Chapter 230

As I blankly watched the situation spiral out of control, I quickly snapped back to reality.

If things continue like this, not only will I fail to achieve the original goal of reviving Coconut Company, but I’ll also end up driving the final nail into its coffin.

At this rate, I’ll just be seen as an industrial spy sent by Silverheart Company to undermine Coconut Company.

Following this trajectory, the mission to solve Coconut Company’s problems will end in spectacular failure.

And at the same time, my VIP pass to Silverheart Company will be torn to shreds.

I can’t just sit here, especially since the VIP pass I’ve been desperately waiting for is still out there.

But how?

I looked around once more, reassessing the situation I was in.

Mina was still full of enthusiasm, but she lacked the skills of a proper merchant, so even the people she managed to catch kept slipping away. And I was no different.

No, in some ways, I’m even less suited for customer service than Yuri, both in appearance and personality.

To make matters worse, Mina, who was somewhat reliable, seemed to have forgotten why she came to Coconut Company as a trainee and was busy having a fan meeting with Tirmel.

First, if I could get Mina to snap out of it and focus on customer service…

No.

That’s not it.

As I considered that possibility, I shook my head and dismissed it.

Even if I get Mina to snap out of it and make her focus on customer service, would that really revive Coconut Company’s reputation?

Even before Tirmel arrived, when Mina was still sane, didn’t the market visitors hesitate to patronize a “company run by goblins” due to prejudice?

In that situation, even if Mina snaps out of it, at best, it would only be a temporary fix.

It wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.

Moreover, our goal isn’t just to help Coconut Company have a good sales day today, but to help it establish a long-term presence in Astram.

But even if Mina and Yuri attract attention through customer service, it’s only a temporary phenomenon.

The moment we stop our trainee work, Coconut Company will go back to being run by goblins, and its sales will plummet again.

Thinking this far, I suddenly realized the limitations of Mina’s plan.

What we’re doing is ultimately a workaround, not a direct solution.

And workarounds don’t solve the root problem; they just cover it up.

It’s a method that will inevitably hit a limit someday.

Wait…

Then isn’t this a dead end?

Tirmel’s chosen path is a direct confrontation.

A stubborn approach of continuously pushing until the city of Astram accepts the goblin race.

But with such a direct approach, it’s impossible to predict how long it will take, and it’s a perilous path where the goblins might break before Astram accepts them.

On the other hand, Mina’s method is a shortcut using a workaround instead of taking that perilous and uncertain path.

By using teenage girls, who are generally more appealing to other human races, as the face of the company instead of goblins, she aims to attract people.

It might yield quicker and more visible results than Tirmel’s approach.

But that method is essentially giving up on goblins being accepted in Astram.

It pushes goblins further away from integrating into Astram.

No, not just pushing them away—it might even indirectly build a wall between Coconut Company’s goblins and Astram’s citizens, hindering their integration into the city.

In fact, the problem postponed in such a way might grow like compound interest and eventually explode like a powder keg.

…Perhaps Tirmel also knows this, which is why he stubbornly insists on using only goblin employees for customer service without hiring other human races.

After all, for Coconut Company to establish itself in Astram, the goblin race itself must be accepted by Astram.

Tirmel’s direct approach, with no end in sight,

And Mina’s workaround, which can’t solve the fundamental problem,

Neither method can make Coconut Company integrate into Astram as it is now.

Realizing this, I suddenly felt a chill run through my body.

Could it be…?

Will I really not be able to get the VIP pass to Silverheart Company?

The fresh seafood…

The rare ingredients imported from distant lands through trade…

Will they all turn into a mirage?

Those enticing ingredients are waiting for me…!

But at that moment,

Something flashed in my mind.

…Enticing ingredients?

A third method, neither Tirmel’s direct approach nor Mina’s workaround.

As I thought of it, I immediately took action.

So, I called out to Mina, who was still trying to squeeze answers out of Tirmel, and Tirmel, who was pitifully struggling to respond while being held by her.

“Then, next, Tirmel’s thoughts on employee welfare…!”

“Ah, is there still more to hear?”

“Mina. Tirmel.”

“…Yes. What is it?”

“Ah, what’s going on?”

At my words, the two looked at me with different reactions.

One looked slightly annoyed at being interrupted, while the other looked relieved to be interrupted.

But what mattered to me wasn’t their reactions.

“Where’s the kitchen in this company?”

If I use this method…

I can get the VIP pass!

…

…

…

After asking Tirmel, I brought cooking tools from the kitchen and set up in front of Coconut Company.

I also set up tables I brought from inside the company and stacked nearby stones to create a makeshift stove.

The method I came up with.

It’s neither Tirmel’s direct approach nor Mina’s workaround, but a third path.

I boldly ignore the issue of goblins being accepted in Astram.

The method I chose isn’t about fixing Coconut Company’s weaknesses but maximizing its strengths.

It’s fine to leave the weaknesses as they are.

Instead,

I’ll imprint Coconut Company’s strengths on the market visitors.

Ultimately, the problem is about balancing Coconut Company’s bad and good images to result in a net positive.

Tirmel and Mina focused on the weakness of Coconut Company being run by goblins, but I flipped the idea and chose to focus on its strengths.

Of course, as someone with no talent or skill as a merchant, I’m not about to promote Coconut Company’s products with some brilliant method.

I’m not a merchant; I’m a chef.

A chef has their own methods.

Once the stove was set up, I placed firewood inside and arranged the cooking tools on the table.

“Wh-what is this…?”

My sudden actions left Tirmel, Yuri, and Mina bewildered, but I ignored them and asked Tirmel.

“Can I buy this, that, and the things on that shelf right now?”

Tirmel, though flustered, answered skillfully as a merchant.

“Of course, since they’re for sale, you can buy them anytime… But why…?”

“Good. Then I’ll buy them right away. Here’s the payment.”

So, I bought items from Coconut Company and placed them on the table.

What I bought were items Coconut Company had brought from the western continent by wagon.

They were items I had familiarized myself with while lightly training as a merchant apprentice.

Just like how Silverheart Company’s VIP Auction sells fresh seafood and rare spices unavailable in Astram, Coconut Company, being from the opposite side of the continent, also handled rare ingredients unavailable in Astram.

That is to say,

Coconut Company’s unique ingredients that can’t be found in other Astram companies.

As I thought of recipes that would suit those ingredients, I closed my eyes.

“….”

Meanwhile, market visitors, curious about what was happening, began gathering around Coconut Company, and the guards patrolling the area also cautiously approached, wondering if the goblins were up to something suspicious.

By the time I opened my eyes, having finalized the recipe in my mind, a crowd had already gathered around me as if watching a rare spectacle.

Perfect timing.

So, I declared to the people gathered there.

“I’ll start cooking now.”

“Huh…?”

“Mr. Kurt…?”

“Wh-what are you talking about all of a sudden!?”

At my abrupt announcement, Tirmel, Mina, Yuri, and even the citizens of Astram wandering the market began murmuring in confusion.

And with their murmurs as background noise, I began cooking.