Schmidt, who returned to his spot with a satisfied look, was seen off by Floria, who then turned to Kousuke with a question.
“What is Schmidt aiming for?”
“Huh? You didn’t notice? I thought Floria would have figured it out.”
Silvia also wore a puzzled expression, but Kousuke assumed it was because she was generally clueless about business matters. He had, however, assumed Floria would understand Schmidt’s intentions.
Floria, whose face was now turned towards Kousuke, frankly shook her head from side to side.
“No. Unfortunately, I don’t understand. Aren’t merchants supposed to monopolize and profit?”
“Ah~ I see. That’s where you’re coming from.”
Kousuke’s expression became one of understanding at Floria’s question.
In this world, the fundamental business of merchants, especially those leading major guilds, is to find or create and sell monopolized goods.
Of course, they also sell common necessities at low prices to a wide audience, but such goods are generally available everywhere. Therefore, unless a significant business opportunity arises, it is difficult to make a large profit from such items. Major players can seize these opportunities and profit by obtaining solid information, but this is only possible for truly large organizations with extensive information networks. Considering this, merchants in this world primarily make their profits by monopolizing goods.
Incidentally, monopolization is not limited to the products themselves. Connections with specific nobles or royalty are also included within this scope.
Kousuke suspected that Floria’s “common sense” made it difficult for her to realize this.
“The key point of this business is the food.”
Kousuke explained it simply, but Floria and Silvia still tilted their heads.
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm. You still don’t get it? It’s quite simple, though.”
Kousuke pondered for a moment how to explain, then, looking at them alternately, he gave up and uttered a hint that was almost the full answer.
“In the city on the fifth floor, there are many restaurants with similar menus, yet they all manage to stay in business. Why is that?”
“Why is that… Ah, I see. That’s what you mean.”
It seemed that even Floria, who was about to answer, and Silvia, who had remained silent, finally understood and showed expressions of agreement.
While some restaurants and bars compete with unique or novel menus, many rely on the taste of their dishes. Furthermore, in this world, even new menu items are usually imitated within a few months. Ultimately, it boils down to this:
“Once you know the basic recipe for a dish, you create a new recipe that surpasses it.”
Kousuke nodded in agreement with Floria’s words.
“Well, that’s pretty much it. I haven’t revealed it yet, but with tempura, once you know the basic preparation method, you can improve your skills and search for new ingredients.”
It’s a rather blunt way of putting it, but Kousuke’s reasoning is not incorrect. The ultimate goal for Kousuke and his companions is to spread Japanese cuisine to ordinary households, so as long as the cooking method for frying tempura is disseminated, their objective will be achieved. After that, if people hone their skills and create their own unique “magically modified” versions, Kousuke and his group will consider it a great success.
Upon learning Schmidt’s objective, Floria nodded repeatedly. “I see. As expected, Schmidt is cunning. Well, for us, if Crown takes the lead, we couldn’t be happier, right?”
“Well, it can’t be helped, can it? Honestly, I wish they would develop it independently.”
If Crown were to create new flavors, it could be argued that it’s essentially being imposed from above. However, given that this world lacks even a fundamental understanding of such concepts, it’s likely the best way for it to spread. After all, their initial objective of “starting with food stalls” has already been achieved.
“Attempting to achieve everything in such a short period is probably impossible.”
“That’s also true.”
Floria nodded at Silvia’s calm interjection.
***
The day after deciding to make the recipes public, the vendors began to advertise that a class would be held in a week whenever asked. They also explained that it wouldn’t be entirely free and that there would be an admission fee, similar to a class fee. Although Floria and the others would have been fine with holding it for free, they decided it was better to charge a fee to cover material costs. However, the price was set low to be accessible to a wider audience. Moreover, unlike a traditional cooking class where every step is taught meticulously, Eri would demonstrate the process in a prepared room. The reason for not teaching in excessive detail was to encourage participants to innovate and create their own variations rather than replicate the exact same dish. It was uncertain how proficient everyone would become after just one session, but they decided to give it a try.
“—That’s the situation. It will be a burden for everyone on the day of the event, but I ask for your cooperation.”
Floria slightly bowed her head as she said this, which caused the food stall group gathered at the house to panic. Being easily bowed to by a former queen was unsettling.
“No! It’s fine! We were planning on it anyway!”
Eri, who was by far the most accustomed to dealing with Floria (in terms of time commitment), responded on behalf of the group. Nevertheless, her voice still trembled, indicating that even after years of interaction, she wasn’t quite used to it.
Floria, feigning ignorance of their reaction, turned her gaze to Eri, who would undoubtedly be the busiest on the day of the event.
“Eri, your primary role will be to prepare the food. We will handle all other preparations.”
“Understood.”
Eri’s expression visibly relaxed at Floria’s words. Even with more people involved, the number of customers would also increase, so the workload wouldn’t change. Having to add the work for the cooking class on top of that would be too much. Floria, who had been present recently, was well aware of this and wouldn’t make such an unreasonable demand.
“However, confirming necessary items and the like will still require some of your time, albeit for a short period.”
“That’s only natural.”
Eri didn’t believe that simply showing up on the day and making food would suffice. Floria’s statement was, of course, fair.
The day after deciding to hold the class, preparations began. However, the actual work was handled by other individuals arranged by Floria, while Eri and the others focused on their food stalls as promised. Incidentally, these additional personnel were arranged through Towa. The stated purpose was to enrich Razek Amamiya. However, this was not to be publicly disclosed. In any case, the long-awaited (or perhaps not) class attracted more people than Floria and the others had anticipated. This marked a significant step forward in Kousuke’s goal of “spreading Japanese cuisine.”
I feel like the title might be a bit misleading… but it’s not too far off, so I’ll leave it as is lol. The curry story will probably end in the next chapter, right?
