The customers took to the meat buns quite well, based on what he could gauge from their reactions. The dish was filling but not too heavy. On top of that, it left a warm sense of satisfaction.
He was speaking from many years of experience.
That was why he was confident that this one dish alone was good enough to capture impatient but hungry travelers. Especially when one factored in the quick time and the convenient packaging.
Cæ spent the first day personally overseeing the register as he watched the customers comfortably finish their food well before the magical flying train departed from the station. Those that didn't simply paid the bill and took their meat buns with them without any concern of getting their hands dirty or spilling food in the train.
Seeing the sheer number of meat buns that they were giving out for free caused him to wince, but it was worth it as a marketing strategy. If this was a brand-new restaurant opening for the first time, this would have been unnecessary.
However, since the customer base had already established a routine and a habit of only purchasing beverages from the restaurant, he had deemed it necessary and worth the expense to break that monotony with a free offer that could change their customers' purchasing habits.
And thus, an entire day passed as Cæ observed customer reactions and maintained a tally of the free buns they gave away. He also kept track of what proportion of meat buns was finished inside the restaurant and what was taken with the customers when they left. Simultaneously, he kept track of what proportion of customers ordered a second meat bun, which was chargeable, after the first free sample.
Additionally, he recorded how much time after the initial arrival of the train were people willing to eat or take the meat buns. He also kept track of customer demographics, and what proportion of people who ordered a beverage also took a meat bun.
For any ordinary person, keeping track of so many different variables and parameters would have been impossible, but Cæ was not overwhelmed even in the slightest. His mind was smoothly able to keep up with everything that he wanted to observe and record without any strain, mistakes, or delay.
And thus, when the day ended, he had collected all the data that he wanted.
"We gave out nearly a thousand meat buns on the first day alone," Cæ murmured with an amazed expression. "And sold nearly three hundred to people who wanted a second."
The profit margins on the meat bun were solid. Thus, these numbers ended up bumping their daily revenue.
"But the expense of all those free samples will definitely cancel out any positive cash flow from the sold meat buns, won't it?" Mrs. Selvig muttered with a mixed tone.
"I'm sure things will be different tomorrow when we sell the meatbuns without any of the freebies." Mr. Selvig's expression lit up as he read through the numbers that Cæ tallied up. "The fact that so many people were willing to eat it, even if for free, means that there is an appetite for what we are offering!"
He turned to Cæ with a grin. "…Just like you said."
A smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "Yes, it is a very optimistic result. Tomorrow's results will be especially telling."
And thus, they were even more eager the very next day as the store opened while the chefs and cooks got to work churning out meat buns even before the magical train could fully land on the tracks next block.
The waiters and waitresses were ready for the first wave of customers that entered the restaurant.
"Good morning, sir. Would you like a beverage? We would also recommend our new exclusive meat bun item."
"Hmmm…" The man's eyes lit up as he recalled the delicious dish that he had had yesterday. "In that case, I would like to order one."
Across the restaurant, many others also grew inclined to order a meat bun. Some customers even went so far as to order two or three.
A healthy flow of orders reached the kitchen and within minutes were served. It was a special kind of delight for customers to receive fresh, hot food within five minutes of ordering it.
This was especially the case for the impatient customers who were worried about getting late. They could very effortlessly take their food with them, prompting them to order even more to take with them to have at later times.
Not even Cæ could resist smiling after seeing how well the sales were doing by noon. It appeared that his attempt to shock customers out of their beverage-exclusive inertia was worth the effort that went into it.
Things were going great, considering that it was just the second day of the launch of their new business strategy, and their revenue had already hit a nine-month high before the day was even over, culminating in a wonderful revenue by the end of the day.
Even Cæ had to admit the results were quite impressive.
"Three hundred thousand leenars," Cæ announced in a composed voice. "Just over four times the average daily revenue in the past nine months."
An excited celebration erupted amid the staff and the Selvigs, while Cæ allowed himself a smile at the celebration over the fruits of their labor. More than his own financial circumstances, he was happy that he fulfilled his promise to the Selvigs and salvaged their restaurant.
He purposely hid the chilling cold that had developed in his eyes ever since he had woken up from his coma. He hid that side of him in the presence of the Selvigs while expressing the few embers of warmth he had within him.
"It's all thanks to you, Cæ." They gazed at him with warm affection, pulling him into a group hug.
The gesture lit up a small, warm smile at the edge of his mouth.
"We accomplished this together." His tone was gentle while his gaze softened. "We wouldn't have been able to do this without everybody doing their best."
"Hahaha! You're being too humble, lad!" Mr. Selvig slapped him on the back with a wide grin. "All of this, this was your brainchild, this was your money, this was your idea! This restaurant would be closed if not for you!"
Mr. Selvig didn't hide just how pleased he was at the highly optimistic results of their strategy. There was no doubt that the man had been under a tremendous amount of pressure in the past few months. He was undoubtedly harboring hope that Cæ's business strategy would help the restaurant thrive, and yet he couldn't help but be extremely nervous.
Ultimately, the reason that they had decided to trust Cæ was partly because of sentimentality. That realization had given Selvigs a lot stress and tension about how things unfold.
"How can we ever thank you, dear boy?" Mrs. Selvig hugged him dearly and affectionately.
"You already have, Mrs. Selvig," he replied gently. "Please don't feel indebted to me."
"Time for a celebration!" Mr. Selvig brought food that he had especially prepared for everybody. "Everybody, eat up! It's on the house!"
A cheer erupted from the staff as they indulged themselves in Mr. Selvig's wonderful food.
Cæ indulged himself, too.
He ate the food, spoke with the staff and the couple, and even took the effort to wear a warm smile.
And yet, while he was happy for the Selvigs, he himself knew that this was merely a drop in the bucket for his own personal ambition to change the world. The income he would gain by virtue of being part-owner of the restaurant was an extraordinarily small portion of the wealth he would need in order to change the world.
And yet, he had successfully taken the first step.
And thus, after the party was over and everybody left home, Cæ fell into thought.
"Now what?"
With the success of the restaurant largely obtained, he would obtain a decent cash flow that would allow him to pay interest on his medical and business loans, while simultaneously chipping away at the principal.
It meant that he was reliably out of the financial red.
Now, he could focus on the long term.
"Once I pay off more and more of the principal of my loans, then I will have more magicapita to start out on new commercial ventures." His eyes sharpened with determination. "Additionally, I need to master magic. If I'm to accomplish a goal as nonsensically absurd as destroying this world and building a new one in its place, then I will need to master all kinds of magic to aid me in that goal, and to protect me from those who seek to hunt me."
Cæ was not willing to simply be a rich boy who entrusted his safety to bodyguards. Guards could be compromised, and everybody had a price. He would need to become a force unto himself without even the slightest weakness.
And thus, his two life agendas were already laid out firmly.
Cultivate magic.
Master magic.
Individually, these were full-time fields by themselves that one could spend an entire lifetime pursuing.
Cæ intended to reach the pinnacle of both.
"With that established, I need to flesh out my plans for both agendas and iron out the details." His tone grew pensive. "For cultivating magicapita, I can now begin accessing ideas that had a higher magicapita barrier of entry. With the steady income from the restaurant, I can start new businesses that will earn me money and eventually get me to the top."
Ever since he had made his decision to cultivate magicapita, his mind would constantly be flooded with all kinds of ideas on how he could make money. Now, he would be able to seriously consider and execute a larger proportion of those ideas.
"I will have to spend a serious session jotting them all out and eventually focusing on one of them; it's not something I can just decide on the spot here," he mused knowingly. "As for my second agenda, mastering magic, it doesn't have as wide an array of choices."
The very first option on his mind was, of course, the straightforward option of magicademies.
Magicademies didn't have age limits, although an overwhelming majority of mages who enrolled were quite young.
He was quite certain he wouldn't stand out too much at the age of twenty-three.
There was only one problem.
"Even now, I don't have anywhere near the amount of money needed to pay for the education and training." His gray eyes narrowed. "Which means I will need to get a scholarship."
He knew he could easily get one if he wanted.
After all, there was only one criterion to be eligible for a scholarship for magicademies.
"Magical aptitude."
He knew he was shining in that domain, even if he had resolved to hide his pure mage status to increase the chances of overcoming those who opposed him in his path to his ultimate objective. His Acquired Savant Syndrome granted him immense cognition, particularly so in the case of his imagination and divergent thinking.
"The issue is that scholarships come with many strings attached."
National magicademies demanded decade-long contracts with the government. Private magicademies also did just that, but with the shareholders and stakeholders of the given magicademy.
If he chose to go with either of these options, he would be forced to serve the government or corporations or some millionel or billionel.
He despised all of them.
"The other options are not pleasant, either," he tutted with a displeased expression. "The Mage Association will also not let me learn magic for free, either. They, too, will have me work my ass off."
And yet, as much as he would have loved to pay the fees, he knew that that was a dream in the short term.
"So…" His eyes flared with wrath and hatred. "I have no choice but to choose the lesser of many evils, I suppose."
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