บท 39: Opening Day
In a flash, two months flew by and today marked the grand opening of the Silver Pheonix's Café. Will had originally thought about calling the establishment, an arcade.
On Earth an arcade was a place to play games and eat appetizers, this was the essence of Will's business. But rather than go with something trendy, Will decided to use the term café. It was also common on Earth and Terra, to see people sit at café, eat, drink, and socialize.
That was why Will decided to use a café, instead of an arcade, it allowed him to blend in better. After the fiasco at the church, the Bishop and Rebecca agreed to keep his tattoos secret until the cardinal could find the answer. Thankfully, the Cardinal vont Gaius was in closed-door meditation for two months.
Will's dream of flying under the radar, was already a dream. Will had become famous, very famous after the popularity of his game reversi. Will had given six copies of his game to the king, Cardinal vont Gaius, Duke vont Whitby, Bishop Lang, the City Lord, and his master.
Word had gotten out that the king enjoyed the game so much he would challenge anyone to the game who passed by his study. Hearing the king's praise of the game, Duke Whitby also made known his amusement. After the king and the duke's praises, the rest of the nobles clamored to get one. To drive up excitement, while maintaining decorum.
Will told the various nobles, he was currently out of stock; however, when his shop opens there would be plenty of stock available. This served to only heat up the market, with the nobility lining up to get a game before their neighbors. Of course, the nobles would save face, by sending their couriers, but money was money no matter who was buying.
After the Thompson twins Seamus and Stephen had finished the remodel, Will asked the clerks to visit for an orientation. The senior clerk was named Mei and the junior clerk was called Vanesa. Rather than talking about the games, Will focused on instructing the clerks on how to upsell, and encourage customers to play and eat.
The warehouse had transformed into a two-story café, with dining available in the loft above. Will also had tables and chairs outside. He asked the clerks as much as possible to seat people outside, as a way to draw customers inside. Finally, he introduced Mei and Vanesa, to Pamela the chef, the vendor woman from the slums.
At the 10th bell on the first weekend day, the Silver Pheonix Café would open. At the 9th bell, Will gathered and held a staff meeting with Lawrence, Holo, Pamela, Mei, Vanesa, and Dhriti, the carpenter woman who crafted the games. This was the first time, all seven of them met. The seven talked and laughed nervously. Will knew how popular the game was with nobles, but what about commoners, would they come, Will wondered.
Will's thoughts vanished when he saw the crowd form close to the 10th bell. Couriers with noble seals and commoners lined the streets. There was a lot of excitement about this new café, that catered to nobles and commoners. In this medieval era, shops catered to either nobles or commoners, but never both.
Will's decision to sell to both classes, excited the commoner class. However, some doubted the information, that a noble would sell to commoners. Commoners knew of his success at the Knight and Mage Academies; but also, his humility, he also treated Mark and other commoners fairly.
Moreover, each group had its own reason for liking Will. The nobles admired Will for his nobility, his discipleship, beating Mark, and receiving the king's recognition. The merchants and crafters admired Will for his success as Quartermaster and for paying for goods on time. The Church of Gaia admired Will for being a baptized member, and a rich benefactor.
In less than a year of moving to Guidon, Will had made a name for himself. At first, people were unsure why Grandmaster Thaddeus chose him as a disciple, now it was obvious to everyone. Will was gifted, it was easy to see. No other 13-year-old could achieve so much success in so short of a time. He was truly blessed by Gaia.
Just before the 10th bell, the City Lord Timothy vont Alms and Bishop Lang walked up the steps to the front door. Seeing them unexpectantly, Will opened the door and stepped outside.
"Greeting citizens," the City Lord vont Alms said in his most messianic voice. "I would like to personally thank William vont Ballard for opening his café in our city. Sir vont Ballard, is a respected member of the Merchant Guild. As City Lord, I have the distinguished honor to present William Vont Ballard with Guidon's highest honor, the Guidon City Star for acclaim and achievements thus far," he finished.
'What an opportunistic asshole to capitalize on this crowd size, to present me with a worthless star to further his name recognition and status. This is why I detest politicians,' Will thought, but he smiled and graciously accepted the Guidon City Star, which looked like a gold ninja star pinned to his chest.
The couriers would certainly relay this information to their lords, and this would eventually get back to the king. The City Lord knew this and took the opportunity to advance his career. Seeing Will play along, the City Lord, smiled thanking William for being a true noble and swearing he would return the favor in time.
After a round of applause, Bishop Lang spoke, "Greetings, children of Gaia. I am here because Gaia blesses William. I recently baptized William vont Ballard."
He paused for the gasps and clapping. Baptism was a big deal in noble circles, not every noble was able to afford a baptism.
"Gaia please bless this café, may it profit, and continue to bring its glory to your name," the bishop finished.
Suddenly, a ray of light from the heavens came down and the ground began to tremble. Devout believers fell on their knees praying to their deity. Will secretly wondered about the name of this spell, Bishop Lang cast. He would look it up back at the cottage.
"Gaia blesses Sir vont Ballard and I bestow upon this church a sacred statue of Goddess Gaia and ask her protection never leave this store," the bishop finished.
Will knew the word of this day, would spread like wildfire throughout Guidon, arriving in the capital. Will's disdain for politics and religion was visibly hidden, on the surface, he smiled. He knew this would help his sales, while also helping the City Lord and Bishop Lang gain status among the elites. The three smiled on the porch of the Silver Phoenix café.
Everyone felt Will's silver hair and green eyes features were immortalized in Guidon that day. Will felt like he was deceived to satisfy the affairs of others. Nevertheless, he bowed respectfully to both men and accepted the star and statue. He invited both men inside first and then opened the doors to the crowd. Will placed the statue on the counter in a prominent location.
Lawrence, Holo, Pamela, and Dhriti, went inside the kitchen to hide from the crowd. Pamela sat in the kitchen waiting for the first orders to come. Once Will opened the doors, the restaurant was flooded with customers. The first customers were the couriers who threw their money at Mei and Vanessa to purchase the game.
The first hour was organized chaos, but Mei and Vanessa handled collecting the money gracefully, and every courier that wanted a game received one in due time.
The second wave was the minor nobles who came in person to purchase a game, these included other merchants, military officers, traders, master craftsmen, etc. This wave was the first to sit and order from the menu. As orders came into the kitchen, Pamela rolled up her sleeves and began to hum.
Pamela smiled, she had missed working in large industrial kitchens like the City Lord's manor and restaurants. As Vanessa passed the orders through a hole in the wall behind the kitchen, Holo would shout the selected appetizer.
Pamela was a witch in the kitchen. Ingredients flew, pots boiled, pans sizzled, and spices floated in the air. The entire kitchen looked bewitched, but Pamela didn't have any magic, her mana pool was the size of a grain of rice. It was her passion, her love, of cooking that magic. Each plate, Lawrence delivered to a customer, was filled with a sweet aroma.
Customers seeing and smelling the dishes laid at other's tables made their own mouths water. More than one customer licked their licks, and saliva fell onto the wooden tables. People were like rabid dogs, trying to order seconds and thirds before the nearest table.
At one point, around the 12th bell, Vanessa had to help Lawrence deliver food to tables, due to the frantic ordering. When Vanessa helped with food, Dhriti helped Mei hand out the games. When Mei introduced Dhriti as the carpenter who crafted the game, the customers raced to shake her hand first.
Some customers were so amazed by the ornate design of the noble's board, they offered her contracts. She refused, each offer saying Will was working too hard to accept offers. This stopped the commotion, but some people openly grumbled. Will was hoarding a gorgeous master craftswoman, all to himself. Which made Will laugh, and curse Dhriti for using her innocent looks to cast the blame on Will.
When the 14th bell rang, traffic slowly began to decrease. Many nobles left to go home ready for dinner after such a filling lunch. When the nobles left another crowd gathered, bowing their heads respectfully to the departing nobles. This group kept gathering more and more people, but they stood and waited. Will was confused why these commoners were waiting. Did they expect Mei and Vanessa to sell them games in the middle of the street?
"Will they are waiting for you to let them in," Pamela said.
"Why, would they not come in themselves?" Will asked.
"They are commoners, and you are a noble, they would never dare step foot onto your property without an invitation, you could order them killed otherwise," she elaborated.
Understanding, Pamela's statement, Will stepped onto the patio and said, "Greetings, you are welcome into my store, please enjoy yourselves," Will said with his arms opened wide.
"You want us to come in the front door?" said an elderly man.
"Yes…what other door would you enter from?" Will asked earnestly.
Seeing his sincerity, there was an audible gasp, "oh." Many people noted the rumors about Will were true, how chivalrous he was regardless of class. The commoners formed a single file line out the door and proceed to purchase their games in the most refined manner.
They ordered games and food respectfully and quietly. They ate quietly and played reversi quietly. The difference between the commoners and nobles was night and day. The nobles ordered, ate, and played boisterously; whereas the commoners ordered, ate, and played like quiet mice.
The commoners ate and played until the 16th bell when there was another shift, as the commoner left to prepare for their evening jobs, and a smattering of minors returned. Overall, the opening was a grand success.
Although realized he would need more kitchen staff and servers, for which Pamela said she knew several excellent women from her service to the City Lord. Will gave her permission to hire, the extra workers. In his absence, Mei oversaw the building with Pamela under here in the hierarchy.
Lawrence and Holo were thrilled with the success, which meant more coin for them and beast people in the tribes, and more food for people living in the southern district. Lawrence and Holo told Will the difference in his orders made to beastmen.
Holo told Will, that she and Lawrence were held as heroes, and Will's order was propping up the economy, supporting farmers. Farmers were so happy to sell to Lawrence and Will, they received discounts. Due to the government's subsidies, there was a glut of produce with a small market.
Farmers made the decision to sell their quantity at a discount rate to stabilize the market. Outside the beastmen tribes only, Will was ordering produce, which meant Lawrence was the hero. Even though other merchants bought produce, people knew this was Lawrence and Holo covering their tracks.
Of course, Will was happy to receive more produce at a reduced rate, experienced business owners knew bulk buying was as good as saved revenue. And Will made sure to collect every copper he could. When you deal in the shadow economy you had to save for a rainy day.
After close, Will and Mei counted the coin, after a day of business will have earned over a thousand gold. There were another two months of classes before the end-of-the-term exam. If he was able to make 30,000 gold coins before the end of classes, he would purchase the two other burnt warehouses.
Every merchant dreamed of owning another store, as it doubled profit. Moreover, it was a matter of pride and proof they were successful. From the stack of coins, Will asked Mei to give everyone a good coin each for their hard work. Will handed Mei the key to the store and left to return to his master's house.
When Will opened the cottage door, he saw Elder Thaddeus and Elder Li playing reversi at the kitchenette table.
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MightyEagle
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