AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 134
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Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 10-37
“Delicious! This is amazing, brother!”
“Is this fish? It doesn’t really have much flavor, does it?”
“Using so much salt… Even in my mansion, we’ve never been this extravagant. What a luxurious dish!”
“You’re throwing that away!? Even if it smells a little, it can still be sold!”
“Hey, little miss, how about joining our party? That jump of yours was something else!”
On the 30th day since I became the manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, the salt-baked fish, which looks like tuna, was a hit. The demonstration was well-received, and the customers who came to the store enjoyed the free fish dish.
I’m sure when they return to town, they’ll spread the word “I ate fish at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.” Good, good.
“…Not small.”
“Wait. Wait, Barbera, even if it’s the ‘Dragon Sale,’ that’s not appropriate. Also, adventurer-san, please step back immediately. I’m begging you.”
“Oh, uh, sorry about trying to recruit your employee.”
I quickly pulled the adventurer away from Barbera. Thankfully, he gave up without much resistance.
Normally, I’d leave these things to the employee, but today it’s a bit risky.
“You wish to recruit my beloved child!? First, you must defeat me!”
“That’s an impossible challenge. Please calm down, Barbera Papa. He’s already backed off after just being a little curious.”
“Not acceptable, dear.”
“Ah, thank you for stepping in, Barbera Mama.”
“But first, you’d have to defeat me. So, human, are you ready?”
“Wait, you too, Barbera’ Mama? A two-on-one fight with legendary dragons is not what I’d call a fair game. Calm down, both of you!”
After all, we have overprotective parent dragons here. If anyone tried to forcibly recruit Barbera, it could turn into a disaster. The whole area might be reduced to rubble. I somehow managed to calm Barbera’s parents down and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Still, this crowd is insane. Today might set new records for both customer numbers and sales.”
This is the third Dragon Sale at Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
Customers are arriving in waves—by the free shuttle carts, on foot, or in their own carriages. Since others are leaving as new ones arrive, there hasn’t been a problem with a packed eat-in space or overwhelming lines. Thanks for the traffic control, mascot ghost squad.
I glanced toward the carriage rotary and spotted an especially lavish carriage. My eyes quickly darted around.
“That carriage… Which means… Ah, there he is.”
A rotund man dressed in ornate clothing adorned with fluttering fabric caught my eye. His fingers, wrists, and neck were covered in jewelry, and he had a guard in full metal armor standing next to him.
It seems the Guildmaster of the Merchant Guild has come to check out this Dragon Sale as well.
“This is a noodle dish made from buckwheat flour. Naoya-san taught me, and Collette and I prepared it.”
“Ah, not a galette, but noodles this time. Let’s give it a try then.”
“Thank you for your purchase.”
The guard handed some money to Francine-san and received a ceramic bowl in return. The Guildmaster then sat down at a table near the carriage, which had been set up by what appeared to be a butler.
Spoons and forks were quickly laid out for him.
“Hmm, so this is a fish soup. It seems the rumors of being able to consistently source seafood were true after all.”
The Guildmaster’s throat wobbled like that of a toad as he chuckled, making a squelching sound while speaking to himself.
Well, not really to himself—he clearly wanted me to hear it.
“Now, let’s see what this new dish tastes like. Oh, interesting, interesting.”
He dipped his spoon into the bowl and took a sip of the soup, then followed it up by twirling some noodles onto his fork and taking a large bite.
“Hmm. It’s a bit difficult to eat, but I suppose the taste is acceptable. It will likely sell well for a while due to its novelty.”
After chewing noisily and swallowing, the Guildmaster offered his critique.
Of course, it’s hard to eat.
Herring-like soba isn’t something you eat with a fork and spoon.
I figured it would be tough for people who aren’t used to it, so I haven’t heavily promoted this “herring-like soba.” Should I suggest chopsticks or teach them to “slurp” it? But neither of those are part of this country’s culture.
At that moment, the adventurers looked up at the sky.
They started causing a commotion.
Curious, I looked up too.
There was a wyvern.
“Hey, hey, isn’t that thing heading straight for us?”
“That thing doesn’t attack humans, right? We’re fine, we’re fine.”
“What are you talking about? It might be some kind of retaliation from someone who provoked it!”
“Damn it! Anyone who can’t fight, take cover inside!”
Some adventurers grabbed their weapons and stood up. The townspeople, who usually don’t step outside the outer walls, were terrified at the sight of a flying monster.
This is bad.
“Everyone, please calm down! Chloe!”
“That’s right! There’s no need to fear! For I, the holy knight Chloe DuPois Christophe Claudine Vertu Ondine, am here!”
“That’s not what I meeeeeaaant! It’s safe! Everyone, it’s safe! That wyvern won’t attack anyone!”
“Oh my, oh my, oh my? There’s a shadow near its neck. Oh, I see, so that’s how you maintain a steady supply.”
It wasn’t what I intended, but Chloe’s words seemed to reassure the customers. Good job, holy knight. But that’s not quite what I wanted you to say.
“You need not worry. That wyvern is a monster in service to the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. See how it’s flying calmly without roaring.”
The one who calmed the excited adventurers and frightened townspeople was the Merchant Guildmaster.
Maybe it’s because he’s well-known, but his words seemed convincing. The adventurers sat back down, grumbling things like, “What the hell, don’t scare us like that.”
The wyvern slowed its speed and gently landed on the roof.
“Talk about bad timing, Quano-san… No, it’s my fault for not asking you to avoid deliveries during business hours.”
I looked up at the sky and sighed.
Well, at least there wasn’t a fight. Let’s just count it as a win that nothing serious happened. Thanks to Chloe and the Guildmaster, the situation settled down without being a real incident.
“Naoya-san, this is problematic. If you’re going to use monsters, you need to report it to the Merchant Guild. Let’s discuss this later.”
The Merchant Guildmaster smiled slyly, like a hunter spotting its prey.
Ah, right. Looks like this was a full-on incident after all.
In the end, I spent most of the afternoon answering questions from the Merchant Guildmaster.
I managed to keep quiet about Barbera and her parents, but he seemed to have a hunch. After all, he knew wyverns live on Twin Dragon Island, and apparently, he was acquainted with Quano-san, the dragonkin.
Even though I didn’t know I needed to file a report, I got off with just a scolding and a few forms to fill out, so I should probably be grateful. Although it drained me of all my energy.
“Sorry about that, Store Manager! I heard it was selling like hotcakes, so I got carried away!”
“It can’t be helped. Thanks to the extra delivery, we made more sales.”
“That’s right, Naoya! How were the sales!? Did we break another record!? How much did we sell? A new record of 2.5 million!? Or, wait, could it be 2.6 million!?”
“Why are you being so specific, Chloe? And can you step back a bit? You’re too close.”
“Everyone loved the seafood! With the dragon meat and even the fish eyeballs, this time for sure…”
“Yeah, we sold out of the dragon meat and side dishes. The fish eyes weren’t really the highlight, but the fish was a major draw.”
“…It was delicious!”
“Oh yeah, Barbera really dug into that leftover seafood paella. Maybe we should start selling that too.”
Despite the minor trouble, the third Dragon Sale ended on a high note.
Everyone seemed eager to know the final sales numbers. Chloe, Anna-san, Barbera, Colette, and Francine-san were all watching intently as we closed the register.
“Alright, let’s announce the results. For the third Dragon Sale, where we pushed seafood hard, today’s customer count and sales are—”
The traveling peddler’s family, along with Barbera’s parents, the apron-clad skeleton, and the ghost in a costume, all looked at me expectantly.
Oh, and Barbera’s parents and Quano-san aren’t employees, but since they’re involved, they agreed to keep things confidential. Technically, this info should stay internal, but, well, it’s another world. We’ll manage.
“The customer count is 569! Total sales are 3,576,000 yen!”
Today marks the 30th day since I became the store manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
Our monthly sales goal is 100 million yen.
For the first time, we hit the daily target of 3.34 million yen.
Granted, it was a sale day, and we need to hit that number every day to meet the monthly goal.
After one month, our total sales were around 17.7 million yen.
…One step at a time. One step at a time.
We only hit 17.7% of the monthly target, but since it’s my first month as manager, I’m confident HQ won’t be too hard on me. I believe in you, Ion Corporation! I’ll do better next month! Sales and customer numbers are trending upward!”
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Daily Report
Date: May 30, 2019
Aion Mall Otherworldly Branch Store
Manager: Naoya Taniguchi
Daily Sales: 3,576,000 yen
Daily Customer Count: 569 people
Monthly Cumulative Sales: 17,704,000 yen
Monthly Cumulative Customer Count: 4,800 people
Report Details:
Today’s “Dragon Sale” was an even bigger success compared to the previous two events! Seafood sales were strong, and for the first time, we cleared the daily target of 3.34 million yen! We will continue to grow sales by maintaining operations in the supermarket division.
I plan to finalize our next strategy as soon as possible.
Our goal is to reach 100 million yen in monthly sales within the next five months. Thank you for your continued support!
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