Seeing the food stall set up in front of his home on the fifth floor, Kousuke couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Seriously. Isn’t this overdoing it?”
In terms of size, it was slightly larger than a standard one, not something he’d never seen before.
However, the equipment was almost all state-of-the-art, so new it didn’t seem like something that had been acquired secondhand.
It was in such good condition that it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d been told it was a forced acquisition.
“You didn’t force yourself to take it away, did you?”
While thinking that it was probably not the case, Kousuke looked at Schmidt, who stood beside him.
“I would never do such a thing. I received it from the owner who had been negotiating to open a shop for a long time.”
Seeing Schmidt explain with a smile, Kousuke’s cheek twitched.
Certainly, it might have been a good offer for the original owner, but to an outsider, it certainly seemed like a somewhat forceful move.
“…I think it’s better not to resort to reckless means.”
“No. I simply took it from the original owner who was having trouble finding a buyer. I didn’t rush the contract just for the sake of getting a food stall.”
To Kousuke, who still looked suspicious, Schmidt explained with a wry smile.
The owner of this food stall was originally a renowned shopkeeper known for serving popular dishes.
Word of this reached the Merchant Division, and they began persuading him to open a shop, but by then, the shopkeeper had already acquired a new food stall.
While the shopkeeper was pondering whether to sell the stall he had bought at a high price to open a shop, Schmidt, who had heard about Kousuke and the others, apparently spoke with the shopkeeper about purchasing it.
To the shopkeeper’s delight and acceptance of the near-new price, Schmidt was able to acquire this food stall.
Incidentally, the shop opened by the shopkeeper has become a thriving business, as Crown had predicted, thanks to its long-standing popularity.
The shopkeeper who signed the contract was not a member of Crown but had contracted with Crown in the form of a loan.
Generally, people who run food stalls tend to have the drive to do things freely rather than belonging to an organization, so such contractual forms are increasing nowadays.
Hearing the explanation from Schmidt, Kousuke finally nodded with a look of understanding.
“Well, if that’s the case, it’s okay… I guess?”
Floria gently patted Kousuke’s shoulder as he tilted his head, saying that.
“If Schmidt says it’s okay, then it’s okay, isn’t it? More importantly, shouldn’t you be happy that we got something good?”
The food stall before them was perfect for the product that Kousuke and the others were planning to sell.
This is because it has a warming function for the prepared food.
If necessary, cooking could be done at the stall, but Kousuke and the others, who were planning to prepare it elsewhere, did not need it.
Rather than cooking, the structure that allowed the cooking heat source to be diverted as a warming device was the perfect setup for Kousuke and the others.
“Well, I admit it’s a good item, though.”
Kousuke also knew that it was considerably good in terms of usability.
Ignoring Kousuke, Shurein, who had been looking at the functions attached to the food stall here and there, looked at Schmidt with a puzzled expression.
“As the word ‘state-of-the-art’ suggests, it seems to use quite advanced magic tools, but is there any demand for it? Well, since it’s right in front of us, it probably won’t be completely unsellable.”
Advanced magic tools alone are expensive.
A food stall made with such tools could, at worst, be more expensive than preparing a shop, which was Shurein’s claim.
To Shurein, who had a questioning look, Schmidt shook his head.
“Certainly, many magic tools are used that are easier to use than existing ones, but they are not that expensive.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Anyway, the magic tools used are not very expensive.”
At Schmidt’s words, Shurein’s eyes widened.
In Shurein’s estimation, he had expected quite expensive magic tools to be used.
Perhaps intrigued by their conversation, Kousuke also approached the food stall and began to examine it.
More precisely, he began to look at the magic tools used in the food stall.
“Uhh… Hmm, hmm. …I see, so that’s why…”
His muttering while crawling under the stall and circling around it was extremely bizarre to anyone observing.
However, those around him, except for Schmidt, were accustomed to seeing Kousuke like this, so they watched without saying anything.
Moreover, Kousuke entering such a state indicated that the magic tools were of high interest.
After thoroughly inspecting the magic tools on the food stall, Kousuke looked at Schmidt with a satisfied expression.
“Schmidt, these magic tools… by any chance, is Luca involved in their development?”
Schmidt’s eyes widened for a moment at Kousuke’s words, then he let out a sigh of admiration.
“You can tell that much?”
“Yeah. Well, with Luca, I’ve seen him from the very basics, so he has a telltale habit, you know?”
Although Kousuke said that, being able to discern the habit of the magic circle of the created magic tools and even identify the person is something that ordinary people cannot do.
At least, as far as Schmidt knew, only Kousuke could.
“…Is it easy to discern the habit of a magic circle?”
“Hmm, I wonder? At least I think it’s impossible unless it’s something newly created or modified.”
“Meaning?”
To Schmidt, who tilted his head, bewildered, Kousuke looked up at the sky as if contemplating and added an explanation.
“Many magic tools that have existed since ancient times use the same magic circles as they are. If a magic circle is inherited from a master and used as is, then the master’s habits won’t appear.”
As an extreme example, it’s like the difference between a handwritten manuscript and a book made by copying.
Even with copying, it’s not always an exact replica, but the handwriting of the person doesn’t appear as much as in a handwritten manuscript.
Kousuke’s explanation is that magic circles used in magic tools also exhibit such habits when created from scratch rather than inherited.
Schmidt, deeply convinced, nodded his head vigorously.
“I see. —Then,”
Schmidt was about to continue listening, but Floria stopped him.
“Ah, wait. Let’s talk about magic tools later when we get back. The food stall is the priority now.”
“…That’s right.”
Schmidt, who had almost gotten carried away, nodded with a wry smile.
“So? From your perspective, Kousuke, are there any problems?”
“No. Although it has an advanced structure, the inside is made with very simple components. Luca has developed a really good idea.”
In the past, Luca used to create incredibly complex magic circles, but the magic tools before him had shed that aspect.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, the habit itself couldn’t be removed, so Kousuke easily saw through it.
“I see. In that case, assuming there are no particular problems, let’s start with this food stall.”
The original purpose was to select a food stall for Kousuke and the others to use.
If the food stall prepared by Schmidt had no problems, then most of the preparations were finally complete.
“The location has been secured. We’ve also acquired the crucial food stall. Menu adjustments are finished. …Okay. With this, the preparations are complete.”
Floria, counting on her fingers and confirming there were no issues, broke into a satisfied smile.
Seeing this, Schmidt looked at Floria with expectant eyes.
“————So?”
“Yes. Let’s make tomorrow a day for preparation, and start operations the day after tomorrow.”
At Floria’s words, the other people gathered there all wore expressions of their own thoughts.
This is the third installment of the food stall series.
I started writing it vaguely, but it’s continuing.
Since I’ve come this far, I thought I’d write in detail, and the word count has been increasing rapidly lol.
