“There’s an incredible number of customers here…”

“Wah… so many people…”

Finally, the outdoor shop’s grand opening day had arrived. Through the window, we could see a massive crowd gathered outside. We had announced the opening a few days earlier on the Adventurer’s Guild’s paid bulletin board.

On top of that, the customers from our previous stall sales and the compass sales at the Adventurer’s Guild seemed to have built up some decent recognition for the shop.

“There’s no way all those customers can fit inside the store. Let’s change plans and introduce the new products outside. Alright, let’s open the shop!”

It was time to officially launch the store!

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting! Here in the starting town of Al-Flare, we’re proud to announce the grand opening of the adventurer-focused Outdoor Shop!”

“Whoooa!”

“Entrance will begin shortly. As the shop interior isn’t very spacious, please refrain from pushing and enter in an orderly fashion.”

The shop could only accommodate about 20 people at once, but there were more than 50 customers in the crowd. To manage the flow, we decided to regulate entry—letting one customer in for each one who left.

“Before we open, let me introduce the staff working here. First up, our beloved poster girl, Fia-chan!”

“Hehe, I’m Fia! P-Please be kind to me!”

“Ha, do your best!”
“We’re counting on you!”
“Fia-chan is adorable!”

“Aww…”

Fia still got nervous in front of large crowds, but the customers seemed to find her endearing and cheered her on with warm smiles.

“Next up, we have our employee and store guard, a former B-Rank adventurer—Lilia!”

“I’m Lilia. Nice to meet you.”

“Whoooa!”

“What!? That’s Lilia-san! She helped me out once!”
“I heard she retired, but now she’s working here?”
“That one-armed adventurer—there’s no mistaking it! Lilia-san, the famous adventurer from the capital!”

As expected of Lilia, her reputation preceded her. Her beauty and the distinction of being a one-armed, B-Rank adventurer made her stand out immensely.

We’d already agreed that I could share her past as a B-Rank adventurer. In this town, having such a title carried weight. It wasn’t just great for publicity—having a respected former adventurer working at the shop also served as a deterrent against theft or other crimes.

Even in a relatively safe town, this world still saw its share of pickpocketing and robberies. The very presence of someone like Lilia would dissuade potential troublemakers.

“Any criminal behavior, including harassment of Fia or Lilia, will be met with swift justice from Lilia, the former B-Rank adventurer. She won’t hesitate to take you down!”

“Tetsuya, I wouldn’t actually take anyone down without cause…”

“Ah, yes, that was an exaggeration. But seriously, no hitting on or harassing our staff just because they’re cute or beautiful!”

“O-Okay, we’ll behave!”

“Y-Yeah, got it!”

Harassment is absolutely unacceptable. While my previous world had become stricter about this issue, this world still seemed a bit lax, so it was better to make things clear. Also… I just didn’t want anyone hitting on these two.

“And finally, I’m the shop’s manager, Tetsuya. Please take care of us!”

Wait, am I less impressive compared to the first two? Yes, I’m fully aware, so let’s not dwell on it.

What? You’d rather be served by someone cute or beautiful? Well, sorry, this isn’t that kind of shop. If you get stuck with me, blame your bad luck!”

The crowd chuckled softly. At least my self-deprecating humor got a few laughs. It’s only natural I’d pale in comparison to those two…

“Now, let me introduce some of our featured products! First up, today’s star item!”

I brought out a prepared table from inside the shop and placed it in front of the crowd.

“Here are four wooden tubes. Inside them is a magical powder for instant soup! Simply dissolve this powder in hot water, and voilà! In no time, you’ll have warm, delicious soup!”

“Whoooa!”

“Seeing is believing. Let’s put some of this powder into a cup, pour in hot water, and give it a stir… And there you go! Now, the first customer in line—please give it a taste!”

“Me? Alright, here goes!”

Our first customer was a young man who looked like a rookie adventurer. Maybe he’d come to buy one of our limited-edition fire starters.

Since we weren’t doing an opening sale, I decided to let the early customers sample the four different soup flavors for free. It was both a treat for them and good publicity for us.

“Mmm… it smells wonderful. Huh!? This is amazing! I’ve never tasted anything like this before. It’s rich and complex but so easy to make. Just add hot water? Incredible!”