On the evening of a certain day, during dinner.
Floria, having finished the meal that was served, made a face that looked like she suddenly remembered something, after saying “Gochisousama” (Thank you for the meal), which she learned from Kousuke.
“Speaking of which, what happened to the plan to open a Japanese food stall?”
“Huh?! Were you serious about that?”
Kousuke was genuinely surprised by Floria’s casual question.
As Floria said, they had indeed talked about opening a food stall a while ago.
However, for Kousuke, it was just something that came up in conversation, and he only thought of it as something they could do if they had the chance.
“Serious, well… wouldn’t it be a waste if such delicious food didn’t reach the world?”
“Indeed. Surely, it was said that even if only taught to the castle chefs, it wouldn’t easily spread to the general public, right?”
With Floria and Shurein speaking one after another, Kousuke finally remembered what they had discussed before.
Indeed, as the two said, they had talked about how it would be more interesting and lead to various improvements if it spread from the townsfolk rather than being disseminated as part of court cuisine from the castle.
However, that was Kousuke’s initial proposal, and he hadn’t expected it to be directly implemented.
Even if the royal palace tried to spread food, it wouldn’t easily reach the public.
This was simply because the dishes served in the royal palace generally used high-class ingredients, which were not available to ordinary households.
Therefore, the idea was to open a food stall using ingredients that ordinary households could obtain.
By the way, in the world of Asgard, cooking methods such as steaming and grilling are known, similar to Kousuke’s world.
The only problem would be that because it’s a world with monsters, farmland cannot be easily expanded, so the variety of vegetables is limited.
Even so, given that Kousuke and the others are currently eating Japanese food regularly, there are not many ingredients that are lacking in reality.
If that’s the case, why aren’t similar dishes circulating? It’s because people’s resources were directed towards fighting monster attacks before seeking culinary richness.
Considering such things, Kousuke thought that if he and his companions offered simple dishes at a food stall, those with some余裕 (yoyu – leisure/means) might start trying various things.
Remembering what they had discussed before, Kousuke also recalled other things.
“We did talk about that, but like everything else, I thought it was just part of a casual conversation.”
“Ah, I see.”
As they usually do, Kousuke and the others often discuss how things would turn out if they were actually implemented, from political matters to casual suggestions like this.
These were just discussions that emerged in the flow of conversation, and they were rarely actually carried out.
Therefore, Kousuke was more surprised that Floria had actually been seriously considering it.
Floria could understand Kousuke’s surprise, but there was a reason she took this matter seriously.
“It’s true that was the flow of conversation at the time. However, after that, I thought about it carefully, and I concluded that it was feasible.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. In the first place, Kousuke, or rather, in the conversation at the time, it was decided not to keep the recipes secret, but rather to disclose them widely. If that’s the case, I think there are ways to do it.”
The biggest obstacle to starting something new is the difference in social status.
For instance, if a noble took an interest and took it away, the goal of spreading it worldwide would be destroyed.
However, Floria’s thinking was that by using the name of an A-rank adventurer and opening a food stall in a town on the fifth floor, there wouldn’t be any major obstacles.
In the first place, there are only a handful of nobles that Razek Amamiya officially recognizes.
Since they all know Kousuke’s face, they wouldn’t do anything strange.
There is also the possibility of being targeted by major merchants, but that can be handled through Crown.
Even the recipes, which should originally be kept secret, are intended to be answered if asked, so there is little chance of being targeted by other competitors.
In other words, there would be no significant obstacles to opening a food stall in a town on the fifth floor.
Floria, who explained these things logically, showed her earnestness.
“――――Therefore, I have judged that there will be no problem in running a food stall. Besides, even if it fails, it won’t be a significant setback.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Even if they were to prepare and open a food stall now, it wouldn’t cause a loss that could be considered damage to Kousuke and his group.
As Floria’s words encouraged him, Kousuke’s feelings began to lean towards it, but Silvia, who had been silently listening, interjected.
“There may be no financial problem, but what do you intend to do about human resources?”
To run a food stall, there must be someone who can cook the products.
Initially, Mitsuki could handle it, but considering the future, it is certain that it would be better to have someone permanently available to cook for the food stall.
Floria also seemed to be struggling with the issue of human resources, as she couldn’t come up with an answer immediately.
Seeing her face, Kousuke, who was worried with her, suddenly thought of someone who was good at cooking and could also serve as an instructor later on.
“…Shall we ask Eri?”
“Oh!”
Floria reacted strongly to Kousuke’s quiet remark.
Eri, who is currently managing the Lily Shrine as a slave, would not go against Kousuke’s wishes, and more importantly, it would be easy to open a food stall through the house prepared on the fifth floor.
Besides, since it’s a food stall, it doesn’t need to be open every day, and considering the management of the Lily Shrine, she would be an appropriate person.
Looking at the faces of the others, it was clear that they were convinced, just like Kousuke and Floria.
Seeing that, Kousuke turned his gaze to Mitsuki.
“For now, could you teach me the cooking methods, Mitsuki?”
“Of course. But please tell me what you want me to teach.”
“Naturally. For now… well. I’ll leave the rest to Floria.”
Kousuke suddenly cut off the conversation and passed the baton to Floria, who looked at him with hesitation.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. After all, Floria is the one who’s most enthusiastic about it, isn’t she?”
“Ugh!? N-no, I don’t think that’s the case though…”
Floria, slightly flustered, looked around and gave up on arguing, seeing the amused faces of the others.
Floria let out a sigh once, then decided to embrace it.
“Indeed. The proliferation of various dishes is a testament to the nation’s growing prosperity. As a former queen, I should take the lead in this!”
At Floria’s declaration, Kousuke and the others looked at each other once, paused for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
Thus, the full-scale operation of the food stall by Kousuke and his group began.
The previous story was about Kouhi, so I intended to focus on Mitsuki this time, but somehow Floria went on a rampage.
Huh?
…Well, that’s fine.
