Chapter 113
Chapter 113
One of the principles of Lu & Cream is that they don’t offer packaged sales.
You can only purchase ice cream through uniformed staff inside the always colorfully decorated stores.
You can only taste ice cream served by the staff on waffle cones.
Perhaps the only time packaged ice cream was available for purchase was at the ice cream festival held in Luwin due to an unexpected incident.
<‘Lu & Cream’ Pop-up Store Opening in Baron Rihelo’s Territory!>
“Come on everyone, try to sell a lot.”
But when in a hurry, I even ended up opening pop-ups like this.
“They’re already selling like hotcakes, so don’t worry.”
“If anything, please help us control the quantities.”
Currently, I’m opening pop-up stores while stopping at base cities between Jedo and Adela territory where Cassis is located.
<Why are you opening temporary stores?>
<…For promotion.>
<It will certainly be good promotion. But things are already going well, is there really a need for this?>
<…>
<At this point, it might be better to focus on developing the transportation business you mentioned before.>
Many people thought it was much more important to properly integrate the newly planned transport-related system into ‘Lu & Cream.’
Of course, my purpose was to meet Cassis, who was trapped and unable to move in the northeast.
Some suggested I could just take a teleport gate right away, but unfortunately, I didn’t receive travel approval from the imperial court.
Due to issues related to demonic beasts, I was already on a watchlist, and such frequent movement was deemed suspicious.
[So you need a convincing reason to travel legally?]
‘That’s right. I need a proper reason, and approval from the receiving family to vouch for that reason.’
That’s why I ended up opening the ‘Lu & Cream Pop-up Store.’
<If you need to go because of Lord Cassis… I suppose there’s no choice.>
Yen sighed deeply and added:
<Please travel safely.>
<I’ll also check if there are good locations for more stores while I’m at it.>
<We already have so many that they’re hard to manage. Please don’t expand with more stores.>
When I contacted nobles saying I wanted to open a ‘Lu & Cream’ pop-up store in their territory for about two days, almost all of them excitedly replied immediately.
Not only did they send replies, but those residing in Jedo even visited the mansion where I was staying.
Anyway, I’ve now arrived at Baron Rihelo’s territory after passing through several major cities.
‘This is not the time to be doing this.’
Time is of the essence, yet I’m wasting too much time along the way.
As I irritably brushed back my hair, the system tried to console me.
[But it hasn’t been entirely without results]
[Right, you’ve made a lot of money…]
[More than money, you’ve made new contracts.]
That’s right. It’s not without results.
Since things turned out this way, what I’ve been doing is completing quests.
That old Expand Stores quest I came across ages ago but never got around to finishing.
The empire has an incredible means of transportation called teleport gates, but it’s not a means that everyone can use comfortably.
Because of this, even though we operated several stores in Jedo and opened stores in other regions, people who couldn’t travel freely between regions had a hard time tasting our products.
No matter how inexpensive a dessert ice cream was at 3 jurang, regional limitations made it difficult to target all citizens of the empire.
Perhaps because of this, many people flocked to our stores, and seeing the crowds, the heads of each family seemed to be moved.
‘That’s how I completed the store contract quest.’
Even though we’ve just opened the pop-up today, Baron Rihelo, whom I met right before, kept asking if I’d join him for dinner this evening.
He probably knew that I had signed contracts in other territories.
“Hello, are you Miss Irina?”
When a pop-up opens, word spreads. People from the territory and nearby all come to visit.
I was blankly watching people when I turned my head at the young voice addressing me.
There stood a little child in shabby clothes looking up at me.
The child had brown hair grown out carelessly, but despite the appearance, had an extremely cute face.
‘So adorable.’
“Hello, little miss.”
“I, I saw you in the newspaper! It’s amazing!”
The baby chattered away to me. I must have seemed fascinating to her. She seemed to think I was an extraordinary person just because I frequently appeared in newspapers.
“Did you come to eat ice cream, little miss?”
“No! I came to buy ice cream!”
“The baby isn’t going to eat it?”
“…No.”
After a brief conversation with the child, I learned a lot of information. The child’s mother was currently pregnant and had apparently been wanting to eat ‘ice cream’ for a very long time after seeing advertisements in the newspaper.
However, they couldn’t afford to go to stores located in other regions, and even now with the pop-up open, though it was only 3 jurang, they didn’t have enough so decided not to eat it.
“So you came to buy it, little miss?”
“Yes! I collected money little by little by helping out at the inn!”
The child proudly showed me her coins.
“An inn… are there many people?”
“Yes! They say monsters appeared in another small village! So there are many people who escaped, and the inn is full of people every day. The owner is very happy.”
Oh-ho.
In the previous regions, there weren’t many people who had fled from the annihilated village, but coming to the territory right next to Count Adela’s domain, there seemed to be quite a few such people.
[Are you going to the inn?]
[To find information?]
‘No. I don’t think I need to.’
After all, Baron Rihelo seems very friendly toward Lu & Cream. As soon as I sent a proposal to open a pop-up, he took the initiative to find a location and provide staff support.
‘Baron Rihelo probably has much more information than the ragtag group at the inn.’
I closed the system window and turned my head back to the child.
The child was looking at the crowded pop-up store with eyes of longing.
“How much is one ice cream?”
“It’s 3 jurang each.”
At my words, the baby opened her mouth wide as if in despair, then spread her tiny fingers and stared at the coins for a long time.
After counting the numbers again for a while, she looked up at me with teary eyes.
“How much are you short?”
“I’m short 50 zeni…”
100 zeni equals 1 jurang.
I took 50 zeni from the child’s hand and placed 1 jurang on top.
The child’s eyes widened.
“Little miss, buy an ice cream and take it to your mother, and if you have time, would you come back to me? Just come to the pop-up over there and grab anyone to speak to.”
“…Yes!”
* * *
“The store you briefly opened for promotion has received a tremendous response.”
“Indeed. It seems the territory’s residents are quite open to this kind of culture.”
“Our residents are open to embracing new things and have a great interest in food culture.”
The baron rambled on at length about how wonderful his region was and what the people were like.
I sipped wine and carefully absorbed everything he was saying.
‘So it’s a strategic point on the way to the east, and it has many people due to a fairly large teleport gate compared to the size of the territory.’
“So, how would you feel about opening a store in our territory as well…”
While enjoying the delicious banquet, Baron Rihelo carefully brought up his main purpose.
Rather than answering the baron’s question, I asked about something slightly different.
“You mentioned high foot traffic, do many merchant caravans pass through as well?”
“Hmm… not the large caravans, but numerous medium and small caravans do pass through. Our territory is one of the places that must be crossed before heading to Count Adela’s territory.”
“Count Adela’s territory isn’t small, but the volume of movement probably isn’t that large.”
“Yes, that’s why our family operates a small caravan business as well.”
Being blocked by mountains, Count Adela’s territory cannot have many transient visitors.
However, I remember that in the original story, demonic beasts were discovered there in large numbers, and as reported, people began transforming into demonic beasts there, and these demonic beasts began establishing themselves in the mountains, changing the situation.
‘Even if it differs from the original story, it’s bound to become a major military strategic point.’
And where there’s a military, enormous money and resources flow.
There’s no need to seize control of the caravans here. Simply dominating the transport of their goods could yield enormous profits.
I smiled brightly at the baron, who was waiting for my response with an anxious face.
“…That sounds good.”
“Really?”
“Yes, although the city size is smaller compared to other regions, it’s good that it’s one of the main routes.”
“Ah, you’re saying that because of the delivery-related matters. I’ve heard that you’re already establishing related bases in the southern region.”
He already knew about the southern delivery system?
If he already knows, the conversation will be easier.
Thinking that the discussion would be much smoother, I opened my mouth again.
“If you already know, our conversation will be quicker. I’d like to make a proposal to you regarding the store.”
When I started my journey to meet Cassis, Yen earnestly pleaded with me not to unnecessarily increase the number of stores.
The reason he told me not to increase them was that ‘Lu & Cream’ had too few staff to effectively manage all the stores.
So the approach I’ve been taking when making new contracts with northeastern regions is somewhat different.
“Would the Rihelo baronial family manage the location, sales, and staffing?”
“Pardon?”
“‘Lu & Cream’ will provide the trademark and the means to make ice cream.”
From when I first established ‘Lu & Cream,’ my goal was absolutely not to manage all the stores in the empire myself.
My aim was to establish countless stores throughout the empire, entrust management to individual owners, and receive fees from them.
“Then what about the profits?”
“You’ll be generating the profits from the start. If you sell a lot, you’ll keep more, right?”
The baron’s eyes sparkled much more than before.
“In exchange, you must purchase ice cream and ice cream cones from our ‘Lu & Cream,’ and there’s a commission on a portion of the sales revenue.”
“Oh-ho!”
“For your reference, since ‘Lu & Cream’ has no competitors, it won’t be a losing business even after deducting the commission.”
About 30 minutes later, the baron stamped the contract.
The contract contained not only content related to the ‘Lu & Cream’ franchise but also information about distribution and delivery.
“Thank you very much for the excellent contract.”
“I should be the one thanking you. To have such a reliable person as Baron Rihelo taking charge of this area.”
[Isn’t this fraud?]
‘Heh, I clearly disclosed everything. And since I excluded the exclusivity clause, it’s not quite fraud.’
[I suppose.]
‘If Lu & Cream does well, the baron will make a fortune.’
As I was tidying up, I asked as if I had just remembered:
“By the way, Baron, do you happen to know what the situation is like in Count Adela’s territory?”
“The count’s family is in complete disarray right now.”
The baron, seeming to be in a good mood, chuckled while once again rambling on about the information he knew.
I continued to extract information diligently while maintaining a smiling face.
