Care for a Slice?

Back at the shop, I reviewed the ledgers. I'd also need to prepare the payment for Ramiza-san.

Just tracing the flow of money wasn't too time-consuming.

The actual processing could wait until Orleans arrived.

Nothing out of the ordinary in the numbers. Kazusa was doing well with the limited budget.

Not that I distrusted Kaimol and the others running the shop, but leaving things unchecked was an abdication of responsibility.

As the owner, I had a duty to confirm everything was in order.

When the business was small, I only had to think about the shop.

Now, that wasn't enough.

I had to juggle multiple plans across all the ventures simultaneously.

Ideally, everything would go smoothly, but in a bad way, that expectation was sure to be wrong.

It always had been, and always would be.

What mattered was not panicking when something went wrong and taking appropriate action immediately.

That would minimize damage, and sometimes even lead to better results than the original plan.

The slave business I'd started with Azu and the others was a prime example.

I'd never imagined it would turn into this.

I'd just thought some small-time dungeon runs and weak monster hunts would earn a little extra spending money.

A lucky sequence of opportunities, you could say, but now it had grown into one of my main revenue pillars.

Invest the shop's earnings and Azu and the others' earnings into new ventures, grow them, diversify the income streams.

That way, if one faltered, the others would act as a safety net.

The key was entrusting work to people you could trust.

One person couldn't even run a single shop properly, no matter how hard they tried.

And how do you repay those people?

Provide a comfortable workplace and fair pay.

Then, if there are no issues, promote those who work hard.

Others will see that effort gets rewarded and think, Maybe I'm next.

Mulling over these thoughts, I finished the review.

Time to close up for the day.

Get some sleep, be ready for tomorrow.

The next morning, someone shook me awake.

I opened my eyes to find Azu and Orleans beside me.

"Good morning, Master."

"I came to wake you along with Azu-sama. Sir."

"Morning, you two."

It was already bright outside. Apparently I'd overslept, so they'd come together to rouse me.

"Here you go."

Orleans handed me a warm drink.

I took a sip. Sweet and tangy.

The usual hot apple vinegar drink.

It warmed me from the inside.

"I was told this is your favorite, sir. Is it good?"

"Yeah. Delicious."

"This is pretty much our signature drink, isn't it."

Azu puffed out her chest a little with pride.

Fair enough. It might as well be.

"Now get out so I can change. Shoo."

"I can help, you know."

"No need."

"Azu-sama, let's go."

I waved them off with a shooing gesture.

Azu looked reluctant, but Orleans tugged her out of the room.

Once I'd changed and headed to the dining room, breakfast was ready.

The table was full of various pizzas piled on plates.

My eyes met Elza's.

"Oh, good morning."

"You're late! It won't taste good if it gets cold."

Today's chef was apparently Finn, and she'd gotten grumpy upon noticing me.

Alexia was wearing an apron too, so the two of them must have made it together.

I placated Finn and we all sat down to eat.

Her knife work was impressive, as expected. The toppings were uniform in size, giving a nice texture.

The crust was nicely baked, the cheese perfectly melted.

We discussed the day's plans over good pizza.

Alexia and Finn would head to Luido.

The wheat payment was still on credit, so they'd deliver the funds.

Alexia would also check on the Earth Elemental Stone while she was there.

Elza and Azu would go shopping.

There were preparations for the trip to Alsarm, and we'd been away from home long enough that various supplies needed restocking.

Orleans would help me here.

Having more people made it easy to divide and conquer.

The guild quests could wait until things settled down.

The Cat's Paw Inn's opening was coming up, and I didn't want to add more work when we were already busy and risk something going wrong.

Just as the remaining pizza dwindled, there was a sudden knock at the front door.

Aggressive. There was a bell for visitors, yet only one person I could think of would bang on the door like that.

Orleans unlocked it, and the door swung open forcefully.

As expected, Kanon, Princess Tianis's attendant, stood there.

Grumpy face, full of energy this early in the morning.

"You're slow! I came all this way in person. Open the door faster."

"I apologize."

Orleans bowed deeply at the unreasonable complaint.

She didn't have to take it so seriously, but that was just her nature.

Kanon's expression brightened, apparently pleased with the response.

Simple enough to worry me. How did she manage to serve royalty?

She stepped inside, and I could see her gaze land on the pizza on the table.

Then her stomach growled.

Had she skipped breakfast to come here?

She might come across as the epitome of an arrogant noble, but her loyalty to Princess Tianis was as strong as ever.

"Would you like a slice?"

"As if I would eat commoners' food—"

Before she could finish, her stomach growled again.

"… But if you insist, I shall partake. I am magnanimous, after all."

"Help yourself."

I set a cup of hot apple vinegar beside it.

She must have been starving.

She polished off one slice in no time. Her manners, at least, were proper. As expected of nobility.

"Not bad."

"Glad you liked it."

I wondered what she'd say if I told her an assassin had made it.

Since it would be a shame to see that beautiful platinum-blonde hair bristle with fury, I kept quiet.