Part 2 – Osaka’s Auntie Spreads Okonomiyaki
Chapter 06 – Convenience Store Tactics
The store was a screaming success thanks to the people who patronised it. However, …
It was the twentieth day since the shop had been in operation, and time was creeping towards the 5pm closing time in the evening.
“I guess, it’s about time to tidy up, na.”
Despite giving herself a day off just a couple of days ago, the daily working hours eventually piled up along with a sense of failure that weighed her down with near physical force. Because of this, Haruna’s usual cheerful face was oddly gloomy.
“Things just sold out too fast, wa… But there’s a limit to how much rusk I can carry down, na…”
That day, [Haru-chan’s] most popular dungeon provision, the sweet rusk was sold out before noon. Other types of food rations also ran out soon after.
“With nothing to sell, it’s weird to even call this place a department store, na… Just saying, even if people are stuck in a place like this, there are also stuff that nobody would buy…”
It really couldn’t be helped. After all, things like pickled ginger, the ones from the Benishouga Tempura Magic, were quite difficult to eat on its own.
[Gumihou’s Note: It’s a fried condiment after all…]
She also couldn’t take out things like Salted Konbu or Vinegared Konbu whenever she liked as they only appear from time to time whenever she took out the candies, so she could not guarantee the daily amount.
“Anyway, I’ll have to think about this when I get back… Right now my head is spinning from all these problems…”
Just then, a new customer came staggering into view.
“Ah, welcome. But, we’re about to clo- not, wa! Anyway, come in first!”
The Adventurer who had just arrived was covered in blood and looked three quarters dead. There was no way he could make it all the way back up on his own. She immediately used up the remaining health recovery items and potions in the shop to heal him.
“How shameful… I was, hah, ambushed at Level 17…”
The man looked to be in his twenties and was dressed like a knight. The man had a lot of luggage on him, so he’s possibly one of those Solo Player types. Challenging the dungeon alone will result in great profit, but the risk value also shot up a lot.
“Talking is good, wa! Anyway, until you can move properly, just stay here. Also, the shop is not closed just yet!”
Haruna started to sing the spell for her Health Recovery Magic, [Hotel New Awaji].
“[Hotel New Awaji~♪] [1]
The moment the chant was sung, hot water started flowing in from nowhere towards the wounded areas. All the wounds touched by the hot water immediately sealed themselves. By the way, Hotel New Awaji is a very popular video commercial in Kansai for hotels and other accommodations. The melody [1] used in this commercial is something that all local Kansai people could sing or are at least familiar with.
At any rate, once his life was no longer in danger, the Adventurer fell asleep at the napping area. When he woke up, it was already 9 pm. Haruna had been quietly keeping watch all this time to prevent monsters from attacking. It was only after then, that she made her way to the surface.
There was no such thing as sake bar hours [2] in the town. Naturally, they also did not have neon light streets, so everything was really silent at night.
As usual, whispers started up whenever Haruna tended to be.
She ignored them. “It’s no good… it’s fun, but really tiring, wa…”
At first, Haruna worked every day at Level 13. She would tidy up at the end of the working day and return to the surface following a fairly regular working hour pattern. She had long memorized the dungeon routes and the only commuting issue was only a matter of distance.
However, for a shop that catered towards people who risk their lives in battles, a precise schedule was not exactly something they could keep to.
Furthermore, the people who needed these products were just too many, and there were only so many goods one person could carry in one go. Also, since there were no rival business for [Haru-chan], everyone would come to this shop.
Returning to the inn, the proprietress, Martha, became the recipient of all the problems she thought up. They were at the first floor (ground floor to some of you) bar counter, with Haruna in her usual seat facing the proprietress.
“…I can barely catch my breath, ya wa.”
“You, seeing your tired face feels really weird and wrong. Especially since you carry the title of The Strongest in Old Saxon.”
“Hey, Okami-san (the proprietress), after all this you can still joke, ya wa.”
Well, that’s because Martha was also an ‘auntie’ after all. Which made Haruna felt closer to her.
“I guess starting a department store in the dungeon is something impossible, na,”
She had thought about hiring people to man the store of course. However, considering the danger level within the dungeon, she would have to escort her staff down or they would be in danger. There’s also the fact that there were fewer people challenging the dungeons at night, so having high level Adventurers around as staff seemed a bit excessive.
“In this kind of situation, it would be nice to have the Hanshin or Hankyu [3] line to travel to work, na…”
Anyone would realize that the shop was basically a gold mine. Those who became Adventurers were not all good or honest people. It would not be surprising to have someone target the shop for its gold. In fact, the only thing prevented this from happening was actually Haruna herself with her unusually powerful status.
“That’s right, it’s not like you could just take a break from being an Adventurer in the middle of a mission. As for someone like me, who runs an inn, though this is technically a 24 hour job, but I still get to sleep on a decent bed and don’t have to exert any excessive physical strength in order to move things around.”
Something the Okami-san said piqued Haruna’s attention.
“Okami-san, did you just say ‘24-hours’?”
“Eh? Ah, for innkeepers, sometimes you get people who come to drink in the middle of the night. There are also night watchmen who come in just before dawn to check into their rooms. So, it’s pretty difficult to completely close the inn for a long period of time.”
“No, you’re right. Because it’s difficult to decide the best time to close the shop, it’s better to just keep going, ya.”
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com wa ~
The next day, Haruna ran all the way to the Guild to see Loofa.
“Little Miss, I want to hire some people. I can do it here, na?”
“Y-yes… When it comes to mission commission you can put in your request here…”
“I want to hire convenience store staff!”
Naturally, the term ‘convenience store’ was not understood by Loofa.
Anyway, after some explanation and a lot of excited hand gestures, a mission request was put in. This was what it looked like:
======
Mission Request : [Haru-chan] Shop Assistance
Mission Location : [Haru-chan], Level 13, Dungeon, Suburbs of Old Saxon Town
Mission Time : Negotiable. May require to work night shifts. Night shift allowance will be given on top of basic pay. The President of [Haru-chan] is a woman, so ladies are welcomed to apply.
Mission Pay : Negotiable. Will definitely pay.
Terms & Conditions : Because the location is at the Level 13 of the dungeon, applicants’ status should be at least Level 18 and above.
Interview Location : Please come to [Haru-chan] during our working hours for an interview.
======
With the conditions given, Loofa had a sneaking suspicion that nobody would actually come to apply. With the level set at 18, even less people would actually qualify for the job.
Unexpectedly, the very next day after this ‘mission’ had been put up, an Adventurer came to [Haru-chan] around evening time.
“Um, is this the interview location [Haru-chan]?”
[Gumihou: Yay! Haru-chan’s first employee!]
[1] There are lots of Hotel New Awaji commercials. The earlier commercials all featured similar sounding jingle. Please click on the link below to check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr-U3KhiGmA
[2] Sake (Japanese alcohol) bar hours – Generally the time when people would go drinking. About 8 pm to 3 am in the morning.
[3] Hanshin Line & Hankyu Line – both are train services
