I Reincarnated into the World of Otome Game with a Cheat Ability - Chapter 4

 Bread

"Thanks for all your hard work today. Since we had so many customers, here's a little bonus for you."

The bread made with yeast was a massive hit with the customers, to the point where we had to keep baking fresh batches over and over. I had brought this on myself, but man, it was exhausting. Normally, working a full day from morning to night would net me 500G, but with today's bonus included, I walked away with 700G. This brought my total cash on hand to 860G. Of course, I also received some bread, which served as my precious food supply.

Out of that, I spent 700G to purchase a large cardboard box and some cloth tape, leaving me with 160G. I used these materials to construct a makeshift bed.

"With this, at least I can finally lie down to sleep."

As expected, wrapping myself in nothing but a thermal sheet for two straight days had left my lower back and hips aching. After eating my bread, I drifted off to sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

The next day was another school holiday. I poured my heart into my work at the bakery from early morning. While the customer count had only spiked in the afternoon two days ago, today the rush started first thing in the morning. Marie-san and I took turns preparing the dough and baking the loaves, scaling up our production system to tackle the onslaught.

Once our shift ended, the three of us were taking a well-deserved breather when Catherine spoke up.

"Onii-chan, you might smell a little funky... Have you been washing your body?"

Her words hit me like a splash of cold water. Come to think of it, I had absolutely no memory of taking a bath since arriving here. How did bathing even work in this world?

"Ah, sorry. I guess I was so busy I completely forgot."

"Gosh, Onii-chan, you're such a scatterbrain!"

"Just keep in mind that since we are a shop handling food, you need to be careful not to make the customers uncomfortable," Marie-san added gently, driving the point home.

"Well, here is your pay for today. You worked even harder than yesterday, so I've made it a bit extra."

"Thank you so much."

I accepted my daily wages and my bread, then headed home.

"Alright, I'd better sort out this bath situation while it's still light out."

Today's wages came out to a whopping 1000G.

I looked around the house searching for a bath setup. In a corner of the building, I found a room that fit the bill. It was a traditional cauldron-style tub—the kind where you stoke a wood fire underneath to heat the water. The well was... a short distance away outside. I purchased a bucket for 200G and spent a good while hauling water back and forth between the well and the tub until it was filled. There was already a stockpile of firewood left behind, so I decided to make use of it, but lacking a way to light it, I bought a long-reach stick lighter for 100G. I also spent 400G on a travel-sized shampoo and body wash set to clean myself up. Finally, I bought a toothbrush, toothpaste, a cup, and a comb, watching another 400G fly out of my pockets. My savings plummeted right back down to 60G.

For a brief moment, I had felt like a rich man, but stocking up on the bare essentials had wiped me out instantly.

After eating my bread, I soaked in the tub, scrubbing my body and washing my hair. Feeling completely refreshed and squeaky clean, I went to bed.

The following morning, I headed to the bakery as usual.

"Good morning. I'll be in your care today as well."

"Morning, Onii-chan! Sniff, sniff. Wow, you smell really nice today."

"You really do. I wonder what kind of scent that is?" Marie added.

Catherine and Marie had both noticed the pleasant fragrance.

"Well, you told me I smelled bad yesterday, so I took a bath! I guess it's probably the scent of my body wash?"

"Body wash?"

"I've never heard of that before," Catherine said.

"It's basically a special kind of soap specifically meant for washing your body."

"Oh wow, I didn't know things like that existed."

We cut the chatter there and dove into the bread production. Since I had school today, I had to head out the moment the busy morning rush subsided. We moved through our tasks with brisk efficiency.

"Alright, I'm heading off to school now!"

"Have a safe trip!"

"Do your best!"

Wrapping up my morning work, I made my way to school.

After surviving first and second period, lunch break finally arrived. Today, I had brought some of our yeasted bread for my lunch. Feeling a bit embarrassed about eating nothing but plain bread, I decided to slip away to the back of the school building to eat in solidarity.

...But I felt someone staring at me. Looking closely, I spotted Josette peering at me from behind the shadow of a tree.

"Josette-san, is something the matter?" I called out to her.

"A commoner initiating conversation with me? Whatever business could you possibly have?" she huffed, stepping out and marching right up to me.

"It's not really 'business'... You just happened to be staring this way, so..."

"I—I was doing no such thing! It is merely a figment of your imagination! By the way, what exactly are you doing here?" Josette shifted the topic aggressively.

"I was just about to eat my lunch. But I only brought bread today, so I felt a bit embarrassed to eat it in front of everyone else, if you catch my drift..."

"Hmph, spoken like a true commoner. How pitiful, being reduced to eating nothing but plain bread."

She puffed out her chest with a condescending attitude. In that moment, I could swear her chest swayed up and down just a tiny fraction... or maybe it was just my imagination.

"Uh, I can't really eat while you're standing right there..." I muttered, but Josette didn't budge, her curiosity clearly getting the better of her.

"Pay no mind to me. Go ahead and eat."

"If you say so... Excuse me then."

I sat down on a nearby bench and pulled the bread out of its bag. Josette sat down right next to me, her eyes completely locked onto the loaf I had produced.

"What a peculiar shape for a loaf of bread."

"It's made with yeast. Have you never tried it before, Josette-san?"

"I have never even heard of such a thing."

"I have two of them, so would you like to try one?"

"W-What?! A noble accepting charity from a commoner? Absolutely out of the question!"

Even as the words left her mouth, her hands were already wrapping around the bread.

"C-Consider this... Yes, consider this a tribute to my station!"

With that justification, she took a bite.

"My... what a novel texture. The flavor isn't bad either... Do commoners actually eat things like this?"

"I don't know if everyone eats it, but the bakery where I work part-time just put it on the market a few days ago."

As I explained, Josette began muttering something under her breath.

"Which means... it's that bakery on the outskirts of the city... I see."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it is nothing. Thank you for the meal. Now, I must be going."

With that, Josette turned and headed back toward the classrooms. Since the afternoon periods were about to start anyway, I quickly finished my bread and followed suit.

Once classes wrapped up for the day, I went home to drop off my things before heading straight across the street to the bakery.

"I'm back. Ready to start my shift."

"Welcome back, Onii-chan! Oh my gosh, it was so incredibly busy today, it was insane!" Catherine wailed, looking entirely wiped out.

"I'm sorry. It feels like I'm the one who increased the workload around here..."

"Nonsense, Kent-san. Thanks to you, our sales are skyrocketing," Marie-san said, stepping out from the back after loading a batch of dough into the oven.

"That stuff was called 'instant dry yeast,' right? Would you mind placing an additional order for us?"

"Sure, no problem. How much do you need this time?"

"Let's see... probably around this much."

She handed me the required funds along with the order size. It was a massive quantity.

"Well, as long as the bags stay sealed, it lasts for about a year without spoiling, so we won't waste it... but isn't this a bit too much?"

"That's the thing... I don't know where they caught wind of it, but a certain Ducal household just placed a massive bulk order. If we factor that into our inventory, we're going to need this exact amount."

"Huh... An order from a high-ranking noble family? That's amazing."

"It really is. I've been running this bakery for years, but this is the first time we've ever received an order from the nobility." Marie-san still looked utterly mystified by the turn of events.

"Alright, I'll go procure the ingredients right away. Please wait just a bit."

"We're counting on you."

I slipped back to my house, pulled up the commercial-sized instant dry yeast using the terminal, and marched right back to the bakery.

"I'm back. Here you go!"

"Thank you! You're a lifesaver."

With the materials secured, the two of us set to work baking the specific bread to be delivered to the Duke's estate. Just as the loaves finished baking, an emissary sent by the Ducal household arrived, collected the bread, paid the invoice in full, and departed.

With the day's business safely concluded, we sat down to calculate the daily earnings.

"I have never seen this much money in my entire life..." Marie gasped, staring in shock at the revenue. Yesterday had been a record high, but today's earnings completely blew it out of the water. The bulk delivery to the Duke's estate had clearly made a massive impact.

"Well, great work today. Here are your wages and your bread. You did an incredible job, so I've given you a bit extra."

"Thank you very much."

Catherine, thoroughly exhausted from the frantic day, had already fallen asleep right where she sat.

"I'll carry Catherine up to her room."

"Oh, I'm sorry to trouble you. Would you mind?"

The living quarters sat directly above the bakery. Since Kent had a long history with the family (according to his background settings), he knew the layout of the house like the back of his hand. I carried Catherine up to her room and tucked her gently into bed.

"Goodnight, Catherine," I whispered.

Heading back downstairs, I said my goodbyes to Marie and walked back to my house across the street.

Today's wages came out to 500G. My net worth was now up to 560G. On school days, my base pay was normally 200G, meaning I had received an amount 2.5 times higher than usual.

Nothing specific came to mind that I urgently needed to buy tonight, so I ate my bread, soaked in the bath, and went to sleep.

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