Chapter 235 A New Project
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Two weeks had passed since the settlement became crowded with people again, and the pile of documents I had accumulated had decreased in number. I finally had some free time at night, so I changed my clothes and headed to the dining hall in secret.
Although the signboard outside the store had already been taken down and the business hours were over, I could hear bright laughter coming from inside the dining hall.
When I opened the door and entered, Harmon-san and the others were drinking and making a ruckus, and the 3 employees who worked at the dining hall were having a meal with some locals.
I felt relieved that things were still the same as before, and I closed the door and approached Harmon-san and the others who were sitting at a nearby table.
”Long time no see, everyone!”
”Huh? Ah, isn’t that Nick? Have you finally finished your work at the mansion?… Wait, you’re here, so I guess that’s a given.”
”Yes, I’ve finished one part of it, so I came here.”
”You can’t even take time off to eat dinner at night, don’t you work too much?”
”I can’t help it, there’s been a sudden influx of people, and a lot has happened.”
”Well, not just merchants, but a lot of other people have increased too. I was out hunting, so I didn’t see it, but I heard that the training grounds were packed with people aiming for Momoka today.”
As Harmon-san and the others were talking, it seemed that not all the people who came to the settlement were merchants.
Momoka’s existence was indispensable when it came to the defense issue.
When the defense issue became a rumor, Momoka’s existence naturally spread along with it, and minstrels even started composing poems about it. Recently, the rumors about Momoka had become more prominent than the rumors about the defense.
As a result, people who wanted to catch a glimpse of Momoka, who frequently appeared at the training grounds, would gather there, and there were even reports of arguments between those who wanted to train seriously and those who just wanted to see Momoka.
After exchanging greetings with Harmon-san and the others, I took my usual seat at the counter, and Narsht-san called out to me.
”What’ll you have today?”
”The usual, please.”
”Alright.”
When I’m here as Nick, not Neil, Narsht-san also uses casual language instead of polite language.
From Narsht-san’s perspective, it must be really hard to talk to me, but normally, Narsht-san, who’s always polite, speaks to me in a casual tone, which is really enjoyable, and I always end up chatting with him across the counter.
As I was killing time like that, the dish I ordered was ready, and Narsht-san placed it in front of me.
I deeply inhaled the aroma rising from the wooden bowl.
”What a great smell! You didn’t use vegetable broth today, did you?”
”Harmon and the others went hunting for Pirk, and we used the broth made from its tail, which we grilled and boiled.”
I see, that’s why it smells so great, I thought, as I tilted the bowl to take a sip of the liquid inside. Just then, Harmon-san called out to me from behind.
”What’s going on, are you drinking muddy water again?”
”Wh- Cough, cough, it’s not muddy water, I tell you! It’s ‘miso soup’!”
The true identity of the liquid in the bowl was indeed miso soup, which was a part of the seasoning research I had been working on for a while.
Although it wasn’t a perfect outcome, I was thrilled that I had managed to create something that could be called miso, and I quickly brought it to Narsht-san, asking him to make a soup with it.
Of course, there was no katsuobushi in this world, and it was impossible to get seaweed that could be used for broth in this inland settlement.
While it was possible to have seafood delivered through the Item Box, I didn’t want to go through the trouble of having it delivered just to satisfy my own desires, so I asked Narsht-san to make miso soup using ingredients available in the settlement.
As expected of Narsht-san, even though it was his first time handling this seasoning, the miso soup he made was a completely different level from what I remembered, and it was more than enough to satisfy my cravings.
Although it was still in the research stage and we couldn’t produce a large quantity, I wanted to share this deliciousness with others, so I offered miso soup to Harmon-san and the other regular customers who stayed behind after the restaurant closed.
However, they refused, saying that the color and cloudiness of the miso soup looked just like muddy water, and they didn’t feel like drinking it. In the end, the only ones who drank miso soup at the restaurant were me, Wen, and maybe some Earth Spirits.
Wen doesn’t care about appearances as long as the food tastes good, and as for the Earth Spirit, it’s like saying “I’m an Earth Spirit, so I’m fine with muddy water”–it’s not something that can be followed up on.
From the Earth Spirit’s perspective, it’s like saying what’s on its mind without any intention of following up, but its straightforward words made me feel a bit down.
With that kind of feeling, I was sipping on my miso soup with a complicated expression when Harmon-san suddenly spoke up.
”Ah, that’s right, Nick. I was thinking of discussing something with you when you came.”
”What is it?”
”Opening a bakery.”
”Huh? You want to open a bakery?”
”Harmon, that’s a bad way to put it… Harmon means that Nick’s employer should discuss opening a bakery in the settlement.”
”Oh, I see?”
Thanks to Kilk-san’s supplementary explanation, I understood what Harmon-san meant, but the biggest question remained: why a bakery?
”Why a bakery, anyway?”
”That’s because the bread is bad, Nick.”
Saying that, Harmon-san tapped the corner of the table with a hard, stale bread.
”The dishes the master cooks are all delicious, but the bread is not baked here, it’s supplied from another bakery, right? And it’s baked to be hard and dry so it can be stored for a long time.”
”That’s true, but… even if we open a bakery in the settlement, won’t the bread we serve at the restaurant still be hard and dry?”
At the restaurant, bread is something that’s ordered as a side dish, and there are many people who don’t order bread on its own.
However, there are some customers who order bread in the morning, noon, or evening, and we need to prepare bread for those customers.
If we were to prepare bread early in the morning, it would dry out and become hard by noon if it’s just a regular bread, and there’s a huge difference in taste and texture between hard, dry bread and freshly baked bread.
You might think it’s better to rebake it, but we don’t get a large number of orders at once, and it’s not worth firing up the oven just for one or 2 loaves of bread. So, it’s better to serve hard, dry bread at the restaurant from the start.
So, I was thinking that even if we built a bakery in the settlement, the bread which was served at the dining hall wouldn’t change much, and I was tilting my head in thought. Then, Harmon-san clicked her tongue.
”You don’t get it, do you? I’m not just opening a normal bakery. Nick, what’s famous in this settlement?”
”Is it the vegetables grown by the spirits?”
”That’s right! The vegetables grown by the spirits are all delicious, and lately, it feels like their flavor has been polished even more.”
It’s not just my imagination; the earth spirit has actually become aware of the importance of flavor… but I can’t say that out loud.
Hmm? Wait a minute, what’s Harmon-san trying to say?
”Are you saying we should grow wheat in the settlement and make bread with it?”
”That’s right! If we can grow such delicious vegetables, we can definitely grow wheat that’s far more delicious than anything else. Let’s make bread with that wheat, and it’ll surely become the settlement’s new specialty!”
It’s true that with the earth spirit’s power, we can grow wheat that’s even more delicious than before.
And if we make bread with that wheat, the possibility of it becoming a famous product is high.
”By the way, why haven’t we grown wheat in the settlement until now?”
”Well, when we started settling, it was around the end of the Water Star period, and we missed the wheat planting season. Plus, we didn’t have enough manpower to build a windmill for milling, so we didn’t have the luxury to do so.”
At least for threshing, there’s a specialized magic tool, so it’s not that difficult.
The problem is with milling, which still uses old-fashioned methods that don’t employ magic, relying on windmills or waterwheels instead.
You’d think it would be easier to make a magic tool for milling, but if we use windmills or waterwheels, the users have to pay a part of their milled goods as a fee to the miller.
And that fee becomes a tax that’s collected by the lord. If a magic tool for milling were to appear, the miller would lose their job, and the lord’s tax revenue would decrease, so many nobles oppose the creation of magic tools for milling, which is why they don’t get made.
”Come on, if that’s the case, then there’s no problem now, right? If we say we want to build a windmill, some serious dwarves will happily take on the job. Let’s think about what kind of wheat we can grow instead! Since the spirits are perfectly managing it, how about Dhru Wheat?”
”Dhru Wheat?”
Dhru wheat is a type of wheat that can only be grown in cold regions and is extremely difficult to cultivate. In the empire, it’s only grown in the Viscount Pelant’s territory, which borders the republic.
It’s known for its strong sweetness and is often used in sugar and confections, earning it the nickname “confectionery wheat.” It’s also been called “Gidu wheat” and other names in the past.
The problem is that this wheat can only be grown in cold climates and is prone to withering away quickly if the temperature drops suddenly due to snowstorms or other weather conditions. It’s a wonder how it’s managed to survive until now. If you can harvest it, you’ll make a huge profit, but most of the time it withers away, and farmers might even fall into debt or, in extreme cases, commit suicide.
”If we have spirits, we don’t have to worry about withering away.”
”Withering away? What’s that?”
”Yeah, I’m sure they don’t grow Dhru Wheat in the kingdom, and Jott’s never heard of it.”
”No, Harmon, I’m from the empire too, and I’ve never heard of ‘withering away’ either.”
”What!? No way, Victor, what about you?”
Harmon-san, who was sitting at a different table, looked shaken as he called out to Victor-san, his friend and fellow empire native. Victor-san calmly shook his head.
”Liar… Nick, what’s going on?”
”Uh, sorry, I’ve heard stories about people who fail to grow wheat and commit suicide, but I’ve never heard that phrase before. Maybe it’s a local expression only used in Harmon-san’s hometown?”
It’s one of those things where you think it’s common knowledge throughout the country, but it turns out to be a super local phenomenon that you only realize when you leave your hometown.
As Harmon-san muttered “No way…” in disbelief, Kilk-san opened his mouth with an uneasy expression.
”Ah, to clarify, Harmon didn’t say that just because he wants to eat delicious bread, but because he’s thinking of the people who came to this settlement to work.”
”Hey, shut up, Kilk! Don’t say that!”
”What’s there to be embarrassed about? If we just open a normal bakery, it won’t make a difference anyway.”
”What do you mean?”
As I tilted my head, watching Harmon-san get flustered and Kilk-san speak calmly, I asked.
”The food here is reasonably priced, but that’s only true if you’re talking about the prices at the dining hall. If you just want to fill your stomach, you can get by with something cheaper. The people who came all the way to this settlement to work want to save as much as they can, and from their perspective, the dining hall food is expensive. Even those kids over there, they didn’t eat well until they started getting meals here.”
As Kilk-san said that, he glanced at the kids eating at the dining hall.
The prices of the dining hall food are relatively cheap compared to the quality, but if you don’t care about the quality, there are plenty of ways to get by even cheaper.
From the perspective of people who want to cut down on food expenses and save some money, the dining hall food is definitely expensive.
On one hand, it might be good to have a bakery that sells bread cheaply, but there’s one problem that comes to mind.
”Opening a bakery is fine, but who’s going to bake the bread?”
”That’s…”
Several people’s gazes turned to Narsht-san, who was sitting in the back of the dining hall, and Narsht-san opened his mouth, noticing their stares.
”There’s no way I have the luxury to bake bread when I have a dining hall already.”
”Yeah, that’s right… How about calling in a baker from outside? There are people who want to work in this settlement, and we could even get an introduction from Spear of Shouhyou.”
”If we just open a normal bakery, that’s enough, but if we want to sell cheaply, it’s a bit tricky.”
”Ah, I see. There aren’t many people who would come all the way to this settlement to work hard and sell something that doesn’t even make a profit…”
If this were a normal business deal, it would be one thing, but this conversation is already half-way into charity work.
One might think it’s a bad idea, but people who come to the frontier settlement to do business or work are obviously here to make money. So, it’s not like there are people who would agree to bake bread for those who can’t even afford to eat at a diner.
The idea itself was good, but without a skilled baker, it’s pointless, and we were worried about it when Miharu, who was working as a waitress at the diner, suddenly spoke up.
”I can bake bread, though.”
”Hey, Miharu!?”
”What, Olga? Can you really bake bread?”
The one called Olga was a woman in her late teens with brown hair and a 3-braided hairstyle, and she vigorously shook her head in response to Harmon-san’s question, causing her braids to swing wildly.
”No, no, no! I can only bake normal bread that you’d make at home, not the kind you’d sell at a store!”
”Isn’t that better for this case, though?”
”Well, a professional baker’s bread would cost a lot, but if an amateur girl like her makes it, it’d be cheap, and that’s not surprising, right?” I said.
”Uh, um, everyone…?” Olga (Miharu) tried to interject.
”Then wouldn’t it be better to use a different type of wheat? Confectionery wheat is high-quality, after all.”
”No, even if it’s for those who are struggling to get by, there’s no need to go all out with just one type of wheat. If we sell it as a slightly higher-end sweet bread alongside cheap bread, there’s definitely a demand for it.”
”Is anyone listening to me? If so, then…”
”Ah! I’ve seen those fancy breads sold at high-end bakeries in the capital. They’re so small, but they cost a whole silver coin each. Can something like that really sell here in the frontier settlement?”
”Idiot, that’s because they’re using Duhr wheat! Since we can harvest it in a short period here in the frontier, the cost of raw materials is basically 0, so we can sell Duhr wheat bread for 2 large copper coins.”
”Haha… That’s definitely possible, but if we overdo it, all sorts of problems will arise, so…”
”Oh, am I not being heard? Is my opinion not being considered?”
”There’s no way that’s happening!”
”Wahahaha!?”
Harmon-san’s head turned sharply, stopping right in front of Olga’s face.
”Since you work at this store, your opinion comes first.”
”Oh, so it’s already decided that I’m working here, huh…”
”By the way, Olga, where are you working now?”
”I’m currently working as an apprentice at the Golden Sky Fabrics shop.”
”The Golden Sky Fabrics… Ah, that’s the tailor shop, right? How much is your daily wage?”
”It’s 2 silver coins.”
”That’s cheap, isn’t it? For someone of your age, the going rate is around 5 or 6 copper coins per day, plus 2 silver coins.”
”I’m… just a good-for-nothing, so even back in the village, people would say ‘You’re not good at anything’… It’s ridiculous for someone like me to be running a shop.”
Harmon-san looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to me.
”Nick, let’s say we let Olga run a bakery. How would the actual work and salary payments work out?”
”Well, it’s not like we can expect Olga to do everything alone, so we’d handle things like material procurement and management, profit calculations, and so on. We’d leave the baking and sales to Olga. As for the salary, it would be the same as Narsht-san’s, treated as a servant’s wage.”
”Treated as a servant means a fixed salary. What about the year-end bonus?”
”Yes, it’s around 30% of the star salary, but it can increase or decrease depending on performance.”
”I see. By the way, if you were Olga’s employer, how much would you pay her per star?”
”Well, since she’s not a skilled worker, just a beginner… I’d say around 3 gold coins and 20 silver coins.”
”Whoa! That’s more than I expected!”
”Is that so? I mean, a bakery would require early mornings and late nights, and it’s lower than the average star salary…”
”That’s more than enough for a beginner like her. And if we’re handling the troublesome shop management, it’s even more so.”
”Ah, ah…”
As I was chatting with Harmon-san, Olga-san slowly raised her hand, looking flustered.
”I, I don’t really understand star salaries, but how much would I get if we converted it to daily wages?”
”If we convert it to daily wages, it’s 3 silver coins and 3 copper coins.”
”R-really? I’d get that much?”
”I think it’s a reasonable amount, considering the long work hours and the hard labor of baking bread. Of course, this is just because Olga is still a beginner, and if you continue to work hard, there will be raises, naturally.”
”Daily wage of 3 silver coins and 3 copper coins…”
”Hey, Olga-san? Listen up!!”
Olga-san lets out an incredible, energetic shout in response to my statement.
”My job is just to bake bread and sell it to customers, right?”
”Yeah, that’s right. I’ll handle the troublesome paperwork, so Olga-san can focus on preparing and selling bread.”
”I got it! I may not be good at using my brain, but if I don’t have to, I can do more than half-decent work Me!”
”You’re really not bragging at all…”
Everyone, except Olga-san, silently agrees with that whispered comment.
With that kind of carefree atmosphere, our bakery opening project, which was already underway, was something we couldn’t help but talk about with the regular customers at the diner, even though it was already late at night.
In fact, there is a glimpse of a character from the Viscount family only once, but I wonder if anyone remembers it.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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