...
The second day of the festival.
Lucian's temporary restaurant should have been the place with the fewest customers, but the workload was anything but light.
"Doto, about the steak and pasta you helped order earlier—can they be delivered this afternoon?"
"I've already contacted them. The supplier said they'll deliver in the afternoon." Though Doto could be careless at times, she could also be surprisingly reliable.
"Got it. Tomorrow's going to be exhausting, so mentally prepare yourselves." Lucian was already bracing himself for an all-out battle.
"O-okay!"
...
Since Rice and Doto needed time to do their makeup and change clothes beforehand, Lucian let the two of them leave early.
However, the delivery efficiency was painfully slow—it wasn't until nearly evening that the goods finally arrived.
With an entire truckload of supplies, it wasn't easy for just Lucian, Taiki Shuttle, Ines Fujin, and the driver to unload everything.
"Oof—" Ines Fujin lifted yet another box when her legs suddenly gave way, stumbling and nearly falling.
"Careful." Lucian quickly steadied the box for her before taking it entirely into his own hands. "Go rest. I'll handle this."
"But..."
"Listen to me. Go rest." Lucian had already made several trips back and forth and was too tired to even speak much.
Truthfully, his strength couldn't compare to these horse girls, and he hadn't carried as much as they had.
But he'd do whatever he could.
"Okay." Ines Fujin nodded obediently, watching Lucian's retreating back before murmuring softly, "He can be so domineering all of a sudden..."
"Shuttle-chan, you go rest too. I'll take care of the rest."
"OK." Taiki Shuttle was also exhausted, sitting on a chair as sweat streamed down her cheeks, quickly soaking the front of her shirt.
After moving the last of the boxes, Lucian checked the quantities, confirmed the delivery, and finally sat down to rest.
"Mr. Lucian, do we really need to prepare this much?"
"We do. There might not be many customers in the morning, but we have to account for returning customers in the afternoon, as well as the influx from morning promotions."
For some reason, Lucian had a bad feeling... that even this might not be enough? No way, they'd prepared so much already.
Just as he was thinking this, a striking shade of crimson caught his eye.
"Little Ines, what happened to the back of your hand?"
"I just noticed it too... I think it got scraped when I was getting off the truck earlier."
The skin on the back of her hand had been scraped off, leaving a patch that looked like it had been filled in with a dark red marker.
"Wait here, I've got ointment." Lucian, who had just sat down, got up again and rummaged behind the counter before returning with the ointment. "Give me your hand. I'll apply it for you."
"Oh, arigatou..." Ines Fujin didn't fuss, extending her hand. "I didn't expect Mr. Lucian to be so well-prepared."
"Force of habit. Back when I was learning to cook, I got burned once and developed a bit of a phobia. Since then, I've always kept some on hand—better safe than sorry." Lucian used a cotton swab to treat the wound before applying a bandage. "Glad I had it. Hopefully, it won't leave a scar."
"Even if it scars, it's fine. I don't mind things like that." Ines Fujin was still thinking of Lucian, assuming he'd blame himself since it happened while helping him move supplies.
Truthfully, her palms already had tough calluses, but she didn't mind those either—if anything, she saw them as part of her armor.
"You should mind a little. After all, you're still a girl." Lucian put away the ointment.
"Why? Would Mr. Lucian dislike it?"
"Uh..." Ines Fujin's bluntness always came so suddenly, leaving Lucian flustered. "Of course I wouldn't dislike it."
"Then it's fine, right?" Ines Fujin smiled.
"Alright, alright." Lucian could only sigh in resignation.
But those were his honest feelings—he didn't dislike it. In fact, he found it quite beautiful.
"Alright, we're closing early today. There aren't many customers left, so you can rest a bit and then head out."
"No food today~?" Taiki Shuttle stretched lazily.
Just as Lucian was about to nod in agreement, Ines Fujin spoke up instead. "Shuttle-chan, Mr. Lucian must be tired too. How about we go eat somewhere ourselves today? Want to come with me?"
"Oh~ You're right. Then we won't trouble Trainer Lu today." Taiki Shuttle nodded. Though a bit slow on the uptake, she wasn't incapable of understanding.
But really, she just wanted to eat something delicious—was that so wrong?
"Actually, I could also—"
Before Lucian could finish, Ines Fujin interrupted again. "Then let's eat out? I know a place that's tasty and affordable, right next to where I work part-time."
"Sure, sure~"
"Then it's settled." Ines Fujin shot Lucian a look. "Mr. Lucian, we'll be heading out first."
Lucian understood what her gaze meant.
It felt like being understood and protected by a mature, sensible older sister... With a sister like her, her younger siblings must be really happy.
"Alright, be careful." Lucian nodded, watching the two leave before picking up a broom. "Time to clean up, then eat and shower. I've still got that test of courage with them tonight."
After giving the restaurant a quick tidy, Lucian planned to wash the dishes in the kitchen before leaving.
But when he entered the kitchen, he found that the huge pile of dirty dishes had already been cleaned and neatly put away.
Just as Lucian was wondering who'd done it, his phone buzzed with a message from Ines Fujin:
Mr. Lucian, since there weren't many customers this afternoon, I washed the dishes during my break. I feel a bit uneasy taking so much money when I didn't do much work.
"So it was her..." Lucian read the message carefully, noting her choice of words—"uneasy," not "sorry."
Ines Fujin's background wasn't particularly tragic, but for the first time, Lucian felt that "mature and sensible" wasn't necessarily a compliment when describing someone.
Lucian: Thanks for today.
Ines Fujin: It was nothing~ But if you have easy jobs like this again, please call me!
Lucian: Definitely, definitely~
Ines Fujin: No need to thank me. You're the boss... well, a good boss.
...