Chapter 6
Part 2 – Osaka’s Auntie Spreads Okonomiyaki
Good ladies and gentlemen readers, I have just experienced the nasty shock of thieving sites posting our stories on their page and claiming credit for our work. Woo… this makes me sad, how could people be so thoughtless and greedy!!?
Anyhow, I left some stinging messages for them and plan to report (as soon as I figure out how).
Anyway, enough of that! Please enjoy the story!
Make sure you’re reading from prosperous food dot com!
Chapter 06 – Convenience Store Tactics
The shop was a screaming success thanks to the people who patronises it, however…
It was the twentieth day since the shop had been in operation, and time was creeping towards 5 pm closing time in the evening.
“I guess, it’s about time to tidy up, na.”
Despite giving herself a day off the day before, the daily working hours eventually piled up along with a sense of failure that seemed to weigh her down. Because of this, Haruna’s normally cheerful face was oddly cloudy.
“Things just sold out too fast… 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 dis place a department store, na… Just saying, even if people are stuck in a place like dis, there are also stuff that nobody would buy…”
Things like ginger, the ones from the Benishouga Tempura Magic. If she were to sell just the Benishouga Tempura with nothing else, it would actually be quite difficult to eat
[Note: It’s a fried condiment after all…]
She also couldn’t take out things like salty konbu or vinegar konbu whenever she liked as they only appear from time to time whenever she takes out the candies, so she can’t 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 than, a new customer came staggering into view.
“Ah, welcome. But, we’re about to clo- not! Anyway, come in first!”
The Adventurer that arrived was covered in blood and looked half dead. There’s no way he could make it all the way back up on his own. She immediately used up the health recovery items and potions in the shop.
“How shameful… I was, hah, ambushed at the 17th level…”
Dressed like a 20th century knight. The man had a lot of luggage on him, so possibly one those Solo Player types. Challenging the dungeon alone will result in great profit, but the risk value also shoots up.
“Talking is good! Anyway, until you can move properly, just stay here. Also, the shop is not closed!”
Haruna started to sing the spell for her Health Recovery Magic, [Hotel New Awaji].
“[Hotel Ne~w Awaji~♪]
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 then, that she made her way to the surface.
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There’s no such thing as a sake bar hours [2] in the town. Naturally, they also do 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 everyday at the 13th level. She would tidy up after work everyday and return to the surface following a fairly regular working hour pattern. She had long memorized the dungeon routes and travelling was just a matter of distance only.
However, for a shop that caters to people who risk their lives in battle, a precise schedule was not exactly something they could keep to.
Furthermore, the people who needed these products were just too many, and there’s only so much goods one person could carry at once. 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 1st 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 dis you can still joke, ya wa.”
Well, that’s because Martha was also an ‘auntie’ after all. Haruna felt like there was something really familiar with this behaviour of hers.
“I guess starting a department store in the dungeons is something impossible, na,”
She had thought about hiring people to man the store of course, also she would have to escort her staff or they would be in danger. There’s also the fact that there were fewer people challenging the dungeons at night, so having Adventure level hunters around as staff seems a bit excessive.
“In dis kinds 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 strange thing about the shop was actually Haruna herself with her unusually powerful status.
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“That’s right, it’s not like you could 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 did not have to exert any excessive physical strength in order to move things around.”
Something the Okami-san said perked Haruna’s attention.
“Okami-san, did you just say ‘24-hours’?”
“Eh? Ah, for innkeepers, sometimes you get people who came to drink in the middle of the night. There’s also the night watchmen who comes in just before dawn to check in to 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 diffcult to decide the best time to close the shop, it’s better to just keep going, ya.”
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 staffers!”
Naturally, the word ‘Convenience Store’ was not understood by Loofa.
Anyway, a mission request was put in, and this was what it looked like:
Mission Request : [Haru-chan] Staffs
Mission Location : [Haru-chan], Level 13, Dungeon, Suburbs of Old Saxon Town
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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 13th level of the dungeon, applicants’ status should be a level 18 and above.
Interview Location : Please come to the [Haru-chan] during our working hours for an interview.
With the conditions given, the people coming for an interview would almost definitely be of suspicious character. With the level set at 18, even less people qualify for the job.
Unexpectedly, the very next day after the job offer had been put up, an Adventurer came around evening time.
“Um, is this the interview location [Haru-chan]?”
[1] There are lots of Hotel New Awaji commercials. The earlier commercials all feature similar sounding jingle. Please click on the link below to check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr-U3KhiGmA
[2] Sake (Japanese alcahol) 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
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