“…That’s a hell of a turnout”
As it was close to noon and the waves of people broke up a bit, I got a better view of my surroundings.
Then I saw signs here and there saying things such as ‘sugar beans’ and ‘bean candy.’
I walked to the middle of the road to get a better look at the signs.
“Back off, abandoned child.”
Little curses.
I pretend I didn’t hear it. It’s just ridiculous to take it seriously.
“I’ve been getting glimpses of it all morning.”
“I didn’t expect this many.”
Seeing that the food stalls here are selling too much, it seems that there are food stalls that are changing business.
“Stalls with shops don’t do that, but the right thing for stall merchants to do is to sell.”
“It’s not difficult to make.”
Aside from the HoroHoro cookies, molasses beans and amber candy are such a simple treat that anyone who cooks can figure out how to make them when they see them.
But if they can copy them perfectly, that’s another story.
It’s not so difficult to make that the kids at the orphanage can’t make it on their own, but that’s because they have a set recipe in place.
Children don’t make it by themselves.
If I tell them to put this amount of mashed fegs in this amount of flour, they will follow the recipe exactly.
I don’t neglect the process, and I’m serious about it because it’s an offering to the Mother Goddess.
That kind of thing comes out properly.
One can make something similar if they make it rather laxly.
But it will only be similar, not the real thing.
For these things, you know, the original is the best.
This one is made to a very specific recipe. One of the strengths of this one is that it always tastes the same, no matter how many times we make it.
Maybe it’s okay to be lax with these temporary stalls.
They seem to think that the bullish pricing of all products at fifty dee is an opportunity to take advantage of, and the words forty-eight dee and forty-five dee are dancing on the signboards.
I think the cost of raw materials is putting a lot of pressure on them…
The orphanage has free sugar, the most expensive ingredient in the orphanage, free figs, and free labor.
“…So what are you going to do? Miss.”
“No, I’m not doing anything else. It’s not like they’re doing anything wrong.”
Unless they’re going to interfere with us or say they’re the original creators and do something to us, I don’t think it’s a good idea to blame them for just putting up confusing signs as it is.
Um, self-defense, or something like that.
We don’t have to do anything because they won’t do anything about it.
“There’s no need to participate in a race to sell at a lower discounted price, because we think even a 50D price is cheap.”
“No, but it’s not like I don’t like something…”
“It can’t be helped. It is the fate of those who are on the cutting edge of technology to be imitated.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Yes. That’s just the way it is.”
Rufa nodded a little with a face that didn’t seem to convince him.
“…Speaking of which, Miss, we’re about to run out of sugar.”
“What? With all that stuff in there?”
“Yes…It’s not just sugar, though, we’re going to run out of flour and firewood and charcoal.
“That’s great.”
Crackle and clap your hands.
“Normally when we run out of flowers, I’d grab Lela’s hearty allowance and enjoy the Founding Festival…”
This is not the case this year, I’m told.
After all, it’s been irregular from the beginning.
“I think it’s best to sell it if possible until the day of the Founding Festival. Including for the future.”
“So, split up and buy the ingredients…”
“Wait…It’s expensive to buy anything this time of year, isn’t it? Well, you can buy expensive flour and wood and charcoal and make some profit from it, but the problem is the sugar.”
““Sugar???””
Ragg and Rufa tilted their heads in the same direction in unison.
Are they so alike because they live together?
If so, will His Highness and I be similar someday?
“I would never recommend buying and making expensive sugar at this time of year.”
“No, I don’t buy sugar. When I need sugar, I ask the Cathedral for it.”
The cathedral is always heavily stocked, he said.
“Then please negotiate for the flexibility of the cathedral’s stockpile of both firewood and charcoal…and flour if possible…he price of the goods will go down after the Founding Festival.”
“Yes. You can ask them to lend the money and tell them you’ll return the same amount in ten days…”
“Or, in exchange for the materials, you can say you’ll give them 70 percent of the proceeds.”
“Well, won’t that hurt us?”
“I don’t think it’s a loss. Because our expenses are for wrapping paper, ribbons and labor. In fact, all we need is wrapping paper and ribbons.”
The ribbons are still in stock. I’ve bought more thin waxed paper many times, but these things don’t go up or down in price much, even at this time of year.
“And please keep good records.”
“What record?”
“For each day, it would be nice to know how many of which you sold, how many you used for tastings, how many you made from it, and the amount of ingredients you used to make it. And, of course, keep track of all the money you spent on your purchases.”
“Giallo knows that.”
I have a feeling that many of the orphanage’s children here are aristocratic children.
If you are a child of a nobleman, even at a young age, you will have a private tutor to help you learn the rudiments of learning. Considering that, I felt that Giallo was born of a nobleman.
Giallo, Fee, and, though I haven’t talked much about him, I suspect Eddie too.
You can tell the difference in their pronunciation, the way they say things, and also the way they use cutlery.
I’m not sure they’re an abandoned child, or the child of a mistress, or some other reason…I’m curious about each of their circumstances, but it’s not a good question to ask out of curiosity, so I don’t.
“I’m not sure how many of them were sold, but I know how many were used for tastings and what they were used for.”
“Strictly speaking, the number used for tasting is not the number that cannot be made into a product, but it gives us a rough idea of how much of the product we need to make to make the product. We also know how many people will buy the product if we get enough people to eat it. It seems that we can read a lot of things from these records.”
It’s budget management and statistics. His Highness loves these things. He is very good at looking at the numbers and deciphering from them, and whenever he has time, he pores over various statistics.
I think that such knowledge, which is both a hobby and a practical benefit, is what underpins His Highness’ politics, so I never interfere with him when he does that.
“Hey…”
“If you keep good records, you can predict how much you need and how much you need to buy next year. Then you can watch the dates and buy in bulk when prices are low.”
“It’s amazing.”
“Yes…It seems that the accumulation of records like that are an important asset. So make sure you keep it properly.”
I’m sure His Highness will eventually get the records here, and then I’d like to get some more analysis from him.
“Hey, miss, I just got word that the flour is done.”
Giallo came to tell me with a slightly panicked look on his face.
“…That’s right. What do we do now? Ragg, Rufa.”
It was up to the two of them whether they wanted to continue.
With a straight face, Ragg and Rufa quickly ran their eyes over the inventory on the stall.
Even if we combined what we have in the cathedral right now, I’m not sure if we’d be able to hold on for the rest of the day.
“Hey, Miss, can I leave here for a second?”
“…Both of you?”
“Yeah. Sorry…we have to negotiate a lot of things with the bishop and the deacon…”
“…Okay, I understand. But please be aware that I will leave when His Eminence the Archbishop’s carriage goes by. Perhaps I’ll go straight home.”
“I know. We’ll be back by then.”
Apparently, they’ve decided to keep on selling.
“Off you go, then. Good luck.”
“Okay.”
“See you.”
I waved to them both and realized as I looked away.
…I’ve never said ‘have a good day’ to His Highness, have I? (*** The word is “Itterasshai” which can mean “have a good day” or “please go and come back” or “see you later.” It is said by people at home/staying back to someone leaving, usually for work.)
That’s because we’re supposed to be together under one roof all the time.
It’s too big and it doesn’t feel very much like we’re living together…
The building was different when I was at the Crown Princee’s Palace, but the physical distance itself was closer than it is now, living in the same building.
Also, His Royal Highness always goes out without my knowledge.
That’s why I’ve never said ‘have a good day’ or ‘welcome home.’
That’s not what it is, but…I feel a little lonely
The backs of the two of them were superimposed with the back of His Highness.
I knew that my own heart, wanting to see him, would give me such an illusion.
Maybe a little too seriously.
I smiled a small smile at the fact that I found out again only after I went away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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