Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Sweet Potato Episode
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As summer fades and autumn arrives, the world bursts into full color.
A sky stretched high above, a cool breeze brushing the tip of my nose.
The crisp scent unique to fall.
And the falling leaves.
"Hm."
In this Jefrin where the four seasons stood in stark contrast to the real world, autumn shone all the more brilliantly.
But in opposition to that, my heart was rotting away, pitch black inside.
No ordinary customers had ever set foot in this convenience store—not in spring, not in summer, and now not even in fall.
Honestly.
Maybe it was time to face the truth.
This convenience store's location was complete garbage, no one came to the canteen, and I was fated to drag around a cart like some expedition merchant, peddling from a street stall.
No matter how much stock I piled up and tried to sell, this place was turning into a hangout spot for the few people I was on decent terms with.
Opening a store in the central district would require billions of rin.
I wasn't exactly short on cash, but if I graduated and opened shop outside, the problem was this convenience store that I wouldn't have run for even two full years.
How could I save this convenience store?
As I pondered its future, my part-timer arrived for the day.
"Senior, good morning."
"...Hm. What's that?"
Milmyu, smiling brightly and healthily, clutched a paper bag to her chest.
"Oh, a gift from home. I told them they didn't need to send anything, but... Want to see, Senior?"
"Home? I thought milk was the local specialty."
"They handle vegetables and grains too, you know? Looks like they had a good harvest this year."
"I see."
I'd thought it was some backwater village in the east like Nefti's, but apparently not.
Or maybe it had better infrastructure than Gluco. No, there was no place with worse infrastructure than Gluco.
Whatever.
"So, what'd you bring?"
"Hee hee. Take a look. It's my favorite."
With that, Milmyu set the bag on the table, revealing its contents.
A long, purple food item.
"Sweet potatoes."
"Yes."
I see.
Full-on autumn indeed.
Sweet potatoes.
In D/Z SAGA, they were a pretty decent recovery item.
Early on, they were cheaper than the lowest-grade health potions but just as efficient, so plenty of players stocked their inventory with sweet potatoes instead of potions.
Of course, in reality, choking to death on two would be more likely.
Anyway.
Milmyu pulled out a sweet potato and fixed me with a serious gaze.
"Senior, what if... we sold these at our convenience store?"
"Hm. Our convenience store?"
"...W-Was that too presumptuous? Sorry."
"No, just caught me off guard. Even as a part-timer, you're a full-fledged member of this store. It's fine to take ownership."
"Y-Yes! Someday for sure... the real owner."
Milmyu nodded vigorously as she said it.
"So, you want to sell these?"
"Yes. It's one of our territory's specialties. The taste is guaranteed."
Autumn roasted sweet potatoes.
Couldn't resist that.
Back in my original world, "sweet potato" had a bit of a negative connotation sometimes, but not always.
Sweet potatoes with milk? Heavenly. It was the snack that defined my falls.
"Would it be too hard...?"
Thinking she saw my contemplation as hesitation, Milmyu asked cautiously. I shook my head.
"No. Autumn specialty means low unit cost, and... convenience stores need seasonal limited menus anyway. Not a bad idea."
Yeah. Couldn't pass on seasonal limited items.
Slushies in summer. Hobak buns and bungeoppang in winter. So obviously sweet potatoes for fall.
"Th-Then..."
"Good. Let's try selling sweet potatoes. I'll write up the order form—give me a sec."
"Th-Thank you."
"You're awfully excited. Got a ton of stock left over in the territory or something?"
"Hee hee. That's part of it, but... I'm just happy Sabre Territory goods will be in Senior's convenience store."
I see.
She's still a kid at heart.
An age when you miss home cooking.
"It feels like Senior's convenience store is slowly filling with Sabre colors. Makes me really happy."
I nodded as I watched Milmyu smile lightly.
Yeah.
Definitely homesick.
If we'd decided to sell sweet potatoes, first we had to figure out how.
Of course, I already had some ideas.
Working convenience store shifts back home, I'd sold roasted sweet potatoes on hot stone heaters sometimes.
I didn't know the exact mechanics of those machines, so my plan was a cylindrical roaster: lay a huge can on its side atop the cart and roast them roughly.
"Coming up with something like this on the spot... As expected of you, Senior."
Milmyu marveled at the instant-made roaster. Of course, Patrasche had handled the bluepwon't and metal cutting.
"I should learn [Metalworking] sometime."
"Isn't that a pretty advanced skill, Senior?"
Is it?
Maybe.
"Anyway, roasting like this will use a lot of firewood. Factoring in the weight..."
"Don't worry about that."
"Huh?"
I gave Patrasche a look. She tilted her head, then got it and pointed a paw at herself. No idea how a dog breed pulled off that trick, but I set the question aside and nodded.
"We've got an eco-friendly, no-fuel-cost fire-breathing dog right here."
"...Ah, Patrasche. But won't she get tired?"
"Just tweak the nature of her ever-flowing mana, and she can handle one or two cylinders easy. Right, Patrasche?"
Patrasche sighed deeply, lay under the fixed cylinder, and flames roared to life above her.
"Fire control is key. Dial it back a bit."
"...Master. Go die."
"What? I'll give you some sweet potatoes too."
"...If they taste bad, I might actually kill you."
We'll see.
"Alright, time for a tasting."
"Y-Yes! But just us two?"
Patrasche paw-thumped the floor at Milmyu's question. Like, why leave me out?
"Oh, sorry, Patrasche. ...The three of us, then?"
"Yeah."
I checked the cylinder a few times, pulling one out when the sweet potato seemed just right.
Hot steamed sweet potato out, blow on it, snap in half, peel back the skin a bit, and golden flesh reveals itself.
Pop that sweet gold in your mouth, and the heat spreads, sweetness dancing on your tongue.
"...Wow."
"Ho ho."
Milmyu and Patrasche seemed hooked—one bite and their eyes sparkled.
"And sweet potatoes go best with milk, of course."
"Ah... We eat it like that back home too! So good, right?"
"That so? Hm... Ho. This is quite the delicacy. Hm. Don't like being used like this, but this reward... Mmm. Yum yum."
Patrasche alternated between her milk bowl and sweet potato bowl, chomping away.
Yeah.
Saw online once: come fall, fattened dogs from sweet potato binges flood animal hospitals.
"Not to your liking, Senior?"
"Hm. Maybe no firewood? Taste is a bit lacking."
"Ah... Could be. Sweet potatoes really need firewood."
"It can get even tastier? Hah... Humans' greed knows no bounds."
Patrasche stared wide-eyed in culture shock.
"Firewood or not, it has its own flavor."
"Then... I'll fetch some wood right now, Master."
"No need. Don't we have plenty of firewood substitutes right here?"
"Chopping inside Jefrin is forbidden, right, Senior?"
"No, not that. Look at the ground."
"Ah."
"Ho ho."
I pointed around, where ample firewood substitutes lay piled.
Yeah.
Fallen leaves.
Gather heaps of leaves, light 'em up, shove sweet potatoes in.
Aluminum foil would be ideal, but no such luck.
Blind-roasting straight in would burn them before they cooked, obviously.
"So, Patrasche. One more favor."
"What chore now?"
"Use telekinesis and fire control to 'properly' cook the sweet potatoes."
"...You mad, Master? Check their insides through the flames, adjust so fire touches but doesn't burn, cooks but doesn't char?"
"Can't do it? The Crimson Flame Wolf who strode battlefields with the founding emperor three hundred years ago?"
"Hah, what do you take me for? But cost-benefit..."
"Don't want tastier sweet potatoes?"
At that, Patrasche sat, lit the fire, inserted potatoes, and focused.
Milmyu was the one freaking out.
"S-Senior, Patrasche's true identity... For real? With the great founding emperor of Loengrin..."
"Didn't know?"
"Sh-Should I call her Lady Patrasche?"
"Hm."
Couldn't hear Patrasche, but she'd pieced it from my words.
Compare her to average low nobility? Patrasche was basically a founding merit. Filthia too.
But...
"Hmm. For even cooking, fire control... Hm. Compared to battlefields three hundred years ago..."
"No need."
"R-Right."
Right now, just a sweet potato-crazed fattened dog.
After that, we spent ages researching sales methods.
Sounds grand, but really just testing new "firewood," steaming, frying.
End result: bloated Patrasche, satisfied me, and Milmyu.
Pure self-indulgence.
"In the end, Patrasche handles the roasting. And keeping them warm."
"Pair with cold milk. Two sweet potatoes and a cup of milk set for..."
"Four thousand rin? Or five thousand?"
"Not too pricey?"
"Factor in Patrasche's labor. Firewood costs too."
"Five thousand still warrants thought."
"Plus your labor, Senior. I notice sometimes—you undervalue your own work and wage."
"Do I?"
Milmyu's words had me nodding. Yeah. Hourly rate matters.
Nodded again today.
"Alright. Sales start tomorrow, Senior."
"Hm?"
"What time should I swing by tomorrow?"
?
Why ask that?
And so, next dawn.
Set up the stall in the general department, positioned Patrasche, loaded leaves and firewood, started roasting.
"Dawn air's nice, Senior."
"Sure you're okay helping this early?"
Milmyu stood beside me.
"Of course. Call on me anytime."
"...I see."
She smiled at passing customers, pitching the seasonal goods hard.
"...T-Top student? Milmyu? Why here..."
"Morning, Larang. Hee hee. Me at 'me and Senior's stall'? Not that surprising, right?"
"Ah... Y-Yes!"
"Right? It's chilly today, Larang—so how about this warm sweet potato and milk set?"
"Uh, um..."
"We have a tasting corner. Try one."
"Ah, aha..."
"These sweet potatoes are supplied 'directly from my home territory of Sabre' to 'Wolfram Senior's convenience store' and sold at 'me and Senior's stall'?"
"......Ah, yes. One set, then."
"Thanks."
Milmyu never dropped her smile as sales kicked off.
"'Wolfram Senior' 'personally ordered' this from 'Sabre Territory'."
"Ooh, tasty..."
"Right? Because 'they pair so well'?"
"...Ah, aha."
Way more helpful than expected.
And she's really pushing Sabre Territory.
"Off to class, Senior. Sorry I can't clean up fully."
"No, you did great."
"Hee hee. All for myself, really."
She turned with a beaming smile.
"Everyone talks fiancée, guardian knight, hidden blade... Can't lag behind. I'll be the turnaround player watching from the back—from farthest, seeing clearest."
Didn't catch the last bit,
but her straight, unwavering stride screamed resolve.
"Good part-timer I got. Don't you think, Patrasche? Got good friends."
"Don't care if Master gets diced... But yeah, you do take after Hark in that."
Huh?
What was that out of nowhere?