Gacha Is Always Welcome (2)
Gacha Is Always Welcome (2)
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Eating at this restaurant reminded me that what truly matters is reputation.
Slice. Slice.
The mouthful of juices, the precise texture, the perfect temperature of the meat. Even the way the flesh melted on my tongue.
It was an absurdly delicious steak.
"...Mm."
But what I felt went beyond taste.
Things like: 'No, seriously. It's just grilled meat—how can it be this good? This is Restaurant Esme for you.'
Or: 'When else am I ever going to eat food from the greatest chef in the setting?'
Restaurant Esme.
The knowledge that its owner would one day become the finest chef elevated the flavor further.
It felt as if my brain was being toyed with.
'Branding is everything, after all.'
Conveniently, Rina hadn't overheard about this chef's future fame.
She was eating a seafood oil pasta salad.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, she offered a plump shrimp roe on her fork with a smile.
"Want me to share a little? Want to swap bites?"
"No, it's fine. More importantly, how's the taste?"
Rina looked briefly deflated before breaking into a bright smile.
"It's incredibly delicious."
I whispered to her quietly.
"Just between us—this chef is going to be one of the finest on the continent."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. You saw Emilia come by earlier too."
"Y-You're right."
"Now take another bite. See how it tastes."
Chewing softly.
Rina's eyes rounded as she chewed the shrimp.
"...It tastes even better now."
Just as I thought.
People eat with their mouths, but also with their minds.
The image planted in your head can dictate the flavor.
"Which brings me to my point. We need to nail the sales strategy for our Snow Blossom Fruit."
Everyone's eyes turned to me at that.
Even while diligently emptying her plate, Elena asked.
"What do you mean, Brother? Num-num."
"Right now, Snow Blossom Fruit is priced at 1 Silver. Which equals 100,000 Krones.
"That's the same price as this single steak dish. Pretty expensive."
Surprisingly, it was.
Partly because Esme's prices haven't soared yet, since she's not famous.
But at the same time, it was a fresh reminder that the price of Snow Blossom Fruit was shamelessly high.
But was that really my fault? Wasn't it the academy students, swimming in so much money they just buy it all, who were truly at fault?
I was busy rationalizing that thought when—
"Clearly we should cut the price, Brother. If possible, to around the cost of one copper coin!"
Mwee-hee-hee—
Elena, who had her face buried in her plate, let out a devious laugh.
"And if we throw in an extra one for every one purchased, sales will skyrocket! Everyone can be happy! Even I can quit this operation and buy some to eat as a customer. Ufufufu..."
Moments like this make me seriously question whether she's actually a priestess.
"Even if we drop the price to a single copper, Snow Blossom Tomatoes stay at 10 Silver."
"Nooooooo—!"
The depraved part-timer clutched her head in despair.
Leaving her aside, I explained the strategy.
"From now on, we'll reduce the sales volume of Snow Blossom Fruit. And only sell it occasionally."
"Won't that make our revenue drop, nya?"
Danya tilted her head.
"No. In the long run, this is better."
"Why?"
"If we sell only sometimes and limit the quantity, we can maintain our Snow Blossom Fruit as something 'special.' Everyone will want to eat it, but only the truly lucky will get to. That way, the price holds steady and demand stays consistent."
The so-called Honey Butter Chip strategy.
"Ah. Since we have a monopoly, that really will be great!"
"Rina's right. We're the only ones who can make it. Blooming Frost Blossoms requires Teacher's instruction."
Plus, reducing sales volume is how I survive.
I got carried away by the thought of making money and produced them so diligently, but...
I was genuinely dying right now.
It was a constant cycle of mana depletion and then refilling it with Danya's snow-eye flowers.
The mana required to make Snow Blossom Fruit is beyond imagination.
Maybe if I were a frost element user, but I'm an earth element user, so it's even worse. Of course there's waste in using an elemental converter.
Since there's no one else who can both use the frost element and bloom Blossoms, my hardship was preordained.
In many ways, the advantages of the so-called 'Honey Butter Chip' strategy were enormous.
"Ah. And regarding profit distribution."
The moment I opened my mouth, Elena, her mouth full of tomato sauce, shouted.
"I! Kek!"
"Swallow first, then talk."
"Gulp—. I am a priestess in service to Deus. I'm fine without money as my share. This too is part of the path of discipline."
"As expected of a priestess of the Numina Order. I'm moved."
"Ehehe."
Elena laughed bashfully and scratched the back of her head.
"Then Elena's taken care of."
"Eh?"
"First, I'll give everyone else a daily wage of 10 Silver plus a portion of the club's stake."
Elena cautiously raised her hand.
"I can't receive money, but I can accept payment in kind."
Ah. So earlier, when she said she didn't want money, she meant she wanted something else.
"Snow Blossom Tomatoes?"
Nod.
"Okay. Come to the club room tomorrow. Since it's a day off, I'll make you some. By the way, would everyone else mind if I gave you your money a bit later?"
"Of course not, but why?"
"There's something I need to do."
The Mysterious Box. I need to roll on it.
"Here's dessert."
Right on cue, the dessert arrived.
Taking a bite of the chilled fruit pudding, Danya muttered.
"Snow Blossom Fruit is definitely tastier as a dessert, nya."
Yeah.
I have to agree.
◆
"We'd like the bill."
The shop wasn't very large yet.
The one who came out to handle the bill was the head chef and owner, Esme.
A woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties, with sharp orange short-cut hair and an equally sharp impression.
Her intensity was so great I instinctively flinched, thinking 'Is she glaring at me?'
Such an imposing aura, as befits someone destined to become a first-class chef.
Or maybe she was a former delinquent.
"That will be 430,000 Krones in total."
Did that work out to a little over 1 Silver per person?
Essentially, a dish worth 100,000 won per bowl. It feels like I got an absolute bargain.
Because later on, these dishes will become hard to eat even if you offer ten times the price.
"It was exceptionally delicious."
The praise came from my heart, but Chef Esme's lips remained a flat line, without a smile.
She asked.
"You seem to be in the dessert business?"
"Something along those lines."
"I overheard you. Saying my restaurant's desserts fell short."
A sharp glint.
An unmistakably piercing glare.
...So that intensity I felt earlier was bloodlust.
"...You heard that?"
"As you can see, the shop is small. And I tend to listen carefully to feedback."
"I'm sorry."
"Ah—."
She let out a short breath and scratched her head.
"I wasn't really expecting an apology."
"I felt like if I didn't apologize, I might get hit."
"... Sir, what exactly do you take me for?"
Crack, crack—.
She asked while kneading her fist.
"Looking closer, you are quite a beautiful chef. My eyes must have been mistaken. Maybe I need glasses."
"Hoho. That's what I thought."
"Yes."
Pfft.
Letting out a small laugh, she added.
"You did enjoy the main dish, I suppose. Still, I am curious."
"About what?"
"The dessert you've made. I'd like to know just how delicious it is, for you to speak so proudly of it. Where can I buy it? This thing called Snow Blossom Fruit."
Her eyes gleamed sharply.
That competitive spirit, showing itself even toward a customer.
"You probably won't get to eat it."
"Why? Are you backing out now? Lamely?"
"No. It's only sold inside the academy."
"W-Well, that can't be helped then. An old lady like me wouldn't be able to get in."
Hoo—.
Esme let out a small sigh.
Was she always this emotionally expressive and talkative?
She seemed to interpret my expression as questioning, and continued.
"Truthfully, I think I fall a bit short on the dessert side myself. I'd like something sweet and cool to wrap up the main dish cleanly."
Hmm. That really does match up with the Snow Blossom Fruit.
"If the opportunity arises, I'll bring you one sometime."
"I'll look forward to it."
It seemed I had incidentally created a means to expand the 'Dessert Research Society' as well.
◆
The next day.
As always, my body refused to rise early.
Yet at dawn, I'd already visited the market.
I picked up a few tomatoes to give to Elena and Danya, along with some ingredients rated as 'high-grade' in the game.
After burning all 10 Gold, my wallet became alarmingly light.
"Now I'm a beggar again."
Well, money doesn't matter right now anyway.
To prepare for next Monday—just two days away—and the Aether Promotion Battle, boosting my combat power was urgent.
On top of that, the Emilia event was overlapping.
"That whisper from Emilia at the restaurant. That was definitely a declaration of war."
On the surface, Emilia appeared impeccably proper, but...
Her innate nature was that of a trading company successor.
The fundamental combat mindset was already there.
Usually, that sort of whisper is Emilia's trademark declaration of war.
She even swept her gaze over the team members, so there's no mistake.
Therefore, it was time for me to use the 'Gacha' I'd been carefully hoarding.
"It's your turn to shine."
I cautiously opened the shelf.
Inside, carefully stored away: Number 777.
「Mysterious Box」
I took it out and placed it on the table, along with the key I'd obtained in the dungeon.
The box was quite small, roughly 30 centimeters on each side.
The material was dark-colored wood.
Its distinctive feature was the three blank slots carved into its surface.
[ / / / ]
The mechanism was that you place an item inside, press the lever on the side, and the blank slots would spin and eventually output a number.
[ 7 / 7 / 7 ]
If those numbers came up, it was a jackpot. That was the idea.
"Hoo."
How long has it been since my last gacha?
The tension came naturally.
And an excitement burning even hotter than the tension.
Plus, this wasn't about pulling an item to use from behind a screen—it was physically drawing an object I'd have to use in reality.
Even though I knew how to raise this box's probability rate...
— Gulp.
I couldn't help but swallow.
Carefully, I inserted the key into the box's keyhole and turned it.
As the key rotated smoothly—
— Click.
The box opened.