After a while, Nero emerges from the kitchen. He looks around the place, and smiles when he sees Iris.
“Hey Iris. You came to visit today.”
He says with a friendly tone.
Their relationship is less like master and servant and more like parent and child. He treats Iris like she’s his real little sister.
“Nero. I’m surprised by how many people are here. It’s like ten times as many as you used to have.”
“Lady, ten times zero is zero.”
“Shut up Till. Gahahaha, You’re super surprised uh? I’m quite the manager.”
Nero sounds really happy, reacting to Till’s joke with a good-humored tone too. I’m just glad he’s happy.
His heart surely has less pressure now that his cafe is doing well.
“Hello Nero.”
I greet him too.
“Ou, Loyd. You look well. Are you a bit taller than before?”
“Eh? Am I?”
“Yes, you are. At least ten times taller than before.”
“Nah, I’d be a giant then. I’m human.”
“Hahahahahaha! That’s right! But what’s important is that you’re well!”
“You’re more excited than usual. And it looks like you really overhauled your cafe.”
“Yes, I turned it into a maid cafe.”
“Maid cafe? Yes, there are a lot of maids around.”
“Feeling like a master soothes the heart, doesn’t it?”
“That feels like kind of a dangerous thing to say, but I guess as a guy, this doesn’t feel bad. What about you, Iris and Till?”
“I am an actual maid, so I will refrain from commenting.”
“Till is too serious. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s funny how different the service is compared to a normal cafe.”
“Sounds like you like it. I’m a little relieved to hear you say that, Iris.”
“I wouldn’t speak badly of you, Nero. I know how hard you’re trying.”
Iris smiles, and congratulates Nero from the heart.
Nero’s gone pretty off track from the hidden cafe style he was going for, but none of us can blame him for that.
I’m sure he mulled it over, and decided this was for the best. Iris understands this too, and congratulates him for the path he picked.
People’s lives are long, and they don’t always go through the path we envisioned.
Look at me. I couldn’t take all that power embarrassment as an exclusive mage, and threw it all away when I ran from the capital.
Thinking about it that way makes me feel like Nero is great. He changed directions, but he’s still running his own cafe. This is something I could never do.
“But you really went all in on the maid cafe.”
“It was supposed to be a mini event for a few days, but there was a bigger response than I expected, so I decided to pivot that way. It makes it way different than other cafes.”
“I see, that’s good thinking, Nero.”
“Gahahahaha, amazing, right? I’m feeling good today, so you can have anything for free.”
“Really!? Then I’ll have everything on the menu starting here!”
Iris responds not even a second later.
“Be a bit reserved, Iris.”
“Eh… But you said I could. Then I’ll have a mille-feuille.”
“I will have the same.”
“I’ll have a pudding then.”
“Ufufu, you are surprisingly childish, Mister Loyd.”
“And I’ve never seen someone acting smug over picking a mille-feuille.”
“I’ll go back to the kitchen then. The menu is the same as it was before the overhaul, so enjoy.”
““Yes.””
Iris and I cheerfully respond, and Till nods lightly. She really is cool.
Nero is back in the kitchen, and maids bring our desserts just as we’re finishing our rice omelets. Among them is the same tsundere maid as before.
“How are the sweets?”
“They are full of our love.”
“Looks like you really ate my rice omelet uh? Just so you know, I didn’t make it for you, so get that out of your head. I just happened to make the pudding too.”
Says the tsundere maid while pointing at Iris.
“Ah, I ordered the pudding.”
“Ah!? I-I apologize, this is a special pudding full of my love.”
It looks like she got mixed up.
And judging by her reaction after that, she’s a normal girl, not a tsundere or anything. Well, I would’ve guessed she wasn’t actually like that.
Watching this cute behavior makes us smile.
Some people might pick tsundere service, but I get a completely different impression when she’s herself.
After enjoying our dessert, we leave the cafe. It’s nice to see Nero’s place is on the right track.
“Ah, Mister Loyd. I will be attending church tomorrow at noon as a saintess, so make sure you drop by.”
“Ah, okay. I will.”
“I’ll be waiting. Let’s go back to the church, Till.”
“Very well.”
They head back to the church, and I go back to the inn to check my schedule for tomorrow.
The festival lasts three days. I’m going around the stands with Mars and Lela on the first, and I’m planning to go to the fishing competition with Iris and the others on the second.
I don’t really have plans for the third, so I might invite someone that looks free.
So the festival is finally starting tomorrow…
Iris was fired up, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of outfit she’ll be wearing.
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