Hildeburg's Doll Princess
Having perfectly recreated the Topliya from her memories and finished the meal, Frau had composed herself once more, returning to her usual demeanor. Whether due to the influence of the dish she'd just eaten, the amount of cold mana leaking from her body had noticeably decreased. Even though she possessed the skill to control her own mana, the Topliya devised by the Ice Witch still brought her a sense of comfort.
"Satisfied? Or are you going to come at me for my life now?"
I checked the spotlessly empty bowl and asked half-jokingly, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Honestly, I was surprised... I thought it was just bluffing when you said you'd make any dish a customer wanted."
"This place runs on sincerity too, you know."
"Thank you. As promised, I'll pay the 1 million lira."
Frau pulled a money pouch from her travel bag. A hefty pouch filled with 1 million lira in gold coins... It looked about right at a glance.
"It's not worth betting such an enormous sum just for a meal like that."
It was her condition from the start, but still, 1 million lira felt way too much for a meal. I had no financial troubles anyway, so taking it or not didn't matter much to me. All I wanted was fair compensation for the ingredients I used, my effort, and the food I provided.
"Where'd you get that kind of money? Saved it up from traveling?"
"Some from sorting out my master's house, and some I gathered myself."
"...Does your master at least have a proper grave?"
"Yeah... sort of, but..."
From Frau's expression, it didn't seem like much of a grave. Well, considering she'd spent her life thinking her master abused her, she probably hadn't put much thought into the funeral, even with her complicated feelings.
"I'll take 100,000 lira for the food. That's plenty as payment for this order."
"But..."
"I only take fair payment for the menu I make. Overpaying doesn't sit right with me."
I counted out gold coins worth 100,000 lira from the pouch she handed me and returned the rest. Then I spoke to her again.
"Use it to finish what you couldn't back home, or for your new future."
Frau hesitated for a moment before putting the pouch back in her travel bag. Before leaving the restaurant, she turned toward me in the kitchen.
"Um..."
"Come back anytime you crave that nostalgic Topliya again. I'll charge you less next time."
"...Thank you."
Frau bowed nearly 90 degrees in gratitude. Then, with a look of relief on her face, she stepped out of the shop.
After resolving Frau's order, Misikdang Slow returned to its usual leisurely routine.
"Maaanager~ Maaanager~ What's on the menu for dinner toniiight?"
The seaweed-haired ghost girl Aris was now practically glued to the shop as if it were the most natural thing. Despite the near-exploitative deal of extending her work period by ten days per dinner meal, she pestered me every evening without a care.
"You... given up on passing on entirely?"
"But if I eat dinner here every day, I'll never pay it off!"
"What if I forgive it all and let you go right now? Would you pass on then?"
"Th-that's no good! There's still so much food I haven't tried, and... um..."
She panicked wildly at my half-joking remark, flailing about. Well, truth be told, extending her work for food was all for show anyway. She could only stick around in this world by using my mana. She seemed content with this life somehow, and I passed the time without customers by teasing her, so it worked out fine.
"Still no customers even with the advertising, huh."
"How about another round of ads?"
"Probably 'cause the whole setup's too weird for people."
Propped back with my legs stretched out on two chairs, I was still pondering the restaurant's operations. We'd advertised in nearby cities after switching to this model, but customers just wouldn't come. Still, the ads weren't pointless—without them, Frau never would've found the place.
A shop that makes any menu a customer wants... Even in my previous life, no restaurant ran like that. There were omakase or fine dining spots, but those stuck to the chef's set menu too.
Anyway, no need to rush. I could study cooking in my spare time. We had some visitors from the flyers, and this new style was barely off the ground.
"Ah, Manager! Looks like someone's outside!"
At that moment, Aris peered out the restaurant window and called to me.
"A customer...?"
"Doesn't seem like it. They're already leaving."
"Was it someone with a feathered hat?"
"Yes! They just stopped in front of the shop for a bit and left."
Ah, already time for that? People wandering the continent in feathered hats—the delivery folk from the Royal Capital's top paper, the Early Bird Newspaper.
Running a shop so far from the city meant I had to stay informed, so I subscribed on purpose. Delivering to this remote spot cost a fortune, but I kept it up even at over ten times the regular fee. It was worth it for the news.
"There should be a mailbox out front. Grab the paper from there."
"Okaay~!"
Aris dashed out with a doot-doot-doot. Soon she returned, clutching the rolled-up newspaper to her chest.
"That person earlier was the delivery guy, huh~"
"Yeah, I arranged special delivery from Early Bird. Gotta keep up with the world."
"Can I read it after you're done?"
"Once I'm finished."
Aris handed it over, looking oddly excited. A ghost interested in current events—what a weirdo.
"Let's see..."
I propped my legs on the assistant chair again for comfort and unfolded the paper.
The Early Bird Newspaper covered news from all over the continent. Beyond info, it was great idle entertainment to spice up a boring day.
A trading ship sunk by a monster attack, and now the companies were fighting over blame. These things always led to finger-pointing since someone had to eat the loss.
"They sure run editorials on this topic relentlessly."
The Abyss Rift... My last job as an adventurer. Back then, it was half-open, sparking doomsday panic. Cults preaching the end times sprang up everywhere, and crime spiked with people thinking "world's ending anyway." We barely sealed it after hellish effort, but the papers still fretted over it reopening, the trauma ran deep.
Our party became continental heroes, of course. I heard they even erected a statue in the capital honoring us. We got massive rewards too... Which is why my old comrade Irit and the others were still big shots there. Not me, though.
I'd planned retirement long before, hated the spotlight, so I asked the party to claim they sealed it without me. I took my share via them, but most in the capital didn't know I was part of it. Already famous as a Grand Mage, adding "world-saver" would've wrecked my quiet life.
"Hey~ Heey~ Any fun news~?"
As I read slowly, Aris sidled up, whining.
"You'll see it later."
"What if it's my obituary or something..."
"Even for a ghost, that's dark."
"Uwaah~ I'm cuuurious~"
Like you'd make the news, nobody famous. Shaking my head, I turned back to the paper.
"Hoo..."
Marriage between heirs of two land-owning noble houses. Common enough on the continent, nothing surprising, but what caught my eye was the bride from Hildeburg.
"Doll Princess, huh..."
Below the article was what looked like a portrait of Rosaria herself. Drawn with insane skill, nearly photorealistic.
"Even as a portrait, she's stunning. A beauty like that actually exists...?"
The Doll Princess's beauty in the paper was unreal, like a flawless porcelain doll. Not huge into women, but at that level, anyone would want a real look.