"Golden Star?"
"Shall we join?"
"I think it will be fun."
As they showed interest, a waiter at the exit came and explained how to become a regular customer.
"If you make a membership card with your name and signature on it, you will immediately become a member of Armand."
The coupon book looked attractive because the Armand seal was so pretty, and the young ladies said they wanted to become members right away.
The waiter unfolded the folded parchment, and inside it was a paper with twelve star-shaped blanks drawn on it.
The waiter put two stamps with Armand-shaped seals in the blanks.
"Congratulations on becoming a purple member. If you fill all the remaining slots, you will be promoted to a silver membership and receive a small gift."
"Huh? Wait, I'm number 76!"
"No way, I'm the 77th member!?"
The eyes of the young lady that was standing in the middle opened wide.
"Congratulations on winning the first regular member event!"
As the waiters clapped their hands, the inside of the cafe became quiet as a dead mouse for a moment, and then became noisy again.
"He said you'll get a present!"
"Will they really give one?"
People who were around the fountain in the square soon flocked to see the interesting spectacle.
The store manager himself came out and handed her the 77th member plaque and star-shaped pure gold that was inside a luxurious purple case.
"This kind of luck happened to me! I can't believe it. It's like a dream come true."
The young lady was so moved that she cried.
And the scene became word-of-mouth, so more and more customers started to join the membership.
"The new menu gives you 2 stamps."
The membership sign-up event was also playing a role in promoting the new smoothie menu.
In addition, even if you do not get the prize, when you receive two stamps, the desire to fill in all the remaining blanks will be triggered.
Moreover, since it was an event that gave pure gold, which was preferred by all people of the Empire, Armand became a hot topic every day since the first day.
***
Giving prizes to new customers signing up for a membership.
It was an event that the newly opened store could enjoy fruitfully.
‘If you hold such an event in an already existing store, it will only make the resentment of the regular customers grow.'
Encouraging people to make membership cards and accumulate stamps is also a basic marketing technique for collecting regular customers.
‘Anyway, the smoothies should sell well.'
The profit earned from selling one smoothie was higher than when selling a set of tea and cake.
This is because seasonal fruits are cheap, and good tea leaves are always expensive.
‘Smoothie. It's very profitable, so if it sells well, it will be a great success.'
I was lucky with this menu.
As one of the greatest geniuses, Belreck created a blender that exceeded my expectations.
‘He must have thought that it was a really cruel tool.'
The blender he made had a rotation power that was out of this world and a destructive force that would grind even bones.
‘The efficiency is really good. Not to mention durability.'
I got out of the carriage, praying that the people of the Empire would enjoy the smoothies.
Smoothies are smoothies, but today I had to go to the Wizardry Association for a seminar to raise the formula monthly fee.
‘Ah, before that, I also have to go to the Epsilon club meeting.'
The 5th Princess' ‘Mana Research Club'.
Just thinking about the club made me feel embarrassed and suspicious.
The 5th Princess, me, and a member who I've never seen.
There are only three people, so how can you introduce that as a club?
I sniffled, as it looked like I had somehow made a strange contract.
‘I don't want to go.'
As that came to my mind, my steps became heavy as if I had weights on my ankles.
I don't know about the men's salon since I've never been there, but the women's salon in Epsilon had a terrifying and bizarre atmosphere.
Because of the realistic ball-jointed dolls that were lined up on the wall.
The moment I stepped into the salon, I felt the dolls staring at me, and it send a shiver down my spine.
There were even dolls with blinking eyes.
I mean, I'm really weak with ghosts and the occult.
‘I heard that there was a puppeteer among the six Epsilon executives, but…'
I heard that puppeteers are people who move dolls by injecting mana into their threads, and that puppeteers of a high level can lead dolls like an army.
In the past, they were in charge of the tactics during the war and were considered a very rare profession.
The entry barrier was high because it required a dexterity and mana control ability that was close to divine.
That's cool and all, but why did they have to display the dolls in the salon?
It's something you can do at home.
‘When will the 5th Princess come?'
"Princess Deborah!"
While I was trembling among the dolls, the Princess came into the salon with a happy face, along with the maids who accompanied her.
"Princess. You're here."
Feeling relieved, I quickly approached her without realizing it.
"Oh! I didn't know the Princess would greet me like this. As expected, you liked the welcome banners that I personally ordered."
The welcome banners were hung not only on the social club bulletin board, but also all over the academy campus, so I had no choice but to feel embarrassed.
‘Don't tell me, are they still hanging?'
It became even more dismal because there was no one other than the Emperor and the Crown Prince who could collect the banners directly ordered by the 5th Princess.
‘I'm grateful, but it's too much…'
"Looks like it's trendy these days to write text on banners and hang them here and there, but I was ahead of the trend. Haha."
She smiled cheerfully as if she were happy.
"… Thank you for caring about me."
"I am glad that you liked it. By the way, I've heard that you're going to present a new thesis at the Wizardry Association soon. I'm looking forward to it."
After exchanging news about each other, we started studying theses related to mana.
While reading a thesis that had recently become a hot topic in the Association, the doll in the back started making a rattling sound.
‘T-That scared me!'
The 5th Princess frowned and clicked her tongue.
"You're trying to concentrate, but you seem to be uncomfortable because of that doll."
The 5th Princess interpreted my fearful expression as she pleased.
"I'm alright."
"Ahh, I don't know how long Michelle is going to leave that grim doll in this salon."
As expected, I wasn't the only one that thought it was dreary.
"Ah, I didn't introduce Michelle Granbert properly. She's one of Epsilon's executives, and as you can see, she's a puppeteer who makes puppets, but she's a cheap two-timer."
"A two-timer?"
"She's a member of my club, but she's running another club."
The 5th Princess grumbled with a pouty face.
It seems that the other member of the mana research club was that puppeteer.
‘She seems like another eccentric… No, let's not think too negatively.'
The Marquis of Granbert is the commander of the Imperial Army.
It's like I'm getting the best connections.
I'm a winner because I'm getting along well with famous people in the central social circle.
***
Michelle Granbert, a puppeteer, had been running a gastronomy club for a long time and was quite famous in the Empire as a picky gourmet.
Besides making dolls, gastronomy was her only hobby.
She made a list of delicious restaurants and distributed them to people around her, and recently she was earnestly writing a thesis on food culture.
‘Shall I go to the new dessert shop today?'
Armand.
She was set on going there.
When she imagined a delicious cake, her sunken eyes came to life.
‘Why are there so many people?'
No wonder.
A lot of customers come during the opening because of curiosity.
In particular, she heard that the publicity for this place was a bit clamorous.
‘But why are Thierry and Guillaume over there?'
As the faces suitable for racetracks and gambling houses were in the dessert shop, suspicion flashed across Michelle's eyes.
"Number 1091. It was really close."
"That's why I told you to wait in line for just 10 minutes."
"You never said that!"
With a suspicious feeling, Michelle looked at the back of the two, disappearing in the distance as they quarreled, and then looked around.
‘Looks like they're doing some bustling event.'
They seemed certainly good at promoting the shop in an interesting way.
People seemed to enjoy it a lot.
However, it was all superfluous. In the end, taste was the most important.
‘The line is still long. What should I do?'
Still, she came outside after a long time, so it was a pity to go back.
‘The weather is good too.'
She had no choice but to put a doll standing in the waiting line and spend time sitting in front of the square fountain.
The customers were startled for a moment at the sight of a doll standing in place of a person, and then whispered that Granbert's eldest daughter had arrived.
Having been stuck in a small room all week, only touching dolls, the hot sun blazed on her pale face.
