Chapter 76
Chapter 76
“…..”
“…..”
-…..
Isiel, Cassis and I across the communication crystal remained silent.
“There’s nothing suitable.”
“You’re right.”
“Can’t we just open a shop on Revute Street?”
The biggest problem currently was the lack of suitable buildings for opening a shop.
The available options were either tiny hole-in-the-wall spaces or located in high-end shopping districts.
Isiel was asking if we couldn’t open the shop on Revute Street, one of those high-end areas.
“We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, the people who go to Revute Street are either nobles or very successful commoners. It would be difficult for the commoners I’m targeting to access it.”
Isiel nodded in understanding at my words.
When Isiel first jumped into our ‘Lu & Cream’ venture with his money, he didn’t understand my intention to target commoners.
Though he still seemed unconvinced, he followed my opinion, saying “commoners are people too.”
Isiel was actively involved in Luwin’s business.
For instance, helping to find a shop like this.
“Besides, Revute is too expensive.”
“I’ll cover the rent.”
“For how long? Forever?”
Talk sense.
Isiel rolled his eyes as he replied.
“If you think of it as an investment, paying forever isn’t impossible. I could start with covering one year first.”
“No thank you. I don’t need that kind of unnecessary investment. If you want to invest, please do it with money.”
These kinds of seemingly strings-free favors are exactly what needs to be rejected.
Because later, when the business succeeds, they could use the excuse of having paid rent to try to take over management rights.
Though we had no choice but to accept the Lemiere family’s help now, we needed to protect Luwin’s management rights in case ‘Lu & Cream’ becomes very successful.
“That’s why, as I mentioned before, I’d prefer not to leave the Pahir district.”
The Pahir district is an area where money has been steadily flowing in lately.
It was originally a quiet neighborhood, but artists attracted by the low rent have set up their studios and workshops there.
As it developed into a cultural street, cafes, restaurants, and small shops started appearing.
These changes have begun attracting new tourists, making it an up-and-coming area in the capital lately.
“Specifically, near the intersection of Hails Street and Eldos Street in Pahir district would be ideal.”
“Right. The ice cream cart was originally in front of the theater where Hails and Eldos intersect.”
That location was really prime.
There was a constant flow of people.
The location played a big role in attracting many customers in the early stages.
“It’s troublesome.”
“Indeed it is.”
[It’s a problem, for sure.]
While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a low voice came through the communication crystal.
-My mansion in the capital is at the end of Hails Street, how would that location work?
“That would be perfect.”
While it’s just okay as a residence, it’s perfect for a shop.
Although being at the end of Hails Street is slightly disappointing, it’s still an area with heavy foot traffic.
The reason I was surprised when I first visited that mansion was because I could hear the noise of people on the street.
-Then you’re welcome to use the mansion as a shop.
“What, really?”
Isiel showed a shocked reaction.
And not just Isiel.
I couldn’t help but be surprised too.
Because Cassis offering his mansion for use as a shop was tantamount to declaring he would give up his personal space.
What noble would open their private space to everyone?
-…Is opening up the mansion too much?
Seeing Isiel’s intense reaction, Cassis seemed a bit flustered.
After a moment of silence, a hesitant voice came through the communication crystal.
“Isn’t it though?”
Isiel’s position seemed to be that no matter what, opening up your personal space was going too far.
-…Irina, do you think so too?
Cassis asked me as well.
“Well…”
To be honest, I too don’t prefer exposing my personal space to others.
When a person shares everything, they end up with nowhere to return to when they want to rest.
Though Luwin has a lot of debt, one advantage in the current situation is having our own place in the capital.
This gives us the huge advantage of not being restricted by space when doing business in the capital.
In this situation, giving up our own place made me hesitate a lot too.
I wondered if we might end up needlessly losing a home if we weren’t successful after going to such lengths.
But aside from that, it’s not a bad proposal.
Actually, it’s closer to being a good one.
“To be honest, it’s a good proposal.”
-Please explain.
“Geographically, it’s very good. Plus, even though it’s considered small, it’s still a mansion. It has a central hall and a garden.”
This means we can design the building to be more than just a place to sell ice cream.
This kind of planning can help ingrain the brand value of ‘Lu & Cream’ into the public consciousness more quickly and easily.
And it can appeal to the noble class that ice cream isn’t a lower-class dessert, but one with its own philosophy.
After calmly listening to my explanation, Cassis reached a conclusion.
-Then we should do it.
“Cassis, where will you stay then?”
-I’ll stay at a nearby inn until things stabilize.
“The great Grand Duke, staying at a mere inn?”
Isiel seemed displeased.
He probably felt sorry seeing his proud friend’s difficult situation.
“It’ll be tough at first, but once we get established, making money will happen quickly.”
-Is that so?
Cassis’s voice through the communication crystal had a slight laugh in it, which had a calming effect.
“Yes.”
-Good. Let’s do that then. It was Yuri, right? Tell Yuri he’s free to decorate as he likes.
I asked one more time for confirmation.
“Is it really okay to completely change the interior?”
-Yes, it’s fine. But before proceeding, please report the reasons and planned changes in advance.
That’s reasonable.
Even though Cassis probably couldn’t see me, I nodded enthusiastically.
“Ah, I already knew you were like this, but you’re really something else today.”
Isiel sighed at mine and Cassis’s recklessness and offered to cover the additional costs related to interior design.
[This is awesome!]
‘I know! We’ll use only the most expensive, highest-quality materials!’
* * *
Yuri began remodeling work on ‘Sweet Home Luwin House in the Capital’ with the excellent architect Isiel had introduced and the construction mages working under him.
Yuri said the plan was to maintain the historical and traditional building’s skeleton and overall structure, while removing the classical elements and rebuilding it in a modern style.
“Ooh… modern?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, let’s do well.”
Of course, I didn’t particularly trust this and decided to keep checking regularly.
Still, since Yuri knows the overall image of ‘Lu & Cream’, he should do well on his own.
[Launching the Ice Cream Brand <Lu & Cream> Successfully!
(Complete) 1. Decide brand name
(In Progress) 2. Decide poster, logo, concept, etc.
(Complete) 3. Find shop location
(In Progress) 4. Decorate shop
5. Promote 1
6. Promote 2
7. Promote 3
8. Launch successfully]
Deciding to trust Yuri and Isiel’s eye for the shop, I returned to the cart after a long time.
The cart was surprisingly crowded.
The fact that we needed additional staff even after increasing from one person to two shows just how well business is doing.
You can tell from the steadily decreasing, small but cute remaining debt amount visible in the system.
“Yen, you don’t look good.”
“Please save me.”
“What will you do if you’re already showing weakness?”
“Please save me. Ahhh. There are too many people.”
I closed my mouth after seeing Yen, Harvey who couldn’t even open his mouth beside him, and the Orsha Palace attendants calmly dying.
There were definitely too many people.
The cart has a fixed capacity it can handle, but there were too many people visiting compared to that.
Although we added staff to handle them, it seemed we couldn’t make big changes due to space limitations.
Yen spoke in a dying voice.
“We need to either split the shop or do something.”
“But opening another cart at this point probably wouldn’t mean much.”
Besides, the official shop will open in a few months, and opening another temporary cart now would be a long-term loss in this situation.
“Please do something. Really, Harvey’s going to run away at this rate.”
What should we do about this?
As I was observing the awkward situation, there was a whispering sound.
Vroom-vroom! Vroom-vroom-vroom!!
“Ah, Vroom-vroom. Big sis is very busy, I’ll play with you later.”
Why are you so excited?
“…Vroom-vroom.”
As I was trying to calm Vroom-vroom down, a system window appeared mocking me.
[Irina, are you stupid?]
“What?”
[SYSTEM | ‘Is Irina stupid?’]
[SYSTEM | <Yes> <Yes>]
“…..”
Even the system was joining everyone in teasing me.
Why?
[Vroom-vroom isn’t just your pet.]
[Right. Its species is <Ice Cream Truck> after all!]
“Ooh… Oh! Ah!”
That’s right!
Our Vroom-vroom is an ice cream truck!
It can even fly!
With Vroom-vroom, we can solve the cart-related problems more easily than expected.
Because we can sell ice cream while traveling around the capital on Vroom-vroom!
“Yen! Do you get motion sickness badly?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then get on Vroom-vroom. Let’s go sell ice cream with big sis!”
And so I decided to target the capital’s hot spots with Yen, who was dry heaving while flying through the sky.
I had worried about being forgotten before the shop and brand launch, but it seems I don’t need to worry.
