Chapter 197
Chapter 197
Jingle jingle…….
Bang-!
The door shut.
‘……Did they go back?’
I pressed my ear against the door, but I couldn’t hear anything from the other side.
Just in case, I opened the door again. As expected, there was nothing beyond it, nor was it connected to any place.
It seemed that whoever had entered through this door couldn’t access it again.
‘Hm, that’s strange.’
I closed the door once more and fell into thought.
‘They said they found the door in a dungeon and came through it.’
Why a dungeon, of all places?
Would guests continue to arrive only from dungeons?
Would the three of them be able to return through the door again?
‘……No idea. If they get hungry later, they’ll come back on their own.’
Right. If they didn’t return, then maybe the door would simply disappear from the dungeon or something like that.
I still had absolutely no idea what principle this ‘door’ operated on.
If another guest came next time, I should casually ask how they entered.
If I gathered enough opinions from the guests, I’d gradually figure it out.
Just as I was lost in thought, a hologram flickered before my eyes. When I checked it, a smile naturally spread across my face.
‘……Still, judging by the situation, I get the gist of it.’
Today’s Business Closed!
Today’s Guests: 3
Island Points: 1,350P
The long-awaited guest count.
‘Only those who entered through that door are recognized as guests, huh.’
And the restaurant’s sales performance seemed to be converted into something called ‘Island Points.’
With revenue of 13 gold and 50 silver, 1,350P had been added. It seemed to be calculated at 1,000P per 10 gold.
Money itself wasn’t that important to me.
‘Yeah, if money were my only goal, I wouldn’t have bothered running a restaurant here.’
I still had the A-rank Shop Establishment Ticket I’d received during the Winter Festival.
There was no reason to open a restaurant in a place this hard for customers to reach.
My focus was solely on these ‘Island Points.’
Interestingly, these ‘Island Points’ were a separate currency from the ‘Points’ used in the General Store.
‘Anyway, since I’ve earned some points, let’s see what I can buy.’
As I fiddled with the floating system interface, I discovered the ‘Island Shop.’
Squawk squawk~ Congratulations! The ‘Island Shop’ is now open!
Let’s take a look at the items prepared in the shop!
A holographic seagull and island animation popped out cheerfully.
There was a ‘Shop’ tab, but what caught my eye first were three options.
Menu Addition Lv.1
Increase Daily Customer Limit Lv.1
Expand Visitor Inflow Routes Lv.1
Each category had its own level.
‘So I use points to purchase upgrades and raise the restaurant’s level?’
I first pressed ‘Menu Addition.’
Menu Addition
You can add food to serve to guests on the menu!
Lv.1 → Lv.2: Add 1 menu item
Required Points – 300P
As the description suggested, it simply added a new item to the menu.
Even if I sold dishes not listed on the menu, I would likely only receive gold. It probably wouldn’t convert into ‘Island Points,’ which was my actual goal.
‘Yeah, I’m starting to get the picture.’
If I wanted to accommodate big eaters or picky customers, adding menu items seemed essential.
‘But it’s not like only those kinds of guests will show up.’
So it seemed better to put menu expansion on hold for now.
Next, I clicked the following button.
Increase Daily Customer Limit
Current Daily Customer Limit: 3
Lv.1 → Lv.2 – Increase by 1
Required Points – 1,000P
For now, it seemed I could only accept three guests per day.
‘Hm. Increasing the customer count is good… but this price just to add one person is a bit steep.’
It seemed higher priority than adding menu items, but the cost was heavy.
So I put this one on hold as well.
‘Next button… Expand Inflow Routes?’
Expand Visitor Inflow Routes
Under the guidance of the Goddess, the probability of guests finding the restaurant increases!
So it reduced the waiting time until guests arrived?
‘Well, I did wait forever for the first guest.’
After switching the sign to ‘Open,’ I’d waited several hours before the first guest entered.
I’d been so desperate that I even conducted various experiments with Rapin and Shia.
Even though I had more free time compared to before, my main responsibility was still managing the Livestock Shed.
‘Yeah, I can’t just sit here all day waiting for guests.’
Before the break ended, I had to build a house, and I needed to clear dungeons with Rapin to coordinate our combat synergy… There was more than enough to keep me busy.
It was fortunate that Hesti, Macgrim, and Kaiel had entered at the same time. If guests came one by one… in the worst-case scenario, wouldn’t it take ten hours?
That was unacceptable. It would waste far too much time.
‘Right. Receiving guests comes first, so let’s expand the inflow routes.’
Among the essential elements, this seemed like the top priority.
Expand Visitor Inflow Routes
Lv.1 → Lv.2 – 100P
Lv.2 → Lv.3 – 200P
Lv.3 → Lv.4 – 300P
Lv.4 → Lv.5 – 400P
Each level increases the rate by 3%!
‘For now, up to Level 5.’
I spent 1,000P to raise the level. According to the system, that meant a 12% increase.
‘The increase is minor since the level is still low….’
But it was necessary.
Even if it seemed insignificant at the start, once the leveling accumulated, it would no longer be negligible.
I had to gradually increase the number of restaurant guests, raise sales revenue, and earn more points.
And what would I do with those points?
…Well, the answer would be in the ‘Island Shop’ tab.
I clicked it.
Land Blessed by the Goddess
The Goddess bestows her blessing upon the land so that high-quality crops can be harvested!
Price: 5,000P
Eggs Blessed by the Goddess × 4
Eggs from a rare breed of chicken passed down in legend. They taste excellent, and if hatched, adorable chicks will be born!
Price: 5,000P
Besides these, several other items were displayed.
‘They’re definitely tempting.’
Since I frequently used eggs in cooking, I couldn’t take my eyes off the words ‘rare breed of chicken.’
If restaurant operations went well and I earned many points, I could not only level up the restaurant but also purchase such items.
But among them, one item particularly stood out.
Egg of ????
An egg of a Spiritual Beast that the Goddess has carefully preserved for XXX!
No one knows what kind of friend will be born!
A Spiritual Beast Egg was listed for sale.
But the price was…
100,000P
‘……As expected, it’s expensive.’
It demanded a whopping 100,000 points.
And beyond that, the items were locked.
As your accumulated points increase, new items will be updated! Make full use of the island and gather lots of points quickly!
I began thinking about how to maximize point gain.
‘Macgrim’s group paid 6 gold for dining in, but when I packed toast for them, it came out to 7 gold and 50 silver, right?’
Thanks to packaging toast, I’d earned quite a lot of points for my first customers.
‘Yeah, this must be the answer….’
Adding toast to the menu—a dish easy to package—had been a masterstroke.
I suddenly thought of Kaiel.
It had been surprising enough that Hesti, whom I’d met in Kirhen, and the idol-like Macgrim had come here…
‘But to think Kaiel would show up.’
The adopted son of the Kuman Ducal House, Kaiel.
One of the people Shen had mentioned before the Winter Festival.
‘Those who would someday stand as enemies.’
The Children of the Stigma.
A villain destined to inevitably become Ren’s enemy.
Ren’s enemy was my enemy.
Even if Shen was friendly toward me, Ren’s survival came first for me.
‘I’ll have to see how things unfold.’
What kind of relationship Shen and I would have in the future hadn’t been depicted in the game.
I’d find out once the semester began.
A few days later.
I had just finished the morning’s leftover work at the Livestock Shed.
“Young Master! The matter you mentioned has been approved.”
Rupina, dressed in a formal suit, approached and handed me an envelope of documents.
I opened it and checked the paper inside.
“Building Permit”
That was written at the top.
Below it were dense clauses and conditions, but to summarize, it meant: ‘Sure, you can build your house.’
“It seems you quite liked this place, Young Master. To build a house here…”
Rupina said as she looked around.
“Yeah. I quite like it here.”
“Me too. Ever since the Livestock Shed was renovated, there’s no smell, the air is nice, and it’s quiet. It’s really pleasant.”
She seemed sincere.
After all, when I’d vacated the Livestock Shed, she had lived here for over a month.
“How many workers are you planning to hire?”
“Not sure. I haven’t thought that far yet.”
As I answered, Rapin suddenly interjected.
“Billet and I are going to build it.”
Rupina blinked.
“Just the two of you? Then the construction period will be quite long. Um, I don’t know much about building, but wouldn’t it take about half a year? You’d probably move in by the second semester.”
“I don’t think it’ll take that long.”
I stroked my chin as I replied, then glanced at Rupina.
“It would be nice to have one more pair of hands, though.”
“Ah…!”
Her eyes widened, then she quickly smiled and shook her head.
“I’d love to help you, Young Master, but… I’d probably only get in the way. I’ve never built a house before.”
She said that, but her gaze hesitated slightly.
It would obviously be hard work, but she already knew my wages weren’t small.
“Rupina. Work outside official hours is done after you finish your duties and clock out, right?”
“Yes. Sometimes I take leave first. Usually, once I finish my tasks, I’m allowed to work overtime.”
“Then, Rupina. Want to give it a try?”
“But like I said, I have no experience…”
“Daily wage: 100 gold.”
“I will do my absolute best to follow your instructions. No, just order me around. I’ll do anything.”
“Good. I like quick answers.”
When I said that, Rupina couldn’t hide the curve of her lips.
“Please wait two days. I’ll organize about a week’s worth of work in advance before coming.”
“…Is that really okay?”
“I’ll do it secretly. If I get caught, my senior will probably scold me for being sneaky.”
“Hmm….”
I wasn’t sure how their employee system operated, but was that really allowed?