Terumi-san and Shuri had just arrived, passing by Elena-san on her way out.
ãElena-san went back to the inn to ask for permission to work here.ã
ãElena-chan will start working here?ã
ãShe said she wanted to, but since her family runs an inn, I decided to make her get her parentsâ approval.ã
ãI see. Well, leaving that aside for now, what was the thing you made me eat yesterday? It was really delicious...ã
ãA cake.ã
ãBut, itâs different from pancakes, right?ã
ãWell, itâs like a distant relative.ã
ãA distant relative, you say... So, does this mean that I will have to stock up on the ingredients and decide on the selling price again?ã
ãYep, Iâm counting on you.ã
I knew Terumi-san would figure it out by herself.
Well, I had asked her to do it for me numerous times, so it made sense...
ãI canât refuse when you make me eat something so delicious, after all.ã
ãSis Yuna?ã
Shuri said while tugging on my Bear Suit.
ãWhat is it?ã
ãI want to eat it.ã
ãOkay, no problem. Please eat it too, Terumi-san. I have many different flavours, so please tell me which ones are your favourites.ã
I cut two more portions and gave them to Terumi-san and Shuri.
ãOh right, Yuna-chan, why did Fina bring us only two portions? Gentz was really sad, you know?ã
ã...Gentz-san?ã
Oh, I had forgotten about him.
When I thought about cake, I never considered men might like it too.
ãWell, itâs really sweet, so I thought that Gentz might not like it...ã
ãReally? I gave him half of mine, and he seemed to enjoy it very much, you know.ã
An old man eating cake...
No, it wasnât good to judge people by their appearance.
Also, I had seen old men eating cake before...
I had trouble with being judged by my appearance as well, so old men were free to eat and wear whatever they wanted.
ãI will prepare his share, so please take it to him. Also, could you ask him which one he liked the most?ã
ãI will make sure to ask him.ã
Hmm, maybe I should make a cake with less sugar that would suit the tastes of men.
I would need more of them to taste it, then.
Cliff, the guild master of the Adventurerâs Guild, Gill, and Gold-san. Would those four do? Ah, right, I forgot Blitz again.
Meh, I would think more about this later.
ãYum, itâs as delicious as yesterday. I canât stop eating it.ã
ãItâs yummy, Sis Yuna.ã
Terumi-san and Shuri both liked the cake as well, it seemed; they ate it with smiles on their faces.
Still, the speed at which Terumi-san moved her fork was beyond quick.
ãYou will get fat if you eat too much of it, you know.ã
The moment I said that... a crack appeared in the world. I could almost hear it.
I looked up and saw the women, their hands now still and their faces grimacing as if they had just seen hell.
On the other side, the children were still stuffing their faces with angelic smiles on their faces.
I had created a perfect rift.
ãYuna-chan... The cake can make us fat?ã
Mylene-san asked carefully.
ãYep, your stomach will become all cute and chubby.ã
ãYouâre joking, right?ã
She asked now trying to smile.
ãYou think Iâm joking?ã
ã...ã
Mylene-san gulped.
ãIâm not joking, but itâs fine as long as you donât eat too much.ã
ãI knew it!ã
Mylene-san said and reached for another bite.
ãStill, I think that six slices are quite a lot, you know.ã
ãYuna-chan!ã
Mylene-san cried out.
Yep, six slices were just too much.
ãYuna-san, are three slices okay?ã
ãWell, three should be fine if you donât eat it every day.ã
Karin-san seemed relieved.
ãShuri, ahhh...ã
Terumi-san was trying to make Shuri eat her share too now.
ãBut Terumi-san, you havenât eaten yet, right? I still want to hear which one you like the most.ã
ãI donât want to become fat.ã
ãYou wonât get fat so easily, you know.ã
ãYuna-chan. Itâs fine when youâre young, but when you become older, you canât be that careless.ã
She said with a soft voice and a serious face.
ãStill, could you please taste them properly?ã
I replied with a smile; I would be troubled if she didnât taste them, after all.
Terumi-san reluctantly started to eat again.
ãUgh... itâs even harder to stop eating it since itâs so delicious.ã
She complained with her fork in her mouth.
ãMom, you arenât fat, so there is no problem.ã
A certain someone said to comfort her.
Well, it seemed that everyone liked the cakes.
There was no other problem other than the fact that it could make us fat.
Well, it was okay as long as we didnât overeat it. Honestly, anything could make you fat if you ate too much of it. Hmm, cake did that quicker, though... Was a low calorie cake necessary? I might have to consider making one with less sugar.
When all the plates were cleaned out, Morin-san stood up.
ãWell then, I want to try making it, so do you mind showing me?ã
Morin-san said vigorously; she wanted to try making the cake immediately.
I didnât mind, so Morin-san and Karin-san ended up helping me, while Terumi-san and the children just watched.
As I had expected from Morin-san, who was and experienced baker, she followed my recipe and made a strawberry cake without a problem.
However...
ãIt wonât be possible to add it to the menu; we donât have enough time as it is, after all.ã
ãEven if we get more helping hands?ã
ãMaybe, but it would be hard to teach and oversee them all...ã
Karin-san seemed to be of the same opinion as her mother. Elena-sanâs help was absolutely necessary, then.
We proceeded to eat the cake Morin-san and Karin-san made.
ãYep, itâs delicious.ã
As expected from Morin-san, the taste was perfect.
ãItâs all thanks to your instructions, Yuna-chan. As a fellow baker, I can tell that you are just incredible, being able to invent such a recipe.ã
Sorry, but I hadnât invented it. It was just food from another world.
ãAnyway, we should put off adding it to the menu for now, right?ã
ãYeah, itâs a pity, though.ã
Morin-san agreed with me.
ãYou really wonât sell it!?ã
Mylene-san cried out.
ãWe donât have enough employees to make it, after all.ã
ãI will lend you some people from the Commerce Guild, then.ã
ãItâs not like I donât trust you, Mylene-san, but having people I donât know here is...ã
I didnât really care if any information got out, but I just wouldnât feel comfortable having strangers work for me.
ãWell, if we get Elena-san to help us, we might be able to leave it to her.ã
ãYeah, but her parents run an inn, so...ã
It probably wouldnât happen. Their only daughter? She would most likely get married and succeed the inn.
ãWell, I will check the prices of the ingredients, so we can add it to the menu anytime we want.ã
Terumi-san interjected.
Not a moment later, Elena-san rushed back into the shop.
ãElena-san, what happened? Why are you so out of breath?ã
She hadnât had a fight with her parents, right?
ãYuna-san, they are just cruel!ã
Elena-san said and hugged me.
I would prefer if you didnât bury your face into my stomach, you know.
ãCan you please explain what happened?ã
I said and forcibly pulled Elena-san off me.
ãSo, why are they cruel?ã
ãThey said that Iâm a scatterbrain and often cause trouble...ã
ãSo, that means itâs a no go?ã
ãNo, I managed to persuade them, but they said that they will come here to make sure Iâm not just causing you trouble, Yuna-san...ã
So, it would be something like the Parentsâ Day?
Hmm, it should be called business inspection in this case, right? They would come to see if their child was doing her job properly, after all.
Wait, did that mean I was the one who had the role of a mentor here?
On Parentsâ Day, the parents would have a talk with the teacher, but in this case, they would just come to see if Elena-san was doing her job well, so it had nothing to do with me, right?
When they came, I could just leave it to Morin-san.
Yeah, if this were a school, I would have the role of the principal, and Morin-san would be the teacher.
ãMorin-san, is it okay if I leave dealing with her parents to you when they come?ã
I asked my shop manager.
ãI donât mind as long as they donât become a hindrance.ã
Morin-san accepted my proposal.
ãYuna-san, Morin-san, thank you very much.ã
Elena-san thanked us and bowed.
Well, now we just had to show Elena-sanâs parents that she wasnât causing trouble here...
The next day, even though I thought that the inn should have been busy, Elena-sanâs parents came to thank me.
ãIf she ever causes you any trouble, you can shoo her out whenever you want, okay?ã
ãIf she ever skips work, I donât mind if you kick her butt hard, okay?ã
For her parents to say something like that, was Elena-san a bad worker?
When I had been staying at the inn, I had seen her taking breaks at the counter, but she had been properly working when it had been time to serve meals.
Elena-sanâs parents left soon after, saying that they would come around to see how she was doing again later.