The preparations were complete, employees were in their positions, and it was time to open. Josette and Elnet were not on the team today due to errands at home. The opening team for the second store consisted of Rachel, the store manager, Lola, an employee, and helpers from the first store: Marie the owner, Catherine, Caro, Patty, Al, and Kent. Mike, the shop-attached fairy, was visible but too weak in magic power to maintain a human form, remaining as a golden cat and thus out of commission. He was curled up asleep behind the counter, as usual.
“There are no customers,” Patty said worriedly.
“No one is lining up at all,” Lola added.
Marie’s Bakery always had a line before opening. The sight of no one queuing up before opening might have been refreshing in a way.
“It’s okay. Aristocrats don’t usually line up at stores; they’ll probably come with plenty of time to spare,” Rachel said confidently.
“Welcome!”
They promptly welcomed their first customers. Two young women entered, their attire clearly indicating they were nobles.
“Oh, isn’t this interior rather luxurious?”
“Indeed. It’s quite good.”
The two noblewomen looked around, seemingly satisfied.
*This shop didn’t actually cost that much for its interior…*
Kent thought to himself.
“Thank you for visiting us today. What can we do for you?”
As they were the first customers, Rachel stepped forward to serve them.
“We’ve come to try this thing called ice cream.”
“Thank you. Please, this way to your seats.”
Rachel handled the service smoothly. After a while, customers started coming in at a steady pace.
“If you’d like, please take a look at the adjacent sales area.”
“Oh, you! Are you trying to sell things to an aristocrat like me, a commoner’s shop employee?”
“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“This is unpleasant. Here’s your money, we’ll be leaving.”
The main attraction for customers visiting this store was ice cream. With partitions in place, the sales area where shampoos and other items were displayed was not clearly visible from the light meal area. To the customers, the sales area with its rows of unidentifiable containers felt out of place. After serving a few groups and getting used to the customers, Rachel attempted to promote the other products. However, the noble customers seemed offended and left the store immediately. She tried the same sales pitch on several other groups, but they all reacted similarly. Fearing that the store would develop a bad reputation, Rachel stopped the sales pitches.
“Is it wrong to try to sell things to aristocrats?”
After several similar exchanges, Kent asked Caro, who was an aristocrat, in an attempt to figure out the cause.
“Well, generally speaking, when merchants try to sell to aristocrats, especially for the first time, they do so through their servants, such as their butler or head maid. Directly pitching to the aristocrat themselves is considered bad manners.”
“I see. I didn’t know that. So that’s why customers reacted that way.”
“Yes.”
Kent understood after Caro explained the reason.
“Hmph. I didn’t know that. I wanted to invite customers to look at the sales area, but I can’t do it that way.”
Rachel, who had been listening to Kent and Caro’s conversation, spoke up.
After that, the aristocrats who visited the store only ate ice cream and left. A few of them noticed the bread placed near the register and bought some as souvenirs, but by the end of the day, not a single customer stepped into the sales area where shampoos and conditioners were displayed.
Rachel’s face was gloomy as she calculated the sales. The bread had sold out, and the ice cream sales were not much different from the first store’s recent sales. However, the bread was only there in a token amount to meet the union’s regulations, so the sales from it were negligible.
“Oh no, after deducting labor costs, it’s a huge deficit!” Rachel exclaimed after finishing the sales calculation. They had managed to cover their own labor costs for Rachel and Lola, but they couldn’t come up with the money to repay Caro, who had financed the startup and operating costs. They were also unable to pay the wages of the staff who had helped from the first store. It was a disastrous opening day.
“Good work today, Rachel. You’ll be back to normal operations tomorrow, but keep up the good work. You made a few mistakes today, but I believe you’ll do better from now on.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Rachel found Marie’s gentle words somehow painful.
The situation did not improve the next day.
Two days had passed since the second store opened, and it was Tuesday.
“Alright, let’s give it our all today too!”
With Marie’s command, the first store began its business day. Josette and Elnet were still on leave since Sunday and were scheduled to be off today as well. With Rachel and Lola at the second store, the staff was short-handed, making the morning busy.
“Kent, aren’t you going to the second store today?” Caro asked Kent, concerned about Rachel.
“Yes. My sister wanted to do this on her own, so I’ll do as I’m told, but I don’t intend to interfere,” Kent replied.
“Is that so… I’m a little worried about Rachel.”
“Thank you for worrying. I’ve made some arrangements, so the second store should be fine,” Kent assured her.
“Oh, really? If you say so, Kent, I suppose it will be okay. I feel relieved.”
Caro readily believed Kent’s words and was satisfied.
*Caro is such an honest and kind girl. I’m so happy to have someone like her by my side.*
As Kent was thinking this, he felt Marie’s gaze from the back of the store. She seemed a little angry.
“Mother, that’s unreasonable.”
“But, but, it’s frustrating that you two are in your own world. I want to be included.”
“You had a good time with Kent last night, didn’t you? I could hear you saying you felt good.”
“What? You heard that? …How embarrassing.”
Catherine, her daughter, was trying to soothe Marie. The first store, despite being busy, was peaceful.
It was time for school, and Kent headed there. According to Tia, all students who were supposed to attend remedial classes, except for Kent, had passed their re-examinations by yesterday and finished their remedial classes. It was late July, and Kent had plans for the future, so it was time for him to finish his remedial classes as well.
“So, could I take the re-examination now?” Kent asked Tia.
“Huh? Kent, you haven’t made any progress in your remedial classes at all. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Kent had asked Tia to let him take the re-examination. He could have taken it earlier, but he had postponed it because he was teaching Tia how to teach. Tia had readily absorbed what Kent taught her, and her teaching methods as a teacher had improved significantly. Having seen this, he made the request.
“I’ll be alright… probably.”
“I see… So your remedial classes will be over. I’m sure you’ll pass the re-examination easily, Kent. You taught me a lot, so I should repay you, right?”
“How about I owe you one? Can I ask for something when I need it?”
“Okay. But don’t ask for anything too unreasonable.”
With that, Kent quickly took the re-examination, scoring a perfect score in all subjects, and finished his summer remedial classes the same day.
“Good job. You’re finally on summer vacation, Kent. Do you have any plans?”
“For the rest of my summer vacation, I’ll be going to the next town to take care of something I was asked to do.”
“I see. You seem quite busy. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines.”
Kent gave a vague answer. Tia didn’t probe further. The bell signifying the end of class rang, and Kent finished his preparations and left school.
