“So, what’s all this bread?”
Kent moved into the workshop, his gaze falling on the mountain of bread piled on the work table. He asked Marie why it was all there.
“Umm, I messed up. Oops!”
Marie answered Kent’s question with a reluctant expression.
“When you bake in a kiln using firewood, you inevitably get uneven baking. You know that too, don’t you, Kent?”
“Ah, I guess that was the case. And thanks to that, there were times when I was saved.”
Since Marie’s Bakery started using an electric oven, she rarely failed at baking bread. However, with the old kiln they used to use, uneven baking and burning were common, resulting in a certain percentage of bread that couldn’t be sold. Based on the proportion calculation, with their current sales volume, it wouldn’t be unusual to have a pile of failed bread like this. Kent recalled a time when he was struggling with money and he survived by being given some of these failed bread loaves.
“Now that Kent is here, let’s all think about what to do with this bread.”
Marie thought they should consult with Kent and everyone else about what to do with the mountain of bread.
“I think we should divide it equally and everyone should take some home.”
“Caro’s opinion is sound, isn’t it? But if we divide this amount equally, it will be a lot for our homes.”
Caro was the first to voice her opinion, but Marie’s expression was hesitant, softly rejecting it.
“If we do as Carol says, my household will have four people including Al, so it will be quite an amount. They’ll probably be this many failed products every day, so we won’t be able to eat it all. I think we need to consider countermeasures for the future.”
“Yes. You’re right, Kent. Today is fine, but eating this much bread every day would be tough, wouldn’t it?”
After hearing Kent’s words, Caro withdrew her suggestion.
“In that case, my household will take it all.”
“Josette, that won’t do.”
“Why not?”
Next, Josette proposed that the Duke’s family take all the bread. However, her older sister, Elnet, stopped her.
“Josette, you intend to distribute the bread to the servants, don’t you?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
“This amount of bread is comparable to what the Duke’s family purchases. If you take it all every day, you won’t be able to pass Mother’s stringent financial audit. She’ll likely decide that she can cover it with free failed products and stop purchasing from this shop. That would have a significant impact on the shop’s income.”
“I see. That was an oversight. Just as my older sister says, Mother would act that way.”
When Elnet explained the disadvantages to Marie’s Bakery if the Duke’s family took the failed products, Josette also looked convinced.
“Is Kokomet really that strict?”
“Yes, she is.”
“She’s very strict about money. Mother manages all of the Duke’s family’s finances. She doesn’t say anything about the money allocated for personal use, but she’s especially strict about expenses. She cuts out unnecessary expenses to reduce the tax burden on the citizens. That’s the kind of person Mother is.”
“I-I see.”
Kent learned a surprising side of Kokomet, Josette and Elnet’s mother.
“Even if we give it to everyone at Store No. 2, this amount is really too much.”
Rachel also looked at the mountain of bread, trying to think of a good solution, but couldn’t come up with one.
“How about distributing it in town as an advertisement?”
“I want to respect Patty’s opinion, but distributing this much every day after closing might not be practical.”
“Right. Indeed, trying to distribute this much in town from this hour would be quite a task. It would definitely affect tomorrow’s work.”
Patty’s idea was a sure way to consume the failed bread, but if everyone divided it up and distributed it after closing, it would take a considerable amount of time, including travel. If they continued this every day, their working hours would extend, and it was highly likely to affect their work the next day. Therefore, Kent regrettably rejected Patty’s proposal.
“It’s a waste, but perhaps it would be best to portion out what everyone can take home and then dispose of the rest.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Carol, too.”
“Giving that away is unthinkable!”
Carol offered a reasonable suggestion, and Kent agreed, but Marie and Catherine objected.
“If that’s the case, do you have any good ideas, Marie?”
“Ugh.”
Kent asked Marie, who had objected to the disposal plan, for an alternative. However, she couldn’t answer the question.
“What about you, Catherine?”
“Hmm, hmm, wait a moment. Ah, I remember reading in a book at the Sanctuary that if you’re in trouble, you can think of a solution like this.”
Kent asked Catherine the same question he asked Marie. Catherine then seemed to ponder for a moment, twirled her index fingers around her head, then brought her hands down, forming a circle with her fingers, and closed her eyes.
*Pop, pop, pop… Ding.*
After a little time passed, Catherine opened her eyes.
“I’ve got it!”
Catherine seemed to have thought of a good idea and exclaimed loudly with a confident expression.
“Let’s hear it. Your idea, Catherine.”
Kent asked Catherine again about the idea she had come up with.
“Well, in the afternoon, have the Sanctuary staff come and collect the failed bread. They’ll distribute it to the people in the residential area as part of welfare initiatives. Since it will be a Sanctuary matter, the Sanctuary staff can handle it, so it won’t burden the employees of this shop, and the failed bread from the afternoon onwards is an amount that everyone can take home in portions.”
Catherine presented her idea to everyone.
“As expected of Catherine!”
“I think it’s a good idea.”
“Hmm, I agree that Catherine’s idea is good.”
“Fufu, as expected of my best disciple. I’ll give you a candy as a reward.”
Josette, Caro, Elnet, and Rachel agreed with Catherine’s suggestion.
“I see. It’s an idea that can only come from a Saintess’s perspective.”
“My goodness, my daughter. It’s amazing that you can come up with something nobody else thinks of.”
“Mom! Ugh, it’s crushing me!”
Patty also said with admiration, and Marie hugged Catherine while praising her. Catherine, being hugged, struggled as if to say it was too tight.
“Kent, what do you think of my idea?”
Catherine, nestled in Marie’s arms and chest, asked Kent with an upward glance whether her idea would be adopted.
“Yes, I think it’s a good idea. Since the Sanctuary will be involved in the distribution, there probably won’t be any trouble, and employees can take home a reasonable amount of the leftover bread, which is also a plus point. Everyone else seems positive, so I think we can adopt it.”
“Yay!”
After Kent summarized, when Catherine’s idea was adopted, she happily cried out.
“For the time being, Catherine’s plan will require various preparations, so let’s start it tomorrow. What should we do with today’s batch?”
Implementing Catherine’s plan would be difficult today due to the late hour and the need to arrange Sanctuary personnel, making tomorrow the earliest start. Now they needed to figure out what to do with the pile of bread in front of them. Kent asked everyone again what to do with today’s bread.
“N, I’m going home. I’m hungry.”
“Are you trying to kill me by making me work without eating or drinking, nonstop? I’m starving! Master, please give me something to eat.”
“Ah, you two, don’t come into the shop looking so muddy! First, please go take a bath and clean yourselves up.”
Just then, Hanako and Fuuko, covered in mud, appeared in the workshop. Seeing their state, Marie, considering the hygiene standards of a food-handling establishment, told them to go take a bath immediately.
