It was an afternoon after the peak of the busy season when I asked Dodogal for a meat chopper.

As I lay on the receptionist's desk, coasting along, Dusty shook me.

Hey, hey, Tori! Can I come in now?

No. I'm trying to catch up on sleep after being forced to get up early this morning.

'You've got to be kidding me! You're still on work time! I'm going to tell your mother!

'...... can't help it.'

This peaceful afternoon is the best time for a nap. If Dusty wants to see me, he should be a little more considerate.

I ask, rubbing my eyes in a slightly sleepy state.

So, what do you want?

'Can't you wholesale hamburgers to my store too? Or maybe you can teach me how to make patties.'

'Okay, but why all of a sudden?'

I don't mind if you distribute hamburgers or at least teach me how to make patties.

The product is originally shared by me, Dusty, Carlo, and Hurt. I don't mind if Dusty sets up a stall to sell them instead of me.

I am happy to get a little profit without having to work.

But I am curious as to the reason for the sudden need.

The hamburger wrappers they sell at the stall are from our store, aren't they? And then people started coming to my house to eat the hamburgers.

Ah, so the customers started coming to Dusty's for the hamburgers, thinking they could buy them.

That's great. You got more customers.

'Yes, but what they want is a hamburger. When they find out we only serve bread, they leave.

Well, I suppose that's true. I didn't expect them to have hamburgers, but when I went there, it turned out that they didn't have hamburgers and were just a bakery. But it might be quite frustrating for the bakery to have customers leave without buying anything.

'So you want to put hamburgers in order to keep new customers coming in, don't you?

'Yeah, let them buy our bread! So please!''

Dusty puts his hands together and asks for a favor.

'No, I'm totally fine with it, but I can make my own bread at home, shouldn't I ask Carlo or Hurt to do it for me?'

'I talked to them too, and they said that's Tori's business, so they'll leave it to you.

They threw all the troublesome parts to me. d*mn, they did what I was going to do first.

I get it. Whoever sells the hamburgers among us is free to do so.

'Seriously! Thank God! Now my wages will go up, too!

When I say this, Dusty pauses, gut-punching his head to show his joy.

I thought he was getting strangely desperate, but I guess his own wages were at stake.

Well, thanks to the publicity from the hamburger, Dusty's bakery has a chance to boost sales. How could they pass this up?

It's one thing to sell hamburgers as they are, but it might be a good idea to make hamburger buns or other buns that can only be found at Dusty's. For example, we could put patties and cheese or potatoes inside the bread and bake it.

Oh, I like that! I'm sure it would be delicious with other sauces like tomato sauce or something else!'

But let's limit the number of items sold to make it more special. Like 30 a day or something.

'What? Why not? Since they sell, why not sell as many as you can make?

If it becomes something that is always for sale, it will lose its value. If you know it's going to run out soon, people will go out and buy it right away, won't they? Besides, I can become famous as the bakery with the longest line.

'...... you look bad right now, huh?'

I don't know about my face, but at least it's better than Dusty's grinning face.

Even if my stall had a meat chopper, I wouldn't have two or three hundred of them.

If I don't get there soon, it will be gone, and I like the idea of having a stall only once in a while.

I mean, I can't stand to open a stall every day.

It's just for earning money for magic tools and for my hobby. It might be good to work hard, but basically it is better to work in moderation.

Even so, a bakery with a long line ...... isn't so bad.

Dusty is smiling sickeningly, perhaps imagining the sight of a line of people waiting in line at his store.

I imagine a line at the inn's cafeteria as well, and my heart burns from the busyness of the place. The sheer volume of customers was no joke.

I will refrain from advertising the inn at the hamburger stand in the future.

While Dusty is lost in his imagination, I grab a notepad from the kitchen and hand it to him.

'Here are the instructions on how to make the patties and the sauce, so don't lose it or tell anyone, okay?

'Oh, oh, okay.

Dusty nodded in surprise when I said something more serious than usual.

Maybe someone will copy our hamburger sooner or later, and we have to keep our original taste and keep the original family alive.

That's why the exact proportions and cooking methods are an absolute secret.

Then, let me try it when you've finished it.

Oh! Thank you!

I watched Dusty run off with the note and plopped down on the table again to sleep.