Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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A new morning has come. A morning in another world.
I open the closet door and step out into the back streets of town. The town is still dimly lit, and the air is chilly, but I endure the cold as I walk towards the barn where Maon-san is waiting.
My breath turned slightly cloudy white.
….
After that, I went to the 24-hour supermarket to do some shopping. Just like yesterday, jam buns, bean buns, and cream buns were all there with half-price stickers on them. The sweet buns that were so popular in the other world were so popular in Japan.
They’re still unsold… It’s a bit complicated.
They say we live in an age of plenty. At the same time, they say the economy is not doing well. Some people are struggling to find food. And yet, there is so much food that goes unnoticed.
If the economy is not doing well, why not try to avoid excess food? We often see on TV and in other places countries and regions where many children die from malnutrition before reaching adulthood, and Japan where there is a surplus of food.
If they remain unsold, will they simply be discarded? There’s no end to the possibilities.
But there’s also me, trying to make a profit from it. I’m far from a good person, and that’s the me that’s here.
….
When I stepped out onto the street in front of Maon’s property, she was already there waiting for me. I looked at my watch and saw that it was just after five in the morning.
“Maon-san!!”
I grabbed the backpack full of bread and heads toward her.
“Good morning!”
“Oh! Oh! Genta, good morning.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting… It was cold, wasn’t it…?”
Even without that, it gets cold in the mornings and evenings, especially before dawn.
This was usually the coldest time of the day
“No, I’m fine. I guess I was too excited for my age. I couldn’t sleep very well. Is Genta okay?”
“Yes. But it’s really cold…”
I was wearing a jumper, but…Maon-san…
It looks a little cold… ah!
“That’s right! Maon-san. Please wait a moment.”
I remembered something I had received at the gas station where I had stopped to fill up my scooter last night and took it out of my backpack.
….
Last night, I went to fill up at a gas station and received a lap blanket, which was originally a prize given to people who filled up with 20 liters or more of gas. However, the number of customers had been low, and even now that it was April, they still had a lot of lap blankets left over that were given away as promotional prizes during the winter.
“What if it’s okay?”
An employee recommended it to me, so I gratefully accepted it. When I unfolded it and tried to fold it into a triangle, it wasn’t square, so it ended up with a slightly odd shape.
The size was 90cm x 120cm, according to the enclosed paper. It’s rectangular, isn’t it? But I thought it would be better to have at least one layer to wear, so I asked Maon to put it on her back.
Tie it in front and wear it as an instant shawl. It was made of fleece, so it was light and warm.
“Come on, Genta! Come on!”
Maon-san was also happy. “Thank you,” she repeats.
A friend from high school who was attending a nursing school said that it was useful in the winter because it was resistant to water and dirt… I explained that while I told her that it is resistant to water and dirt, I also added that it is easy to catch fire, so you should be careful.
In the meantime, we arrived at our destination to sell bread: the Adventurer’s Guild…the back entrance.
Today was the start of the battlefield where we sold bread and earned money for Maon and myself.
I knocked on the back door. It creaked open and there was a voice on the other side.
“Good morning, I’ve been waiting for you.”
There was Sylphy, looking just as beautiful as she had yesterday.
“Good morning, Sylphy-san. I look forward to working with you from today onwards!”
Then, without either of us knowing, we faced each other.
“Let’s go, Maon-san!”
“Yeah! Let’s show off how amazing Genta is!”
The two of us bravely stepped inside.
….
When I entered through the back door, I found Sylphy, the two receptionists, Femi and Manny, and a middle-aged man with a shaved head.
“It’s nice to meet you, Genta, Maon. I’m Glight, who works in this guild. I heard from Sylphy and the others that you’re an amazing baker.”
He smiles and holds out his right hand. The muscles around his neck that are visible from under his collar are incredibly firm. He must be strong to lead the adventurers in times of emergency.
“I’m Genta, nice to meet you.”
I greet him and extend my hand for a handshake.
Grab!!
“Ada-da!”
He used incredible force, such that I couldn’t help but scream.
“Oh, hey?”
Glight looked surprised and let go of my hand.
“S-sorry. I don’t have much strength…”
“I, I see. I’m sorry. I heard that you would be joining the Adventurer’s Guild after this… so I shook your hand as usual. Please forgive me.”
“Y-yes. I’m fine.”
“No way, Master! Genta is the one who is primarily responsible for the deliveries.”
“That’s right, Master! If you crush his hand, he won’t be able to bake bread!”
Femi was annoyed, while Manny was protesting to Glight, saying, “Come on.”
The master apologized to the receptionists.
“If it keeps going like this… Just yesterday, as soon as I met everyone, they all started demanding permission to deliver Genta’s bread… If I didn’t give permission then and there, it would be a matter of life and death… I had a terrible feeling about it. But it’s thanks to that intuition that I’ve managed to survive this long.”
As Glight spoke with a wry smile, I couldn’t help but smile wryly, thinking that it’s the same in any world: men get weak when surrounded by women.
Next Glight carefully shook hands with Maon, adjusting his strength.
“That being said…”
Sylphy-san began to speak.
“There are already many adventurers lining up to buy Genta’s bread. At this rate, there may not be enough left by the time we buy some…”
What!? They’re already lining up? And there are several of them… But why…? The decision to sell bread was made suddenly…
But now, more than that…
“We’ll be selling them here to the receptionists. They’ve been working hard to get permission to deliver the products… If we continue to do this, it won’t get in the way of your work…”
The receptionists were delighted to hear this. Glight asked if it was okay for him to come as well, and I replied with a smile, “Of course.”
The receptionists each bought the same bean bun and jam bun as yesterday. Mr. Glight chose the jam bun, probably because the receptionists had been enthusiastically recommending the croquette bun, likely due to its reputation for filling his stomach.
Suddenly, I made sales of 8 pieces for 4,000 yen. That’s great. Maon-san seemed to feel the same way and said it’s great.
“The hardest thing about business is getting started. The important thing is whether people will take the bait or not.”
Maon said that we should keep going and not lose the momentum we have started with.
“Yes!” I replied and got myself fired up.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Manny-san opened the door leading to the guild hall. Maon-san and I followed, followed by Sylphy-san and Femi-san.
It was my first battle with Maon-san. I had lost my part-time job and Maon-san had lost her qualifications from the merchant guild.
It was a battle that we must win in order to earn the money we absolutely needed to survive. Not just for me, but for Maon as well. That’s why we were fighting.
It’s also for our livelihood. I haven’t forgotten the pain and frustration I felt when Hangus and Gilliam from the Merchant Guild attacked us. They threatened to make it impossible for us to sell in town, and how the cat beastkin Mia Alice healed our injuries and encouraged us to deliver our goods to the Adventurer’s Guild.
The receptionists who had spoken to the guild leader to get permission to deliver the goods. I was there by that time because I was taking the two of them to Maon’s house for a tasting party.
If even one thing had been missing, I wouldn’t be able to sell bread like this now. So, I’m going to sell this bread to make up for each and every one of those things. Together with Maon.
Have confidence. Maon told me that this is “amazing bread.” Take on the challenge!
And then I stepped into the Adventurer’s Guild hall.
….
Genta and the others entered the reception hall and the door closed. As the five people who had been there earlier passed through the door, silence suddenly descended upon them. Looking at the two loaves of bread remaining in his hands, Guild Leader Glight tilted his head in a strange sensation.
“Those hands… I couldn’t feel any strength in them. Anything that can be called work requires a certain amount of physical strength. It’s the same with cooking; but those hands are quite sharp.”
The strange feeling Glight had felt when shaking hands with Genta earlier was that of his soft hands.
It was a strange hand that didn’t give the impression of being made of anything. Adventurers tended to have rough hands to some extent. The same went for blacksmiths, carpenters, and other craftsmen.
That’s why he felt uncomfortable with Genta’s palms, which were too soft.
But… he muttered as he took the croquette bread.
Delicious. So delicious. This proves that the words of the receptionists yesterday were not an exaggeration at all. There is no doubt about it.
“Good luck. No matter who you are, this bread is real.”
With that, Glight headed back to his room.
“…Ah, it’s not because the formal joining process itself hasn’t been completed yet …”
As he opened the door and headed towards the stairs at the back of the reception desk, Glight watched as the tables were set up and preparations for opening were made before heading upstairs.
In his hand he held the two loaves of bread he had just bought.
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