Volume 2 - CH 76

In the end, Alme bought a100,000 G dress and left the shop.

The dress is a subdued navy blue, but the fabric is soft, fluffy, and gorgeous.

She had already made her decision at the first shop, since it would be difficult to look around other shops again in the future.

Falk tried to pay for it, saying it was an apology for making her a dress-up doll. Alme refused with all her might. As expected, she can’t accept his expensive tribute.

However, when she returned from the fitting room after changing into plain clothes, the dress had been discounted to about half price. Falk and the manager seemed to have strangely cool looks on their faces…

Although she was suspicious, she was relieved that she was able to purchase it at an unexpectedly low price. That said, 50,000 G for clothes is quite an expense in Alme’s sense, but… she’ll just call it a necessary expense.

After finishing their shopping, Alme and Falk headed to Café Heston.

This was to report to and consult with the Heston couple that a counterfeit Titty shop had been created.

They’re comrades in arms and affiliated shops, so Alme was hoping for some advice. She wished she could get some advice from a senior member of the community who has a shop on the main street.

The two of them walked down the street while chatting and headed to the café.

Falk raised his voice in surprise as he turned his eyes to the terrace seats that came into view.

“It’s getting quite crowded! Besides the coffee floats, there seems to be a variety of other items on the menu…And what’s with the swirling straws?”

“That’s a straw I had made for fun the other day. It looked interesting, so we talked about introducing it into the café, and our customers are using it!”

The café seems to have a good number of customers today. There are many customers enjoying coffee floats on the crowded terrace seats.

The glasses have novelty straws stuck in them that have never be seen before. A looped straw or a couple straws in the shape of two intertwined straws.

It seems that an additional order from the Citrali hardware workshop was delivered to the café without any problems. It seems that the Heston couple sent it to the workshop immediately.

Alme thought it would be great if people could use it as an item to enjoy their time at the café, but unexpectedly, the usage rate is high.

Even well-dressed and beautiful women who appear to be wealthy were using it.

Originally, it’s a party item to liven up the mood, but… everyone uses it seriously with elegant manners.

It’s kind of a surreal sight.

When they entered the café, Alyssa, who was standing at the counter, called out to them.

“Welcome, Miss Alme and Mr. Falk!”

“Hello. Your shop is looking good today.”

“I was surprised to see all kinds of new additions to the menu.”

“Will and I are relieved to see that the customers are back, we need to keep introducing new items to the menu and make up for the time when sales were down.”

Alyssa gave a playful wink. Will also came out from behind her, and he said in a lively voice.

“Oh! Hello, both of you. Did you see it? The straws in the shop are popular. The customers got used to them in no time.”

“I intended for it to be used for fun, but everyone is using it normally.”

“Well, that’s… I guess I misunderstood how to spread it a bit. At first, we had our grandchildren use it, hoping that they would show their relatives and from there spread it to other customers. For some reason, party goods have become ‘fashionable goods’… Look, look at the back of the shop. Those are our grandchildren.”

Will turned his gaze to the back of the café. When Alme looked over there, she saw two children around ten years old sitting facing each other.

One is a boy with short blond hair. The other is a girl with long blonde hair. They wear different clothes and have different hair styles, but their faces and heights are very similar. Alme wondered if they were twins.

They both have beautiful, bright eyes and are as lovely as dolls.

(Wow, kid models…!?)

That’s what she couldn’t help but think. Both of them are adorable children, but somehow they have an air of perfection.

The fingertips holding the straw tip and the slightly tilted neck angle are perfect. Absolutely, they know what their doing, it’s like an advertisement.

They’re just drinking a coffee latte float with a straw, but it’s a strangely picturesque pose. It looks like it could be on the cover of a fashionable magazine.

When they use them, the looped straws with their coiled circles look more like a fashionable accessory than a goofy party item.

“Our grandchildren, Arc and Aira, are both big fans of ice cream and they eat their floats with such clear faces that the image of the straws have taken a odd turn…It’s become popular with noble ladies who enjoy trends.”

“You have lovely grandchildren. Well, in a manner of speaking, the introduction was a success, and I have to thank you both for spreading the word about the straws.”

Looking at the children from a distance, Alyssa turned her gaze in another direction. She lowered her voice a little and said:

“But it’s not just the power of children that made those straws so popular. Take a look. A lot of women are using them, aren’t they? lipstick doesn’t stick to metal straws easily, it seems to be popular that it can be wiped off quickly.”

“Oh, I see.”

Alme took a quick glance at the female customer sitting nearby and was convinced.

The female customer was wearing beautiful bright red lipstick.

A straw made of paper or a plant stem would likely transfer lipstick, but a shiny metal straw is easy to wipe off. Besides, there seems to be no risk of major damage to lip makeup.

When she was looking sideways, she met the eyes of the female customer. The female customer smiled at the corners of her red lips.

Returning a nod to the sudden smile, Alme hurriedly averted her gaze.

The popularity of these party items, the strange straws, is said to be due to its stylish appearance and practicality, which unexpectedly became popular with customers.

There were also some customers using the lovey-dovey couple straws, but when Alme looked at them as fashionable goods, she was starting to get the picture.

The response is unexpected, but it is an interesting scene, so she’ll just leave it at that.