Things had gotten completely out of hand.
The hamburgers were selling too well—way too well!
First and foremost, the demand for Teriyaki Burgers was staggering. It seemed the teriyaki sauce had hit the bullseye with the dwarves' taste buds; one dwarf customer after another kept lining up to buy them.
Moreover, their individual purchase volumes were slightly insane.
Most of them would buy about five burgers at a time. For the first few days, we only had a handful of customers, so we managed to cope. But day by day, the number of dwarves swarming the stall increased. Apparently, Master Zardan had been flaunting the burgers in front of all his dwarf acquaintances while he ate. The promotional effect was undeniable, but I just hoped I hadn't made any enemies in the process.
While not quite as explosive as the Teriyaki Burgers, the Cheeseburgers and normal hamburgers were also selling remarkably well. In fact, lately, every single variety would sell out shortly after noon. We were currently preparing 400 Teriyaki Burgers and 200 of each of the other two types every day. It was simply impossible for us to increase production any further on our own.
The real problem, however, was that we had no time left to research our new menu. I had intended to win the Cooking Contest with a brand-new recipe, but the grueling daily preparation left me with no energy for anything else.
Of course, we could have just called it a day once our prepared stock was gone. The only reason it was so difficult was because we were forcing ourselves to make 800 burgers every day; if we reduced our output, we would have some breathing room.
But at this point, I was actually a little afraid of what would happen if we cut the supply. Mark had already approached me with a plea to keep the numbers steady, claiming that the dwarf artisans who failed to secure a Teriyaki Burger suffered such a massive drop in morale that they became practically useless at work.
With our hands completely tied, we gathered at Lowell's house for a strategy meeting. Lately, we had been descending on his place whenever a problem arose, so I was worried we might be overstaying our welcome.
That said, Lowell’s house was the best place for Spira to play. She clearly wasn’t comfortable in crowded areas; she told us that she spent most of her time outside using invisibility. Perhaps because of her presence, Lowell continued to welcome us... or so I hoped!
"What should we do?" I asked.
"Hmm, this is even tougher than I expected. It might be impossible to keep this up every day," Halfa admitted.
Even Halfa, who had been so enthusiastic about the stall, was looking worn out. It was a different kind of exhaustion than what we felt from adventuring.
『There’s never any hamburger left for me to eat! This is a crisis!』 Shiroru projected.
"I want to eat a hamburger, too..." Spira added softly.
I felt a pang of guilt over their complaints. For now, we were pushing ourselves to the limit just to meet the demand at the stall.
One of our goals for the stall had been to promote ourselves for the Cooking Contest, and I felt we had achieved that flawlessly. However, we had made zero progress on our second goal: gathering information about the wingfolk. We were simply too busy to even exchange small talk with our customers.
"There's also the matter of ingredients," Lowell pointed out. "We don't have much Rush Bull meat left. We should either go hunting ourselves or simply put out a request at the Adventurer's Guild. As for the stall, you might want to consider hiring some help."
Halfa and I looked at each other. Honestly, I hadn't even considered it because I never imagined we would be this busy, but Lowell’s suggestion made perfect sense.
Once the decision was made, we acted immediately. It was still a bit early in the evening, so there was enough time to consult Luranna-san at the Merchant Guild. Halfa and I headed there while Lowell went to the Adventurer's Guild to post the request for Rush Bull meat. Shiroru and Spira stayed behind to watch the house.
At the Merchant Guild, I asked for Luranna-san. While she occasionally helped out at the reception desk, she spent most of her time handling paperwork in her private office. Despite her youth, she clearly held a position of considerable authority within the guild. Even so, her initiative was incredible—she had even learned Decomposition herself. In fact, she might have earned her promotion through that very drive.
After a short wait, Luranna-san arrived with a brisk, pleasant smile.
"Tort-sama, Halfa-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure today?"
"We have something we'd like to consult with you about."
"I see. This way, then."
Luranna-san led us into a reception room and took a seat.
"Now then, what kind of profitab—consultation shall we discuss today?"
...Did she just almost say "profitable proposal"?
Well, I suppose that’s how our meetings usually went. But this time, we were just looking to hire staff. I didn't think there was much in it for the Merchant Guild.
I explained the current situation of the hamburger stall and our desperate need for more hands. Luranna-san nodded deeply, her lips curling into a sharp grin. It was the smile of a merchant who had just scented a business opportunity.
"The hamburgers seem to be exceptionally well-received. I tried one myself, and it was truly delicious. Since you’re preparing for the contest, I assume you’re maintaining profitability even at that price point?"
"Uh, yes. More or less..."
According to the Cooking Contest rules, the price had to be at least double the cost of ingredients, so we had set our prices accordingly. Since the market price for soy sauce hadn't been established yet, things were a bit vague, but I had already discussed that with Luranna-san, so she was well aware of the situation.
"Hehe, I see. Truthfully, I was planning to wait until after the contest to bring this up, but since things have reached this point, let’s move the discussion forward!"
It seemed Luranna-san already had a plan in mind. That was well and good, but her sudden surge in energy was a bit startling.
Actually, it wasn't a mystery at all. She had definitely sniffed out another profitable proposal.
With a rare, dramatic flourish, Luranna-san spread her arms and made her pitch.
"Tort-sama, Halfa-sama, why don't we open a proper hamburger shop? You could outsource the business operations to us, allowing the two of you to remain involved as the owners."
Open a hamburger shop!?
The conversation had suddenly taken a massive jump in scale.