AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 47
Episode 5-16
“Hmm, I guess this is how it is after all.”
“Naoya, how were today’s sales?! There were so many people just like a festival, so, did we surpass yesterday’s record here!?”
“Calm down, Chloe. Too close. Your face is too close.”
“We definitely surpassed it, Chloe-san. After all, we worked so hard, even experiencing such embarrassing moments, right?”
“Um, Anna-san? Do you still hold a grudge about being asked to wear a swimsuit?”
“…. hungry.”
“Oh, alright. We’ll have dinner right after we clean up. Why does it seem like it’s only natural for me to prepare the food? I’ll do it tho, but still.”
It was the ninth day of operation for the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store since I became the store manager.
The ready-to-eat dishes we started selling yesterday continued to perform well today, and the derived products like the pork cutlet sandwiches and hamburgers sold well too.
With Chloe, Anna-san, and Barbera in swimsuits as our store’s sign, it was certain that more people came than usual.
I looked at the paper printed at the register.
“We had 107 customers today. It’s a new record. Putting out the signboard in the afternoon seemed to have an effect.”
“WHOAA! Hund-, over a hundred!? Amazing, Naoya! Three digits! Having over a hundred customers at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store is beyond incredible! As expected of Naoya, the new store manager!”
“The previous store manager’s aspirations were too low. To achieve a monthly sales target of 100 million yen, we need a daily customer count of around four digits. Otherwise, it’ll be tough.”
“Naoya-san, how were the sales? I feel like it was better than yesterday.”
“Anna-san’s intuition was correct. Sales were 291,000 yen. It’s a small increase, but the average customer spending has also gone up compared to yesterday.”
“N-Naoya! Why are you so calm?! These sales are a new record, aren’t they?! Two consecutive days of setting new records! What will happen tomorrow!?”
“Are Elves always this high-spirited? Well, tomorrow is different from today. We’ll have the signboard out in the morning, so the number of customers should increase. They should increase, please increase.”
“Hah! Even though it’s a signboard, does it mean that tomorrow people will see me in that state from the morning onwards?! Men passing by will be consumed by their primal desires and rush towards me! With Naoya and a crowd of people trying to-… Do me! Kuuh, kill me!”
“I won’t ‘DO’you. Besides, people passing by today already saw you, right? And nothing happened.”
“Yes, Naoya-san, nothing happened at all. That’s right, nothing happened.”
Making a commotion in front of the register at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store after closing time has become somewhat of a daily routine, that’s what I felt.
But for now, I hope she will stop the Skeleton troops and ghosts from appearing from the dim corridor.
Also, I wish Anna-san wouldn’t emphasize that “nothing happened.” I ignored it on purpose, after all.
“The pork cutlets, hamburger steaks, and beef stew, as well as the derived products like pork cutlet sandwiches and hamburgers, are selling well… but the average transaction value is low, so the growth in sales is not that great. It ultimately comes down to the number of customers.”
Muttering to myself while pondering has also become somewhat of a daily routine.
Chloe’s eyes are sparkling, while Anna-san is smiling, waiting for my words.
Barbera is patting her stomach. Oh well, just a little more wait, we’ll have dinner soon.
“We need something eye-catching to attract more customers, don’t we?”
“Eye-catching? Naoya, what kind of monster’s eyes are you talking about? What will it do?”
“Eww, heck no! Not that kind of eyes! I mean, figuratively!”
“Eye catching, huh… If it’s just one eye, it might be possible. It will hurt a bit, but it’ll heal eventually.”
“Here comes an even more disgusting thought! Please stop, Anna-san, you don’t have to take it out! Undead creatures are scary!”
The two of them eagerly jump on my monologue as if saying, “I can do it!”
The thing that these two tough are disgusting.
I’m comforted by Barbera, who’s looking perplexed.
“By ‘eye-catching,’ I meant a flagship product, a special item.”
“Oh, I see! Naoya, is this meat dish not good enough? Everyone said it was ‘delicious’ and it’s a dish they’ve never had before.”
“In that case, we can only rely on word-of-mouth to spread, huh? The problem is that it’s not easily understandable. Even if we advertise an unfamiliar dish, it’s unlikely to make people say, “I want to go and try it!””
“I see, that might be true. So what’s needed for an eye-catching item is clarity, huh…”
“Yes, Anna-san. To boost sales, it’s like a specialty dish in a restaurant. It’s like being introduced in a gourmet book published by a certain tire manufacturer as ‘worth a visit.'”
“Huh? Naoya, what does gourmet and a wheel shop have to do with each other? Could it be that in Naoya’s world, wheels are edible? What a strange world!”
“Like the gingerbread house, huh? That idea is amazing, or rather, that the tire manufacturer being translated as a wheel shop actually worked. This translation ring is quite something.”
“Naoya-san? Then what does it mean?”
“Ah, I think it’s because when you travel, the tire wheels wear out and need to be replaced. But that’s not the important part.”
Before someone interjects with half-assed knowledge, let’s move the conversation forward.
There probably isn’t such a gourmet book in this other world, and besides, this is the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. There’s no need to be so particular about the food.
“Something Eye-catching? But we still have a small number of products. Maybe a sale would be easy to understand. Should we plan a special offer?”
“Oh! I know that, Naoya! It’s about offering discounts and special items to attract customers! Market stalls sometimes do it! They even have hidden gems!”
“That kind of thing exists, huh? In that case, a sale would be more easily accepted. This is Aion Mall after all… so maybe a Tuesday market.”
“A song? Are you going to sing? Then, as the one who was called the ‘Best Singer of Verteu Village’ by my father! Let my beautiful voice resound!” (The translation ring messed the meaning of his words)
“That’s not it. Also, saying ‘by my father’ just shows that he is a doting parent. It’s not about that, but rather…”
“Singing… commute, I guess? ‘Through the town’… The ‘commute market’ where everyone commutes to the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.”
“That’s not what I mean, but somehow it seems to be working out, Anna-san. Let’s make it the ‘commute market’.”
In this different world, it’s natural that “Tuesday” doesn’t make sense, or rather, it’s a day that doesn’t translate.
The translation ring doesn’t seem to work on those matters. The criteria are unclear.
“If the days of the week are not understandable, it might be confusing. Io-san said a month has 30 days, so maybe we should introduce a ‘Customer Appreciation Day’?”
“Naoya, what’s ‘Customer Appreciation Day’? What are we going to do?”
“If it’s the same as the Aion Mall in Japan, it’s ‘50% off on the 20th and 30th!'”
“What does ‘50% off on the 20th and 30th!’ mean? Is it some sort of spell to gather people?”
“…Off?”
“Shall we offer a 5% discount on the total amount on the 20th and 30th?”
As expected of Anna-san. Chloe also immediately grasped the rhythm, which is impressive. It’s like a spell to gather people.
Barbera tilts her head adorably.
However, 5% off might be a bit confusing, and as an amount, it’s not that significant. It doesn’t seem like an eye-catching feature to attract customers.
While gently stroking Barbera’s head, I pondered what to do. (TL: Officer, over here!)
It was the ninth day since I became the store manager of the Aion Mall Isekai Store.
Customer count: 107.
Sales: 291,000 yen.
Thanks to the signboard and the effects of the new products, we set new records in both customer count and sales. However, we’re still far from the goal of 100 million yen per month.