On the day of the Founding Festival, we moved through the bustling city to the location of our stall. Thanks to my magic box, itās very easy to set up a stall without having to make preparations early in the morning when there are few people around or the day before.
Installation was quick and easy, as all we had to do was take it out of my magic box. The time was just before 9:00 amā¦ā¦ All preparations were ready, but since it had been decided in the prior meeting that the stall would open at 9:00 am, we decided to wait until that time.
As expected, as the place weāre setting up our stall is off the main street, people are sparse and there arenāt many stalls. There was a certain amount of space between the stalls, which made it easy for amateurs to set up their own stalls.
Looking at the surrounding stalls, I can see that there is a wide variety. Personally, Iām interested in those takoyaki stalls.
[Kaito, we still have time, right?]
[Eh? Yeah, about 20 minutes or so.]
[Well then, Iām going to have a little inspection in this hostile environment! Shalltear-sama also said it after all, that information is important!]
Leaving these words, Tre-san went to inspect the competition with her wallet in her handā¦ā¦ No, she was completely intent on buying and eating. What an enviable dynamism she had.
There was indeed still time for us, and gathering information certainly is the right choice, but I think itās incredible that she could take immediate action without worrying about the delicate 20-minute time window.
She should be back before the appointed time. With that in mind, I looked over to see Tre-san at the takoyaki stall I had spotted earlier.
[Houu, the scent of this sauce is quite greatā¦ā¦ However, I wonder if it will be able to make me, who has eaten lots of takoyaki, hum in delight?]
[Hahaha, now youāve said it. Prepare yourself or itāll surprise you.]
[Unnn, unnn, Iām looking forward to it thenā¦ā¦ Ahh, by the way, donāt you think Iām quite the beauty?]
[Unnn? Ahhh, well, I suppose youāre quite beautiful?]
[Right!? And Iāve thought of this just now. I think that many cool and skillful artisans are generousā¦ā¦ and have a big heart. I think thatās a good thingā¦ā¦ By the waaaaay, it was usually 5R for 6 pieces, riiiiight? How about nooooow?]
[Kuh, hahaha! So thatās how it is huh, youāve got me! Well then, 2 extra takoyakis for the beautiful lady!]
[Yay~~!]
Has she ascended to a communi-oni? In an instant, they were having a pleasant conversation, she even got a freebie. Tre-san happily accepted the takoyaki, and this time went to another stallā¦ā¦ where they were baking something that looked like baked cabbages.
[Whoa~~ Those look delicious.]
[ā¦ā¦Whatās up, missy? You gonna negotiate with me like you did at that store over there?]
The elderly owner of the store called out to Tre, who was waiting happily, swaying her body from side to side, for the completion of the product. Thereupon, Tre-san smiled at his words and spokeā¦ā¦
[Hmmm, unlike the guy at that stall, it seems like Owner-san is a rather austere artisan. I heard otherworlders call such mannerisms chicā¦ā¦ However, I wonāt talk too much about those things to such a cool and austere person, as I have expectations of your sneaky disposition.]
[Haahh, youāre really skilled at thisā¦ā¦ Fine, here, Iāll give you some extras.]
[Yay! Thanks!]
As Tre-san accepted the gift with great joy, I noticed the slightly concerned look on the faces of the owners of surrounding stalls. How should I say thisā¦ā¦ It feels like they wanted her to come to their place or something like that.
I could understand how they felt. Tre-san, who was given extra freebies, had a really happy smile on her face, and you could tell straight away that she was overjoyedā¦ā¦ Seeing her like that makes you want to give her some extra freebies. Her communipower really is greatā¦ā¦
In an instant, Tre-san, who became like an idol of the surrounding stalls, came back with her hands full of food.
[Iām back~~ Letās eat this together. I donāt think weāll have customers all the time, so letās eat these in between.]
[That sounds good. We can take turns taking short breaks. We have a large space in the back of our stall, so Iāll put some chairs out there.]
Just as Tre-san said, there certainly wonāt be an endless stream of customers. Letās take it easy and enjoy the food while taking a break in the back.
Incidentally, as for the division of roles, Cento-san and Cien-san, who are great at cooking, will make the baby castellas, while Tre-san and I will sell themā¦ā¦ Well, we plan to take turns in this aspect along the way.
While Iām thinking about this, the time to open our stall finally arrived. A stuffed costume, which I donāt think would draw customers at all, stands in front of our stall holding a sign, and we are finally ready to open our stall.
[Kaito-kun, everyoneās here~~!]
[ā¦ā¦Yeah.]
And the moment our stall opened, the baby castella demon descended. Her arrival was too early. This guy is definitely somewhere nearby earlier, waiting for the openingā¦ā¦