"Have you heard of burgers?"
"Do you think I live under a rock!? With lines longer than a Furagua snake, you'd have to be blind to miss it."
"Have you tried it?"
"Not to brag, but I was one of their first customers. Went there last week after finishing up fishing. The smell of burgers hit me so hard, I couldn't help but follow it. They had a promotion where you could get beef and bread for just one coin, so I jumped at the chance."
The guy spoke with great enthusiasm, his excitement evident in his voice.
"What does it taste like?"
The other guy perked up, now fully interested. His gaze kept darting over to the stall, though the line seemed to stretch further and further as the day went on. Even before opening hours, people were already waiting, despite the price increase to five coins per meal.
"You're not gonna believe me, but it beats bread and meat stew by a mile. The flavors blend so well, it could be served in a high-class restaurant! You've got to try it to believe it!"
"I want to try it now!" The second man's stomach growled audibly, but he sighed as his eyes moved toward the line. "One day, I'll have to try it."
"By the way, how's your mother?" he asked, shifting the subject.
"The sun priest came this morning, but no luck. She's still chanting about God. The church told me I should take her to a cathedral in the capital, but I don't have the money for that."
His friend's face darkened, a bitter look creeping into his eyes.
"Did they know what happened?"
"They said my mother must've tangled with a heretic at some point."
"Damn those heretics," the first man muttered. "If only they'd stop existing."
The second man just sighed, the weight of his friend's hardship sitting heavily in the air. His stomach rumbled again, but the mood had shifted.
---------
"We've made 5 stac today. After subtracting costs, we've got around 2 stac in profit."
Hilda's report was met with a tired nod from John, who was half-asleep from exhaustion. They'd been selling burgers for just a week, but the word had spread fast. To his surprise, it was working.
A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought about the next step. With this pace, he might be able to rent a small building by the end of the month and open a full-fledged restaurant.
But there was a problem.
John's eyes wandered over the growing stack of orders waiting to be filled. Making over 100 burgers a day was draining, even with ingredients prepped ahead of time. If this was going to last, he needed more hands on deck. Luckily, he knew commoners who would work for a reasonable price.
He just needed to find the right people.
After posting the job openings, many were eager to join. John decided to hire two people for now: a husband and wife, Jenny and Jeramy.
He taught them how to operate the stall, and in the blink of an eye, he had two more employees. They earned 5 coins a day—more than the average pay by 2 coins. The increase in employees also boosted productivity, which in turn brought in more money.
Business was going great until one day, a man showed up.
"Hey, give me the recipe."
A man stormed in, disrupting the operation with his butler and knight in tow. John could tell he was some kind of noble.
"I'm sorry, but this recipe is not for sale."
"I'm not buying it! I order you to give it to me!"
The man raised his voice, refusing to back down. John couldn't help but sigh. He hadn't expected to encounter a brat like this here. The butler and knight at the noble's side grew increasingly tense as John continued to refuse to give up the recipe.
"Who are you?"
John asked, genuinely curious, as he wasn't familiar with this man at all—not from the novel or any basic information he had on hand.
"You dare not know my name? I'm Ulma Huron, the son of House Huron," he said with confidence. However, John still had no idea who this guy was.
"I don't care. You don't have the right to block my stall."
John gave him a dissatisfied look. Meanwhile, he racked his brain, trying to recall any information about the Huron family. They were likely a minor noble house, given how little they were known.
"You don't have the right to talk to me, commoner," Ulma said, crossing his arms. "Give me the recipe before things get ugly."
John held his hand up, stopping Hilda from throwing a knife at Ulma. He then reached into a nearby bag and presented Ulma with a piece of paper.
"I'm kind of a noble myself. Penu Koshav. Now, get out of here before this matter reaches the manor lord."
"You!"
"Guard!" John pretends to call for a guard.
"You'll regret this."
With bloodshot eyes, Ulma starts walking away. John sneers at the pathetic display and goes back to selling his burgers.
The city wouldn't allow this kind of harassment to happen, especially between nobles. This was precisely why John purchased a noble ID instead of a commoner's one. It had cost twice as much, but it was worth every coin.
In this world, commoners are heavily oppressed, and most nobles could ruin their lives in the blink of an eye. Like Ulma here—if John hadn't had a noble ID, the guards would be less inclined to respond to his call, giving Ulma the freedom to do whatever he pleased.
John encounters many such individuals while selling his burgers, but most back off once they realize he's also a noble.
By the end of the day, John sells out once again. It's been a week since he opened, and a few copycats have appeared. But none have gained traction. They only saw John assembling the burgers, not preparing them, which made his operation seem simple to replicate.
However, if they knew what John actually did, they'd realize it wouldn't be so easy to copy. After all, John isn't a chef; he just cooks a little at home when he has time. He needs to expand his business into other areas before his burgers are fully copied.
At the end of the day, John, Hilda, and Theia return to the hotel they're staying at and wash up. They've rented a room for about a month, and John's plan is to save enough to rent an entire building and call it their own.
But with how successful his business has been, he's considering moving his plan forward a bit. He hopes he can maintain this momentum for a while longer.