Chapter 2

Chapter 2

First Customer

Despite my optimism, business wasn't exactly booming from the start.

Well, there were probably all sorts of reasons.

The general perception of school stores was that they sold cheap junk food, so the noble students might naturally have reservations.

'That's only because they haven't tasted it yet.'

Taking advantage of a quiet moment, I swept my gaze across the convenience store.

The displays were divided into four main sections.

A room-temperature food aisle stocked with snacks, bread, and the like.

An open refrigerated display for dairy products and lunchboxes.

A refrigerated and frozen section for drinks and various frozen foods.

And finally, a miscellaneous goods section containing everything from daily necessities to stationery.

Off to one side were simple tables where customers could eat ready-made food, with a microwave and hot-water dispenser right beside them.

I'd modeled the place after the convenience store I'd run in my previous life, so it looked pretty convincing.

Oh, and for the record, I also sold alcohol and cigarettes, though those were aimed more at the faculty than the students.

The Academy's admission age started at adulthood, but I couldn't imagine the students throwing drinking parties like college kids.

Just then.

Jingle─

The bell on the door rang, announcing the arrival of my first customer.

I instinctively turned my head and greeted the visitor.

"Welcome!"

"...!"

The female student who had just stepped inside flinched and stopped in her tracks.

When our eyes met, the girl awkwardly bowed her head, then repeatedly glanced around the store.

Well, I understood.

I'd probably react the same way.

Most Academy students were the children of nobles.

Even kids who had enjoyed every luxury since birth couldn't help but find the sight of a convenience store unfamiliar.

I gave her the gentlest smile I could manage and said,

"Feel free to look around. If you have any questions, just ask."

"Ah, yes..."

I discreetly studied the girl's appearance as she answered.

With her voluminous pink hair that made me wonder if it was really natural and her wide eyes timidly darting around, she reminded me of a small animal.

She's cute.

Judging by that youthful face, was she a first-year?

Hesitantly.

Eventually, the girl cautiously approached the room-temperature food aisle, picked up a snack, and examined the packaging with curious eyes.

Like I mentioned before, everything was translated into this world's language, so it shouldn't have been hard to guess what was inside.

'There are pictures too.'

Still, it wouldn't be right to neglect my very first customer.

If I worked hard at customer service, my reputation would improve and more students would start coming.

Still seated, I spoke in as gentle a voice as possible.

"It's a fried corn snack coated in chocolate."

Even though I'd deliberately softened my voice, the girl still jumped.

Just how timid was she?

"It melts in your mouth. It's very tasty."

I smiled as I spoke.

"Th-thank you..."

Contrary to my expectation that she'd obviously like it, the girl put the snack back down.

She looked just like a preschooler visiting a stationery store for the first time in her life.

Tsk.

I smacked my lips in disappointment.

'That one's seriously delicious...'

After that, the girl spent quite a while looking through this and that.

Whenever she did, I explained the items one by one.

"Those are thinly sliced potatoes that have been fried. They're crispy, salty, and delicious."

"Ah..."

"That's kind of like a cream puff, except it's filled with chocolate instead of cream."

"Yes..."

Hmm.

At this point, I was starting to get a little suspicious.

Did she actually come here intending to buy anything?

I was watching the girl with growing disinterest when—

"Um, what's this?"

For the first time since entering the store, the girl asked me a question herself.

She had somehow made her way to the refrigerated display with the lunchboxes, and in her hand was a single roll of gimbap.

'Uh, hmm...'

It had sold well back when I ran a convenience store, so I'd stocked it without much thought, but looking at her bright pink hair and exotic features now, I hesitated over how to explain it.

That was because I wasn't sure whether gimbap would suit a Westerner's palate.

But, well.

Wasn't K-food spreading all over the world?

I distinctly remembered Westerners praising Korean food for being delicious.

I put on my usual friendly smile and explained.

"It's a kind of packed meal where side dishes are wrapped with rice and seaweed."

"Ah...?"

As expected, it seemed a little unfamiliar to her.

"Um, but what are side dishes?"

Right, of course.

I'd have to explain what side dishes were first.

But tasting it herself would make far more sense than any explanation.

"It's easiest to think of them as sides eaten together with the main food, but rather than explaining, why don't you just try it? It's very tasty."

"Hmm..."

Just when I thought I'd struck out again—

"Okay, I'll take this."

The girl brought the gimbap to the counter.

'Yes!'

Her choosing the gimbap was a little unexpected, but who cared?

"I'll show you how to eat it."

After finishing the transaction, I spoke with a broad smile.

* * *

Seria, who came from a commoner family, wasn't close with any of her classmates.

That made going to the dining hall unbearably embarrassing.

She was at an age when eating alone still felt mortifying.

So she had no choice but to usually take care of her meals at the Academy store.

But the store had been closed for some time, leaving her in quite a difficult position.

Then today, she heard that the store had reopened and hurried over.

What she found there was completely unfamiliar.

Bright lights.

Shelves packed with products she couldn't even identify.

'What's that?'

Drinks were neatly arranged inside what appeared to be storage cabinets enchanted with refrigeration magic.

After spending a moment awkwardly taking in the utterly unfamiliar sight—

"Welcome!"

Seria flinched at the sudden, booming greeting.

The handsome young man with black hair looked rather young to be the owner of the store.

She bowed to the shopkeeper, then began looking around the interior.

Strangely enough, everything for sale was individually packaged. Perhaps magic had been used somehow, because it all looked remarkably neat.

"It's a fried snack coated in chocolate."

So it was a snack, not bread.

After hearing the shopkeeper's explanation, Seria put the item she'd picked up back down.

Her finances weren't particularly comfortable, so she couldn't afford to waste money on snacks.

What she needed right now was something substantial enough to count as a meal.

The Academy might be overflowing with children from noble families, but as mentioned earlier, Seria was a commoner.

The allowance her family sent wasn't even enough to cover all her living expenses─

And the monthly stipend the Academy provided for maintaining appearances barely covered textbooks and other necessary supplies.

Then something caught her eye...

'It's exactly what I can afford for lunch.'

The shopkeeper called the food she'd chosen 'gimbap.'

She had no idea what it was, but the description of it as a packed meal appealed to her.

"I'll take this."

After she paid, the shopkeeper kindly showed her how to eat it as well.

"This is called a microwave. It can heat up food."

Seria quietly watched as the shopkeeper placed the gimbap inside a metal box and operated some buttons.

'Was it made in a workshop?'

Much like the equipment installed in one corner of the store that blew out cold air, it seemed to be some kind of mechanical device combining magic and engineering.

Beep, beep, beep!

A short while later, the machine called a 'microwave' sounded an alert, and the shopkeeper took out the gimbap and removed its outer wrapping.

After tearing off the strip along the top, the strangely shaped contents inside were revealed.

At a glance, it looked like all sorts of ingredients had been gathered together and rolled up.

"It's already been sliced with a knife, so you can bite off one piece at a time. The stuff wrapped around the outside is seaweed, so you can eat that too."

The shopkeeper said this as he handed her the gimbap.

"If you push up from the bottom with your fingers, it'll slide out, so you don't need to remove the wrapper. It keeps your hands from getting greasy."

"Oh..."

She didn't really understand what he meant, but she accepted it first and carefully examined its appearance again.

It was wrapped in some unknown thin black layer, but since he told her to eat it, it apparently wasn't packaging.

Its surface also gleamed as though coated in oil, and it gave off a savory aroma unlike anything she'd ever smelled before.

Inside, she could see white grains and colorful ingredients neatly packed into the cross-section.

She thought she recognized a few of them.

The green one was cucumber, and was the yellow one egg?

The orange one looked like carrot...

What were the golden and brown ones?

"That's what we call rice and side dishes."

She still had no idea what any of it meant, but the fact that it counted as a meal made her look forward to trying it.

Chomp.

Seria carefully placed a piece of gimbap into her mouth.

She felt a little embarrassed with the shopkeeper watching her eat...

'...!'

The moment she began chewing, Seria's eyes widened.

The first thing she noticed was the salty, savory flavor of the 'seaweed' wrapped around the outside.

Immediately afterward came the warm, fluffy 'rice.'

How should she describe it?

It was soft, but pleasantly chewy.

That texture, too, was something she'd never experienced before.

And that wasn't even the end of it.

The well-seasoned egg was springy, while the carrot had a satisfying bite.

She had never been especially fond of carrots, but whatever was in this one was definitely different.

And then.

'What's this sweet flavor?'

The crunchy texture was similar to the carrot, but the thin strips seemed to be some kind of brown vegetable she didn't recognize.

"What's this?"

When Seria pointed at the mysterious vegetable and asked, the shopkeeper answered.

"That's called burdock."

"Burdock..."

The girl murmured the word softly, then took another bite of the gimbap.

Munch, munch.

Then she focused on the satisfying crunch of the burdock.

"And this?"

This time, she asked about the golden side dish(?) with a sweet-and-sour flavor.

"That's pickled radish. It's radish pickled in vinegar."

"Pickled radish..."

Seria savored its crisp texture and sweet-and-sour flavor.

'How fascinating.'

The gimbap wasn't only colorful to look at; true to its appearance, it offered a remarkable variety of flavors.

"Well? Does it suit your taste?"

When the shopkeeper asked with obvious anticipation, Seria suddenly felt self-conscious. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she answered quietly.

"Yes..."

Then she added in a low voice.

"I think I could eat this every day."

Of course, Seria had no idea.

That Dante, the shopkeeper, was inwardly cheering in triumph.