kscans

Chapter 450 - Selling Food at a Stall

The dish registration period for the Hestia Festival was over. All that remained was the voting period, and the rankings would be decided in about a week.

Although there had been some trouble, such as the high price of ingredients, the event was well-received by most players, and now everyone was buzzing about which dishes to vote for.

Naturally, the serious cooks were setting up food stalls in places like the Royal Capital to gather votes during the voting period. It had turned into something of a festival, and similar events were being held in many cities.

Not wanting to miss out, Parfait and her friends all made their way to the Royal Capital Anhemudal.

Parfait's group had also registered dishes, but they weren't particularly trying to gather votes. Of course, they would be happy if they won, but they were simply aiming for the participation prize.

However, Ginny, who was a skilled cook, wanted to gather as many votes as she could, so she was setting up a stall in the Royal Capital, and Parfait was helping her.

The system for selling at a stall was simple. There were designated areas where sales were allowed, and there you could display the stall system menu and pay the specified fee. You would rent the spot for a certain amount per hour, depending on the location. After that, you were free to do as you pleased.

Selling at their base was of course an option, but a stall was far more visible in terms of foot traffic. Renting a spot in the Royal Capital was quite expensive, but it was also easier to turn a profit.

It was originally a sales system for players who didn't have a base, but now many people were using it to promote their original dishes.

"It's like a festival, so I'm super excited."

"Kukuku, I know what you mean. I'm getting a little giddy."

"It would be nice if there were fireworks at night."

The three of them, Parfait, Natsu, and Chris, said this, and the other members agreed.

However, they resigned themselves to the fact that there probably wouldn't be any fireworks. The festival-like atmosphere was thanks to the Hestia Festival, but the abundance of stalls was something the players were doing on their own, and the game operators weren't involved.

It was possible for players to set off fireworks, but it would be a waste of money, so Parfait saw no reason to go that far.

Besides, they could enjoy the festival atmosphere without them. For some reason, a huge variety of classic festival foods were being sold.

Cotton candy, candy apples, chocolate bananas, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yakisoba... and many other delicious things like popcorn and crepes were lined up. The aroma alone was enough to make you want to buy something.

"Ah, here it is."

Fighting off the many temptations, they arrived at the space they had reserved for two hours using the stall reservation system. The players who had been using it before were starting to pack up, so they exchanged simple greetings and began their own preparations.

In the meantime, Ginny was greeting the vendors on either side of them.

"Here, please have one. This is the dish we'll be serving."

"How thoughtful of you. Please, have this in return."

"Thank you very much!"

Ginny handed over the product she would be selling and received the dish they were selling in return. It was a friendly atmosphere, as if they had been friends for a long time.

"Ginny-chan, are you used to this sort of thing?"

Ginny was fundamentally a young lady from a wealthy family. Parfait didn't have an image of her bringing over soba as a moving-in gift. Yet, she was acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Parfait-chan, I am a veteran of the battlefield. The Summer Campaign, the Winter Campaign, and the decisive battle that divided the realm... I have experienced them all!"

"What are you talking about?"

Perhaps reacting to the words "battlefield veteran," Chris came over.

"Simply put, it's a fan convention event. Parsha-san asks me to be a seller for her self-published books. That place is a true battlefield, but it holds treasures you can't find anywhere else!"

Chris said nothing and returned to setting up the stall.

"Oh, that thing. The event hosted by the Pisces Foundation, right?"

"Yes! It's the world's largest event, which uses an entire colony. I live for it...!"

"Using a whole colony seems like overkill to me. But I heard it generates incredible revenue. People come from almost every colony."

"That's right. But it's only twice a year, in the summer and winter, plus one secret event... I wish they'd do it every day."

"I'm sure you do, Ginny-chan. But how does that make you used to this?"

"At fan conventions, it's considered polite to exchange products with the neighboring shops. It is a skill I acquired there."

"Oh, is that so...? A skill...?"

"If your favorite characters are on opposite sides, it can lead to war...! But the event staff takes various measures to accommodate for that, so it doesn't become a major battle."

"That sounds tough..."

"Yes, but even with the utmost care, battles still occur... The Battle of Kawanakajima two years ago saw many fall in combat..."

"Are Ginny-chan and I talking about the same thing?"

Here and there, she heard words she recognized, but they were the kind of things that came up in history class, not recent events. Since she was bad at memorization, Parfait worried she might start remembering useless things.

Be that as it may, her question was answered. She had never been to this fan convention, but Ginny had clearly done similar things there, and she concluded that exchanging products was a regular occurrence for her.

While they were having this conversation, the stall preparations were completed.

A festival-style stall had been set up, and the "Omelette Rice: My Favorite is My Life" that Ginny had prepared beforehand were lined up. It was an omelette rice with a cute, deformed version of Ashley from Heart-Pounding Pandemonium drawn on it in ketchup.

Ginny said that drawing pictures with ketchup was an essential skill for a maid, but according to Chris, who was practically a maid herself, they didn't do such things. Parfait assumed that there were probably different schools of thought even among maids.

Once the preparations were finished, Rick looked at Parfait and Ginny and spoke.

"Alright, we're going to take a look around. But are you sure you two will be okay at the stall?"

"We'll be fine. Besides, this is a first for Wilnel-chan and Abel-kun, right? It's virtual reality, but please show them around for me."

"I know of it through knowledge, but this is my first time seeing a festival, so I would be grateful for a tour. However, eating while walking. That is very high-difficulty."

"It is difficult, but you don't have to force yourself."

"I want to experience this for the future, too. You're supposed to buy a toy ring at a place like this and give it as a gift, right? Ren-neesan said it'll be effective in about ten years. But what is it effective for?"

"You don't need it, Abel, so don't worry."

Wilnel had almost never left her house before, so although she knew about commoners' festivals from books, she had never participated in one. Abel, on the other hand, had been busy with work since he was a child and had never had the chance to participate. So the two of them were more excited than anyone else.

Since there was a possibility they might go wild, it was best for the calm Rick and Chris to stay nearby. This was Parfait's reasoning.

"Only you two can stop Wilnel-chan and Abel-kun if they go wild, so be careful."

"What about me?"

"Natsu-chan, you're more on the wild side, I think... Please don't let the power of the Dark Side run rampant."

"I am a little dissatisfied."

And so, Parfait and Ginny saw everyone off and focused on the stall.

It seemed Rick and the others had done a good job setting up the stall for them. There were two banners with the words "Omelette Rice" clearly visible, and a display case for the food was arranged so that it was easy to see.

"I hope it sells well."

"It will be fine. I have arranged for shills."

"Ginny-chan?"

"I just told some acquaintances, that's all. Acquaintances coming to buy. That is legal. Besides, battles cannot be won with clean hands alone. Ashley-sama says so too. 'Embrace both the pure and the impure.'"

Somehow it had turned into a battle, but if it wasn't a matter of asking people to pretend to be customers, but simply having acquaintances come to visit, then Parfait thought it was probably fine.

Besides, when she looked around, she noticed that players tended to go where there were a lot of people and mostly avoided places with few people. Their location was also quite far from the central area, so not many players passed by.

She felt that if they didn't use shills or something to attract customers, they wouldn't be able to sell anything.

"Hello, Parfait-kun, Ginny-kun, I'm here."

A smiling Diite casually approached them.

"Ah, Diite-oneechan. Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

"Ginny-kun. When you make that face and use that voice, it feels like it might cause a glitch in my recognition data. Could you please speak normally?"

Parfait wondered, "What about me?" but she understood what Diite was trying to say. When the perfectly elegant Ginny acted so common, it messed with your brain. If Wilnel, who was a perfect lady both inside and out, said that, she might hyperventilate.

"It's sad, but it can't be helped. Welcome, Diite-san. Thank you for coming."

"Of course. So this is the omelette rice you made, Ginny-kun. Omelette Rice: My Favorite is My Life... I see. I have a favorite too, so I understand well. One's favorite is one's life."

Parfait wasn't sure if that was philosophical or not, but she wondered if an AI could have a favorite person. She quickly abandoned the thought.

In the first place, she wasn't sure if Diite could even be classified as an AI. If she was this human-like, you might as well just call her a human.

"Alright, I'll buy some. Ginny-kun, how much is it?"

"It's 100G for one."

"I'll buy them all."

"Diite-oneechan, please consider why we have a stall."

Diite's occasional clumsiness was part of her charm, but there was no point if their shill-like acquaintance bought all their products. She was supposed to be a lure to attract other customers.

Since Diite was more of an acquaintance than a customer, they had her eat inside the stall area. It seemed she was struggling to eat it without messing up the face of Ashley-sama drawn in ketchup.

"It's Ashley-sama! —Ah, excuse me— huh? Parfait-chan?"

"Ah, Balbara-san. This is the first time we've met in the Royal Capital."

It was Balbara, the leader of the player clan "Knights of Sweets," whom they often met during the "Hyakki Yakou" Stampede in the Eastern Country. She was a woman in her early twenties and a fellow participant in the all-you-can-eat sweets reward from the Maid Guild's Stampede.

She had seen Rick's real face before and had tried to get him to take off his helmet or wear a butler outfit, but always through Parfait, never approaching him directly.

And that same Balbara had definitely said "Ashley-sama" when she saw the omelette rice on display. Parfait was impressed that she could tell from just a deformed drawing in ketchup, and then she saw Ginny's eyes light up.

"Glasses," "Immortal."

"Slit-eyes," "Mastermind."

"Young lady," "Doting."

As if exchanging a secret code, Ginny and Balbara said these words, and in the next moment, they were shaking hands firmly.

"A comrade. I am Ginny. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Balbara. I saw you at the last Stampede, and I had a feeling."

Parfait didn't understand what was going on, but she interpreted it as them being comrades of some sort. And her self-preservation instinct told her it was best not to pry any further.

"Balbara-san, would you like an omelette rice? We're actually participating in the event with this. It's 100G for one."

"I'll buy them all."

"That's a bit..."

She probably meant she wanted to buy them for a different reason than Diite, but it would be a problem if they were all bought out at a place like this. So they just had her buy one.

"...I can't bring myself to ruin Ashley-sama's face... I'm sorry, I'll make this a family heirloom."

She was probably apologizing because she couldn't eat it, but being told it would be a family heirloom was also a problem. As someone who had no personal attachment to Ashley, Parfait couldn't quite follow, but if the person herself was fine with it, then there was no issue.

Balbara put the omelette rice in her item bag and said, "I'll call the rest of my clan," as she started a voice chat.

Parfait thought this was another kind of shill, but if it helped them sell even a little and get some votes, she was grateful, so she waited for the members of the "Knights of Sweets."

"By the way, shouldn't you have Ashley-sama—I mean, that silver-haired boy sell this? Oh, not that I want to see it or anything."

It took Parfait a moment to understand Balbara's words, but she finally got it. The borderline legal method of having Rick, who resembled Ashley, sell this omelette rice.

"Well, that's a bit too—Ginny-chan!?"

Ginny didn't collapse gracefully like a young lady. She crumpled from her knees and fell face-down on the ground.

"That's it! That demonic idea... I have no choice but to do it! I must make him wear a butler outfit and sell them!"

"Ginny-chan, calm down. And Balbara-san, please don't collapse too."

Balbara had also collapsed from her knees just at the mention of a butler outfit.

Parfait just wanted to run away. But she summoned all her willpower and sent a voice chat to Rick, telling him that it was dangerous here.