Ron came out of the Dimensional Plane, greeted Nora, then went upstairs to make lunch.
With another mouth to feed at the shop, he made a little more food than usual today.
Once everything was ready, Ron called Nora upstairs to eat. A moment later, he heard her footsteps pattering up the stairs.
The moment Nora caught the aroma wafting from the dining table, her nose twitched, and her stomach began to growl.
There hadn't been a single customer that morning, but Nora had stayed busy, cleaning every inch of the shop. By noon, she was starving.
Nora sat down at the table. Ron brought over the last dish and took the seat across from her, gesturing for her to dig in.
The living room soon filled with the sounds of cutlery clinking and people chewing.
"How old are you this year?" Ron asked casually after swallowing a mouthful.
Nora paused mid-chew. With food still in her mouth, she mumbled, "...Sixteen."
"Two years younger than me." Ron nodded. "Have you lived in Chaos City your whole life?"
Nora swallowed and shook her head. After a moment's silence, she said, "When I was little, my mother and I lived in the Imperial Capital of the Human Empire. We were caught by human traffickers and sent somewhere near the border. My mother helped me escape on the way there, and then... I fled here."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Nora glanced at Ron, then forced a smile and tried to reassure him. "That was seven or eight years ago. I don't mind talking about it, so you don't have to look so apologetic."
Ron nodded and let the subject drop.
He didn't pry about Nora's mother, either.
So much time had passed, and her mother had helped her escape the traffickers. Her fate probably hadn't been a good one...
Nora lowered her head and continued eating. She hadn't had a hot meal in ages, but she'd already eaten several at Ron's over the past few days. She treasured every bite.
Knowing she'd be able to eat food like this from now on eased some of the gloom surrounding her mother.
"Take off your hat. You're sweating," Ron said when he noticed beads of sweat on Nora's forehead. "There's no one else here. You don't have to hide your ears."
At Ron's prompting, Nora realized she was getting a little hot. She obediently took off her hat and set it aside.
A pair of fluffy, dark gray cat ears were exposed to the air—and to Ron's gaze.
Ron kept his head down and ate as if nothing were unusual, but he couldn't help sneaking glances at the cat ears.
Perhaps because they rarely got to feel the air, or perhaps because she was nervous after noticing Ron's gaze, Nora's ears kept twitching. They made him want to reach out and give them a rub.
Ever since she'd drifted into Chaos City, Nora had almost never shown her cat ears to anyone.
This was the first time in years she'd let someone see them without trying to hide.
On closer inspection, the insides of Nora's ears had turned a faint pink with nerves and embarrassment.
It was a stark contrast to the way she'd dealt with those thugs earlier.
"Ron... I mean, Shopkeeper," Nora said, sensing the strange atmosphere. "Are you from Chaos City?"
Ron shook his head. "No."
"Then did you come to Chaos City specifically to do business? Just to open this flower shop?" Nora asked curiously.
"Mm..." Ron paused, set down his knife and fork, and put on a serious expression. "Since you asked, I won't hide it from you."
"Actually, my father is the current emperor of the Human Empire—Andre III."
"I'm his seventh child."
Pfft... Nora had thought he was about to say something serious. At his words, she burst out laughing and nearly choked. She patted her chest to catch her breath. "Ahem... You can't just make things up like that..."
Ron wasn't bothered. Smiling, he continued, "As for this flower shop, I only opened it because I received the Goddess of Harvest's divine revelation. Otherwise, where would I have gotten all those amazing plants?"
"...Shopkeeper, you shouldn't say things about the goddess carelessly..." Nora worshipped the Goddess of Harvest, too, so she hesitated before offering the reminder.
Clearly, Nora didn't believe Ron at all.
Being Andre III's son, receiving the Goddess of Harvest's divine revelation... It all sounded too fantastical.
It had to be made up...
Ron only shrugged. After all, he was telling the truth.
Well, the part about the "Goddess of Harvest's divine revelation" was still a lie for now. But in time, Ron would be able to make it "true."
"I'll stop. Just take it as a joke." Ron changed the subject, thinking that seeing was believing. No matter how convincing he sounded, no one would believe him if he just said it.
But these days, the more outlandish something sounded, the closer it was to the truth.
"Um... Will the shop be hiring anyone else?" Nora stopped dwelling on the subject and asked, "I remember your hiring notice said you wanted two employees?"
"Uh..." Ron was briefly at a loss for words. He'd only written "two" to spare her pride, so she wouldn't think the notice had been posted specifically for her.
But that wasn't something he could say to her face, was it?
It would make him sound like he had ulterior motives.
Especially after seeing what Nora looked like fresh from her bath, Ron had to admit that some ulterior motives were starting to take shape.
"Ahem." Ron cleared his throat and chose his words carefully. "I did originally plan to hire two people, but there's no rush now. I'll see if anyone suitable comes along."
"Besides, I don't think you'd want me to hire another employee." Ron's eyes flickered as he added with a smile.
"W-why not?" Nora hurriedly protested. "Hiring employees is the shopkeeper's right. Why would I object?"
"If I hired someone else, I'd have you two take turns—one working during the day, the other at night. Then you'd have to split your pay with the new employee." Ron looked at Nora innocently. "But you'd get to take it easier and wouldn't have to work so hard. That might be..."
"No!" Nora jumped to her feet in a panic, her dark gray cat ears twitching several times.
Perhaps realizing how rude she'd sounded, Nora hurriedly tried to explain. "That's not what I meant... I mean, there's no need... Um... I mean, there's no need to go to all that trouble. I can handle everything on my own. You don't need to trouble yourself with hiring someone else!"
Ron watched Nora and laughed. "Sit down. I wasn't planning to hire anyone else anyway. Your pay won't be cut."
"I... It's not like I care about the pay..." Nora sat back down and mumbled in protest. "I really don't mind the work..."
"Mm. Anyway, just keep up the good work." Ron smiled. "Finish your lunch, then go downstairs and watch the shop. We'll probably get the most customers this afternoon, so be ready."
Nora nodded emphatically.
She would take good care of this hard-won job!
Diary of a Failed Author: Ah... my stockpile of chapters... I only have ten left...
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