“I ate. I ate.”
“Hey, don’t you think you should choose your words more carefully?”
The two finished their lunch and were walking through town to return to the shop. Rachel patted her stomach with satisfaction, no longer showing any trace of ladylike manners, so Kent decided to caution her a little.
“Ehh. It’s because I’m with you, big brother! In front of other people, I’m always acting cute.”
“Well, that’s true.”
When he first met Rachel in this world, that’s exactly how she was. She had been very enthusiastic in her self-introductions to the three love interests. Thanks to that effort, their affection levels had steadily increased within just one month from the day the game was supposed to start. Even so, looking at Rachel now, there was no trace of her former self. Her appearance had changed, but it felt no different from how he interacted with his sister.
“Hey, hey. Wanna hold hands?”
“What is it? So suddenly.”
“Come on, come on, quickly.”
Saying that, Rachel grabbed Kent’s hand. Rachel’s hand was warm, and Kent found the sensation somewhat pleasant.
“How many years has it been since we walked around town holding hands like this?”
“I feel like we walked holding hands just the other day?”
“Ah! You have no sense of romance at all, big brother.”
When Kent told her the truth, Rachel somehow got angry.
“It’s Christmas, you know? Do you know what it means for a man and a woman to walk around holding hands like this?”
“Lovers? If so, I would have preferred it to be with Caro.”
“Holding hands with Caro… that wouldn’t be bad either. No, that’s not it! Why are you bringing up another girl’s name right there?”
Kent’s honest answer only made Rachel’s mood worse.
“You’re so mean, big brother!”
“Why are you leaning on me while saying that?”
Rachel gently pressed herself against Kent.
“A lot of time has passed since then, but our last Christmas before we died was fun, wasn’t it? Thank you for the cake.”
“Hmm? Cake? Ah, you mean that.”
There was a word that bothered him slightly, but Kent couldn’t figure out what Rachel was talking about. However, when he thought about it carefully, it was about their last Christmas in their previous world before they died. That day, he bought a Christmas cake for his sister. Sharing it together was a nostalgic memory. Before that, their parents had always prepared the cake, but that time, their parents happened to be away, so Kent prepared it.
“Speaking of which, half of the Christmas cake from back then was missing, wasn’t it? You said you gave half to a hungry child…”
“Was that so?”
When Rachel mentioned it, he tried to recall, but his memory felt hazy, and Kent couldn’t remember the situation at the time.
“Well, since it was half, the shape was a bit distorted, but it was the perfect amount for the two of us, so I guess it was good.”
Back then, his sister was in the final stages of finishing the cosplay costumes for the large doujinshi convention held at the end of the year. Even though she was busy, she stopped her work, and they had a small party together, which was a good memory…
“Ah, I remember now. After that, I was made to help you with finishing the cosplay costumes.”
“What else could I do? At that time, I was overwhelmed with making the costumes, and I couldn’t finish the accessories on time.”
He did remember having a small party. However, Kent recalled that afterward, he was made to give up his holiday and help her through the night, claiming that the cosplay costume production was falling behind.
“You got to see your sister in all sorts of states, so it was a perk for you, right?”
“At that time, I didn’t feel anything even when I saw you in your underwear.”
“Ah, does that mean I’m not attractive to you?”
Back then, his sister would change clothes in front of Kent without hesitation. When trying on cosplay costumes, she would naturally start undressing and changing right in front of him. Since he had been seeing her change in front of him normally since he was little, Kent had no sexual curiosity towards his sister.
“Well, back then, maybe.”
“The way you say that, it means it’s different now. Hmm.”
Her earlier sulkiness disappeared, and Rachel seemed happy, as if she had found something interesting.
“We’re back. Let’s do our best with warehouse organization this afternoon too.”
The restaurant where they had lunch was not far from Marie’s Bakery No. 2, and they arrived at the shop quickly. Rachel rolled up her sleeves with a motivated look and entered the shop, with Kent following her.
“Ah. The stock here is also running low.”
“Yes, let’s replenish, replenish.”
In the short time Kent and Rachel were having lunch, some of the supposedly replenished stock had already run out. This happens when the aristocrats hosting parties, wanting to recommend their favorite items to those around them, give out large quantities as samples, leading to bulk purchases from the shop without prior notice. This occurs occasionally at Store No. 2. However, with many parties hosted by aristocrats during the year-end and New Year period, such phenomena are becoming even more frequent. Normally, they would send someone to Store No. 1 to replenish the merchandise, which would take some time, but this time, with Kent there, the depleted items were being replenished instantly using the terminal.
“Manager, the in-store portion of this merchandise has run out, so I’d like to replenish it from the warehouse.”
“Yes, yes. Just a moment. If I bring this out… Oh, another stock replenishment, huh?”
Currently, general store clerks are prohibited from entering the warehouse due to company secrets. Therefore, when the items on display run low, Lola or Mike comes to retrieve the replenishment stock from the warehouse. It seems Lola came this time. Looking at the list she received from Lola, Rachel grabbed a basket and quickly tossed in the necessary items. After she handed it over, another item with critical stock levels emerged.
“How are things at the shop? With merchandise selling this fast, it must be tough, right?”
“It’s certainly tough, but we’re managing with the current staff. However, there’s a possibility of it increasing further, so it would be helpful if you could increase the number of staff on the floor.”
Rachel, who was sequestered in the warehouse, asked Lola. It seemed they were managing for now, but if more customers came, they would have to make them wait, which wasn’t good for the shop.
“I understand. I’ll consult with Marie about assistance. Well then, here are the listed items. Report again if anything else comes up.”
“Understood. Then manager, Kent, please continue with the warehouse organization.”
Lola returned to the shop after receiving the replenishment merchandise.
“Aristocrats can’t wait, you know. It would be easier if we could process them at the register like regular customers.”
Rachel grumbled. Basically, aristocrats dislike being kept waiting at shops run by commoners. However, this shop, which assigns one clerk to each aristocrat or group, has a limited number of clerks available for service, thus limiting the maximum number of customers who can enter. Therefore, if the number of customers exceeds the capacity, they have to be made to wait. The shop, of course, wants to avoid this, so they increase the number of staff on the floor to handle the situation. Although Store No. 2 pays higher wages than similar shops, dealing with aristocrats often leads to accumulated stress, resulting in a slightly higher turnover rate compared to Store No. 1. Therefore, they cannot simply increase personnel en masse to handle the situation.
“More importantly, I have to focus on the job I’m given right now. Big brother, please also replenish the items that just ran out.”
“You got it.”
Rachel and Kent continued their work of replenishing merchandise.
