Opportunity

"Darling, shall we go to Magic Gear tonight?"

Lance said to his girlfriend, Hana.

Lance had recently become obsessed with the game tables at Magic Gear and wanted to report to the workshop whenever he had free time.

Hana, however, flatly refused: "No."

"Why?! Don't you like the game tables too? You even said you wanted to buy one."

"That's only if they're willing to sell them! Besides, liking the game tables is one thing, but going to an Alchemy Workshop for a date is another," Hana said, admiring her freshly done nails and refusing to spare her idiot boyfriend another glance. "It's a rare date night; can't we go somewhere more romantic? Why must we go to a workshop to be packed in like sardines, where we can't even get a cup of coffee and aren't even guaranteed a seat?"

"Let's just go and see, maybe there's a spot?" Lance persisted.

Clearly, of everything Hana had said, he had only heard the last sentence.

Games were so much fun—at least, they were more fun than wasting time aimlessly wandering the streets with his girlfriend.

Of course, as a straight man, Lance knew that if he dared to voice that thought, his girlfriend would instantly become his ex-girlfriend.

He had no choice but to play his trump card: "If we go to Magic Gear today, how about we go see a movie next time?"

"No!" Hana refused to be tricked. "The Cinema only cycles through those two old movies; I can practically recite them by heart."

"That's not necessarily true," Lance said smugly. "Next week, a new movie imported by the Free City is premiering. The theater chain gave our newspaper staff tickets for a preview screening. My senior doesn't like romance films, so he gave his ticket to me. We can go together!" The price was an extra week of night shifts.

"Ah, darling, I love you the most!" Hana's eyes lit up instantly.

She planted a loud kiss on Lance's cheek and, naturally, no longer refused her boyfriend's request.

Yet, watching Lance's excited expression, Hana couldn't help but say sourly: "If you like that game table so much, why don't you write a report on it?"

Once the words were out, Hana felt she had suggested a good idea.

Lance was a reporter for the Eastern Border Daily, a local newspaper in Cecilia City.

In this era without the internet and where even televisions weren't widespread, newspapers held immense influence. Even for a local paper like this, a column could easily spark a trend. That was why, whenever a new movie premiered, the theater chain was willing to send tickets to all the newspaper staff, even the janitors.

However, Lance was just a rookie who had just joined the paper; he could tag along to watch a couple of movies, but he didn't have the qualifications to write a column.

He was still in the miserable stage of hunting for news and paying his dues.

Hana naturally knew Lance's situation, and she excitedly offered her boyfriend advice: "The Alchemy Workshop just went through a bankruptcy crisis and suddenly launched a promising Magic Item—isn't that ready-made news?!"

"It still lacks a hook." Lance felt Hana was being too naive.

After all, the game tables weren't even for sale yet. The crowd there right now might just be because the trial-period prices were cheap.

Wouldn't blowing up the game tables as "promising" just be an advertisement?

Lance didn't mind advertising for a product he liked, but he suspected that even if he wrote it, it would be killed by the Bald Editor-in-Chief.

"Hmph, you're exactly like this, which is why you'll never get ahead."

Hana was unimpressed by her boyfriend's hesitation.

She grabbed Lance's cheap camera and hung it around his neck: "Just write it anyway. You haven't even written it yet, so how do you know it'll definitely be killed?"

"You don't know our Editor-in-Chief—"

Lance complained, though he didn't refuse.

Magic Gear was indeed crowded.

It was even more crowded than Hana had expected.

Hana remembered that the last time she came, she had to walk into the workshop before seeing a group of people gathered around the game tables. But this time, just as they reached Heroes Avenue where Magic Gear was located, they could already see groups of people heading toward the Alchemy Workshop.

There were even people who didn't go into the workshop, but stood on the street discussing topics Hana couldn't understand:

"I heard Kata passed the magic appraisal; maybe the Central Table will win today."

"What does magic appraisal have to do with game skills?"

"I think the ranking of the Left Summer Table will rise."

"No, no, that table's performance was a fluke; betting on them is too reckless."

"I wonder if Little Liti will come today."

"That bastard Jesk, he snatched their ranking while Little Liti and Little Enlise were at school."

Lance couldn't understand it either.

Although he had been here a few more times than Hana, he couldn't stay long due to work, so naturally, he didn't know that after Angell posted the countdown, everyone knew the "trial period" was coming to an end. The fighting on the Leaderboard had become increasingly fierce, and even unrelated passersby were getting excited. Not only did the top players on the Leaderboard have supporters, but some were even running private betting pools.

"Maybe there's some kind of event?" Lance guessed randomly.

He didn't dare look at his girlfriend beside him, because Hana was already radiating a chill that screamed, "I told you it was crowded, and now it's turned out exactly like this."

But since they had already walked this far, they couldn't just turn back.

Lance bit the bullet and brought Hana inside Magic Gear, but the sight inside made him pause:

"Huh, did they redecorate?"

"No, they just rearranged things," Hana said.

After seeing the scene inside the workshop, Hana's expression softened.

Previously, the shop had no waiters, and it was impossible for Mithril and Enlise to split themselves to serve every guest. Angell had simply placed the game tables in the most conspicuous spots near the entrance, letting guests serve themselves, which naturally made the place look a bit crowded.

Now that the Cat Waiters were familiar with the shop's operations, Angell had rearranged the game tables, dividing them into four zones: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Not only did this leave enough space for walking, but he also used low walls made of various plants to partition the areas. With a bar and a Rest Area set up against the wall for guests who couldn't play immediately, the Alchemy Workshop—which was already quite large with high ceilings—suddenly felt spacious and open, no longer a chaotic mess.

Hana hadn't disliked the game tables themselves; she had only disliked the messy crowds. Seeing the orderly scene before her, her sense of repulsion vanished significantly.

She looked at the few game tables nearest to her and even said with regret, "It seems we won't be able to play!"

"Not necessarily, meow, my lady."

Just then, a voice spoke up.

Accompanying the voice, a Golden British Shorthair wearing a suit jacket hopped nimbly in front of Hana and Lance. "If you wait half an hour in the Spring Zone, a spot might open up. If you find waiting too boring, you can head to the Rest Area. Right now, the players at Table No. 1 and Table No. 3 are dueling, and the match is quite spectacular."

"A cat! A cat that can talk!" Hana shrieked in surprise.

"Hana, calm down," Lance said, acting like a regular because he had visited the shop once before to tidy up and had already experienced the cat service. "This is an Alchemy Workshop, after all. It's not strange for magic cats to appear!"

"But..." It was rare to see a living magical creature!

Hana stared at the cat in astonishment.

The Cat Waiter was already accustomed to the various displays of stupidity from humans. It flashed a charming smile at Hana. "I apologize for startling you, my lady. I am King, the Cat Waiter of the Magic Gear. You may also call me Little Gold."

As it said this, it handed Hana a business card and gave her a wink.

"Next time you come alone, you can request me, meow!"

"Wait a minute, why is there a request service?!" And only for female customers!

Lance shouted in anger.

Hana, on the contrary, calmly pinched his arm. "Calm down, Little Gold is just a cute little kitty."

The cute little kitty led the two of them to seats in the Rest Area.

It was clearly a Couples Seat.

Located beside the wall of the Summer Zone, it was half-enclosed by green vines covered in grapes. While it provided a degree of privacy from the gazes of others, they could still clearly see the Magic Screen Wall in the center of the Rest Area and hear the cat perched on the wall explaining the game: "The player currently in third place, Jesk, has actually challenged Lord Leibniz, meow! As everyone knows, Lord Leibniz possesses the Hand of God and has yet to taste defeat! Jesk's challenge seems reckless and bold; let us applaud his stupid courage, meow!"

Hana's gaze involuntarily lingered on Leibniz's handsome face on the magic screen for fifteen seconds.

Consequently, her boyfriend's expression grew even uglier.

The Golden British Shorthair brought over a menu. "While you watch the game, would you like some drinks? Our shop's newly launched Happy Water can grant blessings of love and fortune, meow!"

"Really?" Hana looked quite interested.

"What kind of blessing for love!" Lance found the Golden British Shorthair highly suspicious. "My dear and I are already very much in love. Just give me a glass of Lucky Happy Water."

Hana glanced at Lance. Seeing that he was at least speaking like a rational person, she didn't dwell on it, but ordering Love Happy Water alone seemed pointless, so she ordered a glass of Beauty Happy Water.

It wasn't until the Golden British Shorthair left that Hana noticed Lance's sour expression.

"Alright, don't be jealous of a cat."

"Who's jealous of a cat!" I'm jealous of your attitude.

"Little Gold is really cute," Hana laughed. She was skilled at smoothing things over with her boyfriend and always knew how to divert his attention. "But you're blind if you don't realize that the workshop's Cat Waiters are a huge news scoop! In the whole city... no, in the whole country, is there a second shop like this?"

"That's true, I suppose..." Lance paused.

So, when the Golden British Shorthair returned, Hana asked Little Gold if she could take a photo.

"In principle, I don't refuse," the Golden British Shorthair said with reserve, though its sparkling eyes betrayed it. "But you must not cause trouble for other guests, meow!"

"I know that, of course," Lance said unhappily.

"Then, can you take one of me and Little Gold first?" Hana asked.

She picked up the Golden British Shorthair.

Lance didn't really want to photograph the cat, but refusing his girlfriend's request would make him look too petty. Grudgingly, he picked up the Lucky Happy Water in front of him and took a large gulp.

"Hic!" So refreshing!

After Lance let out a satisfied burp, he finally picked up the camera.

At that moment, he didn't notice that behind the cute little kitty, a youth wearing the robes of the Magic Association was guiding a round, middle-aged man past them, followed by a group of nervous-looking teenagers.