"Tetsuya, we’re running low on the consomme and corn cream instant soups, as well as the blue tarps."

"Got it! I’ll grab some from the back, so please handle the register for a bit!"

"Alright, leave it to me."

I headed to the stockroom on the first floor of the store to replenish the dwindling inventory. Restocking is primarily my job. Fia-chan can’t carry much, and I’d prefer Lilia to stay in the store as much as possible to handle security.

"Let’s see… consomme, corn cream, blue tarps, and…"

I replenished the items that were running low. Each night, I used the Outdoor Shop ability to prepare stock for the next day. During business hours, I avoid restocking directly.

I can’t risk anyone seeing me summon items out of thin air. Even though I can restock anytime, I need to keep some inventory visible in the storeroom to avoid suspicion.

"Alright, restocking is complete."

"Tetsuya-oniichan, could you explain this item in detail to a customer for me?"

"Of course. Yes, regarding this product…"

Phew… this is busier than I expected. As it’s the first day of opening, the customer line has hardly let up. Many are first-timers asking for product explanations.

With word-of-mouth spreading, more customers are likely to visit. It seems this pace will continue for a while.

"Thank you for your purchase!"

"It looks like the crowd is thinning a little. Let’s take turns having a quick lunch now."

"Okay!"

"Understood."

Around lunchtime, the customer flow finally began to ebb. Usually, we plan to close the store for an hour at noon for a meal and break, but on this first day, we opted for staggered lunch breaks while keeping the shop open.

"Later in the day, adventurers returning from quests will start arriving, so it’ll get busy again. Let’s give it one last push!"

"I-I’ll do my best!"

"Right!"

Back when we operated from a food cart, we only opened starting in the early afternoon, when adventurers were most active. Today, we expect another surge of customers between now and evening. Time to dig in and keep going.

"…It’s finally calmed down."

"I’m exhausted…"

"Hmm, you both worked hard."

As evening approached, the shop finally quieted down, with only a few customers remaining inside. In about 30 minutes, we’d reach closing time. Fia-chan and I were already drained, but Lilia looked as fresh as ever. Her stamina as a high-ranking adventurer is on a completely different level from ours.

Thankfully, there weren’t any major incidents today. The biggest problem was a small scuffle over the queue in the morning, which Lilia skillfully resolved.

Aside from that, there were minor issues: Fia-chan made a few mistakes at the register and dropped some items, and we had to deny customers who tried to buy more than the set limit of certain products. Fortunately, they backed down this time. Still, troublesome customers will likely show up in the future.

"Yo, sorry to barge in!"

"Welcome, Rizac-san."

Just as we were about to close, a large man with a menacing expression entered the shop. At a glance, you’d think he was a criminal. In reality, though, he’s Rizac, the adventurer guild master of this town.

"Hey, Tetsuya. I heard you opened a new shop. This is way better than your old cart!"

"Thank you very much. Fia-chan, Lilia, can I ask you to watch the shop for a bit?"

"Yes!"

"Of course."

Rizac-san isn’t just big—his voice carries too. Even the remaining customers in the store turned to look at him.

"First off, this is a little something for your opening. It’s not from the adventurer guild but from me personally."

With a heavy thud, he placed a large parcel on the counter.

"It’s some Danama Bear meat. It’s a pretty high-end ingredient around here. I hunted it myself recently, so enjoy it with everyone!"

"Wow, such a luxury item! Thank you so much. We’ll make sure to enjoy it together."

Meat as a congratulatory gift—it’s very Rizac-like. But I’m grateful. After the shop closes, I’ll share it with Lilia and Fia-chan.

"Thanks to the compasses I got from you, the number of adventurers getting lost in the forest has dropped significantly. Even Patrice asked me to pass on his thanks. To be honest, I’d like to give you more as a token of appreciation, but it’d get complicated if it came from the guild."

I see. If the guild gave me a gift, it might be perceived as a bribe.

"Not at all! We’ll savor the meat, and I’m glad to be of help to the adventurers."

"By the way, I hear you’re selling some more interesting things again. Mind if I take a look?"

"Of course! Please take your time, and thank you for your continued support."

After browsing for a while, Rizac-san bought a few items and left. Eventually, we closed up shop, successfully finishing our first day of business.