The story of the struggle in another world of the divine cat Mii-chan and the cat supplies summoner

144 Divine Cat Mii-chan Inspects the Food Stand’s Taste

Two days have passed since then, and today is the day to receive the mobile food stand.

In the meantime, I’ve been going around bazaars, looking for relatively cheap fruits to create ice candy prototypes. At the same time, I worked on making mochi, anko (sweet red bean paste), and soy sauce glaze to coat the mochi. I trained Alex and Claudia thoroughly on these tasks. I also received some miso and soy sauce. Since I’ve purchased rice, glutinous rice, and red beans from nearby farming villages, there’s no issue with ingredients.

As for the anko, I received the seal of approval from none other than Mii-chan, the divine cat and president of the Mii Trading Company, so there should be no problem.

“It’s done and has arrived.”

The staff member from the Commercial Guild guided me to the warehouse, where we received the food stand and the necessary paperwork. There were also some paints prepared, so I had Mii-chan store them.

Now then, let’s pull this back to the inn. Mii-chan leapt onto the roof of the food stand, securing a spot with a great view.

“Mii~”

With Mii-chan’s signal to start, I began pulling. It felt lighter than expected. Even without any ingredients loaded, I thought it would be heavier. At this weight, even a woman could pull it with ease.

We temporarily parked the stand in a shed next to the inn’s stable. Sumire snorted and said, “What did you bring here? I’m not pulling that!” Don’t worry, Sumire. If you pulled it, it’d likely fall apart the moment you started running, so I’m not making you pull it.

“Mii~”

Everyone gathered, and we started preparing the paint. First, Alex and I applied the base coat. Thanks to the good weather, it dried quickly, and we moved on to the next layer. The main color was light blue with pink and yellow stripes. This time, Perro also helped with the painting.

Once we were done, the food stand looked very colorful.

“Mii~”
“Nyaa”
“Gao”
“Kyuu~”

It seems like you all want to paint too… Fine. I let each of them step into some paint and leave cute paw prints on the stand. In the end, it turned out pretty cute and charming.

“So I’m going to be pulling this, huh…”
“Oh, I think it’s adorable. I like it.”

Alex, you won’t just be pulling it; you’ll be selling from it too. Since we still had time before applying the final waterproof coat, I handed Alex and Claudia aprons I’d had the maids make. I gave Alex a simple blue apron and Claudia a frilly pink one. These will be the uniforms for the “Divine Cat Food Stand.”

“Mii~”

Both tried on the aprons, and they looked great. Well, they are naturally good-looking, but we should still thank the maids who made them.

Once the paint dried, we applied the final waterproof layer. After setting up all the equipment, we attached the banner and noren (shop curtains).

“Mii~”

It seems even our president is satisfied with the results. Tomorrow, we’ll do a small pre-opening.

The next day, we set up the food stand by the inn’s gate around midday. The manager had already given us permission. Our customers today would mainly be the inn’s staff and guests.

We priced everything at half of the usual price. It’s just a practice run, after all.

The staff and guests, curious about the novelty, approached and placed orders. For the dango, we served two varieties: one was small pieces of grilled mochi skewered and generously coated with anko, and the other was grilled mochi skewers dipped in soy sauce glaze, grilled again, and then dipped once more—a sort of makeshift anko dango and mitarashi dango.

We placed a sample on the counter to make it easier for customers to understand.

Alex and Claudia, however, were completely overwhelmed. Despite my encouragements of “Smile, smile, zero frowns,” they could only manage stiff, forced expressions. Well, they’ll get used to it in time.

The flavor seemed to be well-received. The ice candies were especially popular with the children, while the adults seemed to prefer the dango. However, the head chef requested an unsweetened drink, pointing out a blind spot. Right, dango goes well with tea.

Passersby also showed interest in the stand, and some became customers. Of course, I didn’t forget to mention that we’d be opening at the square soon.

“Mii~”
“This is… the perfect dream food stand, nya!”
“Nyaa”
“Gao”
“Kyuu~”

You all know that as members of the Divine Cat Trading Company, you can’t expect free food, right?

“……”

Even you, Mii-chan, our president…

Alright, it looks like we’ve used up most of the prepared ingredients, so it’s time to close up shop. We didn’t prepare that much, but Alex and Claudia looked utterly exhausted. After this, I’ll let them rest in their room while I head to the royal palace.

I brought everyone along, rode Sumire to the palace, and asked the gate guards to relay a message to the Grand Duke. As usual, his butler came to greet us.

We were guided to the Grand Duke’s office, where he was busy with paperwork.

“Sorry, but could you wait a moment?”
“No need to worry, I came unannounced.”

The butler urged me to sit on the sofa, and tea was immediately brought out. At the same time, maids swooped in and whisked everyone but Mii-chan away. Even little Lar was taken…

Lar might be a dragon, but with how he looks like a dog, it’s no surprise.

“Mii~”