The next day, as the morning sun rose over the town of Gimul, the city began to settle back into its everyday rhythm.
Festival decorations still clung to the street corners here and there, but they would likely be cleared away within a day or two. Most of the stalls from out of town had already packed up, and several troupes had already departed.
"The tourists who came for the festival are probably all heading home at once, so the South Gate must be a nightmare right now," the gatekeeper at the North Gate told me in a carefree tone as I passed through.
As for me...
"We’re going to reuse these parts, so be careful!"
"Understood! I'll keep them separate!"
I was currently helping the Semroid Troupe's stagehands dismantle their equipment. While I was confident in my own construction skills, a theatrical stage was a different beast entirely, so I decided to use this opportunity to pick up some new techniques. Even just the act of taking it apart taught me a great deal about its structure.
"Excuse me, what is this pillar with the screw-like threading for?" I asked.
"That's part of the stage machinery. We reuse those. You turn the handle at the bottom to raise up the performers or props on top. We didn't actually use it this time, though."
"I see."
It was fascinating to see all the hidden devices that remained invisible to the audience.
"Store Manager," a voice called out.
"Dolce-san? What’s the matter?"
"The Guard Force is here regarding that soap theft from the other day."
"Understood. My apologies, I have to step away."
"I heard," the stagehand replied with a wave. "Don't worry about us, go on ahead."
"Thank you very much."
On the walk back to the shop with Dolce-san, we passed a constant stream of customers. Even though the festival had only just ended, our shop was operating as usual.
I had initially considered giving everyone the day off, but the local housewives had been complaining about how their laundry was piling up because they were too busy with festival preparations. Others mentioned their clothes were filthy from the cleanup. Seeing the clear demand, I decided to keep our doors open. To compensate, I planned to hold a staff appreciation party tonight, much like our previous social gathering.
That decision proved correct. By morning, the line of customers was twenty percent larger than usual. To my surprise, Arnold-san, whom I had just met the day before, was among them. He explained that since the Founding Festival was an annual event, the city reused the decorative banners and flags every year.
Previously, the person in charge would sort through the items to see what could be salvaged, then wash them by hand before storage. This year, they were considering our shop to improve efficiency and reduce costs. He had brought some of his own clothes today to personally test our service before committing to a city contract. If all went well, we might land a very lucrative agreement.
"Excuse me for the wait," I said as I entered the reception room.
The guard officer stood up from the sofa. After a formal exchange of greetings, we got straight to business.
"Regarding the theft of the soap you reported, we’ve apprehended the culprit. Are these the items in question?"
He pulled the stolen soap, still in its original netting, from a bundle beside him. They had actually caught him. It might have been cynical of me, but I had honestly assumed the stolen goods would never be recovered.
"Recovery isn't always guaranteed, of course," the officer explained. "But the man who stole this was also a pickpocket, and he was caught red-handed yesterday. When we searched his lodgings, we found these. Since you’d already filed a report, we pressed him on it, and he confessed."
I was certainly lucky. I’d have to offer a prayer of thanks to Gain and the others later.
I reviewed and signed the return receipt as requested.
"...Yes, these are definitely mine. Thank you very much for your hard work."
The officer accepted the documents with a smile and hurried off. It seemed the Guard Force was still struggling with their post-festival workload.
"Hum, hum, hu~m."
As I saw the officer out, I spotted Fina-san in the back of the shop, humming to herself as she moved some crates.
"You’re in a good mood," I noted.
"Eek!? M-Manager! When did you get there?"
"Just now. The guard just left."
"Oh, right, the theft..."
"Did I startle you?"
"A little... were you listening?"
"That was one of Prenance-san’s songs, wasn't it?"
Her face turned bright red. She was actually quite good, but I decided not to tease her further. Still, she seemed unusually happy.
"Oh, that’s right! Listen, Manager! I was working the counter earlier, and so many customers asked if we were going to sell barley tea again. They said it was delicious at the stall yesterday."
"Is that so?"
"It made me so happy to hear people praise tea made from the very barley we could never sell before."
That had been the whole reason she’d left her village for work.
"In that case, why don't you try making and selling barley tea yourselves?" I suggested.
"At this shop?"
"No, in your village. Even if the raw barley doesn't sell well, you could process it into a finished product."
Processing and marketing a new product certainly had its challenges, but people were already actively inquiring about it. There was a clear, immediate demand. In fact, our sales records from last night showed that barley tea accounted for seventy percent of all beverage sales. We even had repeat customers coming back for multiple cups.
If we could achieve that in just two days of sales, a proper marketing push would likely find even more buyers. The village could handle the cultivation and the roasting process. If they sold the finished tea leaves, it would reduce waste and provide the village with a steady cash income.
"If you want, I can write a letter of introduction to Pioro-san," I added. "The tea we sold at the festival used barley from your village that we roasted here. Your village can do the same, and with the Saionji Company’s help... I really think it could work."
I might have been getting ahead of myself, but the potential was there.
"There are things to work out, like harvest volumes and logistics, of course," I cautioned.
"In our village, we plant several varieties of grain every year to prevent crop disease," Fina said, her eyes bright. "Large barley is about thirty percent of our crop, but we could increase that next year. But... are you really sure it’s okay for us to sell it?"
"I feel like I've told someone this before, but even if I came up with the idea, doing it myself would take too much effort. I’m focused on my shop and preparing for my homecoming right now; I don't have the bandwidth to start a tea business."
But there were customers who wanted the tea, and there was a village that needed money. It made more sense for them and the Saionji Company to handle it than for the idea to rot in my head.
"You mentioned before that I should interview people from your village for work," I continued. "But if this venture turns a profit, maybe some of them won't need to leave home at all."
"But won't that leave your shop short-handed?"
"I haven't actually hired them yet, so I’ll just take the people who actually want to live in the city. If I need more staff, I’ll hire from elsewhere. I’d rather not have people working here against their will anyway. If people who want to stay in their village are able to do so, that’s a good thing. They say you can't be a good child once your parents are gone... if you have the chance to spend time with your family, you should take it."
I told her I’d be perfectly happy if they just sent me some tea leaves every now and then.
"Manager... may I write to my father about this? I want the whole village to consider it."
"Of course. I’ll send a letter to the Saionji Company as well to let them know we’re considering this. It wouldn't do to drop it on them out of the blue."
"Finaaaa! What are you doing back there!?"
"Ah! I’m sorry!"
We had been talking for quite a while.
"My apologies, Jane-san," I called out. "I was the one who stopped her. Sorry, Fina-san, we’ll talk more later."
"Yes, sir!"
I left the two of them and headed back to help with the stage dismantling.
That night.
The food court, now mostly cleared of its stage and stalls, hosted the same group that had attended our first social gathering.
"I'm hungry! Mom, is the food— mgh!"
"Stop talking and sit down!"
The party began with the same laughter and playful bickering as before. Last time, we had served food from the festival stalls, but tonight the spread was different, made largely from leftover ingredients.
Shelma-san had prepared a rich, hearty soup using sausages from the hot dog stand and plenty of leftover vegetables. For my part, I offered a special batch of Salt Yakisoba.
I repurposed the noodles and vegetables from our Li-mien stock. For the sauce, I took some bird soup and seasoned it with Ramon juice, salt, and pepper to create a savory salt-based glaze. I fired up an iron plate I’d fashioned with alchemy, and as I poured the sauce over the sizzling noodles and vegetables, a mouth-watering aroma filled the air.
"Mmm! That smells incredible! Give me a large serving!" Maiya-san shouted.
"Me too!" Rick added.
"Coming right up!"
I served the participants one after another, the scent of the salt sauce drawing a constant line.
"Thanks for waiting! Is that everyone?" I asked.
"Seven more to go, ne," Li Ling replied.
"Ten, if you count us," Fei added.
"Understood! Let's make this next batch the last one for now."
I whipped up ten more servings, making sure to include portions for my helpers, Fei and Li Ling, as well as one for myself.
Now, where to sit...
"Store Manager!" Calm-san called out. He was sitting with Serge-san and Prenance-san. I decided to join them.
"Welcome," Serge said.
"Please, have a seat."
"Let’s start with a toast. What will you be drinking, Ryoma-kun?"
"Let’s see..." Since there were other kids my age around, I stuck with barley tea.
"To everyone’s hard work! Cheers!"
"Cheers!" the group roared.
The fragrant, toasted flavor of the barley tea was incredibly refreshing.
"Phew... it really feels like the festival is over now," I sighed.
"Indeed," Prenance replied. "Though for us, it is also a beginning."
"You’re heading to the next city already?"
"Yes, we leave for the town of Dobanan tomorrow morning. There is a festival being held there next."
Moving on so soon after one ended... their lifestyle was certainly grueling.
"Actually, this stay was quite easy for us, since you all provided everything from our lodgings to the venue," Prenance continued.
Apparently, for traveling performers, they often had to leave a city the very night a show ended just to secure a good spot in the next town. If they couldn't find an inn, they were forced to sleep sitting up in their carriages.
Knowing that, I felt a bit guilty. "Wait, are you sure you should be here? I hope I didn't force you to stay for this party."
"Do not worry. We have plenty of time in our schedule. And thanks to our contract with the Morgan Company, arranging for inns and venues has become much simpler."
"We want the Semroid Troupe to perform in the best possible locations to help promote our music boxes," Serge explained. "I’ve already contacted our branches in other cities and instructed them to secure the necessary permits and space."
"I see. That’s a clever arrangement."
"The music boxes we brought for the festival sold out completely," Serge added with a grin. "I’m very excited for the future. And speaking of the future, I hear you’re planning to put this barley tea on the market?"
"Oh? Did you hear that from Fina-san?"
Calm-san was the one who answered. "She came to me earlier to ask about demand projections and profit margins. She mentioned you had given your blessing. I don’t know what her village elders will say, but she and the others seem quite determined to convince them."
"So, what do you think, Calm? Is it viable?"
"The unit price will be much lower than black tea, but that just means it’s accessible to the common people," Calm analyzed. "Based on the festival sales, the product value is undeniable. I don’t believe it could possibly result in a loss. Assuming we have the Saionji Company’s backing... well, I may be a layman when it comes to the food industry, but I see a significant business opportunity here."
"I agree," Serge chimed in. "Calm mentioned 'assumptions,' but I know Pioro. He won't refuse. He isn't the type of man to throw away a seed of business when it’s dropped right into his hand."
If these two were that confident, I didn't have much to worry about.
"A simple drink sold at a festival corner that goes on to save an entire village..." Prenance mused, a faraway look in his eyes. "That... that is a ballad in the making."
He certainly had a different perspective than the businessmen. "You’re going to turn that into a song?"
"Stories of salvation are popular everywhere," Prenance explained. "The audience can always relate to them. But using a single cup of tea as the catalyst for that salvation... that’s a fresh angle. If you don't mind, would you allow me to write a story based on this barley tea?"
The conversation had taken a very unexpected turn. A story about barley tea? I wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"As long as you don't use my real name," I finally said. "And you’ll have to ask Fina-san and the others. They and their village are the ones who will actually be doing the work."
In the end, I decided to leave the final word to them.
"Then I shall go ask at once! Excuse me!" Prenance stood up and hurried over to Fina’s group.
"He’s certainly serious... unless he’s just drunk?" I wondered aloud.
"He hasn't actually had much to drink," Serge noted.
"Well, things will work out one way or another."
"Ryoma-kun!" Maiya-san called out.
"Ah, Maiya-san."
"It’s our last night here. Why don't you come show us what you can do?"
A few members of the troupe were gathering near where the stage had been. My last chance to perform with them... why not?
"Excuse me, I'm going to join them for a bit."
"Good luck, Store Manager!" Calm-san said.
"We look forward to being entertained," Serge added.
After that, amid cheers for the "rookie sword dancer," I performed to the best of my ability, showcasing the results of my training. I focused on the rhythm of the music, emphasizing the speed and flow of my movements, and every time I split a piece of wood, the crowd erupted in applause.
When the song ended, the ovation was even louder.
Caught up in the spirit of the night, I even brought out my guitar and played some of the songs I remembered from Sunday nights and Saturday mornings back on Earth.
Performing alongside the talented members of the troupe, I was able to create some wonderful memories before it was time for us to say our goodbyes.