Wild JK Kashino Yukiko Opens a Bar in Another World

Episode 13: Grandpa's True Feelings

Translated by AmaLynne

TN: There are a lot of super-long sentences in this chapter. Apologize if it’s hard to understand or there’s a bunch of typo here and there.

「Brother, ale!」

「Yes! One moment, please!」

「I’ll have the grilled liver and three skewers of roast pork with salt.」

「Thank you!」

「With two bottles of white sauce!」

「Yes yes!」

After the opening of the restaurant, the young man, Mirko, was given a job as a waiter because it was his first day at the restaurant, and he was a real force to be reckoned with.

I had thought that he was just a talkative, no-nonsense guy, but it turns out that he has been trained by grandpa’s son, the current head of the Starblood family, and can do most things at a certain level or higher.

I’m sure it won’t stay that way forever, but I feel like I’m getting something out of it now.

Now if only he doesn’t come over and give me and Lara-chan a night crawl tonight.

「Does he help a little?」

「I feel bad for grandpa, but I honestly thought he was even more useless. Come to think of it, grandpa’s son has been educating him since he was very young.」

「Mirko shows a certain level of ability in everything he does. But is this also the fault of the weight of the Starblood family?」

Since he is a member of the Starblood family, he must succeed in his own business, as big and flashy as his brothers, and the world must think that he is indeed a member of the Starblood family.

That’s why he’s using『I』, forcing himself to look big and pompous, and falling for the entrepreneurial hare tricks of strange people, isn’t that right?

「It may be rude of me to say this to grandpa. You are an upstart, a man of ambition, who made the Starblood Trading Company great in his lifetime, aren’t you?」

「That’s true, but my son is a more hard-working man than I am. By his son’s generation, the Starblood Trading Company’s status was established. Then, strangely enough, everyone mistakenly thought that the Starblood Trading Company was a big, historic trading company!」

「So he’s being driven by his reputation. I don’t think someone like me would understand that.」

「Well, there aren’t many people who can rise to the same level as you, oyabun-san.」

Nothing depends more on oyabun-san ability than the vigilante.

Many of the famous vigilante leaders in Royal Capital are over 50 years old, which means that no matter how capable they are, it takes time for them to reach that level of status.

In other words, it takes a long time to reach that level of ability. The oyabun-san who became the head of a large organization at the age of 30 or so is a truly amazing person.

And he’s a nice guy and kind, too.

「What Mirko needs now is to keep his feet on the ground and move forward steadily without worrying about what others think.」

Grandpa has not lowered his voice, so the young man Mirko, who is still hard at work carrying the food, must have heard him.

I’m told that he will be disowned if he calls out to him in this restaurant,『Grandfather』says, so I’m sure he’s just listening in.

「Speaking of which, landlady.」

「Yes?」

「Is there anything the landlady can’t do here?」

「No.」

Originally, I was going to run the restaurant by myself.

Ingredients would not be purchased from existing stores unless I gave them a passing grade.

I did not purchase any meat from the butcher shops in Royal Capital because in this world, meat processing is lax, especially in the removal of blood, the preparation of internal organs, and the aging and preservation of meat.

After six months of survival, the food stored in the『Food Storage』, and since this store was open two days a week, the magical beasts caught on the outskirts of Rotal Capital on my days off were used.

If it’s a wild boar, I can catch it right away.

Naturally, I cook, and I also carry the food to the customers.

I also kept the account books and managed the labor of Lara-chan and Bonta-kun.

There are only two employees, so it’s not that much work.

「It is never easy to be a shopkeeper, and neither is the head of merchant house, because you can just use your servants as your lackey and stand on top of them. They also get sick. You may have to quit for various reasons. As they gain experience and skills, some may wish to become independent. The most important person must be able to fill the vacancy left by such a person. If the Starblood Trading Company becomes as large as Starblood, the executives will take care of things on their own, but if they sit on their heels as a big store and leave that part of the business to others, the store may go under someday. It does not matter the size of the business, the top people have to work the hardest and therefore earn the most. The landlady has that basic principle in place.」

「I had no choice, though.」

If I had not been sent to this world, would I have gone to college?

I would have followed in my grandpa’s footsteps and become a professional hunter.

At least I don’t think I would have been running a bar.

「But I think there are a lot of people who can’t do anything. I, too, started working at first because I had no choice.」

Grandpa, you are talking not only to us, but also to the young man Mirko, who is listening to you while you carry on.

「In the old days, the Starblood Trading Company was a medium-sized business, not a small business from the beginning as people say. It was doing pretty well until my grandfather’s time, but my late father was a prodigal of unprecedented proportions… He had his way with alcohol, women, and gambling. He didn’t do his day job very well, but he had an excellent watchman, so the business was still running, but finally, the watchman was so disgusted with my father’s behavior that he left the business. In other words, he abandoned us.」

With that watchman gone, the servants were no longer under his control.

He intentionally purchased goods at high prices and made money in his pocket by getting kickbacks from his clients, and embezzling as much as he could.

「In the end, my father himself was stabbed to death in a drunken, petty fight. I took over at the age of fifteen, but debt collectors kept coming to his funeral. The servants quit one by one, saying that the Starblood Trading Company was finished. I started a new Starblood Trading Company alone with my mother.」

Not only did he start from zero, but he built the biggest trading company in the country from a negative start.

He is truly a man of character.

「At the time, I was just desperate. People made fun of me a lot, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. Decades later, many people are praising me, but that is only the result of my efforts. If things had not gone well, I would have ended up as『that poor guy who was crushed by his stupid father’s mismanagement and debts』. So I dare say that the Starblatt name is nothing to write home about. What others think of it is another matter.」

「That said, your name is great, and I’m sure Starblood’s is as well.」

「Yard-oyabun-san, that’s what others think. Not everyone is so idealistic as to think that it is possible to be like me, but it is possible to make your current life and position a little better. Mirko, too, should try something new in his own way, without worrying about what others think of him because he is my grandson. It would be a great achievement if he could make even a small business profitable and use even one of his employees. After all, most people fail in business.」

Come to think of it, even in Japan, I hear that the chances of surviving until ten years after starting a business are less than ten percent.

「My sons and grandchildren will probably be fine for now, but after I die, my great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren may well be the ones to bring Starblood Trading Company down. At that time, if Mirko or his descendants survive as merchants, even if on a small scale, it will be a great success. It doesn’t have to be a business, though. Whew―――, the preachy ramblings of a deadbeat old man. Landlady, serve us all a cup of ale each. Good luck carrying it in, brother.」

After saying this, Grandpa called out to the young man Mirko, left him a gold coin, and walked out of the store.

After all, how could he not love his grandson?

He told him that he was a stranger in the store, but he had conveyed his thoughts and feelings to him.

「It’s on grandpa’s tab, so I’ll offer ale to everyone. Please do.」

「I understand. I’ve been busy…」

He seemed to be the same as usual, but I wondered what he thought of his grandpa’s words.

To me, he seemed to have a slightly mysterious look on his face.