ch201-ch220 · 211-ch211

Chapter 211: The Ultimate Choice

"So Kokoa came by here earlier. Ah, of course I hid properly? Natsuki handled her, but there's a bit of a problem..."

Before dinner.

I'd just gotten back from my shower when I overheard Mia-san talking with Kasumi-san.

"So that girl's name is Kokoa-chan? What a delicious-sounding name. Big sis loves cocoa too, you know."

Shiraishi-san had finished work and joined us as well.

Kokoa is a person's name...

I thought this was about some delivered drink arriving warm or something, but apparently not.

A nickname, maybe?

Someone who loves cocoa, like Shiraishi-san?

In that case Shiraishi-san's nickname would be "Parfait," though.

"Kokoa-san, you mean? I'd heard she joined a proper party and has been doing quite well for herself... Did something happen on her end?"

"Nah, she's fine. It's her kouhai—same age as you, Haruki. Seems she was planning to have my shop take them in once they graduated high school... But the shop moved, remember? And I was running around like crazy, so all I gave her was a half-hearted 'uh-huh'... She got worried and came to see for herself..."

Taking them in?

"For now I told her we're deep in the dungeon today and tomorrow, so there was no telling when we'd be back, and sent her home. She also said she'd like to meet you, Watanabe-san—asked me to pass that along?"

Aikawa joins the conversation too.

Soushi is hard at work in the kitchen.

He carried moving boxes AND made us lunch—he really does work hard.

Alright, time to go bother him.

"If it's Kokoa-san's kouhai, then a live-in part-time job? That would be difficult here."

Cocoa only?

Yes. I'm sorry.

"That's how it is. Natsuki can rent some place of her own before she graduates, so I'd like to take them in, but..."

Mia-san looks over at me as I try to slip past.

What?

"If they lived in, we couldn't use this place for overnight stays like today... And kouhai Kokoa-san looks after would be women, right?"

Ah, so THAT'S the problem.

Kasumi-san reads Mia-san's glance and answers for her.

Because there's a chance my secret gets out, after all.

But if someone's working live-in, would they be a runaway girl or something?

Which would make Mia-san's shop something like a modern-day refuge temple...

I feel kind of bad for that person...

"Yep. Two of them, no less. Apparently they gave adventuring a try, but one of them just can't do the party thing. So they're not making much money. Even by Kokoa's read, adventuring alone won't cut it."

Two runaways at once?

And on the "can't do parties" point, she was looking at me when she said it, too.

What's that about?

"Ah, I've got it! A special skill, isn't it."

Aikawa caught that glance too, and arrived at the answer.

Ah, a special skill you can't tell people about.

You can't form a party without sharing special skills, after all.

So unless you find comrades you can really trust, it's hopeless.

And finding those is hard.

I understand that all too well.

"Even if you get it, don't say it out loud. But yeah, that's the situation..."

Mia-san looks rather embarrassed about being caught out by her own glance.

Does Mia-san know what that special skill is?

Now I'm curious...

"So what kind of special skill is it?"

It slipped out...

"Like I'd tell you, idiot! You're the whole reason we can't take live-in workers!"

I got yelled at.

Harsh...

But that means Mia-san does know.

"If they're girls, they couldn't join our party either."

Aikawa says.

Why not?

If anything, we're hardly recruiting anyone but girls, though?

"True. If live-in is impossible, then hire them as regular employees? In that case we'd have to find them somewhere to live. If they mean to keep adventuring, that would mean the HQ dungeon—so let's consult with Kokoa-san and Anego-san and look for a place they can stay."

Kasumi-san nods along.

I see... so it's no good, huh...

Still, they sure are practiced at handling runaway girls.

"Employees!? Rivals, perhaps? No—running a shop isn't something one or two people can manage alone. Big sis will teach them all sorts of things as their senior, so rest assured!"

Shiraishi-san gives her chest a confident "pom."

Just a "pom," and yet somehow so impressive.

"Nah, we've got Natsuki, and my parents might come by on weekends too. There's already a whole crowd of part-timer-ish people hanging around, so we don't need more? First of all, Shiraishi-san—how much are they paying you right now? I can't pay you even half what the Association does. Just quietly keep being Association staff... It's not like you hate it there, right?"

"Aww, maaan—"

So she still hasn't been told, huh?

This is a weapon shop, you know?

Well, I'm the one who let her misunderstand in the first place...

Ah, Kasumi-san is looking at me.

It's nothing. I wasn't looking at anything.

"Shiraishi-san, about that—there seems to be a slight mix-up. First of all, this is not a restaurant. It's Mia-san's shop, which makes it a 【Blacksmith】's shop."

Oh-ho, she caught the meaning of that glance, it seems.

Can these people read minds from glances or something?

Yes. Nothing happened. Nothing at all.

"Huh? 【Houseworksmith】? There's a job like that? So they do cleaning too, not just cooking? I heard Mia-chan was a 【Blacksmith】 though, that's differe—... Huh? A smith? Which smith?"

The smith is a 【Blacksmith】, Shiraishi-san.

I'm pretty sure 【Houseworksmith】 doesn't exist, though?

I have heard 【Maid】 exists, though.

"A restaurant? What I sell is weapons and armor for adventurers! A 【Blacksmith】—the metalworking kind of smith! What did you take this place for?"

Shiraishi-san turns her gaze on Mia-san, and Mia-san answers.

"Eh? But the parfaits...? So even if I worked here I couldn't eat them? Then what is Sou-chan doing here? Oh! Staff meals! That's it, staff meals! If I work here, I could eat the ultimate parfait as a staff meal, couldn't I?"

Well, in a sense she's not wrong...

"What are you talking about? As for parfaits, I bought the ingredients, so if you ask Soushi, I'm sure he'll make you one?"

Hey, Aikawa, don't say unnecessary things.

The important part of the conversation is coming up, you know.

"Yay—! No wait, that's not it! Even if today's fine, if I don't work here I can't eat them every day, can I! Then the ultimate parfait will never get made!"

Right, right—that was the whole point.

We were going to use "Won't you research the parfait of your dreams?" as the hook to get her leveling with us.

"And that is where we have a favor to ask. Please let us handle your leveling, Shiraishi-san. If that wish is granted—well, not every day, but Natsukawa-san says that whenever he has time to spare, he'll prioritize making whatever parfait you desire."

Soushi did say he'd make them anytime, but it's all in how you phrase things.

"But I refused that before, didn't I...? That squelchy feeling of doing THAT to monsters is just no good... If I took parfaits in exchange for it, I'd never enjoy a parfait again... But if I don't do it, the ultimate parfait will never be completed, will it? A delicious parfait... or the ultimate parfait... Truly the ultimate choice... Uuu..."

I don't think you need to agonize that much...

But if it's the squelchy feeling she hates, then as long as that's not there, she should be fine, right?

We should probably confirm that point too.

"Hey, hey, quit bullying her. Making someone do what they hate is not okay. Soushi would make them for you without going that far, right? Right, Natsuki?"

Mia-san, unable to watch any longer, throws out a lifeline—but we're not bullying her at all.

We've already prepared another path.

"Actually, there is a wonderful method. A way to level up simply by eating parfaits—simply by researching the ultimate parfait."

"Oh! The magic parfait the little boy mentioned before! Amazing. I want to eat it! Will it come out today? I was supposed to eat it slowly, wasn't I... so hard!"

The Shiraishi-san who'd been agonizing just moments ago suddenly perks up.

What's so hard about eating slowly...

"What is with that name..."

Mia-san gives me a disgusted look.

Yes. The developer of the magic parfait is me.

"Indeed. Not a magic parfait, mind you—the Magic Parfait Operation... We'd like you to hear all the details first, and if you accept, we'd like to start as soon as Monday. I'll go ask Soushi to serve an ordinary parfait today. Though whether anything Soushi makes counts as 'ordinary' is anyone's guess..."

Ideally we'd have him make something extra delicious to deliver the final push.