After enjoying the high-quality meat gifted by Mr. Rizac as a store opening present, I took Fia-chan home with Lilia.

While it wasn’t absolutely necessary for me to accompany them, I decided to go along just in case. If a robbery occurred in my absence, I wouldn’t be able to handle it alone. Thankfully, even in the worst-case scenario, I had already charged today’s earnings using the Outdoor Shop’s ability, so the store only had minimal goods and cash on hand.

This situation made me realize that having only Lilia as a guard wasn’t sufficient. I might need to hire one more employee capable of handling security.

"Alright, that should do it for tomorrow’s preparations. Thanks, Lilia."

"This is nothing. Don’t worry about it."

After dropping off Fia-chan, Lilia and I prepped for the next day. That involved cleaning the store, restocking products from the Outdoor Shop, arranging them on the shelves, and organizing the inventory. Since we weren’t dealing with heavy goods yet, it didn’t take too much time.

"We’re managing for now, but in a few days, washing and recycling the instant soup containers will add more work. Now that the store’s open, it’s clear we don’t have enough staff. What do you think, Lilia?"

"Agreed. It’s understandable that we were short-handed on opening day, but even when the customer flow calms down, we’ll need at least one or two more people. With just the three of us, we can’t handle unforeseen situations."

"Exactly. If someone gets sick, we’d have to close the store. First thing tomorrow, I’ll post a job listing at the Commercial Guild. I’ll also put up a 'Now Hiring' sign inside the store."

"Good idea. It might take some time to find applicants, so how about holding interviews on your next day off?"

"That works. Let’s go with that plan."

The Commercial Guild should handle job listings, so I’ll stop by before opening tomorrow. I also need to prioritize finding someone trustworthy, especially given the Outdoor Shop's secrets.

"If possible, I’d like to hire someone strong enough to help with security too."

"Wha... what...?"

"Lilia? What’s wrong?"

For some reason, Lilia suddenly collapsed.

"No, it’s fine. Of course, it’s only natural for you to be dissatisfied with just me as your guard. Wanting to hire another capable person is entirely reasonable..."

"Wait, no, what are you talking about? I completely trust your abilities as a guard!"

"...Really?"

"Of course! I’ve seen your skills firsthand, and even Mr. Rizac from the Adventurer’s Guild respects you. I’m truly glad to have you here, Lilia.

The idea is to have someone assist you, not replace you. For example, when we walk Fia-chan home, I don’t want to leave the store unguarded. And if you ever fall ill or take time off, neither Fia-chan nor I could handle any threats by ourselves."

"I-I see... Th-that’s fine then."

Lilia’s face turned bright red as she averted her gaze. She seemed flustered, which was unusual for someone as composed as her. Seeing her like that made my heart skip a beat. …Wait, no, I need to stay professional, even if it’s just the two of us here!

"Alright, thanks for today. Let’s do our best again tomorrow!"

"Yes! I’ll rely on you too!"

The second day of business arrived. Starting from the morning, a crowd of customers flocked to the store again. Like yesterday, we had to regulate entry.

"Here’s your change—five copper coins. Thank you for your purchase!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Thanks! I really wanted to try all the flavors of this convenient instant soup, but I guess I’ll have to wait."

"I apologize. These are exclusive products, so we want to prevent reselling. Plus, they’re quite popular, so we’d like as many people as possible to have the chance to try them."

"That makes sense. Alright, I’ll come back when I run out."

"Please do! Thank you!"

As expected, the instant soup was incredibly popular, drawing in many customers solely for that. Yesterday, the consommé and corn cream soup flavors sold out completely. This meant that customers who missed out were eager to get them today.

The miso soup, labeled as a unique-flavor soup on the shelf, hadn’t sold as well yesterday. However, after trying the other flavors or finding the others sold out, customers started picking it up too.

"Phew... It’s really busy."

"Yeah, there are just as many customers as yesterday."

"Maybe word-of-mouth from yesterday’s shoppers spread. It looks like this week is going to stay hectic."

Even with entry restrictions, the constant flow of customers in the store kept us busy.

"Hey, knock it off!"

"Oh yeah? You wanna go?"

While I was handling the register, I heard the sound of an argument outside the store. This had trouble written all over it...