Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: An Ominous Hot Post
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An ominous post had risen to the 'Hot' notice board.
"Um, ma'am."
The student who'd called out to me hesitated for a long while before finally gulping hard, as if she'd made up her mind.
"By any chance... are you hiring part-timers?"
Her expression alone conveyed how desperately she wanted to work here.
"We are short-staffed, but..."
In the dream, I'd boldly told that ancient spirit to become a worker at my café, so help was definitely needed.
Still, I had no intention of hiring a minor.
"Sorry. It might be tough for someone so young."
I drew a firm line, and she stood there for a moment, unable to hide her disappointment.
Then she took a deep breath—whoosh—
and looked up at me again with pleading eyes.
"If it's okay... could I show you what I can do?"
Her confident demeanor suggested she'd worked at cafés before.
Of course.
Even if she had café experience, it wouldn't change my mind.
'Hiring a minor means dealing with all sorts of headaches.'
Still.
She'd come all this way because she wanted to work here, so maybe I could at least treat her to a cup of flower tea.
Just as that thought crossed my mind.
I spotted the student darting behind the counter.
"H-Hey, wait! You can't go back there...!"
Soon after, a hiss—! rang out as white steam billowed from the steam pitcher.
'...Huh? She knows how to use the steamer?'
She deftly fitted the portafilter and pulled a shot, then tilted the pitcher to pour the milk in smoothly.
With each flick of her wrist, a tulip with crisp leaf veins and then a heart bloomed in sequence.
And that was just the beginning.
Complex syrup mixes, topped drinks, and more.
Custom orders I'd bought ingredients for but never tried making flowed effortlessly from her hands.
I couldn't hold back and finally asked.
"You must've worked at another café for a while."
Even so, I wondered.
She didn't look like someone who'd been slaving away for minimum wage under someone else...
'How is she so good?'
Maybe making coffee was just her hobby?
"Well... I've never actually worked at another café."
The student smiled sheepishly as she replied.
"Truth is, one of my dad's company's affiliates runs a major franchise café chain."
...What did I just hear?
Dad's company? Affiliates?
Was she actually a chaebol heiress...?
"I wanted to work here, but gates haven't been opening lately, so I went to headquarters ahead of time and learned everything I could..."
Her words left me inwardly amazed.
She was so thoroughly prepared.
How well would she handle café work?
Honestly, I was dying to beg her to start tomorrow.
"Well, minors need parental consent to work..."
Before I could finish.
She jumped in.
"I figured that, so I prepared all the paperwork in advance... Could I come back tomorrow with my dad...?"
Her sparkling eyes brimmed with desperation to work here no matter what.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but smile.
"Got it. Bring the documents tomorrow."
"Y-Yes... Yes! Thank you, ma'am!"
After the student left.
I sank into thought.
Dad's company, affiliates, major franchise café.
'She really is a chaebol daughter...?'
But in a family like that, money would be no object.
So why did she want to work at my café?
'Whatever. I'm so grateful.'
Thinking of how she'd come prepared to learn for my café made me feel proud of her.
'I hope things go smoothly with her parents...'
Before I knew it, I'd grown fond of this girl I'd just met.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [A new feature and bulletin board have been added to 'Spirits'♡ Playground'!] [Share your daily lives!] I tapped the message window that kept obstructing my view.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 [Aggroa] [Photo Feature Celebration Event!] - Post on the 'Photo Board' and the spirit with the most comments wins a special gift! - We've prepared a 'gift' every spirit will covet, so show lots of love~ ^^* - Event period: Until the first moonflower blooms in the Western Forest. There was still some time before the lunch rush.
So I decided to check out the new bulletin board.
The photo board was already buzzing with posts despite being brand new.
Among them, the one with the most comments was Lily's—her looks had skyrocketed in popularity.
⭐ Top Post — [LilyPrincess♡] [Lily Princess >.<] [22] [Photo] — Spirit123 Gasp... she's really pretty... — Strongest凸Reaper Just as the rumors say, you're stunning. — Sp.i.r.i.t.J.o.a. I'm a fan starting today. My eyes see only Lily now, and I'll gaze at her forever... — Aggroa Oh, so pretty — Luminyang Lol nyangnyang (lol is she that pretty?) Lily wasn't just treated like an idol at the human café—she was getting the same at the spirit café.
If she'd been born human, she'd surely be called a natural-born idol.
'I called a girl like this a scrawny little fish.'
Now I finally understood why she'd been so hurt and burst into tears back then.
⭐ Top Post — [Pristine] [Someone said they wanted to see my photo.] [22] [Photo] Of course, Pristine held her own.
Together with Lily, they dominated the board.
'What do the other spirits look like?'
Intrigued by familiar nicknames beyond Lily and Pristine, I started hunting down their posts.
— [Fire Ruler] [Behold my glorious arrival.] [10] — [Strongest凸Reaper] [Hm... New photo feature, so here's one of me.] [8] 'Fire Ruler' and 'Strongest凸Reaper'—their nicknames oozed intimidating aura.
[Photo]
But the spirits in the photos were surprisingly cute and charming.
And amid all this.
[Luminyang: Nyangnari nyangnyang~ (Bet I'm prettier lol)]
[Luminyang: Nyangnya nyang~ (No-comment prevention squad lol)]
While active spirits posted their photos, Luminyang was still just commenting.
...I had a feeling why she couldn't post one.
'Ah, time flew.'
Browsing the new board had eaten up the hours.
The lunch crowd was due any minute.
As I cleared tables, tidied the counter, and set aside potions for 'secret deals'.
Click—!
A camera shutter sounded right beside me.
Hooked on spirit attention, or eager to outdo Pristine...
Lily had crept right up to snap the perfect angle.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Lily' grins in satisfaction, claiming she finally nailed her best shot ever.] Her playful photo-snapping was so adorable, a smile crept onto my face.
That's when.
My inner self, the 'Plant Fanatic,' made its presence known.
It wailed vividly, begging to be let out to claim this budding community.
'Just let the spirits have their fun.'
I didn't want to intrude as a human on their cute little interactions.
'...Wait a sec.'
That spot Lily just photographed...
Wasn't it a bit too close to me?
A bad premonition hit, so I paused and opened the spirit community's photo board.
There it was—a post exploding with comments.
⭐ Top Post — [LilyPrincess♡] [LilyPrincess Best Shot Ever >. [Photo] Lily struck a shy pose in the photo.
And right next to her—smack—was my face, clear as day.
As my trembling fingers reached for the comments.
"Ma'am! We're here!"
"Long time no see, ma'am!"
"No Harnella flower tea this time—coffee, please!"
"Hello, ma'am!"
Customers flooded in like crazy.
"Lumina!!!!!"
...Including the White Night Guild leader, back to her usual antics, dignity be damned.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ - ...You have my sympathies, ma'am.
Right before heading home after clearing a massive gate.
The White Night Guild leader called me 'ma'am' instead of 'Healer.'
For a moment, I worried she'd figured out my identity...
"You're as beautiful as ever today!! Lumina!!!!"
- Beeeep!
...False alarm.
I shook my head and bustled about greeting the influx.
But...
A prickling gaze kept boring into me from somewhere.
"......"
The culprit? None other than the White Night Guild leader.
She'd breezed in, exchanged brief greetings with Lumina, then plopped down in the seat closest to me.
Without ordering, she just stared at me the whole time.
Our eyes finally met.
She smiled knowingly—grin.
'Why's she grinning like that?'
Something about that smile felt ominous.
She kept staring unabashedly until, at last, she raised a hand to order.
I approached with a nagging unease.
"Healer... Ah, no. Ma'am! One Harnella flower tea, please."
The guild leader, who'd been wearing a strange expression, had slipped and called me 'Healer' before hastily correcting herself.
"Healer?"
"Oops, must've misspoke. Don't mind me, ma'am! Haha."
Still uneasy, I set the Harnella flower tea on her table.
Then.
"Thank you! Healer... Er, ma'am!"
Again with the 'Healer.'
This confirmed it.
'This woman knows who I am.'
And from her eyes, she wanted something from me.
"You know who I am, don't you."
"Haha... Was it that obvious?"
With how blatantly she was signaling it, who wouldn't?
Whoosh
I let out a small sigh, and she flinched, waving her hands frantically.
"Knowing your identity doesn't mean I'm threatening or bothering you! Relax! I just..."
She trailed off, looking glum.
"I just... want to know how to tame spirits."
She'd saved my life in the sea during that gate raid, after all.
If she ever needed my help, I'd gladly give it.
But I'd never tamed spirits with any specific intent.
Or worked to win their favor.
"Sorry. I don't really know the exact method for taming spirits myself..."
As I started to refuse apologetically.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The first 'Hot' post exceeding 100 comments has exploded in 'Spirits'♡ Playground'!] [Everyone, celebrate!] A celebratory message popped up with a burst of sparkling pollen effects.
And at the same time.
— [Help Me] [Please... please save me...] An ominous post had risen to the 'Hot' notice board.