The Food Stall Discussion

That evening.

At dinner, I told Richard-sama about the food stall.

"Richard-sama, would I be allowed to run a food stall?"

"A food stall?"

Richard-sama stopped with the meat on his fork halfway to his mouth and asked, looking puzzled.

Anyone would wonder why if I suddenly told them I wanted to run a food stall.

"Why do you want to run a food stall?"

"One reason is that there's something I'd like to sell, but a friend from the Royal Academy is having financial trouble, and I want to help him."

"That's admirable, but... Unless a food stall is very successful, it will either run at a loss or make barely enough profit for you to get by, you know?"

As I thought, it wasn't going to be that easy. But that was all right. It would also be an experiment.

"Even so, that's fine with me. I'll be the one running the stall, and I'll employ my friend."

"Well, in that case, I have no objection..."

"Really!?"

"Yes. It should be good experience for you, too."

Thank goodness! At least I'd cleared the first hurdle.

"Thank you. Could you tell me what I need to do to start a food stall?"

"Of course. To start a food stall, you can begin right away simply by obtaining a food stall permit. Which plaza will you run it in? Food stalls are only allowed in plazas, and each plaza falls under a different jurisdiction."

"I'd like to open one in the plaza at the entrance to the downtown district."

"Then the Central Church has jurisdiction over that plaza. You should be able to obtain the permit as soon as you go there."

Churches really are convenient. They're basically the equivalent of government offices in Japan. At this point, they're churches in name only. Still, I'm grateful for how convenient they are.

"In that case, I'll go obtain the permit after school tomorrow."

"Yes, but what will you sell at the stall?"

I'd been thinking of all sorts of things to sell. The people who came to buy from food stalls were basically commoners, and everyone wanted something easy to eat. Some bought a light meal during a break at work, while others bought something to take home for dinner.

So food was the obvious choice. There was no point in selling something no one wanted, after all.

The important question was what food to sell, so I thought of various options while recalling Japanese festivals.

Takoyaki, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, karaage, shaved ice, crepes, buttered potatoes, taiyaki, chocolate bananas, French fries, yakitori, cotton candy... So many possibilities came to mind.

I wanted to try all of them, so I had a hard time deciding, but in the end, I settled on crepes. With crepes, I could change the fillings, so the stall wouldn't have to close just because certain ingredients were unavailable in a given season. Besides, there were so many combinations that people wouldn't get tired of them. I also had a vague idea of how to make them.

Next, I needed to borrow a kitchen and practice making crepes myself. I'd try out all sorts of things.

"I'm thinking of selling a food called crepes."

"Crepes? I've never heard of them."

"It's a dish I came up with."

They're actually from my past life, though...

"So this is an original dish of yours, Leon! In that case, could you make it at the estate before selling it at your stall?"

"Of course, I'll make them, but it's still a dish I'm going to experiment with. Would it be all right if I made them once I've finished developing the recipe? Also, could I borrow the kitchen for my experiments...?"

"Of course. I'll tell them to let you use the kitchen whenever you like, Leon."

"Thank you!"

Great! This meant I could open the stall. First, I'd make some trial crepes, then teach Ronnie how to make them once I had the recipe down...

Oh!! I also needed to get the stall itself ready. I'd almost forgotten.

"Richard-sama, where can I get a food stall?"

"Food stalls aren't purchased; they're rented out. You should arrange to rent one when you go to the Central Church."

So the stalls were rented out. I seem to remember they all had the same design.

Since it was rented, I wouldn't have to worry about storing it. That would make things easier. I had to remember to sign the rental contract, too.

"Understood. Thank you very much for explaining all this."

"No, it was nothing. More importantly, I'm looking forward to the crepes."

"Yes. I'll do my very best to make them for you."

All right, I'll do my best! I want to eat crepes, too.

Once we'd settled everything and I'd made up my mind, Catherine-sama spoke to me with great interest.

"Leon, what kind of flavor do these crepes have?"

Catherine-sama seemed extremely interested.

"The flavor changes depending on what you put inside a crepe, so it can be made to taste however you like. It can be a sweet dessert or a meal."

"That is... difficult to imagine. Still, the fact that they can take on any flavor is very intriguing. I look forward to trying them. Be sure to make a sweet version, too."

"Certainly."

Catherine-sama got incredibly excited about the cookies, too. She really does love sweets.

I'll make plenty of sweet crepes for you, Catherine-sama.

The next day, I went to the Royal Academy and told Ronnie that it looked like we could open the food stall.

"Good morning, Ronnie."

"Good morning."

"About the food stall I mentioned yesterday: I got permission, so it looks like we can go ahead. I'll go to the Central Church after school today and get the food stall permit."

"Huh? Already!?"

Ronnie must have been really surprised; I think he spoke louder than ever before.

"Yeah, but... Was that too soon?"

"No, I just thought it would take longer, so I was surprised. I'm glad it was so quick."

"That's good, then."

"When do you think we can start the food stall?"

Hmm. For now, we'd go to the Central Church after school tomorrow, get the permit, and sign a contract to rent a stall. Then, on the way home, we'd buy ingredients and try making crepes.

If I could get the crepes into shape tomorrow, we could start the food stall right away.

"We might be able to start in the afternoon of the next Recovery Day."

"What!? That soon!?"

"Yeah. The stall can be rented, so there's not much to prepare. Once we buy the ingredients and necessary cooking utensils, we can start right away."

When I said that, Ronnie looked a little puzzled. What was wrong?

"By the way, what are we going to sell at the stall? You never told me, did you?"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you about that?"

"No."

"I forgot. I'm thinking of selling a food called crepes, but... when should I teach you how to make them?"

I obviously couldn't invite him to the ducal estate, and Ronnie probably wouldn't want to go there anyway. His room probably didn't have a kitchen, either.

Wait... Come to think of it, had Ronnie ever cooked before?

"Have you ever cooked before, Ronnie?"

"Yeah. At the orphanage, we took turns helping with the cooking, so I can handle the basics."

"Then that shouldn't be a problem. Does your room have a kitchen? Or, I guess, a kitchenette."

"A kitchen, I guess, but there isn't one in my room. There's one at my landlord's place, and I can borrow it if I ask. But so many people want to use it that someone is always in there, so I end up eating food I buy from the stalls."

In that case, teaching him how to make crepes there would be difficult. Hmm... Could I teach him at the stall?

Right. On the first day of business, I'd make the crepes myself and teach him while I did so.

"I'll make the crepes myself on the first day, and teach you then. They're not that difficult."

"All right, sounds good. So what kind of dish are they?"

"Hmm... It's hard to explain, so I think it would be faster for you to see one for yourself."

"Really? Then I can't wait for you to teach me!"

For some reason, people in this world hardly ever used flour for anything other than baking bread, so they probably wouldn't accept the idea of crepes even if I explained them. Even my mother had said the batter looked runny and unappetizing.

But why had no one ever come up with pancakes or galettes? They were easy to make.

I couldn't figure it out no matter how much I thought about it... Still, it made me curious.

"Then could you leave the next Recovery Day open?"

"Sure! I hardly ever have plans on days when school is out, so that's fine."

"I see. Then I'll count on you."

"I'm looking forward to it."