Chapter 7

"Hey, it's been a while."

"Oh, Ay Patessi! You're back in town, huh?"

Ay Patessi, a confectioner and merchant affiliated with the Merchant Guild, sells the sweets she makes. She used to operate mainly in this town, but she had gone on a journey to other towns to test her skills. And now, it seems she has finally returned to this town in triumph. She even came to visit our guild.

I was thrilled when she left town because I had supported her enthusiastically.

—Patessi's sweets are highly praised, and I love them too. They will definitely sell! I hope you come back. I'll be looking forward to it—

I remember how I had spoken about the merits of each of her sweets one by one. I had given her a hearty send-off then.

I had been eagerly waiting for Patessi's return.

Why I was supporting someone who wasn't an adventurer was because her sweets were not only delicious but also beautifully colored and unique, something you wouldn't see around here.

"Make a new creation to celebrate your return. Please let everyone try it."

She handed me a bag containing the new sweets. This person occasionally gives away her products for free. The first sweet after her return was a baked good topped with yellow citrus fruit. From the feel of it, the outside seemed to be tart dough.

I thanked her with a high-pitched "Thank you!" along with my colleague.

"By the way, I'll be coming to request some ingredients, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on the taste then."

She declared that she would ask for feedback on the taste, but of course, I would tell her since I was getting it for free. I would probably tell her before she even asked.

"I've made a lot of new creations since I left this town. I'll be making the rounds today, but if you have time, please come to the shop from tomorrow onwards."

"Wow! I'm looking forward to it. I'll definitely come!"

That's right. I'll go to the shop and tell her when I shop there.

"By the way, Patessi, now that you're back, why don't you put your sweets in the guild here?"

Even if I can't place them here on my own, I'll try to persuade the guild master. However, it seems the confectioner herself isn't interested.

"Hmm, it's a nice offer, but the preservation method is unique."

Unfortunately, this person is very particular about quality control and hygiene, so she can't just place them anywhere. Compared to the previous world, this world isn't as advanced in hygiene, but some people still think about it.

"Also, the atmosphere is a bit different. This place has more male users, right?"

Indeed, the cuteness of the sweets tends to attract a female clientele. The new sweets I received earlier were also cute and eye-catching, with a look that women would like.

"That's a shame. I think there are many men who would like such sweets."

"Some men buy them when they're with women, but they seem to eat them outside the city where there are fewer people watching."

The men who fight fiercely against monsters every day seem to be concerned about what others think...

"But that's true. —You sometimes give me good ideas."

"Are you thinking about attracting more male customers?"

"Merchants always think about making a profit."

Patessi said this with a cheerful face and left. I'm looking forward to going to the shop from tomorrow. I'll also think about how to increase the number of male customers at Patessi's shop.

I first distributed the sweets I received to the staff on the first floor and then took them to the guild master and the sub-master's room on the second floor. The guild master and sub-master's desks are in the same room. The sub-master is sometimes on the first floor, but both were on the second floor today.

"Here you go. Guess what, Ay Patessi is back!"

I handed the sweets to both of them.

"That person... Oh, these sweets!"

They seemed to understand when they saw the sweets.

Yes, that's the person, Sub-master.

"Oh, she's back. The Charlotte's sweet festival will start again."

The "sweet festival" the guild master mentioned is my habit of eating only sweets for lunch, and sometimes for several days in a row.

Patessi's shop has a wide variety of sweets, so it takes that long to try them all from start to finish.

I'm sure I'll be showing them this routine from tomorrow.

The guild master seemed to be taking the sweets home for his wife or daughter (or maybe they share them). He put them away quickly.

In contrast, the sub-master was already eating them.

"Sub-master, you don't mind eating cute sweets, do you?"

I remembered the conversation I had with Patessi about men not liking the cute appearance of sweets and asked the sub-master.

"Hmm, I don't mind. Do young people care?"

The elf sub-master seemed to be indifferent to what others thought.

"I don't eat them now because if I take them home, I'll get in trouble when my wife finds out."

The guild master said that he didn't care whether the sweets were cute or not.

After all, they were new. If his wife found out he had eaten them first, it would be a big problem.

To these two, I suggested a way for men to eat sweets boldly.

"If you like sweets but can't buy them because they look cute... How about wrapping them in paper?"

"Paper...?"

For example... I prepared some paper used for request forms.

I folded it in half.

I placed the sweets between the folds and ate them.

This way, no one could see what I was eating from the front, and I could enjoy them.

"...Most sweets use oil. They'll stain the paper if you hold them."

Then, maybe the paper could be treated to prevent oil from seeping through.

"Still, it's a waste of money."

The guild master brought up the cost. In this world, there isn't a culture of wrapping things in paper.

In my previous life, there were some things that were wrapped in paper, but not for the purpose of hiding them. It was for convenience in carrying or to keep hands clean. For example, sandwiches with meat and vegetables were often wrapped in oil-resistant paper. This prevented the contents or sauce from spilling out and getting on clothes.

I thought it might work, but in this world, with magic and magic stones, you can just use water magic or a water magic stone to clean up on the spot.

The next day at lunch. Since I couldn't come up with a good idea, I went to Patessi's shop to buy lunch.

To my surprise, there were a few male customers there.

I asked Patessi what was going on.

"It's this new product. A black sweet."

It had a sleek shape and was entirely black.

"Please try it."

She cut a small piece for me to taste. It had a flavor similar to the less sweet chocolate sweets I had in my previous life.

It was not only sweet but also had a hint of bitterness.

The remaining samples were quickly finished by the other customers.

"I bought some ingredients during my journey and was thinking about how to use them. Your suggestion yesterday gave me an idea. I tried it out, and it got a good reaction."

Thank you! She said with a refreshing smile.

I had been trying to come up with a workaround, but as expected, a professional confectioner had won with the sweets themselves.

I felt a bit embarrassed by my own lack of creativity.

"People who have risen through their own abilities are different. Charlotte, you should be careful not to get stuck in superficial ideas. You're young, after all."

When I told this story back at the guild, I unexpectedly got a lecture from the sub-master.

"The idea of hiding them is backward."

The guild master said this while looking at the various sweets I had bought for lunch.

"The shop started to thrive because Charlotte was eating the sweets from there every day."

"When someone sees others eating, they often want to try it too. Of course, there are limits."

Today's lunch was the sweets I bought from Patessi's shop.

A cake with red fruit sauce, a new yellow, sparkly tart, the chocolate-flavored baked good I had tasted earlier, and a fluffy cake dusted with green powder that I was eating now.

When asked if I was going to eat all of them now, I replied, "Yes, I am."