Chapter 8

“Alright, that’s all for today. Good day, everyone,” the old man said. Cheers rose from the crowd of staff. Today, they closed early so that everyone could rest for the festival tomorrow.

In the week John and Leyla spent in the restaurant, the number of customers had increased tenfold, or so the other staff claimed. Many of the customers were there just to witness Leyla's teleportation. It had become a local attraction. Sometimes, people would buy something just to watch her teleport.

It had become such an issue that the manager, the old man who also cooks, decided that a minimum amount must be met before Leyla was given the task. As a result, the restaurant’s profits skyrocketed. It earned in a few days what it typically took a year. It was so bad that they needed to contact many new suppliers and hire many temporary chefs just to cope with the extra demand.

Not everyone was happy. Many of the staff complained about the sudden increase in orders, directing their feelings toward Leyla. The girl herself didn’t care. She was there to do her job.

Thus, this night filled the staff with bittersweetness. Some were sad to know that tomorrow would be the last day Leyla worked for them, while others were relieved by the fact.

John himself felt glad that the nightmare would soon end. The restaurant work turned out to be worse than his old job. At that job, he could at least sit down.

Maybe we should have bought the chair instead.

But there was no point in regret. It was too late.

“Get some rest. We have a tough day tomorrow.”

The staff dispersed. Before John and Leyla could return to their inn, the old man called out to them. He brought them to the second floor of the restaurant, into his office. It was a simple office, just a small room with a desk and two chairs. The chair placed behind the desk was yellow. Shape-wise, it looked similar to the one John took from the beach hut. John tapped the key. The key floated and pointed toward it. He then tapped it again, and it floated back down to his chest.

The old man didn’t notice this. Instead, he opened the wardrobe, showing two sets of pretty-looking clothes. The one on the left had a long skirt, while the one on the right had long pants. They both had long sleeves, with pretty flowery patterns decorating the part in front of the stomach.

“This is your outfit for tomorrow.” The old man handed it over.

“We… we’ll be using these?”

“Yes. You’ve pretty much become the center of attention. You two will be handling the customers.”

“What about the deliveries?” Leyla asked.

“There’s no need to worry about that. We’ll handle it.”

“Alright.” John and Leyla brought the clothes back to the inn.

•••

The clothes would surely attract attention. Maybe that’s the goal. Even during her time as a delivery girl, her magic already attracted a lot of attention. Representatives from different organizations even came to the restaurant to offer a partnership. Even Isak was there. Leyla rejected every single offer.

If I had those abilities… John thought. He wouldn’t need the chairs. He could just work for one of these big shots. He could live an easy and relaxed life.

Of course, he understood that those offers were for her, for Leyla. Unlike her, he didn’t have anything. The sight of her so casually rejecting the many offers annoyed him. He knew why she did that, but he couldn’t deny those emotions.

After trying out the clothes, John and Leyla returned to the inn. Even today, some messengers from noble families had come to offer a deal for Leyla.

“No,” Leyla answered curtly. She didn’t wait for the end of the proposal. She denied it and then headed straight inside.

“Couldn’t you give a proper response?” John asked the following night after they had returned to their room.

“Well, my dear human, let me tell you something. I’m not here to find a living. Nope. Nu-uh. If being rejected harshly like that doesn’t change their mind, you think whispering some sweet apologies will?”

She had a point. Rather, imagining her saying something sweet looked… scary. Unnatural, even. John shook his head, sending the image out. He didn’t need to be haunted by something like that.

“Still…”

“Let’s focus on our work.” She shot him down.

•••

“Wow… look at all these customers…” The old man gasped. They stood at the festival grounds. The festival grounds were a section east of the city. While still being on the same island, this section was outside the walls. It had access straight to the water. Many lanterns filled the lake’s surface. Their warm glow turned the water surface yellow. A stunning sight. On land, several stalls tried selling their wares. The stall of the restaurant John worked at was particularly crowded. People wanted to see the rumored girl, the powerful mage who worked part-time.

Today, she didn’t have any tricks to show the crowd. “Here you go,” she said with a bright smile, handing over a plate of fried tofu to the crowd. The sight of Leyla's smiling face wasn’t as bad as John expected. If anything, she looked quite cute.

“You’re thinking of something rude, aren’t you?”

John averted his gaze. “Not at all. I’m not even thinking about you.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I take your order?” John ignored her sharp gaze. He took an order from the customer next in line, then handed it over to the chefs. They cooked the food, then gave the finished dish to Leyla.

“Thank you very much.”

John couldn’t believe his eyes. If only she showed this expression to him, then maybe journeying with her would be less miserable.

“Umm… excuse me.”

“Ah, sorry. Can I take your order?”

After taking the order, John brought it to the chefs. Unlike before, he slapped himself before returning, intending to fully concentrate.

“Next, please.”

•••

“Alright, good work, everyone. We’ve run out of stuff, so you can all enjoy the festival.”

The staff clapped, excited voices ringing across the group. Everyone was happy to finally be free. John headed toward one of the empty benches and sat down. He glanced at the chair underneath, making sure it wasn’t a magic chair. Of course, he knew that visually, the magical chairs weren't in any way different from regular chairs. He didn’t know why he did that.

John took a breather, the excitement of the festival surrounding him. The smell of sweet food from nearby stalls reached his nostrils, but he had been given food before. He was still full.

The surrounding excitement made him feel restless, however. Figuring he might never have this chance again, he decided to walk around, even try a couple of festival games. Out of all the things he could win, he managed to get a teddy bear for some reason.

What should I do with this?

John wasn’t interested in keeping the bear. As he walked around with it in tow, he found Leyla standing by the waterfront, gazing at the many lanterns.

He approached her. She glanced his way before returning her gaze to the lanterns.

“You want a teddy bear?” he offered.

“You look stupid carrying that around.”

“Then help me by taking it off my hands.”

Leyla took the teddy bear and hugged it in her arms. The teddy bear’s expression didn’t change, but it looked much happier in Leyla’s arms. Unsurprising.

“... Good work today,” John whispered.

“Thanks, you too.”

The silence returned. It didn’t feel awkward, not like when they walked to the city by the beach.

“... Hold on. If you can use teleportation, why didn’t you teleport me there?”

Leyla flashed him a grin. “I want to watch you suffer.”

“Haha, very funny.”

“Very funny indeed.”

People began gathering around the waterfront. One by one, the little lanterns began floating away toward the lake, where they took flight, filling the skies with their glow. They traveled east, forming a cloud of yellow light.

“They’re beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

They watched until it disappeared into the distance.