This sucks, like, not just "mild inconvenience" sucks—this is a full-blown, mind-numbing, soul-draining kind of suck. Since when does a manager—a manager—do chores?! I'm supposed to oversee things, not haul bags around like some underpaid errand boy.
And to make things worse?
I have to be with her the whole time.
Talk about a punishment quest.
Her voice snapped through the quiet, sharp and just annoyed enough to remind me that, yes, she had noticed me staring. Great.
I jolted out of my thoughts, blinking fast. Had I really been staring the whole walk? Ugh.
I quickly averted my eyes, forcing my gaze onto the cobblestone road ahead, and let out a groan that was half frustration, half existential despair.
We walked on the cobblestone roads of a small town in the east called Fraievet, land of sweet apples and calm winds—not much else, though. At first, I thought coming from my home to this nothing-burger of a town would be just a waste of time, though I suppose the atmosphere is nice.
Yui and I stopped at a taller building that towered over the others, her head peeking inside almost cautiously.
"Welcome to the guild," an attendant spoke from behind the reception desk. She was a rather stunning one—I do like a woman in uniform. She wore a tailored emerald tunic that complimented her blonde hair and blue eyes, cut close at the waist and flaring just slightly at the hips, brass buttons gleaming in twin rows down the front.
A silver-threaded crest of the guild—a stylized flame encircled by a serpent—was embroidered on her left shoulder, and a polished pin fastened the collar high beneath her chin. The stiff white undershirt beneath added just a touch of formality, visible only at the cuffs and neck.
Man, what impeccable design… though a bit flat for my liking.
"Here, we've got what you sent for," she declared, holding up a bag with the note Bao gave us. Slowly, we both entered, a handful of adventurers looking at us as we walked by, up until we reached the counter where she dropped the bag on the counter in front of the receptionist.
"Much appreciated!" she smiled, taking the bag but noticing the note in Yui's hand as well.
"Oh, right, we were also told to give you this." Yui handed the letter over, the attendant opening the note to read it.
"Very well then, we'll get one sorted right away!" she smiled, her eyes drifting to me with a confused look—almost skeptical. "By the way, is he with you?"
I smirked to myself at the question, my eyes closed with pride as I imagined her reaction when she learned that I, Haru Misahmiya, am the son of Reijuro Misahmiya and heir of the Café Velvaria franchise!
"He's just some kid who wanted to play boss at our shop—" she said nonchalantly, snapping me out of my daydream immediately. Though I bit my tongue… The maid made her way to the back, the two of us just standing at the desk waiting for her return.
My eyes began to wander, seeing quest upon quest—so much so that the boards had run out of space, causing quests to be lost in the heap of it all as new ones were plastered above them.
"Here you are," she returned, sliding a bag of gold our way, along with another piece of paper.
[Acquired 500 gold!]
I flinched as a weird chime played in my head. It kind of stings…
"Are you all right, sir?" the maid pondered.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine," I said, holding my forehead slightly as the lingering sting slowly faded…
[Quest added! Delivery!]
The dreadful chime is back! The cursed thing suddenly scribbled across my vision in glowing text before fading away at a mere blink. The receptionist knocked on the table in hopes of garnering our attention once more.
"If you'd please… this time we'd like your help with delivering goods from the farmers up ahead. We've been running low on supplies and could use the help." The receptionist bowed as Yui took the note and the coins from our previous commission.
"Huh—" Though my reaction was too quiet for her to notice, Yui nodded and responded in my place.
"Right, we'll get to that," she nodded, the receptionist smiling at her acceptance.
"Though there is one more thing," she added, her face crossing with a bit of worry, "We've had reports of bandits camping around, so do be careful."
"Bandits?" I repeated, louder than intended. My voice cracked. Cool.
Yui didn't even flinch. She just folded the quest slip neatly like it wasn't our necks on the line and slid it into her pouch beside the coins.
"We'll keep our eyes open," she said calmly, giving the attendant a nod of thanks.
I turned to her with a look of disbelief. Are we really going through with this?! We're supposed to be just a maid café! What the hell is going on here?!
Before I knew it, I was already in the cart, jolting along the dirt path while the village of Fraievet slowly disappeared behind us like a bad decision I couldn't undo.
One second I was arguing in my head about how this wasn't my job, and the next? I was on delivery duty like some kind of glorified postal pigeon.
How did this happen?
I was supposed to be back at the café right now—managing schedules, sipping imported coffee, maybe tweaking the dessert menu. You know, important things.
Instead, here I was, bouncing in a rickety wagon with dust in my mouth and a mysterious glowing headache for company, carting further and further away from the village. I was at a loss, a complete, utter loss!
What's going on—where are my maids, my customers, my outfits, my dessert?
"This is nothing like I had in mind," I muttered with a sigh, my head hanging in defeat, watching the dirt roads the cart rode across. "I wanna go home—"