The first day of business for Fuyuki Shop—
Was a complete failure.
Which was only natural. After all, it was located in the marketplace, and at this time of day, there were not many people around.
On top of that, it had opened suddenly. Even if people passed by, they would not pay much attention to such an unremarkable little shop.
"As expected… it is pretty bleak."
Sitting beside the cashier counter, Shirou stared at the still unopened door.
It had already been an hour since he flipped the sign to "Open" and not a single customer had come in.
Even though profit was not the main goal, the lack of business still left a faint sense of disappointment.
"Do not worry. I have looked through everything in the shop, the goods are of good quality and cheap. What you lack is publicity."
Phal, standing nearby, played with a cup in his hand, it was the one he had just bought.
Strictly speaking, he was the first customer.
Though he had not technically walked in after opening.
(And yes, the cup in his hand was one of Shirou's projections.)
"We need to think of something… I wonder if online promotion would help…"
Rope lay across the counter, scrolling through her phone, trying to find information about running a business.
Even if she probably would not understand most of it, it was better than doing nothing.
The three of them sat around chatting idly while waiting for their first real customer.
It was… surprisingly relaxed.
After a few more pointless conversations, Rope who had sharp eyes, noticed a figure outside the door.
"Oh! Is the first customer coming?"
Hearing that, Shirou and Phal turned toward the entrance.
For safety reasons, the doors and windows were semi-transparent, so they could only see a vague silhouette.
A tall figure seemed to be reaching out to push the door open.
Both Shirou and Rope tensed up, especially Rope, who had invested a lot of effort into this place.
Meanwhile, Phal wore a knowing smile, his phone still open on a message screen.
"Hm? There is quite a lot of stuff here."
The moment they heard the voice, Shirou knew who it was.
Hoshiguma carefully ducked as she entered, making sure her horns did not bump into the doorway.
"Officer Hoshiguma! Welcome, welcome!"
Rope greeted her enthusiastically.
She was quite familiar with Hoshiguma, after all the Guard Department used to be one of her favorite places to "stay."
Though not anymore. Spending three days locked up meant she could not take care of everyone and worse, she would miss Shirou cooking.
Guard Department food? What was that? She had no interest anymore.
"Wait, Officer Hoshiguma…should you not be working right now?"
Shirou glanced at the time. It was past 2 PM.
It was not lunch break and not off-duty time either so why was she here?
"I was just out on patrol. It is not a big deal."
Hoshiguma gave a casual explanation while looking around.
"…This is not abusing your authority, is it?"
Seeing her vague answer, Shirou felt like he had figured it out.
Still, he did not say anything. After all, the reason was perfectly justifiable.
Besides, she was their first real customer.
"Hm? Did you just say something?"
Hoshiguma had not heard him, she was focused on a tea set.
"Nothing. Please, feel free to browse."
Before Shirou could say more, Rope lunged forward and covered his mouth.
Everything about Shirou was great except that sometimes his words hit a little too directly!
"Oh, this tea set is quite nice. When did Lungmen start making this kind of style?"
Hoshiguma shifted her attention fully to the tea set.
The reason was simple, it reminded her of home.
Ever since settling in Lungmen, she had been looking for something like this. But after searching for a long time without success, she had settled for something plain.
And now she found exactly what she liked here.
Originally, she had just come because of Phal's message, planning to show some support.
This was a pleasant surprise.
"That… was given to me by someone I know. It has a few flaws, but it is brand new."
Looking at the tea set, Shirou felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It was one of the sets commonly found in Taiga's house, it was very… distinctive.
"No wonder it is so cheap. I will take these."
Placing the tea set on the counter, Hoshiguma grabbed some bowls and plates as well.
"Since you are the first customer, I will give you a discount."
Seeing how supportive she was, Shirou offered.
(Also because more than half of these were projections… his conscience demanded it.)
"That is great."
After her impulsive shopping spree, Hoshiguma looked at the pile and realized she might have bought a bit too much.
At this rate, she probably would not have money left for drinks this month.
"Got it."
With Shirou's instruction, Rope quickly calculated the price and applied a hefty discount.
There was still some profit, this marked the shop's first earnings.
"Then why did I not get a discount when I bought mine?"
Phal stood there in disbelief.
He was technically the first one!
"You have already freeloaded so many meals, and you still want a discount?!"
While Shirou was packing the items, Rope pointed at Phal.
Hearing that he often freeloaded meals, Hoshiguma shot him a meaningful look.
She still remembered that lunchbox from last time, even Chen had praised it highly.
"Cough… I also bring snacks!"
Feeling the dangerous look from his boss, Phal hurriedly defended himself.
He was not freeloading! He brought snacks for the kids!
At most… it was a fair trade!
"And I only taste a little each time…"
"The real reason is, you grabbed something, paid immediately, said 'keep the change,' and finished the whole transaction so smoothly that neither of us could react."
Shirou revealed the truth.
By the time they processed what happened, it was already over so bringing up a discount afterward felt awkward.
"…So it was my own fault?"
Phal looked at the cup in his hand, feeling defeated.
"Honestly…"
Hoshiguma sighed.
What else could she do? They all knew each other.
The best she could manage was not laughing out loud.
"Ahahaha! Just look at you."
Off to the side, Rope had already burst out laughing.
"Do you still want a discount?"
Seeing Phal's pained expression, Shirou decided to ask.
"…No need. It is just a little money."
After taking another verbal jab from Shirou, Phal felt like his heart was bleeding.
At least ask me in private! How can I care about such a small amount of money in front of Big Sis Hoshiguma?!
"Mm… alright then."
Looking at Phal's grief-stricken face, Shirou could not figure him out at all.
But since he did not want it, then forget it.
"Rope, go heat up the soup and let Hoshiguma take it back."
Shirou patted Rope on the head, signaling her to heat up the leftover soup in the kitchen.
Originally, it was meant for everyone to have with dinner, but now they could let Hoshiguma take some back, consider it a little treat for the Guard Department.
"Got it!"
After receiving the order, Rope jumped off the chair and skipped toward the kitchen.
She might not know how to cook, but just reheating soup would not be a problem.
"Remember to use low heat!"
Suddenly recalling Rope's cooking skills, Shirou added another reminder.
"Got it!"
The only reply, aside from her voice, was the sound of the door closing.
"This place has a pretty nice atmosphere."
Hoshiguma took the chair Phal handed her and sat down to the side.
She planned to chat a bit and check on things here, after all, she had contributed quite a bit to this place.
From the looks of it, Shirou was running things pretty well.
"It is not bad… But Hoshiguma, how did you know about this place?"
As he responded, Shirou suddenly realized something was off.
He had not told Hoshiguma about what he was doing here, right?
So how did she show up while on patrol?
"I told her. I figured Big Sis Hoshiguma would like a lot of the stuff here."
Phal waved his phone from the side.
"Mm, I just finished work, so I came out for a stroll."
Hoshiguma followed up naturally. After all, if others found out she had ties to this place, it might cause trouble.
So it was better to keep things low-key. Occasionally stopping by as a customer was fine.
She quite liked the style of goods sold here.
"Oh, I see."
Shirou accepted the explanation. It was reasonable and satisfactory.
Though… strictly speaking, was this no skipping work?
After thinking about it, Shirou decided it was better not to dwell on that.
"But why choose this name for the shop?"
Hoshiguma asked. When she first got the message, she thought it was a typo.
Only after seeing it herself did she realize the shop was indeed called "Fuyuki." It was a nice name, but somehow felt a bit off.
"It is the name of my hometown."
Hearing her question, Shirou scratched his head.
He also felt something was slightly off, but it was still better than naming the shop after himself.
"Your hometown, huh… that is nice."
Hoshiguma thought for a moment. She had never heard of "Fuyuki" in either Higashi or Lungmen.
She had originally assumed Shirou was from Higashi.
But it did not really matter, everyone here now was a Lungmen resident anyway.
"I did not expect a guy with such a stern face like you to be this nostalgic."
Phal was not as polite. After all, he had just been stabbed in the heart with words earlier so he might as well get a little payback.
"I just could not think of another name. If I did not suggest something at the time, they were going to use my name as the shop's name and that would have been really embarrassing."
Shirou said with an awkward smile, recalling the situation back then.
"Using your name for a shop is pretty normal, right? 'Emiya store' actually sounds pretty good," Hoshiguma said.
"Yeah… but it just feels a bit embarrassing."
Shirou knew it was common, but using his own name… he did not think he could do it.
"I think it is pretty good, it is simple and easy to remember."
Phal pulled out a cigarette, preparing to light it only for Hoshiguma to crush it out with her hand.
"No smoking here."
She pointed at a sign nearby.
"…Yes."
That day, Phal recalled the fear of being ruled by Big Sis Hoshiguma.
It was… a bit nostalgic.
"Shirou, how much should I pack?"
The kitchen door opened, and a pair of purple rabbit ears poked out as Rope asked.
"Pack more. I will make more before I leave later."
Shirou stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
"Oh? I heard you come here often to freeload meals?"
Now only Hoshiguma and Phal remained in the shop. Hoshiguma gave him a terrifying look as she asked, crushing the cigarette in her hand.
"Well… it is just that it smells so good, I could not help coming in."
Phal tried to explain, only to be met with Hoshiguma's deadly glare.
"If you eat someone else's food, you should at least help out properly."
After staring at him for a while, Hoshiguma let him off, just reminding him not to be a freeloader.
This arrangement was actually quite good. She had sent Phal here so he could look after the place when Shirou was not around. Getting familiar would also make things easier.
It definitely was not because she envied Phal for getting to eat Shirou's cooking every day.
Even though the rich aroma of soup filling the shop was making her, who had just eaten, feel hungry again.
"I packed extra. You can share it with the others when you get back and help me pass along my regards to Swire."
Not long after going in, Shirou came back out carrying a large bag of soup and it was about enough for five people.
The bag was a sealed takeout pouch, his own.
Strictly speaking, it was shop inventory and it was reusable and suitable for hot food. Compared to lunchboxes, it was more convenient, especially for soup without spilling.
"Oh, thanks."
Taking the bag from Shirou, Hoshiguma could see the ingredients through the transparent packaging.
Onions, ham, corn, scale-beast meat, and some seafood trimmings.
"Careful, it is hot."
Seeing her grab it from the bottom, Shirou worried she might get burned.
"Do not worry, this is nothing. Alright then, I will head back to the Guard Department. I will come again when I have time."
For Hoshiguma, this level of heat was trivial.
Holding the bag of soup steady in one hand and carrying the newly bought tableware in the other, she spoke to them.
"Come again next time!"
Rope waved enthusiastically. Customers like Hoshiguma, who bought in bulk, were already classified as VIPs in her book.
In simple terms, treat them like royalty!
"…"
Hoshiguma stood blankly at the door.
"What is wrong?"
Seeing her freeze there, Shirou asked.
"Help me open it. My hands are kind of full."
She pointed at the door. One hand held fragile items, the other held piping hot soup.
She was worried that if she lost her grip, something might drop or break. Right now, both items in her hands were things she had to protect!
"…Alright."
Seeing her like this, Shirou twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth, then went over to open the door for her and even helped open the Guard Department vehicle door as well.
"Thanks. I will make sure to share the soup properly with Missy and Old Chen."
After getting into the car, Hoshiguma rolled down the window and thanked him.
"No problem. Stay safe on the way."
Shirou replied.
In response, Hoshiguma waved as the Guard Department vehicle's engine roared to life.