kscans

Chapter 31 - Episode 8: Part 2 - The Second Day

Students were gathered in front of the student council office, an especially magnificent room in an already magnificent school building. With bloodshot eyes, they stared at the provisional ranking list posted outside the room. There were forty two entries in total. Among them, more than half, twenty two to be precise, were related to food and drink.

"It's just as I expected. Business is looking pretty grim."

Dalgan groaned as his eyes scanned down to the bottom of the list. The ranks of the Holdings members were all clustered at the very bottom. It was no surprise, since all six of our stalls had ended the first day in the red. Vinder was just two spots from last place. The only ones below us were two shops that looked like they had already gone under, squeezed between the lavish spaces of the major companies after overextending themselves to rent a stall.

"The school building was so busy I couldn't go see for myself. But it looks like you're doing your best, Alfina."

Hilda emerged from the room and glared imperiously at the commoner students, but her voice held a hint of frustration as she approached Alfina. It seemed her plan to isolate the so called saintess took priority over things like sales and profits.

"Yes, everyone in the food court has been working very hard."

Alfina responded calmly to the sarcasm-laced words, holding Clau back. She was perfect for moments like this. She didn't seem to have a care in the world.

"It's quite impressive that you managed to make a stall of that size appear in the courtyard. You're, um, Vinder, was it?"

Leonardo, the one in charge of these rankings, spoke to me. I really wish he'd just forget my name.

"We managed to pull it together somehow. We'll do our best not to betray the goodwill of the student council for giving us this chance."

I replied with the perfect attitude of a model underclassman.

"Let me give you some advice as your senior. You can only attract attention with novelty at the very beginning."

"It seems the Calests are in first place by a wide margin. Congratulations."

Ignoring the murderous glares from my fellow members, the Calest siblings called out to us.

"Yes, well, as the family of the next Food Guild Master, we can't afford to have an embarrassing rank."

Theodore's eyes shifted to the Kenwell siblings, who were a distant second. The decision on the next Guild Master was still a long way off. He was getting ahead of himself.

"Tomorrow, the second imperial prince, His Highness Dagobard, will be in attendance. We expect you to conduct yourselves in a manner that will not bring shame upon the students of the Royal Academy," Hilda concluded.

The commoner students bowed their heads to her and left the room. The Empire was a concern, but right now, my hands were full managing the Holdings and staying wary of our on campus enemies. For that other matter, I could only count on Jacob and the others.

◇◇

"Hold on, you want us to prepare twice the amount we did today?"

"It's true that the number of customers picked up in the afternoon, but we still haven't even broken even."

"If we have leftovers... ugh."

When I returned to the courtyard, I presented my proposal for the next day's preparations to the members. Of course, I was met with a collection of bewildered stares. I was telling them to increase their output while we were still in the red, so their reaction was natural.

"Let's at least hear him out. I mean, Vinder is technically the managing supervisor of the Holdings," Rilka said, defending me.

It was a little heartwarming that Dalgan and Plural didn't immediately reject the idea, and that Rilka no longer hesitated to side with me.

"Let me just confirm, you want to double only our portions for the One-Plate Lunch, right?"

"That's right," I said, nodding at Roston's question.

"Well, the customers who ate it gave it great reviews, but still. Hmm."

"Since each part is small, we can handle doubling the amount. With our company's resources, I mean."

"Sure, why not. It's not nice to say, but since we just serve soup, it's pretty easy for us."

"B-But, we have to hear your reasoning first."

I placed the tally sheets I had received from Mia in front of everyone.

"It's because the trend in customer types shows that the food court's reputation is snowballing."

Mia had been tallying the trends in the accessories worn by customers who ordered the One-Plate Lunch.

"With that few customers? And how do you even know what type of customer they are?"

"That's based on the accessory trends that Rilka and Mia checked."

I showed them a graph that recorded the number of customers wearing accessories with currently popular colors and designs, those with designs that were popular a short while ago, and those with unusual designs that showed no sign of becoming a trend.

"Also, the rumors are spreading faster than anticipated. Please look at the sales curve by the hour."

"By the hour? You're thinking about things in that much detail, Vinder?"

Though he sounded exasperated, Dalgan's eyes were glued to Mia's graph. It was the so-called Diffusion of Innovations theory. However, unlike modern Japan where everyone was constantly connected through social media, the speed of information distribution here was slow, and there was no mass media.

But Everett Rogers had published his theory in the early 1960s, an era without smartphones, let alone even basic feature phones. And this time, our market was very narrow. You could say noble society was like a small village that thrived on gossip.

It was impossible to predict exactly how these conflicting factors would clash, but I judged that the theory could still be applied.

"Segmenting customers by personality type. I've never heard of such an idea. Well, I understand the logic. There's a fixed number of customers who love novelty. Even among those stuffy nobles. And it's true that their praise can attract other customers. But we only have three days."

"I see a certain logic to it. But what happens overnight, for instance? And to suddenly double the amount..."

Their doubts were perfectly reasonable. But you could also say the competition was only three days long. The risk of extinguishing our momentum was greater than the risk of having leftovers. I was confident in the visual appeal of our food. Just having customers who heard the rumors see it on their way between the school building and the east gazebo should be effective.

"There is a risk. On the other hand, if we continue as we are, we'll likely avoid a deficit tomorrow. What will you do?"

I looked at the members. This decision had to be shared by everyone. And it was a manageable risk. I believed the people here would see it that way.

"The One-Plate Lunch is, in a way, the Holdings' menu. That means it's under your jurisdiction, Vinder-kun. I agree with your policy."

"If we're going to participate, we have to play to win, right?"

"If there's a chance of victory, we have to take it. Besides, doubling it isn't actually that large an amount."

"Worst case, we can just think of it as an advertising expense."

"R-Right... Okay, I'll do my best."

Everyone nodded. The risk of this increased production was now divided. The benefits of portioning things out didn't just apply to stocks. That is, only if everyone agrees. We had cleared that difficult condition with ease.

◇◇

"It's not quite what you predicted, but it's much better than yesterday."

Rilka said, looking at the seats that were now a little less than half full. Despite her sarcastic tone, her expression was one of relief.

"Sorry to make you worry."

"I-It's not like I was thinking it's a good thing you didn't fall flat on your face and get embarrassed or anything."

That's not what I meant.

"We've finally started selling things other than the plate lunches. And everyone might say this or that, but no one's really complaining."

With that, Rilka returned to her own stall.

"How's it looking, Mia?"

"Things are continuing to develop according to the hypothesis. However, the ratio is changing a bit faster than expected. I believe we've completely captured the early adopters."

"It's only the morning of the second day. If we end up breaking into the main volume zone today..."

The number of customers would jump at once. I hadn't considered the possibility that doubling our stock wouldn't be enough.

"It seems the quality of the One-Plate Lunch was too high. Its beauty is something you can see with your own eyes."

"I'll talk to Dalgan and Plural. We need to guide the customers who ate here yesterday to each company's individual dishes. That was the purpose of this menu from the start."

I headed over to my upperclassmen.

As the afternoon wore on, the flow of customers increased even more. The seats were about sixty percent full. From the outside, it probably just looked like we were finally presentable. But considering the rate of increase, it was astounding. Looking at Mia's analysis, there was a chance we had already entered the largest category, the early majority.

"Will we have enough plate lunches?"

"We've succeeded in guiding customers to the main dishes of each company. However, if your hypothesis is correct, we will definitely run out tomorrow. And we'll run out of seats before we run out of food."

Normally, physical limitations are the most difficult to solve. But that's where the advantage of the courtyard came in. We had all the space we could want.

"Add more seats?"

Rilka looked at me with a blank expression, but then her eyes widened as she saw the dining area nearing seventy percent capacity.

"I get it. I'll ask the other Kenwell affiliates besides my family's main company."

"Thanks. Dalgan-senpai, after we close up today, could you help me carry over the tables from the old head librarian's office?"

"You got it. I'll gather some strong guys."

The two of them responded without missing a beat.

Now I just had to watch out for any interference from the Calests. Zeldia had come by earlier, pretending it was a coincidence, and said with a slightly strained smile, "Good for you, it looks like you might actually break even." She seemed surprised that we were able to conduct business normally in the courtyard. If that was the case, she was still underestimating us.

But would she be just as complacent at the end of today?

Occupy the seats with a 'reverse sakura'... they probably don't have the manpower for that, and they can only mobilize commoner students anyway. They wouldn't have the guts to linger when noble customers are waiting. Direct interference would be difficult, at least during opening hours...

I ran through the possible sabotage schemes in my head. The target would naturally be our management company. If so, there were ways to deal with it. Since we weren't selling anything, we were mobile.

"It looks like the greetings for Fi—I mean, Alfina-sama have passed their peak. If we can hold out today, the real problem will be after hours. Do we have enough time for both security and expanding the food court? ...What's with that group!?"

An imposing group dressed in black was walking toward Alfina's tent. Five men, no, one of them was a woman, about the same age as the other students. They stuck out, creating the same jarring feeling as seeing a group in militaristic school uniforms dropped into a missionary school.

Then, Claudia and Ruiza came out of the tent. The two of them began a heated exchange with the group in black.

"Senpai."

"Yeah, I'll go check it out."

Honestly, I didn't want to get involved, but this was also part of my duty as the food court supervisor. I'd be a failure as a manager if I let them spoil the mood for our customers who were enjoying their meals.

"Show some respect to His Highness Dagobard," said a girl standing beside a man with a particularly fine attire. She had black hair tied in a side ponytail and sharp blue eyes.

The man, Dagobard, also had a defiant look, with the same black hair and blue eyes. Were they related? The other three men flanked Dagobard on his left, right, and rear. Two had red hair, one had brown. All five of them wore an emblem of three bundled swords on their chests.

It was the same as the Imperial flag. I see, these must be the students from the Empire they were talking about yesterday. Here to pay a courtesy call on Alfina, I suppose. But for that, the atmosphere was strange.

"Your greetings to Her Highness should have been concluded at yesterday's welcoming party."

"I was planning to ask her for a dance, but she slipped away. It left me with some regret. This is a precious opportunity. I wish to deepen the friendship between those who carry the weight of our nations. Do you intend to interfere?"

"Alfina-sama is a person of the holy see, she does not directly involve herself in matters of state. Furthermore, considering what happened twenty years ago. I believe this is for the good of both our nations."

While maintaining polite language, Claudia didn't back down an inch. I was genuinely impressed, remembering how she had once left her master's side on her family's orders.

"Clau. Ruiza."

Alfina emerged from the tent.

"Ah, Princess Alfina."

The man's eyes took on a gleam like a bird of prey spotting its quarry.

"I hear you foresaw a monster flood and saved your kingdom. The Empire has long been plagued by the harm of monsters. I would very much like to hear the story of that time."

"The matter of the prophecy is a state secret. Given your position as a state guest, is that not a topic you should refrain from?"

"Besides, Alfina-sama is very busy with her duties as an officer of the Shoken Festival."

Ruiza stepped forward after Claudia.

"That's strange. I heard from Duchess Hilda that she was assigned a role with a light workload," the attendant girl said. But Ruiza gestured with an open palm toward the food court.

"No, as you can see, it is quite bustling. What's more, this is the first time a mock shop has been set up in the courtyard, and there are mountains of issues that require Alfina-sama's approval. For the enjoyment of everyone, including Your Highness who has come all the way from the Empire, we ask for your understanding."

The black haired girl flinched slightly at Ruiza's words. This is my chance.

"M-m-m-my sincerest apologies!"

I stepped forward, putting on an act of being utterly overwhelmed by the important people. It was an act I had gotten good at over the last six months. "Why am I here?" "I drew the short straw, what do I do?" Or maybe it wasn't an act. Seeing an Imperial prince up close was incredibly intimidating.

He was a head taller than me, with a solid frame. Even through his clothes, I could see his muscular build. He looked less like a prince and more like a gladiator from a movie.

"Alfina-sama. Um... the stall owners, they're having some trouble. If it's possible, we were hoping the princess might be able to mediate... umm."

I spoke while shooting a frightened glance at the dark prince. He looked at me as if I were an insect. Actually, it wasn't just the prince. The other four were basically the same. And their target wasn't just me. They seemed to look down on Alfina, Claudia, Ruiza, and all the academy students who had started to gather around us.

Didn't the Empire come to the Kingdom to ask for food aid because of the severe damage from monsters?

"That cannot be ignored. Vinder, you will escort the princess."

I heard words I couldn't believe from Claudia, who had planted herself in front of the prince as he tried to force his way forward. But before I could ask her to repeat herself, I felt the group in black become menacing.

I instinctively took Alfina's hand.

From the corner of my eye, I barely managed to signal Jacob and Remi, who were on standby. Without looking back, I pulled Alfina's hand and ran.