Chapter 6

The next day, they departed. They used the map Leyla bought. The key pointed north. They would keep traveling north, stopping every two towns until the key pointed south. After a few teleportations, they arrived in a town where the key finally pointed south. They traveled to the town between their teleportation points.

“Still… your magic is impressive,” John admitted. Apparently, teleportation was one of the most difficult magic in this world. He learnt that back in the library.

“You realize that now?”

“Well, we've been teleporting.”

The process of teleportation was instant, so he didn't have time to mention it. Now that they have arrived at the right city, he has some time. This should be the right city, as the key no longer pointed in either of the two directions.

This city was located in the middle of the lake. They had skipped the security process by teleporting straight into the city. Following the key brought them to a busy restaurant.

Another restaurant? John thought, but luckily, this one seemed like a regular restaurant, not like the beach hut. The next chair gets him delicious food, apparently, so there should be no reason for concern.

Entering the restaurant, they were greeted by a waiter, this time wearing a suit. John went straight to the point, asking for a chair. The waiter stared at him, confused. He probably never heard such a request before. There were a lot of chairs. This time, the chair John was looking for wasn't located in the dining section, as the key pointed up at the ceiling.

“Can I speak with your manager?” John asked.

“... Let me ask him.”

The two waited in front of the cashier while the waiter went to call the manager. Leyla glanced at the menu.

“...”

“Anything caught your attention?”

“Nothing. I don't need food.”

“But can you eat?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

So far, John had yet to see Leyla eat. She didn't seem affected by it. She wasn't a regular human. Maybe her body had different ways of getting energy, one that didn't involve food.

Regardless of the truth, John was happy. This way, he didn't need to pay for her food. Their money could last longer.

The waiter returned with the manager in tow. The manager was wearing a chef's uniform, surprisingly.

“Sorry for disturbing you. We're looking for a lost chair,” John explained, picking his words carefully. If he said that the chair is magical, the manager might be against him getting it. He had made that mistake back at the beach hut. It was thanks to luck that no one noticed.

The old man caressed his chin. “A chair, you say? What is this chair like?”

John hadn't seen the chair himself, so he couldn't explain it.

“I'm tasked by someone else to recover them, so I didn't know… but I do have this thing pointing at it.”

John pointed toward the key on his neck. It was still floating, pointing upward.

“...”

The old man looked at them with suspicion. John expected that much. Two people suddenly came to him asking for a chair, who wouldn't be suspicious.

“We can pay,” Leyla said.

“Instead of that… How about you work for me?” the old man suggested despite his suspicion. He must be desperate for extra hands.

“Work…?”

“One of our staff members quit recently, and there will be a festival next week, so we need help. If you're willing to do some unpaid labor for the next week, then I'll give you any chair you want.”

To John, that seemed like the better option. He wasn't unfamiliar with unpaid labor. His company on Earth often didn't pay for overtime.

“Sure, we'll do it.”

“You're dragging me into this?”

“It’s for a week. Deal with it.”

Leyla groaned.

“Good to hear that.”

•••

They went to work immediately. John was tasked with washing the plates, while Leyla did the deliveries. Her use of teleportation allowed her to finish the deliveries quickly. No other worker could compete. She was so good that the other workers ended up washing the dishes or taking orders.

Teleportation magic wasn't something the average person could use. It existed, yes, but only high-level mages could use it. As a result, many people sent in delivery orders just so they could see Leyla teleport.

“John, can you take the delivery orders?” one of his colleagues asked. The number of people eating in had lessened, so the plates that needed to be washed had gone down.

“Alright!”

John headed toward the cashier. There was a separate part with a window. Outside, birds of various colors lined up, each with a rolled-up piece of paper by their legs.

John accepted their orders one by one. Once he received the paper, the birds poofed out of existence.

Familiars, huh?

It was interesting to see familiars being the common kind of magic in this world. Still, he didn't have much time to dwell on it. John began copying the orders, rewriting them to make them easier for the chef.

“John, which one next?” Leyla asked, having finished another round of deliveries.

“Umm… this one, and this.”

He checked the finished orders, then put the proper destinations in them. He gave them to Leyla, and Leyla disappeared right after.

Since she didn’t just drop off the food, she didn’t immediately return. Still, it took her far less time compared to regular deliveries.

“John,” she called out again. Every time she called him out, John had a bag of food ready to be sent.

“John?”

“John!”

Hundreds of deliveries within just an hour. They worked at an incredible pace.

“Leyla, last order for the day.”

Leyla had long stopped answering. She picked up the order and teleported. John wiped the sweat off his forehead. It had been a tough day.

“Good work, John.” The old man tapped on his shoulder. The suspicion was nowhere to be found. Instead, he had a bright smile on his face.

“You and Leyla made a good addition.”

John let out a faint chuckle. Working in the food industry turned out to be much more exhausting than he had expected. And this was his first day.

“Looking forward to working with you.”

“Yeah…” John let out a faint smile.