A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Y-You want to hire me?!”

Flabbergasted and astonished. Those were the only emotions you could see on the faces of the young katzune woman and the middle-aged human man sitting across from me. Not only did I already surprise them by coming back to their eatery, but by suddenly asking them to talk, I scared them.

Sadly for them, there was no stopping this train. Choo-choo, I was out to recruit people for the restaurant.

“Yes, that is correct,” I confirmed Haati’s, the katzune’s, question. “I don’t know if you know about the street eatery we operate—”

“Yes, I do! I just went there with my friends to eat the noodle dish five days ago. Uhm, what was the name again?” Haati scrambled her brain as she interrupted me, trying to remember the name of one of the new dishes.

“Spaghetti Bolognese.” Thankfully, coming to her rescue was Tamae, whom I brought with me since these recruitments concerned her the most.

“Yes, that’s exactly—”

“Haati!” But before Haati could speak, the person next to her shouted at her — her boss. “I don’t know if you forgot about this, but you are sitting before a princess and champion of the Goddess. Could you, please, act properly?”

I could see the man’s wrinkles growing with how Haati was speaking to me. With how she interrupted me. If I were any normal aristocrat, being so “rude” could come back to bite Haati’s tail, and I guess her boss was trying to remind her of that. He didn’t know I was nowhere close to being an ordinary princess.

“Oh, it’s fine. There is no need to worry, Mister Braym,” I told the agitated eatery owner. “I don’t really care about etiquette in general, and this isn’t exactly formal. I mean, I’m trying to poach one of your employees right in front of you. If you ask me, I’m being infinitely ruder.”

Of course, that alone wasn’t exactly enough to calm down a common citizen since they were taught in Artorias to stay away from nobles. One mistake with a less amicable noble and you could lose your head just like that. And since the aristocracy controls the laws, nobles can get away with things pretty easily if they have friends.

As such, it took a while for Braym to come around to the idea I wasn’t like the nobles he was taught to avoid. Princess or not, I’m just Hestia at the end of the day. I wasn’t a fan of abusing my power.

After I managed to calm everyone down, Braym and Haati asked me to explain the situation better. They were confused about why I suddenly wanted to talk to them and why I brought up hiring Haati. She was, according to them, just a “normal single woman, trying to make due with her situation.” She didn’t have any special skills, in other words.

“Well, since you already know about the eatery we serve, this is not only the chef but also the main proprietress of the eatery. Technically, it’s part of our adventurer company, but small stuff, really.” I patted Tamae on her shoulder. “And, we are soon planning on turning the eatery into a ‘restaurant.’”

“‘Restaurant?’” Braym looked confused at this English word. The word restaurant didn’t exist in this world yet, as eatery was the general term used for anywhere you could go to get food. Street eatery, instead of food cart, and so on.

Tamae nodded. “Yes. A restaurant is similar to an eatery as it serves food to customers, but the difference between the two is that restaurants are more formal. The main demographics will be nobles and wealthy commoners. That’s how it worked where we came from.”

“Came from? Oh, do you mean Loatryx? Kargryx? I think you mentioned your country the first time we met.” Haati twitched a bit when she mentioned “first time,” probably since it was when she was still a slave. The slave mark on her might be gone, but I could only imagine that the pain from the her bothers’ deaths and her time as a slave was still there.

“I see.” On the other hand, Braym didn’t show any reaction. I wondered if Haati had told her new boss anything about her past. “But, the gal doesn’t exactly have the manners or know-how on how to deal with nobles, though. Isn’t hiring her for that job a bit too much?”

“Oh no, don’t worry,” Tamae replied. “I already have the staff for the restaurant ready and trained. However, for the street eatery I’ve been holding for a while now, I’ve recently lost my helpers for it. Although the restaurant will bring in more profit, I presume, I still wish to keep serving food to the lower city or any other commoner on our travels. As such, I need new employees willing to work with me on the eatery.”

““Travels?”” The two of them asked.

To them, the restaurant hasn’t been going anywhere despite Tamae and The Magical Biscuit members teleporting from Griffonpeak to Ullistar and then to Gleisvale. Since I didn’t tell them goodbye, they didn’t know we had been away from Griffonpeak for three weeks now.

“Then I can’t!” Haati rejected our offer. When I asked her for her reasons, it became clear that we had a misunderstanding. “Well, since my brothers died, I’m the only child left that my parents have. They were one of the people who got injured during the attack, but, thankfully, High Bishop Theodore granted them the white grace without a fee. May the Goddess bless his kind soul. Still, while they can work again, I think age is catching on and they’ve been feeling more fatigued than usual. I can’t leave the city, since I need to help with the household money.”

Quite a lot of people were either hurt or even killed during the demonkin’s invasion of the city. Griffonpeak seemed to have recovered quite a bit, and even the hole connecting Griffonpeak to Shaturein was closed up. However, it seemed the effects it had on people hasn’t ended yet.

“Oh yeah, that attack. I’ve lost my two previous waitresses cuz of it. Good gals. Also quite a bunch of my regulars got hurt, but, thank the Goddess, they still got their lives. Better results than a bunch of other people, really.” Braym let out a deep sigh, scratching his throat while his eyes looked around. He stopped once his eyes returned to us.

“Yes,” Haati nodded. “That is why I must decline, Lady Hestia. I can’t leave my parents alone, right now.”

“Hmm, I see. Parents come first, I can understand that. However, I think you’re misunderstanding us a bit, Haati. You would be traveling, but you could easily still live inside Griffonpeak, if that’s what you want.” Haati tilted her head as I brought that revelation to her, causing me to smile. “Magic is pretty extraordinary, don’t you two think? Well, I won’t bore you two with the finer details of the spell, but let me just say that we can serve food to people from any country at the same time, even if the restaurant is here in Griffonpeak.”

““???”” Now even Braym was tilting his head and was looking at me as if he understood not even a word I’d said.

Explaining this concept to people has been pretty easy when I did it to other mages. If they had an inkling of knowledge on space-time magic, they would be able to grasp the concept somewhat. But this time, if I suddenly explained the finer details on the [Room] runes to them, I probably won’t get through to them. Seeing was better.

However, I couldn’t just bring out my [Room] runes now. It was just the evening after I brought up hiring new people to Tamae, and after I brought up that idea, we went straight to Griffonpeak. Braym’s eatery was gonna go into the night, so it was still pretty full. His wife and children were currently managing the front while we talked about Haati’s hiring in the back.

Showing them the nexus would be the best way to explain it, but I couldn’t do it here, where there was the danger of somebody I couldn’t trust seeing the runes. I’m okay with people knowing I could teleport, but not with how I could do it. The method had to stay a secret. After the invasion, I really had to be more careful.

“I know it’s confusing, but that’s how I’m here right now. Just for your information, I left the capital three weeks ago to go to Ullistar to perform one of my concerts. Currently, I was in Ullistar, working on some stuff there. The restaurant we were opening? Well, it will serve not only Artorian nobility and merchants, but also invite the merchants of Gleisvale.”

““?????””

Well, I kinda expected that reaction.

“Uhm, okay… I won’t say I understood anything you just said, Lady Hestia. What is teleportation anyways?” Haati seemed like she lost all hope in what I said. “However, the summary of what you meant to say is that I can work for your restaurant, but I didn’t have to leave the city?”

“Correct.” I nodded. She was smart enough to understand the gist of it. “You have two options — you can either stay in our quarters or you may stay at House Helvas’s mansion as one of our employees. Don’t worry, the latter option is alright since I have a strong relationship with them. They will treat you pretty well.”

“I can’t stay with my parents?”

“You could, but I wouldn’t advise it. You see, the whole teleportation method requires you to enter through a specific entry point, and the only ones, outside of myself, who have one are Arcanuess Helvas and another person I cannot disclose. That’s why I recommend you staying in House Helvas’s mansion, since you don’t have to go from and out of the noble district all the time.”

The other person was King Drangleic, but there was no need to reveal that.

Haati, still taken aback, didn’t answer immediately. I guess it would be hard to make such a decision like now, and I didn’t know how much we would pay her since I had no idea about it. Tamae, also, wasn’t versed in how to pay people since she only had a surface-level idea about the money of this world. She could use it and she had an idea of what was worth how much, but she didn’t know enough about how much eateries paid people.

However, that was why we brought somebody with us who knew about the whole money thing.

“If it’s your wage, we can discuss it right away.” It wasn’t Saori or Ellaine who spoke for us, it was Yorshka. “Your primary employer will be Hestia, but you will work under Tamae as she will be the proprietress for the eatery. As such, you will be receiving money appropriate for the person you are serving. In this case, the youngest princess of the Dragon Empire, Kargryx. We aren’t here to scam you, and are willing to compensate you for your work.”

Even if Yorshka acted lax sometimes, she was still an adult.

“No, that’s not it. I didn’t think Lady Hestia was here to trick me at all.” Waving her hands in a fluster, Haati cleared up the situation for us. “No, the reason why I’m not sure what to answer is because I still owe Braym for allowing me to work here. I don’t want to suddenly leave him just ‘cause a better option is available.”

That was understandable. Loyalty was good. It reinforced my wish to hire her even more.

Still, this will be tricky. I have to persuade her somehow, so it might be best to—

However, before I could say anything, Braym made his move first.

“Haati, I think you should accept the job.”

“Huh, Braym?!” Haati’s eyes widened while I raised a brow at this development. “W-Wait, hold on! D-Did I do something that you didn’t like. I didn’t break anything, nor did I give a wrong order to any of the customers ever since my first day working! W-Why are you trying to get rid of me?!”

“L-Lass?! Haati! Stop shaking me! Ark! Your claws!”

Haati suddenly shot up from her seat and grabbed Braym’s shoulders, shaking him wildly as she frantically bombarded him with questions. Yorshka went to help Braym out by pulling Haati back onto her seat, but she reacted too late as the katzune’s claws protracted and bit into him slightly.

I healed him with [Major Heal], but I don’t think you could hide the holes or bits of blood on his shirt. Looking over at Haati, she was breathing heavily and clutched her chest as if she was having a heart attack. Her eyes were wide like a scared cat and her shivering hands caused her claws to scratch herself.

“Can’t believe this happened again…” Barym said after we finally managed to calm Haati down. Confused at his comment, I prodded him to elaborate on it. “Well… Lady Hestia. Uhm… the thing is that this happened once before when she first began working here. She suddenly had a panic attack when she brought the wrong dish to a customer, dropped it and began scratching herself on her chest. My sons managed to calm her down, though.”

Hearing this, before I used [Major Heal] to heal the wounds she inflicted on herself just now, I looked through the opening at the chest area of her light dress. There I saw some fresh scars. Considering some of them still had scabs, too, she probably hurt herself recently.

Wasn’t this where I saw her slave mark? Shit.

“… It’s okay. They aren’t here anymore. They are all gone, Haati.” I soothed her as I sent my [White Flames] to heal her wounds and, hopefully, some of her old ones.

As we all sat back down, Barym apologized to us for what happened. He thought Haati had had it under control, as it never happened in the eatery again, but it seemed he touched a sore spot. I could agree. A very sore spot.

When Braym asked Haati what the hell happened just now, Haati just looked at the table meekly, unwilling to answer. However, seeing as it seemed to gnaw at her, I encouraged Haati to tell her secret if she thinks Barym is trustworthy. Holding it in wasn’t good.

Anxious, she told us she wasn’t willing to share it, as she was scared Braym would judge her for it. However, having PTSD from your experince as a slave wouldn’t help anybody if she kept it boiling inside her, releasing it in a burst whenever she was triggered. I had to make her aware that Braym was worried for her.

“But, he wants to get rid of me,” Haati argued, only for her boss to scoff at her.

“When did I say that, you idiot?!” Braym exclaimed. “I’m just saying that you’ll be better off with Lady Hestia and her job offer than with me. I can always just hire another waitress, but you have the golden opportunity to work with a noble here! Doesn’t your family need money after your brothers died? Idiot, take it! I like your loyalty, Haati, but you gotta take care of yourself here. I’m not telling you to leave cuz you’re a bad worker, I’m telling you to go since you need the money.”

Haati, widened her eyes again, but this time it was to release the tears now flowing down her face. Braym was surprised to see her cry, trying to calm her down as he had no idea what he said to make her so distraught. But, Haati looked grateful as she smiled at him.

She then went on to reveal her time as a slave and how she lost her brothers when she was kidnapped. She stayed as a slave for a good chunk of time, working mostly as a maid for Hamil’s guild, serving the gang members. The reason for Haati’s outburst was due to how they treated her whenever she made a mistake.

“The slave tattoo was placed on my chest. I-I can still sometimes feel the pain. That burning needle poking into my skin, marking me as theirs. I couldn’t go against them. If I made a mistake, the tattoo would heat up and burn my chest. Then, those scum would start kicking me as I fell onto the ground from the pain. It was a nightmare…”

Nearly two weeks of being a slave, and that mental scar has persisted in her mind until now. The phantom pain she felt whenever she made a mistake or when she thought Braym was kicking her out ‘cause she was inadequate, caused her heart to start beating faster and faster. She feared the burning sensation from coming back again.

Once again, I knew it, slavery shouldn’t exist in this world. I honestly would have liked it if Saori had busted that slave auction she saw in Gleisvale. Maybe I should pay those bastards a visit. Culture be damned.

After Haati was done retelling her story, to the point where she was released and had to tell her parents about everything that happened, Braym nodded firmly at her story and thanked her. “That makes me want to go with Lady Hestia even more, lass. She’s not only your savior but she wants to give you a job. If you ask me, this must be the Goddess’s will. Her champion wishes to give you a chance for a better life, so I think you shouldn’t let it go at any cost.”

“But, I’m not anything special. I can’t cook that well enough to serve it nor am I that good of a waitress. I can’t provide much to help them,” Haati argued, but Tamae interjected herself to clarify.

“The reason why Hestia recommended you to me was because you can be trusted. As you know, I only serve food nobody knows about in Artorias. I’m planning to continue doing that; sharing the recipes inside my head by using the ingredients around me is a dream come true. But, since the recipes are trade secrets, I can’t hire people who could risk that secrecy.”

“And I trust you, Haati. It also helps that you’re a fan of my music, hiehie, but, ahem, I also think you won’t squander the goodwill I gave you. And that’s the most important,” I added. “You’re competent enough. I saw you work the last time I was here. You can only go up from here, and I think you’re up for the challenge. As such, will you help me, Haati?”

Haati’s eyes widened as I extended my arm. She then looked over at Braym, to which he nodded to push her further over the finish line. Seeing this, she smiled before looking back at me.

“I will make sure not to disappoint you, Lady Hestia!”

[Katzune, Haati] has received the title [Hestia’s Retainer]>

Hold on, what?

“Huh?! Lady Hestia, I just—”

“Abababa! We can talk about it later, Haati! Hehehe, yeah, let’s talk about it later.” I frantically stopped her from talking. “Ahem, well, there will be a lot to do now that you gave me the okay, so we’ll make arrangements for you depending on where you want to stay. Either at House Helvas, or with us, in our company wagon. We have enough space to give you an entire room for yourself with the latter option.”

“I can still visit my parents with either one, right?”

“Yes, that teleportation magic I told you about will work for either case.”

“Then I would like to join your wagon. I would rather stay with people I know, at least.”

“Got it.” I nodded in satisfaction “We’ll pick you up tomorrow or however long you need to inform people.”

“I can get ready tonight. My parents can’t work properly, but they can still take care of themselves well enough. Besides, I had been living away from them before I was enslaved. I’ll make them let me go.”

With Haati recruited and her accommodations decided, it was time for us to say goodbye to Haati and Braym, telling the former we’ll see each other later on. After that, we went to House Helvas’s mansion and entered the subspace, only to teleport ourselves to Firwood. Our next target was a chef to help Tamae out, and we had an ideal candidate for it.

We only needed Yorshka to do it properly.

“Mom?!” It was Priscilla, Farron’s and Yorshka’s only daughter. “A-And, Hestia?! Tamae, too?!”

Oh! She remembered me!

“Hehe… hey, honey. Uhm, let me just get your father for a moment, actually, let’s just go upstairs.”

It was just after Priscilla’s shift as one of the chefs responsible for the kitchen in the hunter’s guild of Firwood and the inn next to it. If I remembered correctly, she became a chef to help her father, since the latter was still injured from his crystalized lungs.

“Hmm? Kiddo? Cooking gal? Dear? Why are you all here?” It has been several months since I last met Farron, and the guy hasn’t changed one bit ever since I met him.

Now that I looked at the family with all of them here, I could really see the similarities Priscilla shared with her father and mother. The beautiful snow-white hair from Yorshka, and the blazing-red eyes she got from Farron. She was still in her human form right now, but from the sweet smell coming from her, I could tell she was a dragonewt.

After we sat down and made small talk to catch up on the time we haven’t met each other, Tamae and Yorshka began explaining the reason why we came here today, expressing that the Tamae could really use another chef in the kitchen since it always got so busy that she had to call in Saori or Asaka to help her. She had her improved Strength and Agility to help her, but that only got her so far; stats weren’t a replacement for cooking the food properly.

“Although, Hestia, isn’t it a bit weird for us to hire her? Isn’t Priscilla only twelve, Dame Yorshka?” Tamae asked, only for Priscilla to point out she just had her birthday.

“I actually became 13 two months ago.”

“And, there is no child-working law in Artorias, as you know. It probably doesn’t exist anywhere in Peolynca, I presume,” Farron rebuked Tamae’s question. “I don’t know how Earth does it, but that’s what Yorshka told me. Here, the moment you become eight, you’re expected to work if you’re a commoner. Mandatory schools do not exist, and most of the education is done at home.”

“Hmm, that’s right. My precious Priscilla already knows how to do anything an adult is supposed to know.” Yorshka then embraced Priscilla and hugged her like a teddy bear, similar to how Mother would do it to me. However, unlike me, Priscilla seemed to enjoy it far more. “She can read and write well, she can do her calculations, and she’s also interested in history so all my talk about our clan hasn’t gone in one ear and out the other.”

“Mom, please, I know, I know, but you’ll squish me at this rate. You’re too strong!” Priscilla eventually managed to slip out of Yorshka’s arm. After recovering her breath, she prodded Tamae for more details. “So, uhm, Tamae, first, thank you very much for showing me that onigiri dish last time and the other small snacks you could make with bread and rice. It really helped me a lot and Father also liked it!”

“Oh, that’s good to hear, Priscilla. The culinary arts is an endless adventure, worth sharing with everybody you meet. I rarely had any chance to cook properly without rushing myself during all the traveling, so I was just glad that you allowed me in the guild’s kitchen,” Tamae expressed her gratitude. “But, now that I’m with Hestia and Aurora, I’ve been able to really experiment with all the ingredients they bring in. Recreating a lot of Earth’s cuisine is important, but I also want to adapt them to Peolynca.”

“Our food bill has skyrocketed with how much Aurora has grown in size, especially my mother, the twins, and the virigresses having big appetites. Good thing we got somebody turning the ingredients into good meals,” I praised Tamae’s work in the kitchen. Sure, she didn’t like fighting, but having somebody keep everybody fed and happy was also an important job.

“Wow, that does sound pretty amazing.” Priscilla’s eyes dazzled at everything we said, looking as if she wanted to directly pounce at us for more stories. Considering how curious Priscilla was about the outside world and Earth when we started becoming friends, I could imagine she wanted to learn more.

And as if she read my mind, she snapped her head directly to Farron. Using puppy’s eyes, she was already making a move to the latter’s chagrin.

“… You really want to leave, huh?” Farron asked with disappointment, but Priscilla denied it.

“No, of course not, I can’t leave you while you’re still sick, Father. However, with the teleportation nexus they have around, I can just treat the eatery as another job. If Hestia can give us a set, I can simply go to the eatery in the morning, cook your lunch, do my work time, and then I can meet you back at home,” Priscilla argued, putting Farron at ease she understood how it worked. “Also, Mom is finally around, Father! We can finally meet her all the time, whenever we want. We don’t have to stay apart for months now, and I really want to spend more time with her! Also see what she saw instead of hearing her stories all the time!”

“Ooooh, Priscilla. My little treasure.” Yorshka embraced her again. “Seeee, Farron? I told you she took after me. Always wanting to learn more and travel. Not like a certain stubborn desk scribe.”

“Desk scribe? Last time I checked, being a ‘desk scribe’ makes sure our household has a stable income source, unlike how you would wander around the continent, trying to find a job suitable for your rank.” Farron didn’t look too pleased at his wife’s teasing.

“Oh yeah? Who is the one getting the ingredients for your cure, hmm? We already have three of the five necessary stuff for the recipe, and I bought all three of them,” Yorshka pointed out the potion to cure Farron’s crystalized lungs. “Also, from what I heard, you’ve been getting pretty rusty. You’re still good at home, but can you wield your spear on the training field~?”

Yorshka suddenly let go of Priscilla and touched Farron’s left leg with her fingers, moving them up slowly like a spider.

“Oh? Is that a challenge?” Farron’s hand began stroking Yorshka’s chin, causing her to smile and bite her lips. “I’ll show you how much this husband of yours hasn’t changed when we last met a week ago. Let’s see if your tail can keep up, my love. Then, I’ll crush you one-on-one.”

““…”” Priscilla and I couldn’t help but cringe as they looked at each other lovey-dovey.

“… So that’s why Dame Yorshka was so late that other time.”

Before they could make-out and do some pretty PG18 stuff, I left two [Room] runes on Farron’s desk before leaving his office with Tamae and Priscilla. We could leave Yorshka alone for now.

“Uhm, well, I think it will work out in the end, so when do I start?” Priscilla stated to our satisfaction. The guild’s kitchen already was full enough, so losing Priscilla really wouldn’t hurt them.

After informing Priscilla that we will start tomorrow, early in the morning, Priscilla nodded and told us good night for the day. “Good night, Tamae! You too, Grandaunt Hestia!”

“Urk!” I flinched.

“Oh right, Yorshka is your niece, right?” Tamae remembered. “A one year old grandaunt huh? Although, with how age worked with dragons and dragonewts, you’re probably Yorshka’s great-great-and-so-on grandaunt, anyways.”

Life was suffering.

However, while it was soon a good night for Priscilla, our trip wasn’t over yet. We still had one more person to recruit, and thankfully, it was somebody also in Firwood.

“Hmm, are you sure this is the correct place, Hesti-chan?” Tamae asked me.

“Probably. I’ve only been here once, but if they’re at home right now, we can finish it off our list. Let’s just hope.”

In a neighborhood bordering the middle and slum district of the town, we found ourselves in front of an apartment. Walking up the dirty stairs, we stopped at a door on the second floor. Knocking on it, I smiled as a familiar voice came from behind it.

“Who’s there?” A young man’s voice could be heard.

“Well, I don’t know if you two can still remember me, but I can remember you two. Ruld? Lorena? It’s been a long time!”

“Y-Yeah, that’s our name, but wh— Woah, Lorena?!”

The door slammed up and a young woman with dark green hair appeared before. Her clothes looked quite patchwork, suggesting it was regularly mended by adding cloth to cover up holes on the dress. Dirt and some soup stock could be seen on her apron. Maybe she was cooking.

But the most surprising sight was the fact her belly wasn’t as bloated anymore. It was slim.

“Lady Hestia!”

“Hey, Lor— Woah!” Without letting me speak, Lorena jumped into my arms and embraced me. Giggling, I reciprocated her gesture. This woman was the first human friend I had in Peolynca. “It’s good to see you, again.”

After she had enough of hugging me, she invited us inside her home, apologizing that this place wasn’t suited for a noble like me. She was still the same as we first met, it seemed.

Ruld, also apologized, but mostly ‘cause he couldn’t remember my voice. I didn’t think bad of him at all, since opening your door when it began getting dark wasn’t advised. It was very dangerous to do so.

When Tamae and I sat down, we noticed the two bowls on the table, meaning they were just having dinner. Bad timing on us, but the two didn’t take it too badly.

“I see you guys are still together. Good for you!” I congratulated Lorena and Ruld on their marriage.

“And it’s all thanks to you, Lady Hestia. Honestly, I cannot thank you nor the Goddess for the honor of meeting you,” Ruld bowed his head. “We did hit some problems up until now, but I think we’ve been doing well. Our jobs are exhausting, but they’re keeping us afloat.”

“Mhmm, that’s great!” My eyes then turned to Lorena, specifically, her belly. “I see you’ve changed, Lorena. I guess from the lack of crying, you did choose to give up the baby to the orphanage, right?”

However, unexpectedly, getting directly to the point of it seemed to have caused Lorena to frown. She looked grief-struck at the table, clutching her hands.

As I stared in shock at what happened, I turned to Ruld, only to see him have his eyes closed. Something had happened, and I just brought that memory up again.

Before I could ask, Lorena spoke, “… Maybe it was the Goddess’s way of saying that I shouldn’t have thought of the baby as such. That not being able to give him enough love meant he shouldn’t have lived his life. I didn’t want him, but he still deserved to live…”

And then it became clear.

“We… Lorena had a miscarriage, Lady Hestia,” Ruld answered my fears. “The baby might have come from Lorena’s rapist, but in the light of the Goddess, the baby should have at least given the chance to live his life out.”

“Rapist?!” Tamae exclaimed, reminding me that I forgot to tell her about it. I calmed her down and told her I would explain it once we left.

“Lorena…” I tried to say something to soothe her, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“It’s alright, Lady Hestia. I was already able to mourn for him. Even if the newborn came from a man I never want to remember ever again, it was still mine. I was still his mother, and I failed to give him the life he deserved. A warning to me that I should love my next child with Ruld, otherwise it might happen again…”

I should not tell her anything about Hamil.

I was planning on revealing everything I knew about Hamil to Lorena, but at this point, it might just be better to forget it entirely. Just leave it in the past so Lorena could heal from her time. Once again, I regretted my passiveness in the past. I should have killed Hamil for what he did to Lorena!

Seeing the situation at hand, I told Tamae it was better for us to leave and she agreed with me. However, when we stood back up, Lorena stopped us, telling me she hadn’t seen me in months and wanted to talk and why I was in the city right now.

As such, I let Tamae tell her about the restaurant and our wish to hire Lorena as a waitress since we needed people we could trust. Lorena, listening to us talk for the entire time, nodded after we were done.

“How much does it pay?” Lorena asked bluntly.

“We were planning on talking about pay tomorrow, when our treasurers talk about it, but you can expect a good price since I’m hiring you, Lorena,” I answered. “The eatery is placed in a type of magic area. You will be visiting the hunter’s guild and talking to Farron, the guild leader there. He will then transport you to the area. It’s better if you see it for yourself, so we’re planning on showing you it tomorrow. Or, the second option, you could join us and we’ll make accommodations for you in this magical area.”

“I understand.” She nodded before turning to Ruld. “Dear, I think this might be a chance for us to get out of this neighborhood and get a new life.”

“Lorena?!”

“Think about it. We’ve been having some trouble lately with those women starting to believe I’m having an affair since I had that miscarriage. It’s true… but you know it came from that bastard,” Lorena pleaded to her husband.

“I know… I know they’ve been harassing you, but I also can’t just leave my workshop. They brought me in, and I still owe the Master a great debt. I can’t just up-go-and-leave like that.”

“You don’t have to,” I interjected. “If you don’t want to leave Firwood, I’ll get you an apartment close to the hunter’s guild’s master. Considering you’re working for me, it would be better if you stuck around Farron for your safety, in case, I have any enemies in Firwood. And, don’t worry, this magical area allows you to enter it and back to Firwood whenever you want. If you choose the second option, that is.”

“See?” Lorena begged Ruld once again. “Please, I just want to leave this area and the memories here… We don’t need to get out of Firwood, but just a new place to start anew. If I know it’s for Lady Hestia, I know I can work even harder to get us more money. I’ll make sure I will love our children Ruld. I will make sure they will be born!”

“… Of course, if it’s for your happiness, I’ll do it, Lorena.”

And that was how we got the last member for Tamae’s eatery. Even with three more people, it probably will still be too busy as always, but our gastronome didn’t mind it. She relished the challenge to manage two restaurants. Cooking and experimenting with food was her dream in Peolynca.

And, it was also our path to conquer the bellies of Gleisvale. As such, we needed a proper menu for that.

“Let’s do this, Tamae-chan!”

“Got it, Hesti-chan.”

An idol and chef were about to bring another culinary revolution to this world.