So… let’s review. After forgetting my passport back in Bilgam, I decided to stick to my pride and just get another one all the way in Melgam. The issue with this plan came after I was informed I need someone to serve as my witness in order to do so. I didn’t know this before, since Lune was the one who did all the paperwork for the both of us.

As such, I was left to wander the streets of Melgam for the rest of the day, but then I found something unexpected – an Arthur’s establishment with Carl leading the forefront. After a bit of catching up, he introduced me to the workers. Leo, Marco & Bennett were the waiters, Eleanor & Jen manned the register, and Jackie worked alone in the kitchen.

“How did you guys not bankrupt by now?” I asked Carl honestly.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean ‘What do I mean’?!?” I yelled at him, “We want Arthur’s to represent a modern, youthful vibe, and you make the guys the waiters?”

“…What?” The cogs in his head started to turn, “You mean you’re mad at the guys for not being good enough waiters? I’m pretty sure they’re doing well though…”

All three of the waiters glared at me with a nasty look. Even though I didn’t mean that, looks like they took my words to heart.

“No, that’s not what I mean!” I corrected Carl quickly, “I’m just saying that restaurants with waitresses instead of waiters tend to be more popular is all. Don’t take this the wrong way, in business, first impressions are key. This is why we need young, beautiful maidens to tend to the customer, wouldn’t you agree?”

The girls suddenly smiled at my compliment (even Jackie who’s almost never seen, since she’s making the food behind the scenes most of the time). Thank goodness I learned how to flirt and compliment girls from watching Lune and Cecily. Those two love-struck idiots made the air around the all fuzzy within five minutes of being in the same room together…

“I-I see…” Carl started stroking his chin while getting lost in thought.

“Wait, we object to this!” The guys said unanimously, “We’re not good with numbers, and the girls are all super shy around new customers. Hell, Jackie’s so quiet we don’t even know how she sounds!”

Jackie backed away from the commotion, even though she was the one getting chewed on. I still stood my ground though, God knows I’m not gonna bend to their will. I suggested I teach them how to calculate change quicker during our breaks, and that it isn’t as scary as they’re making it out to be. Even still, they really didn’t seem to like me, because they kept reaching for reasons as to why my idea would flop.

“But the girls are dainty klutzes, they’ll drop the trays!” Said Marco.

“How rude!” Jen raised her voice in retaliation, “Like you’re one to talk, you still can’t count past 10 because you use your fingers!”

Pfft, seriously? Even some of the dumbest of our gang members knew that much…

I accidentally let out a snicker at Jen’s provocation, which made Marco a bit embarrassed. From what I’m gathering, he’s the type to want to prove himself to his peers. This gives me an idea…

“Shut it! That’s not true! She’s making it up!” Marco turned to me with bright red ears, “Besides, is there even a need to count higher than ten?”

“Yeah, you seem to have already figured that out.” I reasoned with him, “Since the menu here is very cheap, there is rarely a need to go past a single gold coin, so if you can just learn to count to 100, then you’re all set.”

“Huh?” He looked at me with astonishment, “But I didn’t…?”

“No need to be humble,” I interrupted him with compliments, “The moment I saw you I knew you had a knack for this, you just need someone to guide you through the ropes and you’ll be ringing people up like there’s no tomorrow!”

“…” He looked at the floor for a bit, then back at me, “Y’think so?”

“I know so.” I assured him.

Carl was trying so hard not to laugh at our exchange, all the while the other workers realized my ability to get the best out of people. After seeing me trick Marco into learning basic arithmetics willingly, the other workers also smartened up and decided to follow my instructions.

As such, the new lineup was as such: Marco and Bennett were manning the stalls, Jackie and Eleanor were the waitresses, and Jen and Leo were our cooks. Oh, and if you’re wondering what Carl is doing, he’s tasked with advertising and repairing any and all damages. In a way, his is the most taxing job, but he doesn’t particularly seem to mind all that much.

“As long as you’re here, Lil’ Bro, everything will be fine!” He said with a grin that went from ear to ear.

-1 Week In-

“S-So sorry, sir!” Jackie apologized profusely to the customer after spilling her third drink today.

“I have an important interview today, how am I gonna explain this to my boss?” The customer reprimanded her.

“Hey, my soup has a hair in it!” Another customer complained to the register.

“The fuck you want me to do about it?” Marco shot back, “I ain’t making the food here, take it up with the cook!”

“Marco, calm down!” Bennett tried deescalating the situation, “Hehe, sorry ma’am, we’ll get you another serving free of charge.”

As he entered the doors in the back leading to the kitchen, three things could be heard: something smashing on the ground, a loud yell, and the doors slamming with Jen and Leo angrily looking to find the customer who returned their food.

“Who is it!?” They yelled, “Which one of you fucks doesn’t like our cooking?! Let me know so I can spit in your drink!”

“LEO, JEN!” Bennett crawled out of the room with a bruised eye, “Calm… down…”

After he collapsed, the place only got rowdier. Carl was out advertising, so he couldn’t help me with keeping them from being this way. I guess I placed too much responsibility on Benny when I told him to look after the others. Just then, the kind, prim and proper young lady known simply as Eleanor grabbed the angry cooks and tossed them back in the kitchen. She calmly took Bennett to the break room, and came back to tend to the customer Jackie spilt coffee on.

“Is everyone alright? I apologize for the inconvenience caused, and promise to take full responsibility for our misconduct.” She said to the entire room as they looked on at her.

Suddenly, the tension in the room was almost nonexistent. The customers realized just how much pressure they were pushing on our employees, so they felt a bit bad and apologized as well. Jackie looked up to Eleanor a lot, so she just kept staring at her with stars in her eyes. Marco was too preoccupied with counting the previous customer’s change that he didn’t really notice any of this happening, and I cried a river of tears.

Eleanor!!! The Goddess of peace! Our shop’s patron saint!

After another week or so, everyone got into the groove of things, and we were doing much better this time.

“Good day, sir! How did the interview go?” Jackie asked the customer from last week, “Here’s your coffee, by the way!”

She’s opened up to the customers a bit, but she’s still not used to carrying around food from one table to another. That being said, she’s now separately carrying food trays and drink trays, and makes sure to be extra careful while handing them to the customer.

“Haha!” The customer said, “I got the job! I’m sorry for lashing out earlier, I was under a lot of stress, you don’t have to be so careful with handing me my coffee, though! Haha!”

He was all smiles from seeing a young shy girl timidly approach him and carefully fumble around with the tray before handing him his morning drink. She might not notice this, but this was also a part of my plan. This ‘Shy Girl’ stunt is very popular with maid cafés and the likes, so I was sure she was gonna be a hit with the customers. Shame she wasn’t put in the spotlight earlier.

“That new girl is super cute!” One customer commented on Jackie’s mannerisms, “She’s a bit of a klutz, but that’s good in its own way.”

“I see what you mean, but I think the proper one is nice too.” Another customer commented on Eleanor, “She gives off the ‘Older Sister’ vibe, and she’s always there to set the others straight.”

“Now that you mention it, they really seem like a family, what with that new manager being the father, haha!” The first one agreed.

Well, it wasn’t my intention to father 6 children, but I don’t mind whatever they see us as as long as it works. I wonder where Carl fits into the whole family thing…

Either way, these days continued for a bit more. Thanks to Carl’s spectacular advertising, we got a lot of new customers, but it was thanks to everyone doing their parts that these new customers stayed. Our revenue grew exponentially, and before we knew it we were a really hot topic in Melgam.

“Gotta hand it to ya’, boss, you really kept your promise.” Marco commended me as we were all finishing up for the day, “To think you could make an idiot like me useful in something like maths.”

“Don’t be like that,” I added, “A friend of mine always told me that a person is capable of everything if given enough time and effort. You made it this far thanks to no one but yourself, I just gave you the starting push you needed.”

“Boss…” Everyone looked at me with teary eyes, before Jackie spoke up, “Boss, you mentioned you were… l-leaving soon?”

The others turned to face me with a serious expression. Looks like I grew on them to the point of becoming indispensable, eh?

“Yeah,” I stated clearly, “I’ve got some business back home. I’m just helping out Carl over here since he’s helped me in the past.”

“Did I now?” He questioned my choice of words, “I only remember you guys employing me back in Station Arfa, then making me manager after you left.”

“Is that how you see it?” I asked, “Cause from my point of view, we were just a bunch of thirteen year olds in need of a job. If you didn’t give us a chance by selling your restaurant under our brand, we’d still be in Trivis Numerica.”

“Wait,” The others suddenly stopped our conversation, “Boss, just how old are you?”

“Sixteen?” I gave them a puzzled look as I answered them.

“THAT YOUNG?!?” They yelled out in unison.

“W-Well,” I chuckled, “I’ll be seventeen soon, so…”

“That’s not the point!” They added, “You did so much in just 16 years! You’re incredible!”

“…” I stayed quiet.

I didn’t do jack on my own. Lune helped drag me out of Whitehood, Anna and Arthur helped me figure out the basics of economics and how to run a business. Graal helped us with our passports and introduced us to the ITA before we were even legally of age. Cecily and Carter helped teach us how to control a crowd…

After Carter passed, I got to thinking what I’ll do if any of these people eventually bit the dust as well. Will I still be able to do anything on my own? Will I crumble under the pressure? These thoughts kept me up at night recently. They’re the sole reason I decided to head back to Trivis Numerica, I want to prove to myself that I am capable of something myself…

“I’m nothing special.” I finally answered their praise, “Anyone can accomplish what I did with enough effort, just keep at it. Now c’mon, let’s finish this up and go to bed.”

“Yessir!” They cheered.

And so, another week passed. We employed another worker by the name of Larry to fill in after I left. In the meantime, Carl served as my witness in the ITA, so I got my passport without any issues. All that was left for me was to say goodbye to these guys.

“Boss, sniff, don’t leave!” Jackie cried out.

“It’s not gonna be the same without you, Boss!” Benny said with teary eyes, “I’ll do my best to hold down the fort!”

“Thanks for everything!” Marco said in between sniffles.

“If you’re ever in the vicinity, please come and visit us. We’ll be sure to treat you to a Latte.” Eleanor said with a calm demeanor (but she was clenching her handkerchief tightly, so I guess even she was a bit saddened by my departure).

“Geez, you guys! Stop bugging the man, he’s probably glad he’s finally free of our annoying asses!” Jen reprimanded their sappy attitudes.

“Shut it, you!” Leo growled at her, “If it wasn’t for him, you’d still be stuck having to listen to the customers’ rambling, thank him properly!”

“Ugh, fine…” She turned to me with a slight blush, “…Thanks I guess.”

“Pft!” I started chuckling.

“Wha-!” Jen blushed even more, “What’s so funny?!”

“You, heh, you guys…” I laughed even more, “You’re really making me feel bad for leaving. You’re making me miss my family even more, goddammit.”

“…” The room got quiet for a bit. I gave everyone a strong hug before leaving by way of transport wagon.

The interesting thing about this is, I’m not going to The Kingdom of Carmen. Since I’m in Melgam, I decided to take a little detour and visit Grim over in The Plural Divide before going home (I remember he mentioned something about wanting to visit that place after Great Hiana soon after I left).

He didn’t mention anything about where exactly he is, but knowing him he’s probably made a name for himself there already. It shouldn’t be difficult to find him if I ask around in the ITA as well. Man, this was fun…