“Hang on a sec, we need to prepare double what we had today?!” Lilka yelled.
“We did in fact have more customers in the afternoon, but we still haven’t passed the line for making a profit yet,” Plura added.
“The shriveled vegetables we aren’t selling are used for soup at dinner... I’m not gonna be able to eat it all...” Shirley mumbled.
After arriving at the courtyard, I proposed our plans for preparing for the next day. And of course, they all looked at me in bewilderment. That was only a matter of course, considering I just told them to increase our stockpiles despite already being in the red.
“Let’s at least hear him out here. Come on, Weinder’s the manager and all,” Dargan said.
“...Just allow me to confirm. You want to double the stocks used only for the one-plate lunch?” Ruston asked me.
“That’s right.”
“I mean, I guess our customers thought it was pretty good, but you know...” Lilka mumbled.
“There’s not all that much going into each plate, so doubling it is at least manageable,” Plura commented.
“Well, whatever. It’s pretty simple, ’cause we’re just making our stuff all at once anyway,” Dargan added.
“...B-But can you at least tell us why?” Shirley asked hesitantly.
“Judging by the trends among the type of customers we got, we hypothesize that the reputation of the Food Court will snowball in growth.”
I pulled out the aggregate results of which categories our customers fell under today, courtesy of Mia.
“From only that many customers? Actually, how can you even tell the types of customers apart?” Dargan asked.
“Mia and Lilka had a look at the accessories they wore.”
We recorded our customers who were wearing designs and colors which were currently popular, those that used to be popular, and the strange ones that had yet to show any signs of being popular.
“Please look at the trends throughout the day of these three categories. The first two-thirds of the day were largely guests wearing the stranger accessories which are not yet popular. However, for the remaining third of the day, we saw a gradual increase in customers wearing what’s currently popular.”
“Splitting it up by the hour? You’ve been thinking of such minor details all this time, Weinder?” Dargan raised an astonished voice, even as he stared at Mia’s graph.
This was the so-called diffusion of innovations theory. However, unlike the modern world linked together by the internet, the circulation speed of information here was fairly slow, and there was no form of mass media.
But Everett Rogers had published this theory in 1962. The internet, and even cellular phones, had yet to spread at that point. Moreover, the market this time around was extremely narrow. Noble society could even be said to be like a tiny village that loved rumors.
In truth, the calculations Mia made regarding our types of customers — in other words, the distribution of human curiosity — had already begun showing hints of fundamentally adhering to the same trend.
“The trend of customers shows a clear change in the second half of the day, specifically in the last third. The reputation of the Food Court has begun spreading to an even wider customer base. And the speed at which it’s doing so is faster than anticipated.”
The small spark that Alfina ignited was now making its way to the powder keg.
“Determining the amount of merchandise that we should be supplying tomorrow and the volume of sales during the second half of the festival — that’s the meaning behind Mia and Lilka’s investigation.”
The other members of the Food Court looked at myself, Mia, and the graph in turn.
“A division of customers based on their personalities... I’ve never heard of this approach... I do kinda get the logic behind it, though. There’s a fixed number of customers who love curiosities among a group. This isn’t all that different, even for the nobles who like to put on airs. But will it really go as you planned here?” Lilka asked.
“I’ll acknowledge that your theory stands to reason. I see... So the customers who love curiosities will inform those who don’t of how wonderful a brand-new commodity is. We’ve experienced this before at Plura’s main store. But doubling the sales this suddenly...?”
Their doubts were well-founded. But this contest only lasted for three days. The risk of the fire dying out was far greater than the risk of having leftover goods that couldn’t be sold.
Just the fact that people were gathering served as advertising. Taking into account the visual appeal of the one-plate lunch, there was an effect just from our guests seeing it as they passed by between the school building and the gazebos. This applied even more so if we were able to maintain the number of customers we had at the end of the day, lowering the hurdle for entry.
“We may be able to slip by and get out of the red if we proceed while keeping things completely safe. We may even manage to balance the books the day after tomorrow. So I’ll leave the decision up to all of you, since you have been in direct contact with our customers.”
Even without looking at Mia’s graph, they could directly feel the passion of the customers who ate the one-plate lunch. Even if my hypothesis was backed by Mia’s numbers, it would be dangerous if it didn’t coincide with their raw intuition. This was another form of first-hand information.
And if their raw intuition from working the floor happened to coincide with our analysis, then they would surely be willing to take on this risk. That was what I believed.
“...The one-plate lunch is the Food Court’s menu. In other words, it’s under your jurisdiction. I approve of this plan.” Unexpectedly, the one to get things rolling was Ruston.
“Now that we’re participating, we just gotta go for broke, right?” Dargan said, pumping himself up.
“You’re right. It would be strange if Plura’s confections didn’t sell more to begin with.”
“I guess in the worst case, we can just consider it an advertising fee, huh? And advertising is better off when it’s grandiose.”
“Y-You’re right... Mm, I’ll do my best.”
With all five members in agreement, they nodded in concert.
The risk of increasing the production of such a complicated commodity as the one-plate lunch was divided into six. Stocks weren’t the only advantage of the subdivision of capital.