Who developed this?”
“Out of the way! Us commoners are allowed to buy too, you know!”
The seafood deli was popular, as was the fresh fish corner we had just opened. A crowd of merchants and peddlers gathered in front of the refrigerated case, but a bold old lady from a nearby town barged right through them. Tough as nails.
As she pushed through, others, who looked like commoners, followed, widening the path.
Many of the commoners who lived in the towns rarely left the safety of their city walls. Outside, monsters roamed, and they couldn’t afford to hire escorts. But today, many had come together. After all, there were free shuttle carriages running, and adventurers and escorted merchants crowded the roads between the town and Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. The risk of being attacked on the way was low.
“Are you sure that’s really the price?” “Coming here was worth it!” “Hey, you! Put that sword away! It’s safe now, and you’re going to hurt someone swinging that thing around!” “B-but…”
Thanks to the shuttle service and the fact that there had been no monster attacks during the previous two Dragon Sales, the event had earned a solid reputation. More customers came today because they knew about the sale. And, perhaps, because of the trust they had in Chloe and Anna-san, who were surprisingly well-known.
“Gather ’round, everyone! Here’s a dish you can only try here! Can you believe it? A dish where the fish is eaten raw!”
Chloe made her entrance, pushing a cart filled with a large number of ceramic plates. Adventurers, merchants, and townsfolk parted, giving her room.
“It’s fine to eat raw! Even I, convinced by Naoya, ate it raw—”
“That’s not what you meant! You ate raw fish, sashimi and carpaccio! Now, do the thing I told you to!”
“Ah! R-right! ‘Purification! Purification! Evil that harms humans, begone! Purification!'”
“Yes, fresh sashimi and carpaccio, freshly purified by our holy knight Chloe! Here’s your chance to enjoy rare, fresh fish without worrying about getting sick!”
I quickly took over the pitch before Chloe could say something else embarrassing.
But everyone seemed a bit freaked out.
They were more shocked by Chloe’s questionable thought process—or rather, by the concept of eating raw fish.
I was beginning to think sashimi and carpaccio wouldn’t sell well, and was ready to either grill the fish or give up entirely when—
“Oh, how unusual. Shall I try some?”
One adventurer stepped forward.
“No way, is he serious?” “Remember? He’s the ‘Weird Eater’ who used to be a noble. Always trying bizarre stuff.” “Yeah, he ate that hangover soup with the chunks in it.” “He even ate fish eyeballs once, didn’t he? Dude’s crazy!” “Seriously, this place keeps serving weird stuff too, huh?” “Pff, as long as it’s tasty, who cares?”
I overheard the surrounding adventurers whispering.
It’s the 30th day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
The fate of the sashimi now rests in the hands of one adventurer.
Well, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just grill it and sell it instead. Even in my original world, sashimi and sushi only became widespread outside Japan thanks to advances in refrigeration and distribution.