Honey-Glazed Walnuts

Starting today, the new hires would begin working, but days of helping Kazusa had left his main job piling up.

So he'd prioritize that first, with Orleans assisting.

He told Azu and the others to keep helping out and to show the new staff the ropes.

With Elza and Alexia there too, nothing should go too wrong… hopefully.

He set up a desk and chair for Orleans in his office, and she worked beside him like a secretary.

Several days' worth of tasks had accumulated, and there was quite a lot. The room filled with the sound of pens scratching.

"Let's take a break."

"Understood, sir."

Sitting in one position for too long made his shoulders stiff.

And all that thinking left him craving sugar.

He pulled a snack from the snack box while Orleans went to the pot and prepared tea.

Today's treat was honey-glazed baked walnuts.

A new product from a confectioner he did business with. He'd started selling it at the shop on a trial basis recently, and it had proven popular with the ladies.

The customer demographics had shifted noticeably of late.

Originally adventurers had been the main clientele, but the perfume and soap had earned a reputation among women, driving up sales.

"This is sweet and delicious."

"Walnuts are in season and cheap, and the honey's just the right sweetness. Easy to carry around, too. Adventurers might want them. Maybe I'll stock up."

They munched away together.

Orleans seemed to have taken a liking to them; she was eating fast.

"Do you think the inn is alright?"

"It'll be fine. We haven't brought in anyone shady, and there's plenty of people who can handle trouble. Besides, we can't keep helping forever. If I don't delegate, I can't scale up."

"I think the scale is already quite large…"

"Compared to where we started, sure. But you have to grow while you can. No telling when someone will throw a wrench in things. I'm not going to overextend, though."

His father had been conservative, deeply averse to risk, and had never expanded the shop.

But that stability was precisely why Yohane had been able to inherit at a young age without running the place into the ground.

His father had also secured land at a low price.

So even now, he didn't take gambles that would sink him if they failed.

It had been that way when he bought Azu and the others from the slave merchant.

Reckless expansion that didn't pencil out was a recipe for ruin.

"If you're worried, we can check in after work."

"Yes. I'll accompany you, sir."

Back to work they went; before long, the immediate tasks were cleared.

Bringing Orleans in had been the right call.

She made everything so much easier.

Organizing and compiling necessary documents, preparing the next task for him.

And her processing speed was excellent.

The ledgers were updated too. Looking them over was always illuminating.

Farming moved large sums and had high labor costs.

Feed and fertilizer added up, but when the harvest came in, the returns were substantial.

Buyers were lined up, making projections straightforward.

If only the conspirators had invested here instead of in drugs.

The shop was doing well.

Soon, he'd have enough saved for the expansion.

That would finally make use of all the land his father had secured.

Day-to-day operations were mostly in Kaimol's hands now, but with the iron ore and liquor shipments to Alsarm and procurement runs to the Empire, the numbers would keep climbing.

As for Azu's team, ever since the Crystal Village they'd been treated more like an odd-job crew, so the books hadn't shown much lately. That was unavoidable.

But their work underpinned the earnings from other ventures, so it was fine.

Cat's Paw Inn, he'd projected, would start out with modest profits.

Labor costs were just Kazusa and her brother, and she'd kept interior and exterior expenses down.

So even with empty rooms, it could stay in the black.

Full occupancy, of course, meant a hefty profit.

Light meal sales were strong; even after hiring a few people, there would be surplus.

The fourth business line was already standing on its own.

"Alright, we skipped lunch. Let's go check on things while we grab a bite."

"Understood. I'm looking forward to it, sir."

He locked the ledger in the safe and stood.

Arriving at the Cat's Paw Inn dining area with Orleans, he saw a line.

Turnover was being managed; the queue was long but moving steadily.

As he waited in line and observed, he spotted the newly hired sisters already at work.

They were cleaned up, wearing the uniform properly.

They'd do as poster girls.

His turn came. He stepped up to Kazusa, who was taking orders.

"Next customer, please. Your order— Oh, owner."

"Two daily specials. I'm here for lunch. Looks like it's going well again today."

"Thankfully, business is booming. The new hires are working hard. I'm planning to give them a raise once they've got the job down."

"I see. No trouble either, it seems. Hopefully it stays that way."

He paid and took a seat that had just opened up.

The daily special arrived after only a short wait.

The kitchen was running smoothly too.

"Here you go. Oh, you're from yesterday…"

"How's the work? Managing alright?"

"Um, yes. It's busy, but everyone's been good to me."

"Glad to hear it. Keep it up."

The elder of the sisters, if he remembered right.

She brought out fried potatoes and a bread roll split open with a fried cutlet and vegetables stuffed inside. A generous portion.

A cup of meat soup on the side.

Seasoned well. One silver for all this was a bargain.

The portion was a bit big for Orleans, he thought, but being a growing girl, she polished it off.

He dabbed sauce from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and she looked embarrassed.

After finishing, they disposed of the trash and vacated the table for the next customer.

"Let's bring them something when the shop closes."

"I agree. Cold drinks would be nice."

Nothing beat a cold drink after hard work.

You could almost call it the reward for labor.