After my conversation with Akane-san had reached a certain conclusion and things had settled down, Kaori-san stood up from her chair with a smile.
[Is the talk over? Then, how about it, since it’s a rare opportunity, why don’t both of you have a little sothing to eat? There’s a dish I was thinking of putting on the limited-ti nu, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on it.]
[Huh? If it’s okay with you, Kaori, I’m a bit hungry, so I’d like to eat…… but I feel kind of bad about it. You’re letting us use your place and even treating us, if it’s too much trouble, I can pay for the al.]
[Kaori-san’s cooking is delicious, and it’s a kind offer but…… just like Akane-san said, we’ll pay, okay?]
While I appreciated Kaori-san offering to serve us her cooking, I felt a bit guilty. She had let us use her shop as a place for our discussion, served us tea, and now was even treating us to a al, even though it had little to do with the conversation between Akane-san and .
Still, Kaori-san smiled as if to say "Don’t worry about it".
[I haven’t even set a price for it as a nu item yet, and since this is a tasting…… I can’t accept money for it as a professional.]
[Ahaha, now that you put it that way, I can’t argue. Then, I’ll gratefully accept your treat. Kaito, that’s fine with you too, right?]
[Yes. I’ll find another opportunity to properly thank Kaori-san……]
[……Just within normal courtesy, please…… w- well, anyway, I’ll get it ready right away. Oh, it’s stew. You can choose between beef stew and white stew, both are already prepared and in the magic box, so it doesn’t take extra effort to get either one ready.]
With a wry smile, Kaori-san wrapped a triangular headscarf around her head, put on an apron, and headed into the kitchen, asking Akane-san and which stew we preferred.
[Kaito, which one do you want? I like both, so why don’t we order different ones for the occasion? You can choose first.]
[I like both as well…… then, I’ll go with the white stew.]
[Then I’ll take the beef stew.]
[Alright. I’ll have it ready right away, so just wait a mont~~]
After hearing our responses, Kaori-san pulled two large pots from her magic box into the back of the kitchen and began preparing the tableware and other items.
[But as a set al, it’s a bit of an unusual nu, isn’t it?]
[Yeah. I usually make set als to go with rice, but in this world, rice isn’t that common. So I thought it would be nice to have so bread-based options too, so custors have a choice. I’m still figuring out the exact nu, though it’ll start with limited-ti dishes and adjust based on custor reactions.]
[Houu~~ you’ve put a lot of thought into it. Kaori’s shop must be popular, hasn’t it been featured in magazines and such?]
[It was introduced in travel magazines as a place where you can eat authentic Otherworld Cuisine. Whether my set als are truly authentic is another matter, but with Olivia-sama being a regular, it’s beco quite prosperous. It’s often fully booked at night.]
I rembered seeing an article about Kaori-san’s shop too. It was about two pages long and seed like a fairly thorough feature. Olivia-san being a regular probably contributed a lot, but the novelty of rice-centered otherworldly cuisine must also be a factor.
In the Friendship City Hikari, a place with lots of tourists, that novelty brought in plenty of custors.
[But that must make it hard for just Kaori-san to run the shop alone, right?]
[No, not really. I actually have a lot more leeway than before. Having that leeway is why I can make these limited-ti dishes and experint from ti to ti.]
[Even though the shop is doing well, you have more leeway than before?]
I shared the sa puzzled look as Akane-san. Logically, a busier shop should an less free ti, yet Kaori-san said she had more leeway than before, and she didn’t seem to be lying.
[My shop was originally set up with just enough seats for to manage alone, so running out of hands isn’t really an issue. That reason’s part of it, but more than anything…… for a restaurant, having a large-capacity magic box really makes you realize it’s a godsend.]
[Ah, I see. You just make it and put it in there, huh.]
[Unn. Cooking, like stew and such, is more efficient if you make a certain amount all at once. But if you make too much, then if it doesn’t sell, you have to throw it away. You have to consider how many orders each dish will get and make accordingly. Even if you prep so things in advance, there are lots of dishes you still have to cook after receiving an order, so I couldn’t really increase the number of nu items. The more you try to increase it, the harder it is to predict sales, and leftovers pile up.]
Indeed, when I first ca to Kaori-san’s shop, the nu had about half as many items and no limited-ti offerings. The fact that the nu had grown ant she had gained enough leeway to expand it, and the magic box seed to be a key factor in that.
[But with a large-capacity magic box, I can make a batch, put it in, and just plate it when needed, it’s super easy. And since it’s stored in a freshly cooked state, there’s no need to reheat it. Any limited-ti items that don’t sell, I can just eat for dinner, so food waste is almost nonexistent. It’s easier, more profitable, and really convenient. Thanks to that, I can co up with all sorts of new nu ideas, which is fun. That's why I’m grateful to Raz-sama for giving the magic box and to Kaito-kun for introducing her to .]
Kaori-san said this with a beaming smile, clearly enjoying herself, and it was clear that she simply loved cooking itself. Seeing that smile, I couldn't help smiling as well.
Serious-senpai : [That’s true, if you can prevent food from spoiling, keep dishes in a freshly cooked state, and have a capacity equivalent to an entire mansion, then for a restaurant handling ingredients, it really is a godsend…… But according to Shigenobu, a black magic box easily costs over a hundred million, so for an ordinary restaurant, installing a large-capacity magic box would be far too expensive……]
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