"W-Welcome, Master! …Um… W-Would you like to see the menu? Gyah! C-Com—Lu Chen!"
As soon as they entered, a timid girl with short yellow hair came up to them with a menu. Seeing that the person was Lu Chen, the already inarticulate girl became even more flustered, instinctively retreating a few steps and struggling to finish her opening line.
Lu Chen touched his face and asked, "Am I that scary?"
"For Leipzig, who has never interacted with a man, your arrival is enough to completely shock her," A busty blonde woman walked out from the bar. She gently rubbed Leipzig's short yellow hair and whispered, "Not fainting is already a huge improvement. Go attend to the other customers. I'll handle things here."
Compared to Leipzig, who wore a black and red maid uniform that exposed her pale shoulders, this blonde woman wore a tightly wrapped short dress, similar to a server's uniform. She wore a pair of long boots that encased her black-stockinged legs, with only her arms and the area of absolute territory exposing delicate skin.
"Y-Yes." Leipzig bowed to Lu Chen. "I-I'm sorry. I don't… hate you. I-I just don't know how to t-tend to you well. I'm sorry… B-But, I will try to overcome it."
Lu Chen felt awkward. The girl's excellent looks and exposed upper chest meant he bore no ill will toward her, but some things had to be said. "The maid at the door has this kind of personality. I don't have an issue, I just want to ask, doesn't this affect your business?"
"The soft-girl maid is also part of the maid experience. There are always customers who like her type," the blonde woman, Bismarck, explained calmly. "As for the cafe's business, although we are a maid cafe, the core selling point is still the variety of drinks. We have confidence in that."
Lu Chen asked tentatively, "Judging by your tone, are you the manager?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bismarck, the manager responsible for the Iron Blood maids," The blonde woman, Bismarck, took out a tablet and stylus. "Two of you, right? What would you like to drink?"
"Hey, hey, hey, are you trying to steal my business?" Hutten hugged Lu Chen's arm and said to Bismarck, "I'm the one who brought him in. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're the manager."
Bismarck was stunned for a moment. Hutten, in her impression, was always the cold beauty who cared deeply for her comrades. This delinquent-like image almost completely subverted her entire impression of Hutten. Is this the power of an Oath Ship?
"Since he came specifically for you, I won't interfere. Here you go," Bismarck pondered briefly, then handed over the ordering tablet. "I wish you good luck with your first maid service."
"I guarantee my Master will be ecstatic," Hutten chuckled, taking the tablet. "Master, this way, I'll find you a quiet corner, perfect for you to do some special things. It's a date with your girlfriend, what were you thinking?"
She pulled Lu Chen and Noshiro deep into the cafe. Lu Chen took a moment to observe the cafe's customer traffic. The occupancy rate was about one-third. He didn't know if that was good or bad, but judging by the confident tone of the manager, Bismarck, the business should be doing well.
They sat down in a booth in the corner. There was even a small divider to block the view from outside. Hutten was not kidding about the quiet environment. But, what are you doing with this kind of quiet environment in a maid cafe?
Oh, right, they said they only hosted female customers. He hadn't seen any men on the way in, but why hadn't anyone stopped him from entering? Thinking about it made it even scarier.
"This spot is nice, isn't it?" Hutten boasted. "It's the only booth with a divider in the entire cafe, designed specifically for you."
"Specifically for me?" Lu Chen asked. His expression didn't show much surprise. Compared to the other things that went beyond his imagination, this had almost no impact on him. He had vaguely suspected that he wouldn't be allowed into this special cafe without a special relationship.
"The person who owns the cafe behind the scenes is your lover—I think she is. Why else would only you be allowed to enter, and even have a dedicated booth?" Hutten said indifferently. "It doesn't matter what it is. Let's order first. I recommend this and this. These are the most expensive items in our store, and I get the highest commission."
Lu Chen gave her a side glance. "I don't have that much money. I want the cheapest thing, preferably free plain water."
"Just let Noshiro pay. She's a little rich girl," Hutten dismissed him. She nudged Noshiro with her elbow. "How about it? I can even get you guys couple straws. Guarantee maximum intimacy."
Noshiro smiled, pursing her lips. "Skip the couple straws. Just serve what you recommended."
"Alright!" Hutten clapped Lu Chen on the shoulder. "Don't think I don't know. My sister gave you a lot of pocket money—more than mine. I don't feel bad spending her money together, so why do you?"
Lu Chen was speechless. "Isn't your sister's money what she earned through labor?"
"She's a high-level academy official, making money while she sleeps. I'm the miserable worker. You want me to empathize with a capitalist?" Hutten scoffed. "Besides, she'll just be happy to see the money she gave you slowly decrease."
Thinking this, Hutten felt it wasn't enough. She flipped through a few pages on the tablet, found the maid service section, and checked off all the service items. She nodded with satisfaction. "That should be about right."
"I have a feeling both you and your sister will be in trouble if she finds out," Lu Chen said with an inexplicable tone. "And you ordered so many maid services. Can you complete them all?"
If Hutten could professionally execute all these maid services, Lu Chen would consider it a way to teach Hutten a lesson, and the huge amount of money spent on Friedrich would have been worth it. But if she was just trying to waste Friedrich's money, Lu Chen absolutely wouldn't let her get off so easily.
Hutten snorted, took out her phone, and contacted Friedrich. "Hey, Sister. Lu Chen is ordering maid services at the cafe. Yes, the full service, paid for with your money… Lu Chen, Sister wants to talk to you."
"First, I need to state that this was Hutten's decision…" Lu Chen took the phone and immediately began to explain.
Friedrich's gentle voice came through. "Is it the full service, specifically requested from Hutten?"
"Yes, and by the way, I think this could be a good opportunity to teach her a lesson," Lu Chen quickly said. Friedrich was a good older sister figure in his mind, and he didn't want her to misunderstand.
"We don't need to rush that. I'm worried she might not be capable of handling the work. Lu Chen, I suggest you switch to a more competent maid, or order from a few more. Your happiness is the most important thing," Friedrich asked kindly. "Do you have enough money? Hmm, I'll just transfer more to you directly."
Lu Chen put down the phone, greeted by Hutten's spread hands and a face that said, I knew it.
He made up his mind to give Hutten his full trust. After all, even though the girl had done quite a few outrageous things, she hadn't truly deceived him once.
Perhaps, I am the one who is wrong.