Pizza Is Only Lending a Hand
"From the draw alone, it's thirty-one gold and five silver."
"Then we make it a regular feature."
The draw had proved more powerful than he had expected. The money was welcome, of course, but adding another attraction to the shop was a good thing in itself. He saw no reason to take it away.
Jane had one lingering worry, and she stole a glance at Skadi.
"A lot of people drew several times because of the handshake tickets with Skadi. What should we do about those? Some of them are still asking, even today..."
"Even so, handshake tickets with Skadi don't feel quite right."
As if the words pleased her, Skadi looked at Blow and smiled.
"Ooh! Are you actually looking out for my feelings?"
"Doesn't it seem a bit off to you?"
"I don't particularly mind."
"You're a noble lady, Skadi. You seem to forget that sometimes."
"Do I?"
She hardly seemed to care. She held a beer out to Blow, and while he knocked his glass against hers, Jane finished tallying the numbers and laid them out.
Red Forest had cleared forty gold a day on weekdays without breaking a sweat, and Hills had topped fifty gold on Sunday alone.
"We're just sweeping the money in."
"Hills' dishes are expensive, and they're still selling better than I expected."
"That's because we're at the mouth of Dusk Block, and we only just opened. Let's cover what we need to and wrap this up."
He clapped his hands as he spoke, and the kitchen staff came out and took their seats at the next table.
"It's the fourth day since we opened. If anything's nagging at you, or you've got a question, say it straight."
The first hand up belonged to Hans.
"Young Master, when is the cold storage coming in?"
"Lady Rachel said she'd provide a high-grade mana stone. The moment it arrives, we start. I'll ask her for the exact date."
"Yes, sir!"
Jane spoke next.
"We've posted the hiring notice. How many people should we take on?"
"Enough that peak hours can run without me. I expect I'll be away more often than I thought."
"Understood. Then for Hills... we'll need about two more people on the floor."
"And the potion shop?"
"Our busy hours are morning and evening, same as Hills, so we only need extra hands then. Tidying and cleaning can wait until after the evening rush."
Blow had been listening closely. At that, he shook his head.
"No. Aside from the absolute peak, you and Linne should be thinking of yourselves as buried in experiments and research."
"Should we?"
"And the potion shop ought to stay open. No closing hours."
The words called a convenience store to mind. Jane tilted her head.
"We won't be able to hire students, then?"
"The ones we'd put on peak shifts are worth hiring. They'll already know the goods, so they'll pick it up fast, and we can have them tidy in the evening."
"Then for now... students for the peak... and for someone who can stay on..."
While Jane and Blow were turning it over, Megan raised her hand.
"If the hours don't overlap with Hills, I'll go over then."
"Megan, aren't you pushing yourself too hard?"
"I'm fine. From what I hear, it's the register and tidying."
"Memorizing the stock won't be easy..."
"If it helps you, Young Master, I can do it without hesitation. And if it's simple labor... what about bringing a few maids up from the estate?"
"That's an excellent idea."
"Haha. Young Master, I have a question."
There was something ominous in her smile, and Blow felt a flicker of unease.
"What is it?"
"If the maids and lady's maids come up this time... does that mean I become Head Maid?"
"In Blanya it might have been a problem. This is Caipol, so go ahead."
"Haha, understood! Young Master Blow! Loyalty!"
Megan answered with a thoroughly satisfied look. Watching them, Hervena let a sigh of sympathy slip out for everyone about to be caught in the middle of it.
Talking on like that, the conversation drifted toward the potion shop.
"Y-Young Master! We n-need to decide how much p-potion to brew!"
"We'll keep a generous stock, won't we?"
"I-if we get it wrong and they s-sit too long, it's a problem. The t-taste starts to taste like the commercial stuff."
Jane nodded as if she agreed. Blow thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Even so, let's keep a buffer. Give people the impression we're short once, and they won't come back. We sold out today too, didn't we?"
"Yes..."
"Right after opening, it can happen. From here on, it can't. We can afford to throw some out, so brew plenty, then set the numbers to the average over two weeks."
"Understood."
Linne and Jane nodded. Something else occurred to Blow then, and he turned his eyes on them.
"By the way, what are our mana potion and hangover potion called?"
"We haven't decided."
"Hm? Let's settle it now. These things always come back to me after everything's already finished."
"Do we really have to name them..."
Jane ran through the list of names he had produced so far and tried, ever so casually, to let the matter slide. Blow got there first.
"The basic mana potion is just Foresti Made. Other potion shops do the same."
Startled that her own family name would be stuck to a potion, Jane scratched at her cheek for no good reason, embarrassed.
"It feels a little like a burden..."
"The shop's already called Red Forest. What's the problem?"
"Yes, understood. Then what should we do about the hangover cure?"
"Jane 808?"
"And what on earth is that supposed to be...?"
Jane stared at him in open distaste. The others reacted much the same.
That was when Skadi slammed her beer mug down and shouted.
"I'll name it!"
"...No. I think we're fine."
As if she hadn't heard a word, Skadi called out again in a bright voice.
"Skadi Juice!!"
"From this moment, you don't say a single word. Not one."
At the look of pure revulsion on Blow's face, Skadi whipped her head aside in a pout.
"...Tch."
"'Tch'? ...Do you actually want to get hit?"
"Besides? The truth is? Hangover cures are something only the weak bother thinking about. They have absolutely nothing to do with me, who writes a legend every single day! Mwahaha!"
"Well, that would be you. Anyway, what matters in a hangover cure is waking up the next morning feeling clean and refreshed, so let's build the name around that."
Jane and Linne were just drawing breath, sensing that their turn had come, when Hervena — looking pleasantly tipsy — lifted the corner of her mouth and murmured.
"Morning Kiss?"
Every mouth at the table fell open at the outrageous suggestion.
Megan in particular shook her head with a look of pure disgust. Seeing it, Hervena flushed and added hastily.
"I don't think it's very good."
"Still better than Skadi Juice."
"That one finds a way to trip over me every single day. Anyway... our Hervena has quite the wicked streak, doesn't she."
"Wh-what did I even do!"
Hervena fumed, her face red enough to burst.
Blow looked at Jane, who was laughing behind her hand, and nodded.
"Let's go with Jane's Morning."
"Oh, come on, what kind of name is that! You're terrible at naming things too! I just haven't said anything!"
"...She's right."
"If you've got a problem with it, you can be the boss."
"Ugh, I'm so annoyed."
Her name had come up again, and Jane, embarrassed, ran back through everything that had been offered so far. Even so, Jane's Morning seemed better than Skadi Juice or Morning Kiss. She quietly drew a line through the rest and finally picked up the beer in front of her.
The next afternoon, at Hills.
Yulia arrived saying she wanted to hold a meeting, and also to see for herself whether the business was truly doing well.
"Oh my, Young Master! Business is doing wonderfully!"
"Thanks to your concern."
"Have you prepared any tomato dishes, by any chance?"
"They're still prototypes, but... I've put a few together."
Blow gestured toward the kitchen, and All Red, mussel stew, and pork ribs were set out on the table.
"These are the dishes you've shown us until now, Young Master Blow? Lovely."
"There's... something else I prepared separately."
"Truly?"
Yulia had been certain that Blow would bring more than this, and her eyes lit up.
A little later Hans came in balancing a wide plate on one hand, steam curling up from it. The savory scent of cheese mingled with the bright freshness of tomato, and Yulia had to work to quiet her racing heart.
Then, against the backdrop of Blow's thoroughly triumphant expression, the dish revealed itself.
Cheese flowed over a flat, round bread as broad as a full moon. Bacon, potatoes cut into half-moons, round olives, and vegetables held their places on top. Blow cut into it and lifted a single slice, and the cheese stretched long.
Color rushed into Yulia's face. She rose from her seat.
"Young Master? What is this dish!?"
"A traditional dish of Cypress... called pizza."
Once the subject had come up, Blow had gone to the library to see whether any recipe survived for the food he had eaten in his days as Han Ji-hoo. What caught his eye was this pizza. Inventing it from nothing would have been daunting; even a simple recipe was a relief. There was no cheese crust, of course, and the dough was smaller across than he remembered, but even this looked like enough to satisfy Yulia, who loved corn cheese past all reason.
"Is that cheese on top?"
"Yes. Cheese... onion, our signature potatoes, and for the sauce I laid tomato down first and mixed a little mayonnaise over it."
It was the result of Blow's effort to recreate, as closely as he could, the potato pizza he had eaten as Han Ji-hoo.
"This! I think it would be fine even if it tasted only the tiniest bit good!"
"The look of it is a bit aggressive, isn't it."
A moment later she took a bite, and tears welled in her eyes as she cried out.
"It's really, truly delicious!! So good it almost feels like a waste to eat it!"
"Haha... is it?"
To Blow's tongue, though, it was merely passable. A little too mild, maybe.
He had liked pizza in his Han Ji-hoo days. He had eaten it at least once a week. Never the expensive kind, of course — the good-value pies from Pizza School, the budget chain he had favored back then. One of that place's quirks was a kitchen you could see from the floor, and he had always gone to the shop in person to watch them make it. What he had seen then had helped far more than he expected. Enough that Melo had barely needed to step in.
Yulia was already humming, carrying her third slice over to her plate, when she spoke to him in a bright voice.
"Number two in my heart!"
"Oh? Not number one?"
"Maybe because I had the corn cheese first, it isn't quite that shocking. Still, I think it's quite good."
"I'll refine it further."
"You're going to improve it even from here?"
"It's just... I haven't had the chance to try many different timings or ingredients yet. What do you think of making this a Hills dish at your hotel?"
"I'd love that. And I think it's wonderful how the tomato supports it like this!"
"The tomatoes can show themselves in the other dishes anyway. There's All Red, too."
"That's right. We'll be running a promotion at the hotel soon, so I'd like to ask you to match that timing, Young Master."
"Yes. Let's proceed after the Black Bridge."
"Everything's moving right along! This was wonderful again. Wasn't it, Marchen?"
"...Yes. It is truly delicious."
Marchen, who had tasted the pizza at Yulia's side, nodded with a look of open surprise. Blow watched them and added, with a meaningful smile.
"And with this... a cold glass of beer would be all you need, wouldn't it?"
"Truly."
"So, if you're amenable... I was thinking we might debut the pizza at the Black Bridge Gathering."
"Oh my, truly? I'd be delighted, but..."
"Is there a problem?"
"I'm the one preparing the banquet. I'm afraid all the interest in this pizza will fall on me."
"I don't mind much. Making tomatoes fashionable was everyone's idea. Let's say the pizza was yours, my lady."
"A-are you sure that's all right?"
Blow nodded at the wide-eyed Yulia. They had already agreed to go into business together. Her credit would come back around as his, so he could afford to give her this much.
She seemed deeply moved all the same. She sniffled as she spoke.
"Thank you for looking out for me. The truth is, Young Master, I was worried the banquet dishes felt too obvious."
"We ought to help each other. We're on the same team."
Blow raised his hand. Yulia smiled bashfully and met it with her own.
And so their first collaboration was falling into place, piece by piece.
Cypress's winter was nothing beside Parso's, but the territory stayed mild through the year — mild enough that most of its people could pass all twelve months in a single short-sleeved set of clothes. Even so, this year's weather had been too good. Excessively so.
"What am I supposed to do with all of this."
Christopher Sebastian, lord of Cypress, sat in his office and let out a long sigh. The cause was the tomatoes still piling up in the warehouse, with no end in sight. Worry sat on the face of his vassal Cesare, standing at his side.
"They say the other regions are in much the same state. Even potatoes have crashed in price..."
"Trouble every way I turn... Perhaps we should have taken more time before pushing into Caipol and the Imperial Capital."
"Not at all. There's been no response from the capital, but didn't House d'Eblyk and House Edfolk show interest?"
"Even so, isn't the order far too small? They said a hundred pounds."
"Let us wait and see."
"Great expectations make for great disappointment, do they not."
At that, Cesare seemed to lose heart as well. His shoulders slumped.
Cypress still had next to no name on the continent. After years of worrying over it, its lord had decided to put forward an ingredient that could set his territory apart from the rest. He had split the estate's meager purse to open shops in the Imperial Capital and in Caipol, and he had expanded the farms to raise more tomatoes. Contrary to those rosy forecasts, the market had been ice-cold. Demand for tomatoes had been small to begin with, and even when interest did come — as it had now — the vast majority of deals collapsed before a proper contract was ever signed.
Remembering those times left a bitter taste. Christopher sighed deeply and looked over the report.
A knock sounded at the office door. His attendant came in and bowed.
"My lord!"
"Yes. What is it?"
"A communication request from Princess Yulia of House Edfolk!"
"Edfolk? Didn't we send the hundred pounds with Julio last week? Has it not arrived?"
"Ah, they say it's a separate matter!"
Christopher glanced once at Cesare, whose face had lit up in an instant, and asked the attendant while holding on to his composure as best he could.
"Then what is it?"
"She wishes to sign an exclusive contract for the tomatoes!"
"What?"
Christopher was on his feet before he knew it. He threw on the coat that had been hanging nearby and all but ran for the first floor, where the communicator waited.