Isekai Nonbiri Nouka

A Western-style sweets shop—that’s the plan.

For a while now, Village Five has been asking for more places to buy cakes and chocolates.

Right now, you can only get them at Kuro and Yuki or the Bronze Cafe.

Both are always packed, and their cake and chocolate supply is limited, so competition is fierce.

In Village Five, these sweets aren’t something you can just eat whenever you want.

「Well, yeah. That’s normal. The only ones who can eat them whenever they want are probably nobles.」

Loo pointed that out.

Flour, a key cake ingredient, is one thing—but milk and eggs?

Unless you raise cows and chickens, you won’t have a steady supply.

And sugar is relatively expensive.

As for chocolate—its key ingredient, cacao, wasn’t even available in the market until recently.

Right now, it’s only cultivated in Village Four.

Which means…

Waiting around won’t magically create more sweets shops.

So, with Village Five’s request, I decided to open one myself.

-0-

Location!

To ensure easy transportation of milk and eggs, the site was chosen at the foot of Village Five.

A vast plot of land—big enough to fit four standalone houses with gardens—was selected.

It’s right along the main street, but aside from the road, there’s nothing here yet.

This place will be developed in the future.

Since Youko picked this location, I have a feeling she already knows what’s going to be built around it.

-0-

Building!

For fire safety, the bakery would be brick-built, considering the kitchen environment.

Inside, space was divided into a kitchen, a storage area for ingredients, and staff dormitories.

Since it was meant to be a takeout-only shop, the sales area was designed to be small.

…That was the plan—until it was decided that customers should have a place to sit while waiting for freshly baked goods.

So, a decent-sized seating area was added.

…They’ll probably end up selling tea too.

I wanted to differentiate it from Kuro and Yuki and Bronze Cafe, though.

…eh?

A meeting space is necessary?

Is it really?

Also, a reception room for important visitors?

…It’s a takeout-only bakery, though?

Why would we need a reception room?

Apparently, not having one would cause serious trouble later.

So, instead of a two-story building, it ended up being three stories tall.

-0-

Pastry Chefs!

Ten employees who learned how to make cakes and pastries at Kuro and Yuki.

The lead pastry chef is a former apprentice from the Imperial Elf Court’s kitchen.

「I’ll do my best!」

…Wouldn’t you have had more opportunities to explore different cuisines if you had stayed at Kuro and Yuki?

「No, I’ll focus on baking cakes!」

I-is that so?

「Yes! I was born to bake cakes!」

Ehto… just don’t overdo it, okay?

-0-

Sales Staff!

Five customer service specialists, all trained at Kuro and Yuki.

「「「「「Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!」」」」」

Morale seems high.

Let’s just hope they don’t get too carried away.

Staff expansion will be considered based on sales performance.

-0-

Store Manager!

…

Ah, so I am the store manager after all.

Not that I’m particularly attached to the title…

-0-

Acting Store Manager!

Someone to manage and operate the store in my place!

We originally sought volunteers from the angels of Big Tree Village.

After a strict and fair contest of—wait, no, after some… strategic discussions—no, actually, a random drawing,

One of the beastgirls was appointed as Acting Store Manager.

…Wait, why did we get a beastgirl when we specifically recruited an angel?

Well, turns out the angels decided to serve as support staff instead.

For the opening period, the support team will be five-strong,

Assisting both the Acting Store Manager and the sales staff.

-0-

Products!

The main attraction will be slice-sold cakes, each cut into eighths from a whole cake.

While I plan to offer a variety of cakes in the future, the opening lineup will be limited to two types:

– Strawberry Shortcake

– Fruit Cake (made with a mix of assorted fruits)

Pricing:

– Shortcake: 10 medium copper coins

– Fruit Cake: 12 medium copper coins

These prices are higher than those at Kuro and Yuki and Bronze Cafe, but considering the cost of ingredients, they’re still a bargain.

That said, for most villagers, these cakes will probably be a luxury treat, reserved for special occasions.

Aside from cakes, we’ll also sell cookies, biscuits, and chocolate.

The chocolate will come in small boxed pieces, priced at a whopping 500 medium copper coins.

Yes. 500 medium copper coins.

It might seem expensive, but given the market price of cacao, this is actually an incredible deal.

A super deal, even.

Frankly, it’s only possible because we’re producing cacao ourselves.

However, supply is extremely limited—so much so that…

We’ll only have one box available per day.

Some might say it’s not worth selling at all, but demand is high enough that people insisted we put it on the market.

For now, we’ll see how things go with this setup.

-0-

Store Name!

It was up to me to decide on the store’s name.

Since we already had “Kuro and Yuki,” named after Kuro and Yuki, I considered using Loo and Tier’s names—maybe “Lutie” or “Tielu.” But both Loo and Tia objected. ȑ𝒶ΝȰBЕȿ

Apparently, names like that should be saved for a granddaughter or something.

Wait, does that mean Loo’s son and Tier’s daughter are supposed to get married?

No?

That’s not what they meant?

They were just saying it’s common to name things after someone close to you.

Huh.

Well, since they said no, I dropped the idea.

Same went for names like Ria or Ann.

Then, how about… Zabuton?

Western Sweets Shop Zabuton.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Or so I thought, but Zabuton outright rejected it.

That name is for Zabuton’s exclusive use.

I see…

Yeah, that makes sense.

Sorry about that.

Alright, I won’t use Zabuton’s name for the shop.

Then, as a last resort… maybe I should just use my own name?

“Western Sweets Shop Hiraku” felt too direct…

Hira, Hira… Hira-tarou!

Western Sweets Shop Hiratarou!

That settles it!

But when I announced it, the reaction was… underwhelming.

Save that name for your child is what they said.

Oh. I see.

In the end, the Fairy Queen came in and decided for us.

「Western Sweets Shop Fairy Fairy.」

It’s a nice name.

But I have a feeling people are just going to call it Western Sweets Shop Fairy in the end.

-0-

Village Chief: 「I don’t think we can use the name Hiratarou for a child.」

Loo: 「Why not?」

Village Chief: 「Well, if people find out it was originally the name of a pastry shop, wouldn’t that be a bit sad for the kid?」

Loo: 「In that case, Lutie and Tielu are out too, aren’t they?」

Village Chief: 「Yeah, looks like it.」

Loo: 「They weren’t bad names, though…」

Village Chief: 「Sorry. I wasn’t thinking things through.」