“Hmm, there aren’t as many customers as I thought.”
Luke muttered with a sigh, looking troubled.
Several hours had passed since the café opened amidst various happenings, yet the café remained empty.
It was quite strange.
Although friends of Kaila and the others had come to visit and praised the place, the actual performance was abysmally low compared to the enthusiastic start.
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like they had done anything particularly wrong.
At this rate, he thought, Shirud’s help would probably not be needed at all.
Kaila tilted her head in response.
“True, by now, outside visitors should be coming in, yet no one has shown up. Is the café not noticeable?”
“There’s no way that’s true. I even put up a signboard. It should obviously be noticeable!”
Fearful that people might miss it, Luke personally took care of the signboard with elegant, vintage lettering.
Therefore, anyone passing by would surely have seen it, but if they noticed the sign and still didn’t come in…
At that moment, Kaila shrugged and murmured.
“Is it maybe because the letters are too stiff? I told you to use a cuter font for the sign.”
“W-What are you talking about? What’s wrong with my font!”
“Let’s just say it’s vintage in a good way, and in a bad way, it looks a bit old-fashioned?”
“What!”
Luke frowned in grievance at Kaila’s suggestion that the cause for the lack of customers lay in his font style.
His font was one that Renie specifically said she ‘liked,’ after all, so he had some pride in it!
Luke recalled the conversation he had with Kaila while working on the sign.
As a maid café, it had to convey an efficient and tidy image.
Therefore, wouldn’t a moderately sophisticated and restrained font be more fitting than a round and cute one?
Besides, wasn’t the atmosphere back then one where everyone recognized that it looked good?
To be held responsible for this now felt entirely unfair.
“And also, isn’t it a bit trivial to say that’s the cause? I know everyone is disappointed that no customers have come…”
Luke’s arguments were all valid.
It certainly seemed odd that not a single customer was present merely because the writing on the sign was stiff.
Kaila, seemingly not having put much thought into her previous comment, sighed and replied.
“Haah, I was just saying that.”
Kaila pulled a chair from nearby, leaned back with her chest against the backrest, and sat down.
Her tail and ears drooped weakly, reflecting her mood, while her face appeared resigned in various ways.
“We all worked so hard, and it’s frustrating that no one is coming. I’m sorry.”
At Kaila’s apology, Luke softened his expression, wondering if he had pushed her too hard emotionally, and stepped closer to pat her back.
“It’s okay; you are probably the most troubled person here.”
Kaila was the president of the club and the overall person in charge of the café.
She was the one who planned the theme of maids and designed the café’s decor and atmosphere, wrote the dessert menu, and procured the ingredients.
Of course, Luke helped a little on the side to raise the quality, but the majority of the work fell to the president, Kaila.
Therefore, she had put in more effort for this festival than anyone else.
So when such a result came to pass, it was only natural to feel frustrated and upset.
“I thought it would definitely be fun as a maid café, but maybe it wasn’t.”
“Hmm.”
At Kaila’s weak smile, Luke felt a sense of responsibility for some reason.
Even without the sign’s font issue, there were certainly areas where he could feel a bit guilty, as well.
‘Could this also be due to my ‘unluckiness’?’
Now that he was aware that misfortune was spreading around him today, it seemed unreasonable to deny that possibility.
And if that was the case, then this misfortune had to be resolved by the one responsible—in other words, himself.
Wasn’t that precisely why he was staying here?
Luke proposed to Kaila with renewed determination.
“Kaila, instead of sitting here moping about our lack of business, how about we go out and distribute some flyers?”
“Flyers? Right now? W-Well… should we?”
———
At that moment, Third was struggling to comprehend the festival taking place at Tigr Academy.
As he hadn’t even heard that a festival was being held at the academy, the scene was overwhelmingly unfamiliar to him.
The crowd and the sheer amount of merchandise were staggering.
He couldn’t tell if he had come to the academy or the bustling market.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Moreover, the scale was far too overwhelming to be described as an academy event.
Could this really be the academy his master attended?
At that moment, Umi, visibly excited, exclaimed and jumped up and down.
“Wow! Look at that! It’s a gigantic transforming golem! Isn’t it amazing? Wow! Third! How did they make that? I heard the festival only has works created by the students! It’s incredible!”
Originally a dwarf, Umi found such mechanical mechanisms to be irresistibly attractive.
Transformation was a fantasy shared by boys and dwarves alike.
Furthermore, the festival, filled with sights and delicious food, would get anyone exhilarated, even if they didn’t have a particular favorite theme.
Simply put, it was such a delightful experience, and she was with her friend!
How could Umi not be excited?
However, Third was entirely different.
“What? The creator probably just made it on their own…”
Cynical by nature, Third’s personality made it impossible for him to enjoy such a gathering, and in addition, he had little interest in fields that would engulf him deeply, making it all the more unbearable to be around so many humans.
There were, after all, many things to be cautious about in such places.
It was difficult to react to sudden threats amidst the crowd, and chasing down culprits amidst the ensuing chaos was no easy task either.
Moreover, he currently found himself in the company of an overly excitable little one.
“Wow! Look at that! They’re also selling cotton candy! Third, do you like sweet things?”
“No, not really.”
“Aha, really? A-Actually, I don’t really like cotton candy either. It gets all over your face when you eat it. It’s sticky!”
“Then why did you ask?”
Third let out a sigh inwardly.
‘As expected, Umi seems to be just a kid.’
From the outside, one might think he was out with his younger sister.
Third didn’t remotely realize that Umi was the same age as him, merely shorter because she was a dwarf.
Her behavior unavoidably mimicked that of a child.
And a little kid wandering about like that would undoubtedly get lost.
Third definitely wanted to avoid a situation where he would have to search for a lost child in this place, so he called out to the excited Umi ahead of him.
“Umi.”
“Uh, yes?”
-Grab.
Umi was startled as Third took her hand.
“Don’t let go.”
Regardless of Umi’s surprise, Third spoke like that and began to walk.
“……!”
At that, Umi’s face began to flush.
Though Third holding her hand was just a precaution against losing her, it wasn’t the same for Umi.
“Umi?”
“Wha-What?”
“Why is your face so red? Is it cold?”
“Ah, um, maybe… it might be.”
“Then pull your scarf up a bit.”
Third lifted Umi’s scarf from around her neck and covered her face with it.
Because of the chilly weather that followed the rain, it was best to be cautious about catching colds.
He didn’t want to endure his master’s scolding for bringing a sick girl so far.
“….”
Feeling Third’s considerate gesture, Umi was unexpectedly grateful for the cold wind that brushed against her face.
“But, where are we going right now?”
“There’s someone I’m looking for. Hmm, they should be around here somewhere.”
“Someone you’re looking for? Here?”
“Yes.”
Third looked around and muttered.
“I thought I would find them quickly once I got here, but it seems not.”
It wasn’t that he was boasting, but Third prided himself on having quite a wide field of view.
Spotting a target quickly amidst the crowd was a necessary skill from his days working as an assassin in the back alleys.
But for some reason, he couldn’t seem to locate them now.
According to the location inscribed on his ring, he should definitely be here.
‘How strange, it feels like I’ve searched everywhere except for that maid rest area over there.’
Could it be that his skills had rusted?
“Sigh.”
Third slumped down on a nearby bench and sighed.
Umi followed suit and sat beside him, asking.
“Can’t you find them?”
“Regrettably… hmm. They’re not picking up their phone, so what do I do?”
Since people were always crowded around here, it seemed that no matter who Third was looking for, finding them wouldn’t be easy.
Umi thought she should help search as well and asked.
“I’ll help you look! What does the person you’re finding look like?”
“That’s a good suggestion. Hmm, so….”
Third briefly recalled Luke’s appearance.
“He’s a cat-Hyun with light blonde, slightly curly hair. At a glance, he seems young, yet he has a mysterious aura that makes him appear mature at the same time. You’ll probably recognize him immediately if you see him. He’s a very unique person.”
As Umi listened to Third’s description, she nodded and visualized the image in her mind.
Hmm, hmm.
So a cat-Hyun with light blonde curly hair. Mysterious, young yet mature-looking…
“Uh, a woman?”
A woman?
In that instant, lightning struck Umi’s mind.
“Indeed.”
“What kind of relationship do you have with her?”
Third hesitated, thinking that saying it was his master might lead Umi to associate with a too mature image, and he decided to soften his response.
Moreover, directly stating that she looked like a child might sound disrespectful to his master.
He had casually mentioned that she appeared both ‘young’ and ‘mature,’ but her first impression leaned more towards ‘young’ than ‘mature.’
“Well… let’s just say we are on close terms for now.”
“……!”
Umi was deeply shocked by Third’s words.
‘A close relationship with a mysterious woman!’
As Third described her appearance, Umi began to connect the dashes of her strange expression and the ring on her left ring finger that he had mentioned earlier.
Could it be?
“D-Does that ring belong to her…?”
“Oh, how did you know? She gave it to me as a gift. You have some keen insight, more than I expected.”
“!!”
‘He had a girlfriend!’
That’s it.
Though she hadn’t sincerely hoped for it, that didn’t erase the impact of the shock.
Umi let go of Third’s hand and staggered backward—
-Slap!
She ran away.
“What?!”
Was it because it wasn’t a direct threat? In this instance, Third’s Dragonheart didn’t send him warnings, which caused his reaction to be delayed.
And because of his delayed reaction, Umi quickly blended into the crowd.
Third panicked and shouted.
“Hey, Umi! Where are you going all of a sudden? Come back!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“Sorry for what? Just stop!”
Third, unable to grasp what she was suddenly apologizing for, was beside himself. However, he couldn’t let that little one become lost before even meeting his master, so he jumped up from his seat.
And then—.
“—Then I’ll go this way!”
“Uh?”
-Bam!
Third collided with someone who had suddenly dashed out.
“…?!”
He was greatly startled.
He hadn’t even reacted to this level of danger?
Furthermore, he had been knocked down by the impact?
He could excuse his sluggishness earlier, but now there was no justification.
No matter how much he had softened due to a life of peace, this was…
“This is….”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Are you hurt? My luck has been quite poor lately…”
At that moment, a maid reached out her hand and spoke.
However, something felt odd.
‘Wait a minute, this voice feels familiar.’
‘Hmm, this impression seems familiar too.’
“E-Excuse me, Master?”
“Third? What are you doing here?”
