Chapter 06
“What’s going on?”
“Huff, huff…”
She was out of breath—it looked like she had run here in a hurry.
“There are still some left, right?”
She seemed really worried that everything might be sold out. We didn’t have many items to begin with, and they were popular, but I didn’t expect her to be this anxious.
“Of course!”
“I knew it! I’ll take a portrait too!”
“Yes! That’ll be five copper coins.”
“Here you go!”
The customer carefully placed the portrait into her bag, making sure it wouldn’t get wrinkled.
“See? I told you. People who want it will come back,” I whispered to John.
Just then, the woman who had bought the portrait suddenly gasped and looked shocked. I looked around to see what had surprised her—Alex, the troupe leader, had silently walked up beside us.
“Y-You! I-I really loved the play!” she stammered.
“Thank you,” he replied.
The customer looked like she was about to faint. Well, Alex was playing the crown prince in the play, and he was also a handsome blond man in real life. It made sense.
“How is it going?” he asked.
“You’re wondering if things are selling well?” I replied.
Alex gave a quiet nod.
People waiting nearby started murmuring excitedly. Even the ones who were about to leave the theater stopped in their tracks. I had a good feeling—we might be able to sell everything today.
“I’ll take two handkerchiefs and two portraits!”
“A handkerchief is one silver coin, and the portraits are five copper coins each,” I whispered to Alex.
He nodded.
“So that’s three silver coins in total,” Alex said, not to me, but while looking into the customer’s eyes—and he even gave a gentle smile. Despite being shy, he was a natural at this. No wonder he was an actor.
“H-here you go!” the excited customer handed over the coins directly into Alex’s hand.
“Our hands touched…”
She mumbled, dazed.
“Here are your two handkerchiefs and two portraits,” Alex said as he handed them over.
The woman walked away looking like her soul had left her body. A moment later, we heard her shout from far away, “I touched his hand!”
Thanks to her reaction, even more people gathered around.
“These are Leon’s handkerchiefs and portraits~! Payment here! The actor himself is helping!” I shouted.
Immediately, a long line formed at the table.
“I just came to take a quick look…” Alex said to me, sounding unsure.
“But you see how much better this is for sales, right?”
Alex gave a small nod.
“The portraits… he really is handsome,” I added.
“You’re the one who smiled sweetly and lured customers in. You’re one to talk.”
“Me? I was totally stiff!”
Alex thought he looked awkward, but his warm smile and polite attitude were a hit with the customers.
The more I watched, the more obvious it was that he was getting drained. I almost laughed. Customers would ask him questions just to keep the conversation going, and he’d suddenly freeze like his brain had shut off.
“This portrait—it’s a print, not hand-drawn, right?”
“Uh, yes,” he replied.
“Alex, try to sound more enthusiastic. You were doing great earlier!”
“It felt like acting… without a script, I get lost,” he admitted.
So unless he’s acting, he struggles with small talk.
But customers seemed to find that charming.
“He’s cute when he’s shy!” I heard someone squeal behind me.
In my past life, I had friends who were great at dancing and singing but shy in person. Fans often found that endearing. Still, when they gained more experience, they had to improve their fan service. But in a world without fan meetings, it might be too soon to expect that here.
Even the apprentice actor helping us got some attention. In terms of being friendly and talkative, he was doing better than Alex.
“How is this made?” one customer asked.
“We asked skilled artists to help us make these! And we worked really hard to choose high-quality fabric for the handkerchiefs too!” the apprentice replied cheerfully.
Same question, totally different answer. He might not be as handsome as Alex, but he was friendly and likable. I added with a smile:
“If you carry the portrait around, it can give you courage when you need it. A lot of people buy it for that reason.”
“Oh, that’s a lovely idea. I’ll take two!”
“Alex, the payment.”
“Yes, two portraits—that’ll be one silver coin,” he said.
With people lining up to buy, our stock ran out quickly. Naturally, some people didn’t get the chance to buy anything.
It only took about 20 minutes to sell out.
Having an actor at the booth made a huge difference. We couldn’t do this every time, but today was a special event.
“Ugh, we should’ve bought it before the play!”
“We didn’t know what it was back then. Let’s come again.”
Two women were chatting, looking disappointed. Judging by their matching dresses, they were either close friends or sisters.
“I’m really sorry! We’ll prepare more next time!” the apprentice jumped in politely.
The women looked a little surprised by the interruption but didn’t seem annoyed.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you. You just looked so disappointed,” he added with a sheepish smile.
They smiled and shook their heads.
“No, it’s okay. We still had fun.”
“Yes! Please visit us again next time!”
He was tall, good-looking, and very friendly—definitely had a talent for sales. A good-looking worker never hurts business.
“I didn’t expect the audience to be so excited! It’s amazing!” said one actor.
“Yes… I thought we’d sell a decent amount, but this was more than I imagined.”
“Well, Alex showing up made a big difference. I doubt it’ll be this busy every time.”
“Maybe we should have Sion help sell too?”
“Hmm… not sure about that.”
Alex was quiet and reserved, so it worked well. But Sion’s character in the play was a noble duke, and Sion’s real personality was the opposite—cheerful to the point of being goofy. That kind of personality mismatch might ruin the character image. It could become a charming gap if handled well, but for now, probably not.
“Actors only need to come out once in a while. So, how did it feel to sell stuff?”
“Well… Sion is still skeptical. But I feel like there’s something more to this. Meeting the audience up close, seeing them so happy to buy things—it’s special. I hope Sion can experience this too.”
“Maybe our co-director will change his mind with time,” I said.
As we started cleaning up, the other actors—now out of costume and makeup—began gathering. They were all curious about how well things sold.
“John, John! What happened? Tell us!”
The actors circled around, whispering to the apprentice since they were too shy to speak directly to me, probably because I was a noble.
So the apprentice’s name was John. Good to know.
“Yes, it was very popular. We sold out!”
“The customers really loved it. If you’re curious, you should watch the next time we sell. Alex helped take payments today, and everyone was thrilled.”
I added that, and the actors stepped back with wide eyes—like startled squirrels.
“This felt like… a real connection with the audience,” Alex said quietly.
That was more thoughtful than I expected. If he keeps trying to connect with fans even though he’s shy, people are going to fall for him even harder.
I poured the day’s earnings onto the table with a clatter.
I could feel every eye in the room locked onto the money.
“Young Lady, this is… wow…” someone muttered.
