Viewing Potential Shop Locations

The problem with the stall had been resolved, and a peaceful week passed.

Salim had been expelled from the Royal School and was apparently working as a menial servant at the ducal residence. However, I hadn't seen him even once. Apparently, he was taking the utmost care to avoid meeting me at all costs.

I'd been told that he would be able to converse normally once his education was complete, but... what kind of education was he receiving? I was a little afraid to ask. Still, I didn't think Alban-san would do anything cruel...

And today, we were going to view some potential shop locations. I was really excited to see what kinds of shops there were.

Earlier, Ronnie, Yoan, and I had chatted with Richard-sama, and now that was over, so we had left the ducal residence by carriage. Apparently, the first prospective shop was in a part of the central district quite close to the Royal Castle, so I thought it was a good location if we were going to make it a shop exclusively for nobles.

"Ronnie, Yoan, there are only three of us for now, but let's work hard to make the shop a success together."

"Yeah!"

"I'll devote myself to developing sweets with all my might!"

"Thanks. Oh, right, I didn't properly introduce you earlier, so I'll do that now."

Ronnie and Yoan were meeting for the first time today, but as soon as they arrived at the ducal residence, they began chatting with Richard-sama, so I hadn't introduced them to each other.

"Ronnie, this is Yoan. Until now, he's been researching sweets at Baron Daligard's household, but from now on, he'll be researching sweets at the shop. Once the shop opens, I'd also like him to be the head chef."

"Yoan-san, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

They still seemed a little awkward as they bowed and exchanged greetings.

"Yoan, this is Ronnie. He's my classmate at the Royal School and my friend. He's currently working at the crepe stall. I plan to have him serve as the manager at the new shop."

"Ronnie-san, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

The two of them bowed again and exchanged the exact same greetings as before. Hmm, they were incredibly formal. I wanted them to loosen up more. Maybe dropping the polite speech and honorifics would help them get closer?

"You two, why don't we drop the polite speech and honorifics so you can get to know each other better? We're going to be working hard together as the founding members of the shop, so let's loosen up! So, no polite speech between the two of you. Also, Yoan, you don't have to use polite speech with me either. We're both commoners, after all."

"N-no! I'll keep speaking politely to you, Leon-sama! But I'll try to become more comfortable with Ronnie-san."

After saying that, Yoan turned toward Ronnie.

"Can I call you Ronnie?"

Hearing that, Ronnie seemed to relax a little, having looked tense until then. Then he replied with a smile.

"Yes. I mean, yeah! Can I call you Yoan too?"

"Of course. I look forward to working with you, Ronnie."

"Same here, Yoan."

Yeah, the atmosphere felt more relaxed than before. If they worked together from now on, they'd probably grow closer and closer.

Just as I was feeling relieved at that thought, Ronnie asked Yoan something that seemed difficult for him to bring up.

"I have a favor to ask you, Yoan..."

"What is it?"

"Could you teach me how to make the new sweets too? I'm not sure whether I'll be making sweets at the shop, but I like cooking, so I'd love for you to teach me."

"Is that so? Of course! I'd be happy to. Once the shop is up and running, I'll teach you during breaks or after work."

"Really!? Thanks!"

Ronnie looked incredibly happy at Yoan's words.

Come to think of it, although we'd decided to open a shop, we hadn't decided at all who would do what. Did Ronnie want to be a chef too?

"Ronnie, we hadn't decided what kind of work to assign you once the shop opened. Do you want to be a chef too?"

To be honest, I'd be happy if Ronnie could handle duties like managing the staff, procuring ingredients, and managing sales as the shop's manager, but if he wanted to be a chef, I wouldn't force him. We could just hire someone else for that job.

"No, I'll handle various miscellaneous duties as the manager. I think that suits me better. I like cooking, but I can do it as a hobby too. It's better for each of us to do what we're good at."

"I see. Then I'll be counting on you as the manager, Ronnie."

"Yeah! Leave it to me!"

"That's reassuring."

In fact, there was no one better suited to be a manager than Ronnie. I could trust him completely, and his abilities were more than sufficient—if anything, he was too capable to be the manager of just one shop. If we eventually managed to open multiple shops, I'd like him to take on the position of overseeing all of them.

"Yoan, are you okay with being the head chef?"

"Of course! A job making sweets would be a dream. Though I'd also appreciate having time to research sweets."

That's true. For a while, I'd have him work as the head chef, but I felt it might be better to hire other cooks and let Yoan focus on research.

There were still so many things I wanted to make, and research was essential to launch new products. Thinking about it that way, we should hire several cooks.

"That's true. I want you to continue researching, Yoan, so we'll hire some other cooks too. I'll have them handle the day-to-day production of sweets, and arrange things so you can focus on research."

"Leon-sama... Thank you so much!! Meeting you was the greatest stroke of luck of my life!!"

"You're always so dramatic, Yoan."

"I'm not being dramatic! I mean it, and it's the truth!"

Yoan was incredibly intense whenever sweets were involved. I was grateful that he put that energy into his research, though.

"Thanks. I look forward to working with you."

"Yes! I'll turn my current research into a product first!"

As we were talking, it seemed we'd arrived at the first shop, and the carriage slowed to a stop.

Normally, someone like a real estate agent would explain the shop during a viewing, but perhaps because he thought that would keep us from looking around at our leisure, Roger had agreed to show us around this time. Apparently, he'd already obtained all the information in advance. Roger really was incredibly capable.

So this time, no one came to greet us; Roger unlocked the shop for us.

"Leon-sama, this shop was formerly a jewelry store, but because it was also a residence, it appears to have all the necessary facilities, including a kitchen. However, since it is a domestic kitchen rather than a commercial one, the main drawback is that it is somewhat small for use as a commercial kitchen. Its greatest advantage is its location near the Royal Castle."

Once Roger stepped inside, he explained all that to us. Generally, in the central district, the closer a shop is to the Royal Castle, the more upscale the shops are, and apparently some nobles only shop in the area around the Royal Castle.

So it was an unbeatable location for doing business with nobles, but the purchase price was quite high. In this country, shops generally weren't rented; rentals were limited to residences, and even then only individual rooms. So when starting a shop, you had to buy the property.

Well, I had the money, so it was fine, but the kitchen being small was a fatal flaw.

When we entered the shop, there was a large open space in front of us. There was almost nothing there now except some shelves along the walls, but this must have been the sales floor.

At the back was a door. Beyond it was a short hallway, with two rooms on each side and a staircase. The doors on the left led to a toilet and bathroom, while those on the right led to the kitchen and storeroom.

Upstairs, there were three rooms, all of them simply large rooms. This must have been the living quarters.

"Hmm, it's not as spacious as I expected."

"Yes. Nobles generally invite merchants to their estates when purchasing jewelry and other such items, so I assume they didn't need a particularly large shop."

I see. That's true. When buying clothes or jewelry, it was normal to invite merchants to your estate. But nobles in this world apparently did go to shops themselves fairly often, too.

Hmm, maybe this shop was a little too small. If we built a counter in the back and installed display cases there, there would be almost no room left for a café area. We could probably fit only two tables.

"What do you two think of this place?"

"Hmm, we're planning to make it a shop where people can take sweets home, with a café attached, right? If so, isn't it too small?"

"I thought so too."

"Also, I think the kitchen is a little too small. It would be fine if I were making everything by myself, but if we're going to hire other cooks, I'd like a little more space."

"That's what I thought too. I don't think this place is quite right for us. Shall we go look at the next one?"

When I said that, Roger nodded as if he understood.

"Certainly. Then I'll show you to the next shop."