The next day—
Edo, Thousand Affairs House—
The current time is around just past 7 a.m.
The newly opened store's owner, Mr. Kiryu, is seated behind the counter, paging through the ledger to verify the store's recent income.
As he is intently reading the ledger, suddenly, he hears the sound of the shop door being pulled open.
"Welcome… Hmm? Mr. Chokata?"
"Good morning, Mr. Kiryu!" At the door, Mr. Chokata, holding a bag of freshly bought gold flat sugar, closes the door he just opened with a cheerful smile characteristic of him as he greets Mr. Kiryu.
Mr. Kiryu closes the ledger in his hand and smiles, "Good morning, Mr. Chokata."
Mr. Chokata looks around, "Hmm? Where is Miss Kinoshita?"
"The young master is still sleeping. She usually wakes up at 8 a.m."
After a simple conversation, Mr. Kiryu gets straight to the point inquiring about Mr. Chokata's early visit, "Mr. Chokata, what brings you here so early in the morning, all alone?"
