I finally managed to clear the long queue at the stall, finding a moment of peace to catch my breath. The most intimidating customers—the Dwarfs—had mostly come through at the start, thankfully.
However, I had a bit of a problem. I had less than half of my Special Burger ingredients left. This was the result of the crowds—led by Master Zardan—buying three burgers at a time. I suspected most were buying for others, but knowing the Dwarfs, they were probably eating all three themselves. That had been a bit of a miscalculation on my part.
I’d assumed people would order smaller portions to save room for the other delicious-looking stalls, but I’d clearly been too optimistic.
Still, if I managed to sell every last bit of my stock, I stood a good chance of placing high in the contest. After all, simply securing a massive quantity of ingredients was the biggest hurdle for most participants. Between the sheer volume and the issue of preservation, our ability to use Storage Rings gave us a massive advantage.
But even so, it didn't look like victory would be handed to me on a silver platter.
『Hey, Tort! If you keep idling like this, you’re going to lose!』
『Hm? What’s wrong?』
『It’s Halfa and Spira’s stall! Their crowd is incredible!』
Prompted by Shiroru, I peeked over at their stall and saw that their line was still stretching into the distance. Cold soft serve was a massive hit in this heat, likely because chilled sweets were such a rarity in this world.
Their turnover rate was incredible, too. Since it was just a matter of dispensing the soft serve, there was practically zero prep time. The two of them were working in perfect, seamless sync. It looked like Lowell had stepped in to help as well, likely because they were shorthanded. Come to think of it, he was supposed to be helping at my stall, but aside from the occasional ingredient replenishment, he seemed to have spent the whole time over there. I hadn't realized they were that busy.
"Wait, I wonder if they have enough ingredients..."
To be honest, I’d thought Halfa and her group would hit a wall with their supplies. Soft serve requires a huge amount of milk—the same milk I needed for my cheese. Since I’d been sourcing all the milk from a specific dairy farm, I figured their production capacity would be limited.
『It seems they consulted Luranna and secured a supply through her!』
"What? Really? How did they even transport it?"
『It seems they even borrowed a Storage Ring.』
"No way..."
Luranna-san had certainly made a bold move. Storage Rings were incredibly precious items; people didn't just hand them out. I wondered if she was doing them a favor to secure the future manufacturing and sales rights for the soft serve.
Regardless, this was an unexpected development. I was going to hit my limit once I sold the remaining half of my stock. If Halfa and the others had prepared more than that, I had no moves left to make.
I desperately tried to brainstorm a solution while handing out burgers. I still had plenty of Rush Bull meat in my Storage Ring, and my Teriyaki Sauce would hold out. Even if it didn't, I had the components to make more. The problem was the cheese and, more importantly, the buns. While I could conjure more cheese with magic if I had milk, the buns were another story. I relied on a bakery workshop to bake the dough I’d fermented with yeast. I couldn't leave the stall to place a new order, and it was doubtful any workshop would be open for business on a festival day anyway.
...A comeback was looking unlikely.
But I had to sell everything I had and see it through to the end!
"The winner of the cooking division is... Halfa & Spira's Soft Serve Shop! Congratulations!"
The Master of Ceremonies announced the results at the award ceremony venue, his voice booming across the plaza. Halfa and Spira stood on the stage, smiling and waving as the crowd roared in celebration.
In the end, victory went to them. My hamburger stall took second place. My biggest failure was running out of ingredients halfway through; I simply couldn't close the gap in votes after my stall went dark. But even if I’d had enough stock, I wasn't sure I could have beaten them. That was how much of a success the soft serve shop had been. I could practically see Luranna-san smirking to herself somewhere in the crowd.
"Congratulations, Halfa, Spira."
"Hehe, thank you!"
"Ehehe, we worked really hard!"
I offered my congratulations when the two returned from the stage, and their voices practically bounced with excitement.
"I didn't expect you two to take the initiative on procurement like that."
"We had to! We knew we couldn't beat Tort if we didn't go all out!"
"Luranna-san was a huge help, too."
Both Halfa and Spira were beaming. Part of it was my own negligence, but their proactive choices had led them to victory. They had both grown so much more assertive. After everything they’d been through, seeing them enjoy life with such energy made me truly happy. Though, come to think of it, Halfa had been fairly energetic since the moment she was liberated.
"Good work to you too, Lowell."
"You too, Tort. Sorry I couldn't help your side more."
"No, don't worry about it. Halfa's shop was the one doing booming business, after all."
I’d made Lowell run back and forth for supplies all day. He had to be exhausted.
『Muu... Tort didn't win...』
Shiroru was looking a bit dejected. I knew he liked hamburger patties, but I hadn't realized he was this invested in the competition. He huddled against my leg and whimpered.
『The Dragon meat hamburger patty... Can I not eat it...?』
I see. So that was why he was depressed. I’d mentioned that the Dragon Meat was the grand prize for the contest, and he’d somehow convinced himself that meant he’d only get to eat it if I won.
"Hahaha, were you worried about that?"
『It is a very serious matter!』
Shiroru tapped my leg repeatedly with his paw. It didn't hurt, but he was certainly making his point.
"It's okay, Shiroru! We won!" Halfa chirped.
"The Dragon Meat belongs to us!" Spira added.
『Oh! Does that mean...?』
"Haha, once we receive the prize, I’ll use that Dragon Meat to make the patties."
When I made that promise, Shiroru let out a happy "Waf!" I was looking forward to it too, honestly. I wondered what Dragon Meat actually tasted like.
Incidentally, the winner of the arms contest was Master Zardan. His craftsmanship was peerless, as expected, but his behavior afterward was a complete mess. When the MC asked him for a few words, the Master completely ignored the topic of weapons and started gushing about my Special Burgers. He really is one of a kind.
I hadn't shared the recipe for the Special Burger with the regular hamburger stall yet, but seeing the Master’s enthusiasm, I figured I should probably get on that sooner rather than later.