Busy all the way until evening, in order to avoid unnecessary conflict, Sora calculated the number of pork trotter portions left and had Riko flip the sign at the shop entrance to "Closed."
He hadn't expected business to be this booming, so he had only bought ingredients for a little over 50 servings. All of it sold out in just over five hours.
They happened to hit the dinner rush, which brought in a wave of customers, followed by a steady stream afterward. Some people even took pictures in front of the shop, planning to return.
All in all, the grand opening was a success.
Each pork trotter rice bowl sold for 1,500 yen. At 50 portions, that was 75,000 yen. After deducting various small costs, he netted around 50,000 yen.
Good thing chefs held high status in this world and food prices matched the taste. Gourmet-level dishes were everywhere. His pricing was already considered very affordable.
"That's a lot of money, Sora!"
After all the customers were served, the shop officially closed for the day. It was already 9 PM.
"Here's your pay for today, Ako-nee, Riko-nee."
Casually grabbing a handful of cash from the money box, Sora generously gave each of them 10,000 yen. After all, they were family—no need to split things too formally.
"10,000 yen?! That's way too much."
"We don't need that much money."
Based on the time they worked, the hourly wage came out to over 2,000 yen—an outrageous rate no matter where you were.
"No need for that between siblings. Use the extra to buy some clothes or something you like. Consider it a gift from me."
Seeing the two sisters about to return the money, Sora quickly stopped them. He wasn't short on cash anyway—it was basically paper to him. Might as well do them a small favor.
He had heard from his father that the sisters had grown up with little, raised by their single mother. It wasn't easy, and it made him want to treat them better.
"Then we'll just keep it safe for you. If you need it later, just ask us."
"Yeah, don't worry. We'll hold onto it."
"It's fine, spend it however you want. The money will only keep growing from now on. The power of gourmet food is terrifying."
A net profit of 50,000 yen in one night, 100,000 yen including lunch—that's 3 million yen a month, 36 million a year. In three years, that would be 100 million yen, a small goal achieved.
Thinking about it that way, it was kind of terrifying.
Though when factoring in losses and overhead, the actual profit wouldn't be that high, it was still very impressive. Most office workers only made around 4 million yen a year.
"Ako-nee, Riko-nee, help tidy up the shop. I'll step out for a bit. We'll go home together when I'm back."
Not wanting to clean, Sora left the task to the sisters and went out to scout the market. In truth, it was just an excuse to try nearby restaurants, check their prices, and avoid overlapping dishes.
Unique flavors and identity are the foundation of any restaurant!
He walked the whole stretch of the street, conducting a detailed survey. As it was getting late, most shops were already closed. He usually just took a quick glance at their price lists before leaving.
As expected, food prices in this world were generally high. Some rundown old restaurants sold basic dishes at outrageous prices, possibly with profits as high as 500%.
After confirming which dishes were and weren't offered on Sanwa Street, Sora bought three ice cream cones—vanilla, matcha, and chocolate—from a roadside vendor closing up for the day.
"What a rich milky aroma—this must be colostrum."
The strong milk scent was what attracted him in the first place. The culinary world in the Shokugeki universe was incredibly competitive. Without a signature feature, one would quickly be eliminated.
Fortunately, thanks to the teachings of Hoshino Ren, he had a solid foundation. His mentor was an expert in Chinese cuisine and had once studied at the Eastern Culinary Academy—China's top cooking school.
Its prestige rivaled that of Qinghua and Beida, perhaps even surpassing them, thanks to the world's unique cultural structure.
Interestingly, this world had no wars—at least no wars fought with weapons. The battlefield was now the kitchen. Shokugeki (food duels) had replaced traditional warfare.
At first, Sora had a hard time accepting that idea, thinking it was too ridiculous. But now, he was starting to appreciate it. A world with no war and lasting peace—wasn't that the ideal utopia?
One notable historical event was the "Eight-Nation Alliance vs. Huaxia" battle, where chefs from eight different regions teamed up to challenge Feng Qingyang, then the God of Cooking in China. They clashed using the Eight Culinary Traditions, but in the end, the eight nations were thoroughly defeated, solidifying China's title as the culinary powerhouse.
At that time, China's culinary world was in its prime, dominating half the global scene. But now, it had declined due to the rigid exam-based education system that stifled creativity.
Though new geniuses did appear, they were only a handful. Compared to the golden age a hundred years ago, it had clearly fallen from grace.
"I'm back. The place looks spotless. I brought ice cream—vanilla, matcha, and chocolate. Which one do you want?"
Seeing Ako and Riko waiting for him at a table after cleaning up the shop, Sora held out the three cones. The sisters exchanged glances and each picked one—Riko chose chocolate, Ako took matcha.
Then the three of them locked up the shop and left.
"So smooth… the milk flavor is amazing."
He licked his cone and closed his eyes to savor it. It was far better than any ice cream he had in his past life—rich, creamy, sweet, and delightfully cold.
[Analyzing Dish]: Frozen Dairy Ice Cream
[Quality]: Black Iron
[Analysis 60%]: Ingredients include fresh milk, eggs, light cream, white sugar...
[Analysis Complete]: Would you like to watch the cooking process?
As Sora ate the ice cream, a progress bar appeared before him, steadily filling up from 0 to 100 in about a minute.
Then a system prompt sounded in his head, and a virtual screen popped up. When clicked, it showed a video of the cooking process, complete with ingredient list and proportions.
Wow—this was definitely a discovery.
"I want to try the vanilla one, Sora, let me have a bite~"
"Me too, I want a taste."
As Sora stared blankly at the screen, the voices of the sisters came from both sides. Before he could even respond, two heads leaned in and took big bites of his ice cream, leaving barely anything behind.
Turning to look, he found the sisters had rushed so fast that white cream lingered on their faces. Their small pink tongues flicked across their cheeks, trying to reach the mess but only brushing the edges, leaving smears behind.