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That morning, the atmosphere at the Hostess of Fertility was, as usual, bustling with the aroma of freshly cooked food from the kitchen and the noisy sounds of customers beginning to arrive. Yet, amidst the hustle and bustle, a small conversation near the cashier's table caught the attention of a few people.
Ryuu, with a calm yet slightly tense expression, stood before Mama Mia. Her voice was soft, but there was a firmness behind her words. "Mama, I'd like to request a leave of absence... just for a few days."
Mama Mia, who was counting inventory, immediately stopped what she was doing. Her eyebrows shot up, and she narrowed her eyes to stare at the elf standing straight before her. "Hoooh? Leave? Don't joke around, Ryuu. Just a while ago, you disappeared all on your own, without even asking for permission. And now you're asking officially? You think it'll be that easy, HAAA?!"
Her tone was heavy, making some customers near the door glance over curiously.
Ryuu remained slightly bowed, not arguing, only answering with her characteristic calm. "I understand that was a mistake, and I promise to make up for it this time. After I return, I will work harder than usual."
"Work harder, eh?" Mama Mia grumbled softly, then crossed her arms. "Well then, before I consider your request, go clean the bathroom floor until it's sparkling. Understood? I want it so clean you can see your reflection in it."
"Understood." Ryuu bowed politely, accepting the task without objection.
On the other side, Lunoire, who was carrying a tray of dirty dishes, covered her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter. "Fufu... Ryuu, our elegant hero, is now a cleaning attendant."
Anya, her cat ears twitching, added in a mischievous voice, "Nyaa~ I wonder, will the bathroom become as radiant as Ryuu-nyan's graceful face?"
Chloe didn't miss her chance either, leaning against a table with a mischievous grin. "Hey, if you need help, just say the word, Ryuu. I can help... as long as you pay me with a sweet smile."
The three of them giggled together, lightening the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, from behind the kitchen door, Shirou, who was chopping vegetables, paused for a moment and glanced over with a sigh. He could hear the conversation clearly. Ryuu is even willing to do extra work just to get some time off, he thought, while his hands continued deftly slicing onions.
Mama Mia shot a look at her giggling waitresses and then snorted. "You lot just can't keep your mouths shut. If you have time to laugh, you'd better go wash dishes or serve customers!"
"Haaaaiii~ Mama!" the trio answered in unison, though their faces still wore amused smiles.
Ryuu was unaffected by their teasing. She turned with light steps towards the cleaning supply storage room, ready to carry out her task. For a moment, her pale green hair swayed, her gaze still cool yet holding something deeper.
Shirou refocused on his kitchen work, but inwardly, he felt intrigued. Is Ryuu that curious about me?
The waitresses returned to their daily rhythm—the clinking of plates, the clattering of glasses, the voices of customers mixed with the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen. Lunoire deftly served the front tables, Anya nimbly ran around carrying trays, while Chloe was busy teasing the regulars. However, one thing made the atmosphere feel slightly off-kilter: from morning until noon, there was no sign of Syr whatsoever.
When the sun began to slant, the midday shift ended. Mama Mia sat in her chair with her arms crossed, her face deeply furrowed.
"Tch... where has that girl gone off to now? Don't tell me she's run off on her own again." Her voice was heavy, making the other waitresses automatically bow their heads, reluctant to provoke her anger.
Shirou, who was tidying up the leftover kitchen ingredients, remembered something—his conversation with Syr a few nights ago. The girl had smiled sweetly, but her tone was serious when she said: The reward for cutting Shirou's hair was that he would cover her shifts whenever she played hooky. Remembering that promise, Shirou took a deep breath.
"In that case, let me work harder in the kitchen. I can cover for Syr's absence."
Mama Mia turned sharply towards him, then waved her large hand as if swatting the air. "No need, kid. Even if I had to manage the kitchen myself, it'd be no problem! The problem isn't the kitchen; the problem is that girl! Is she serious about working or not, huh?!"
The boom of Mia's voice made the dining room fall silent for a moment. Shirou could only stay quiet, not daring to argue.
Just then, Ryuu, who had just finished her cleaning task, approached with her calm face. She bowed politely. "If Mama permits, let me be the one to look for Syr."
"No need!" Mama Mia cut in quickly, waving her hand. "You've worked hard since morning, Ryuu. Let Shirou look for her. That boy is closer to Syr, isn't he?"
Shirou was surprised, momentarily pointing at himself. "Me?"
"Yes, you! You're the one who's been hanging around that spoiled girl the most lately, so you must know where she usually runs off to." Mama Mia snorted, then crossed her arms again.
Though somewhat hesitant, Shirou nodded obediently. "Alright, then I'll go look for her." He then took off his apron and prepared to leave.
As the door of the Hostess of Fertility closed behind Shirou, Mama Mia let out a long snort, then glanced towards Ryuu, who was still standing near the kitchen door.
"Hmph... when Syr gets back, I'll have her clean the toilet bowls together with you, Ryuu."
Ryuu fell silent for a moment, her face still cold, though her eyebrows twitched slightly. "...I will do it without complaint, if that is the punishment."
"Heh, so stubborn," Mama Mia muttered, though the corners of her lips turned up slightly, half-amused, half-annoyed. Meanwhile, the atmosphere moved on; the waitresses exchanged glances, chuckled softly at Mama Mia's odd decision, and then returned to their work.
That afternoon, Shirou was still wearing the green Hostess of Fertility waitstaff uniform. He walked the streets of Orario with a somewhat confused gaze, occasionally stopping to scratch his cheek. "Haaah... finding a girl who disappears on a whim is harder than finding a shortcut in the Dungeon," he muttered with a sigh.
Just as he was about to give up and turn back, his eyes caught a very familiar figure—bluish-gray hair tied in a ponytail, a simple white dress swaying in the wind, and a wide straw hat covering her face. The girl walked lightly, as if she were on a picnic rather than skipping work.
"Syr?" Shirou called out while waving.
However, the girl didn't turn around. She kept walking as if the wind itself had spoken. Shirou blinked in confusion. "Did I call too softly? Or is she pretending not to hear..."
Syr turned into a small alley. Shirou spontaneously quickened his pace. "W-wait, don't run away again!"
The scene almost resembled a cat chasing a mouse. Shirou entered the alley, passing under low-hanging laundry lines until his head got briefly snagged—"Ugh, who hangs their underwear in the middle of the path?!" He hurriedly freed himself, his face red, then continued the chase.
When he reached the intersection of the narrow alley, Syr's figure was nowhere to be seen. Only the shadow of a straw hat had briefly flashed at the far end before disappearing. Shirou stood there slightly out of breath, looking around.
"Seriously? I was just a second late, and she disappeared like a ninja..." he grumbled in frustration. He only then realized that the place he was standing now was Daedalus Street—the famous labyrinth of intricately tangled streets.
"...Great. Looking for Syr here feels like looking for a needle in a haystack." Shirou let out a long sigh, then patted his cheeks. "Oh well, no turning back now. If I don't find her, Mama Mia will definitely make me clean the toilets with Ryuu..."
Half-resigned and half-curious, Shirou stepped deeper into the winding alley, hoping he could still find Syr, who seemed to be casually playing hide-and-seek with him.
Sniff~ sniff~
Shirou raised his head, his nose working hard. A faint scent of winter flowers—Syr's signature fragrance—drifted amidst the damp smell of old brick walls and the kitchen smoke wafting from the chimneys of nearby houses. He sharpened his senses, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
"Good thing my nose isn't stuffy anymore..." he muttered in relief, remembering his recent cold caused by Hestia's peppers. "Otherwise, I could get lost here until nightfall."
He walked quickly, following the trail of that scent, turning left, then right, then descending a narrow stone staircase. The more he focused, the clearer the direction became. But from the perspective of anyone who happened to see him, the sight was quite strange: a young man in a green waitstaff uniform sniffing the air, sometimes bowing his head, sometimes raising his face as if searching for an invisible trail.
"Hey, isn't that a waiter from the Hostess of Fertility?" whispered an older woman, holding back a laugh.
"Oh my, don't tell me he's... ehm, has some weird fetish?" replied another young man with a disgusted expression.
Shirou hurriedly lowered his face, his cheeks slightly red. Crap, people must think I'm a pervert. But I'm just chasing Syr!
However, he endured the embarrassment. The scent of winter flowers grew stronger, leading him deeper into the labyrinth of Daedalus Street. Finally, his footsteps stopped in front of an old building that felt both unfamiliar and somehow familiar.
"...A church?" Shirou whispered in surprise.
Before him stood a large wooden building, dulled with age, but still standing majestically. Many of its glass windows were broken, and its door was half-open, creaking in the wind. Its front yard was spacious, yet deserted, overgrown with unkempt weeds. A stone fountain stood in the middle of the yard, but it had long been dead—the water dry, only moss and cracks remaining.
Shirou stared at it deeply, a strange feeling creeping into his heart. The shape of the building... it reminded him of the old church where Hestia Familia used to live. Is this a coincidence? Or...
He took a slow breath, his eyes narrowing, his body tensing. "Why would Syr's scent lead here?" he whispered, stepping slowly towards the half-open wooden door.
Carefully, Shirou pushed the half-open wooden door—kreekkk—the creaking sound echoed through the empty hall.
Before he could step further, the sound of small footsteps and a loud shout came from inside.
"CHARGE!"
"Eh—huh?!"
Thump!
Shirou's body was immediately swarmed by a group of children of various races—a tiny human, a small pallum, even a chienthrope girl with happily twitching furry ears. Even a hesitant Half-Elf joined in. They didn't attack hard, but it was enough to make Shirou lose his balance and nearly fall on his rear.
"Got you, you stalker!" shouted the pallum boy at the front, punching Shirou's stomach with his mini fist, which didn't hurt at all.
"Don't bother Big Sis Syr anymore!" added the chienthrope girl, pulling on his sleeve.
"Eh! Eh! Wait a second—I'm not... oww—" Shirou raised his hands to protect his head but had no intention of fighting back.
Good grief... I'm really getting mobbed by kids right now.
They hit him like a training dummy, but it sounded more like playful roughhousing than a serious attack. Shirou could only resign himself, letting them swarm him and accuse him of all sorts of things.
"Pfft—"
A soft laugh came from the corner of the room. The children immediately stopped moving, turning in unison towards the source of the sound.
Near one of the wooden pillars stood Syr—still in her white sundress—covering her mouth with her hand, holding back her amusement.
"So it's you, Shirou." Her voice sounded light, full of teasing.
Shirou, still half-crouched and surrounded by kids, could only look at her with a resigned expression. "Syr..."
The children quickly moved away, some of them even pushing each other and giggling, feeling embarrassed for attacking a 'guest' who turned out to be someone Big Sis Syr knew.
A brown-haired human boy, his cheeks covered in scrapes and full of suspicion, frowned while folding his arms across his chest.
"Big Sis Syr, you know him?" he asked in a wary tone.
Syr bowed her head slightly, then smiled thinly while glancing at Shirou with a mischievous look.
"Yees~ We're more than just acquaintances, you know, Rye," she answered in a teasing tone, making some of the children around her gasp.
"He's your boyfriend!" exclaimed a blonde chienthrope girl, her tail wagging excitedly, her furry ears perked up high.
"Nope," Shirou replied quickly with a flat face, making all the kids let out a disappointed cry in unison, "eeeehhh~."
"We're just coworkers. And I'm here because she skipped work," he continued, his tone sounding resigned.
Syr patted her cheek, pretending to pout.
"Hee... didn't you promise to cover for me if I skipped?" she complained coyly, as if blaming Shirou.
Shirou sighed, remembering Mama Mia's grumbling earlier. "Well, I wouldn't mind... but Mama Mia clearly wasn't having it. So I had to come find you," he replied honestly.
Glancing around the room filled with children of various races, Shirou finally asked, "What kind of place is this, really?"
Syr smiled warmly this time, the teasing tone gone, replaced by gentleness.
"This is an orphanage, Shirou," she answered softly.
The children who had attacked Shirou earlier were now running around again, some playing hide-and-seek, others trying to climb rickety wooden benches. Shirou observed his surroundings more carefully—the old wooden walls, dusty windows, and the small yard visible from the side door. The place was indeed shabby, but filled with the laughter and play of children.
Shirou's nose, still slightly sensitive from his cold the previous night, could faintly pick up the smell of stale bread mixed with dust. But stronger than that was Syr's scent—the fragrance of winter flowers—which, for some reason, felt perfectly in harmony with the warm atmosphere of the orphanage.