Ch.24Chapter 24 – This is that famous bakery, right? (2)

The busiest street in Arkenium.

Pathos’ repair shop was located about two blocks away from there.

Being slightly removed from the bustling area would typically suggest that the shop had been forced to set up in a quieter location, pushed out by more successful businesses.

But now—

“Bread! Give us the bread!”

In front of this shop, a bit away from the busy street—

“Come on! Stop pushing! The shop is too small to fit any more people!”

An enormous crowd had gathered.

“Are you here for the bread too?”

“Heh heh heh, my son said the bread here is incredibly delicious. I was curious how good it could be to make him say that, so I came to buy some myself.”

The people visiting Pathos’ repair shop had only one purpose.

They were here to buy the incredibly delicious bread that could only be found at this shop.

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What on earth was happening?

I woke up at dawn and went out to buy eggs and pork for breakfast, only to find a huge crowd gathered in front of my shop.

“What’s going on?”

Judging by the money they were holding, they seemed to be here to buy something.

Could they possibly be customers coming to request repairs at my shop?

‘Hmm.’

But for people coming to get things repaired, their attire seemed too casual, and more suspiciously, I couldn’t see any items that needed fixing.

I should probably avoid these people, so it would be safer to enter through the back door connected to my workshop rather than the main entrance.

Avoiding people’s gazes, I entered through the back door and was greeted by my neatly organized workshop.

Well, calling it a workshop was generous—it was just the space where I ate and slept.

Instead, a small iron hammer sitting on the table caught my eye.

The hammer I found at the place where I first met Epitrina.

While all my other tools were kept in pristine condition, this one still maintained its form with an old wooden handle and rusted iron head.

‘I should buy a new hammer later.’

Well, it’s not broken yet, so I’ll get a new one later.

Besides, when I fix things, I don’t strike hard with the hammer but just tap lightly, so it probably won’t break.

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

‘Why are so many people gathered outside?’

My humble brain couldn’t figure out the cause.

Since opening the shop, I’d only had one proper customer: Mina.

That woman called Elena wasn’t a customer but a troublemaker who barged into my shop due to some misunderstanding.

‘Could that Elena person have done something?’

Otherwise, how could so many people have found their way here?

Ugh, damn it. I haven’t done anything wrong, so what the hell is going on?

‘Ah, whatever. I’ll just push through!’

I wonder if hitting people with a hammer would fix them too? The thought crossed my mind.

I carefully left the workshop and opened the shop door.

Suddenly, everyone took a couple of steps back.

That’s actually fortunate. If they had all rushed in at once, I might have been trampled to death.

“What brings you all to a repair shop so early in the morning?”

I asked with a friendly customer service smile.

When I smiled and asked, people started to look hesitant.

“Um, excuse me… do you sell bread here?”

Bread? Wait, bread? What’s this about?

“Bread? This is a repair shop. We don’t sell bread.”

What are they talking about? This isn’t a bakery.

“What do you mean! That person said we could get incredibly delicious bread if we came here!”

“What?”

Who is “that person” anyway?!

Damn, the only suspicious people I can think of are Mina, Elena, and the dormitory supervisor.

Wait a minute.

The dormitory supervisor? Did that person go around telling people they got bread here?

“Did the dormitory supervisor from Glesius Academy happen to say they got bread here?”

“Ahem. Well, they didn’t say it directly, but… so can we get bread here?”

This is driving me crazy. I even gave them two extra loaves as hush money, but they couldn’t keep quiet and caused this mess?

This is ridiculous. I’m never providing that person with service again.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t sell bread separately. It’s something we provide as a service to customers who bring items for repair, as part of our grand opening.”

I kindly explained to the customers who came looking for bread.

The bread I provided was merely a service offering.

In other words, it wasn’t something I was selling separately.

“Then! Where did you get that bread?”

“I just bought it from a local bakery.”

Obviously, my shop didn’t have an oven or anything to bake bread.

There was a kiln in the backyard, but that was only for grilling meat or making stew.

So, I always bought bread from the neighborhood bakery.

“Don’t lie! We’ve been to every bakery in the neighborhood, and none of them sell bread that delicious!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

“Sell us the bread! Sell us the bread!”

“Wait, hold on!”

I tried to calm down the people demanding bread.

Since it had come to this, I decided I should give them bread and tell them to come to our shop if they had anything that needed fixing.

“I’ll give you bread! But there’s a condition!”

“What condition?”

“Hurry up and tell us!”

“It’s nothing difficult.”

I explained my condition for providing bread to the gathered customers.

I would distribute bread for free right now to everyone gathered here as a promotional gesture.

In return, those who received bread should tell others about our shop if they or someone they knew had items that needed repair.

Also, those who brought items for repair would receive half a loaf of bread as a service, so please use our shop often.

That was roughly it.

Naturally, people eagerly agreed, and I had no choice but to hammer each loaf of bread I had bought for a month’s supply to make them delicious.

It was quite amusing watching everyone heading home with a loaf of bread in hand.

Seriously, what was so special about this bread that caused such a commotion?

“It’s just soft white bread.”

I said, taking a bite of the bread that had become delicious after being tapped with my hammer.

No matter how I looked at it, it was just soft white bread rather than coarse bread.

Only after the customers left could I finally enjoy a peaceful meal with my stew.

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“Yes, welcome!”

“Um, I heard you can get delicious bread if you come here…”

“This isn’t a bakery.”

Morning passed and lunchtime came, but every customer who visited kept talking about bread.

Some even asked if this was a bakery.

“Is this the famous bread place?”

“No, this is a repair shop.”

By afternoon, people were coming specifically because they thought this was a famous bread shop.

No, this isn’t a bread shop, it’s a repair shop! A RE-PAIR SHOP!

“Sigh.”

Strangely, after the bread incident, every customer who visited our shop was looking for bread.

Even when a wizard customer brought cracked bowls and broken plates for repair and I asked what service they would like—

“I’ll pass on the mana potion, please give me that bread.”

They said.

Isn’t it normal for wizards to prefer mana potions over a piece of bread?

Though I found it strange, I provided the wizard customer with a loaf of bread as service.

For reference, the bread sold in this world wasn’t like the sliced bread we know, but rather round-shaped loaves.

They were made by kneading dough of flour, water, and salt into an oval shape and baking it in an oven.

Moreover, since they used coarse whole wheat flour instead of white flour, the bread in this world was very dry and crumbly.

‘Is that why they like this bread so much?’

Maybe people liked it because it wasn’t rough and crumbly, but soft and chewy instead.

Well, I too would prefer white, delicious, soft bread over rough, crumbly whole wheat bread.

“But this is going too far.”

It seemed the promotion had worked well, as each person visiting our shop was carrying something they wanted fixed.

I repaired items at a relatively cheaper price than buying new ones and provided half a loaf of bread as service.

Although I had prepared various service items, people preferred bread over anything else.

So I had no choice but to continue providing bread as a service, and in the process, I became friendly with the local baker.

“Hahaha! Thanks to you, brother, I’ve been able to cheaply get rid of bread that wasn’t selling and was piling up in storage. I’m truly grateful!”

“Ah, yes… that’s right. Hahaha.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing with all that bread, but I trust you’re putting it to good use. Poor people struggle to even eat this coarse bread, after all.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

The baker’s persistent misunderstanding was an added bonus.

At this rate, I feel like I might actually have to donate bread to the slums someday.

“Is this the famous bread place?”

“Ah, yes. This is the famous bread place. Sure. Absolutely.”

Whatever. Maybe I should just take down the repair shop sign and put up a bakery sign instead.