"Darling, shall we go to Magic Gear tonight?"
Lance asked his girlfriend, Hana.
Lance had recently gotten hooked on the game tables at Magic Gear. Whenever he had free time, he wanted to head to the Workshop.
Hana flatly replied, "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 one! And liking the game tables is one thing; going on a date at the Alchemy Workshop is another." Hana admired her freshly painted nails, not wanting to spare her idiot boyfriend another glance. "We hardly ever get a chance to go on a date. Can't we go somewhere more romantic? Why do we have to squeeze in with the crowds at the Workshop, where we can't even get a cup of coffee, and might not even get a seat?"
"Let's go take a look. Maybe there'll be a seat," Lance said, refusing to give up.
Clearly, after everything Hana had said, he'd only heard that last sentence.
Games were so much fun—at least more fun than wasting time wandering aimlessly around the streets with his girlfriend.
Of course, even as a hopelessly clueless guy, Lance knew that if he dared say that out loud, his girlfriend would immediately become his ex-girlfriend.
He had no choice but to use his trump card. "Let's go to Magic Gear today, and next time we can go see a movie, okay?"
"No!" Hana refused to fall for it. "The cinema just keeps showing those same two old movies on repeat. I could practically recite them by now."
"Not necessarily," Lance said smugly. "A new movie from Free City is coming out next week. The theater chain gave our Newspaper Office tickets to a preview screening. My senior doesn't like romance movies, so he gave me his ticket. We can go together!" The price was an extra week of shifts.
"Ah, darling, I love you so much!" Hana's eyes immediately lit up.
She planted a loud kiss on Lance's cheek and naturally stopped refusing his request.
But seeing how excited Lance was, Hana couldn't help saying sourly, "If you like that game table so much, why don't you write a story about it?"
As soon as she said it, Hana realized she'd come up with a great idea.
Lance was a reporter for the local newspaper, the Eastern Border Daily, in Cecilia City.
In an age without the internet, when even television hadn't become widespread, newspapers had enormous influence. Even a local paper like this could make a column spark a new trend. That was why the theater chain was willing to give tickets to everyone at the Newspaper Office whenever a new movie came out—not even the cleaners were left out.
But Lance was only a rookie who'd just joined the paper. He could tag along to see a couple of movies, but he wasn't qualified to write a column.
He was still stuck scrounging for stories and building up his credentials.
Hana knew all about Lance's situation. Excitedly, she offered her boyfriend a plan. "The Alchemy Workshop just went through a bankruptcy scare, and now they've suddenly come out with a promising Magic Item. Isn't that a ready-made news story?"
"It's still lacking a hook," Lance said, thinking Hana was being too naive.
After all, the game tables weren't even on sale yet. Perhaps the place was so crowded now just because they were cheap during the testing period.
Wouldn't calling the game tables "promising" just be advertising?
Lance didn't mind advertising a product he liked, but he doubted the Bald Editor-in-Chief would let the story run even if he wrote it.
"Hmph. This is why you'll never get ahead."
Hana didn't think much of her boyfriend's hesitation.
She found Lance's cheap Camera and slipped it around his neck. "Just write it first. You haven't even written anything yet. How do you know it'll get rejected?"
"You don't know what our editor-in-chief is like—"
Lance grumbled, but didn't refuse.
There really were a lot of people at Magic Gear.
Far more than Hana had expected.
The last time she'd come, she hadn't seen the crowd around the game tables until she'd gone inside the Workshop. But this time, as soon as they reached Heroes Avenue, where Magic Gear was located, she saw groups of people heading toward the Alchemy Workshop.
Some didn't even go inside. They stood in the street, discussing things Hana couldn't understand.
"I heard Kata passed the magic Appraise. Maybe the Central Table will win today."
"What does magic Appraise have to do with gaming skill?"
"I think Left Summer Table's ranking will go up."
"No, no. That table's performance was a fluke. Betting on it would be too reckless."
"I wonder if Little Liti will come today."
"That scumbag Jesk stole Little Liti and Little Enlise's rankings while they were at school."
Lance couldn't understand them either.
He'd been there more times than Hana, but work kept him from staying long. He had no idea that after Angell posted a countdown, everyone had learned when the "testing period" would end. The competition on the Leaderboard had grown even fiercer, and even unrelated passersby had gotten caught up in the excitement. The top-ranked Players had supporters, and people had even started holding private betting pools.
"Maybe there's some kind of event?" Lance guessed.
He didn't dare look at his girlfriend, because Hana was already radiating the icy feeling of I told you there'd be a crowd, and now look at this.
But they'd already come all this way. They couldn't just turn around and leave.
Lance steeled himself and led Hana into Magic Gear, but the scene inside made him pause.
"Huh, did they renovate?"
"No, they just rearranged things," Hana said.
But once she got a good look at the Workshop, Hana's expression improved.
Before, the shop had no waitstaff, and Mithril and Enlise couldn't split themselves up to serve every customer. So Angell had simply placed all the game tables in the most visible spots by the entrance, leaving customers to serve themselves. Naturally, the place had felt cramped.
Now that the Cat Waiters were familiar with the shop, Angell had spread out the game tables, dividing them into the Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Zones. There was plenty of room to walk between them, and low walls made of different plants separated each area. A counter and a Rest Area had also been set up along the wall, giving customers who couldn't play right away somewhere to go. The Alchemy Workshop had always been spacious, with high ceilings, and now the whole place felt open instead of chaotic.
Hana didn't dislike the game tables in the first place; she just disliked the disordered crowds. Seeing how orderly everything was, much of her aversion faded.
She looked at the nearest game tables and even said regretfully, "Looks like we won't get to play!"
"That's not necessarily true, miss."
A voice spoke up.
As it did, a golden-shaded cat wearing a suit jacket nimbly hopped in front of Hana and Lance. "If you wait half an hour in the Spring Zone, a spot might open up. If you think waiting would be too boring, you could go to the Rest Area. The Players at Table No. 1 and Table No. 3 are facing off right now, and it's a thrilling match."
"A cat! The cat can talk!" Hana cried out.
"Hana, calm down." Lance had visited once before the shop's makeover and been served by a cat, so he acted like a regular. "This is an Alchemy Workshop. It's not strange for a magic cat to show up!"
"But..." She'd rarely seen a magical creature in the flesh!
Hana stared at the cat in astonishment.
The Cat Waiters were already used to all kinds of foolish human reactions. The cat gave Hana a charming smile. "Sorry for startling you, miss. I'm King, a Cat Waiter at Magic Gear. You can call me Little Gold, too."
As it spoke, it handed Hana a business card and winked at her.
"Next time you come alone, you can ask for me by name, meow!"
"Wait, why do you offer a request-by-name service?!" And why was it only for female customers?!
Lance cried out indignantly.
Hana, on the other hand, calmly pinched his arm. "Calm down. Little Gold is just a cute little cat."
The cute little cat led them to seats in the Rest Area.
It was clearly a Couples Seat.
It was beside the wall enclosing the Summer Zone, half-hidden behind green vines covered in grapes. The vines obscured it from other people to some extent, while still allowing them a clear view of the Magic Screen Wall at the center of the Rest Area. They could also hear the cat perched on the wall commentating on the game. "Jesk, currently in third place, has actually challenged Lord Leibniz, meow! As everyone knows, Lord Leibniz possesses the Hand of God and has never lost! Jesk's challenge is reckless and bold. Let's applaud his foolish courage, meow!"
Hana's gaze lingered on Leibniz's handsome face on the Magic Screen for fifteen seconds.
Her boyfriend's expression grew even grimmer.
The golden-shaded cat carried over a menu in its mouth. "Would you like some drinks while you watch the game? Our newly launched Happy Water can bring blessings for love and books, meow!"
"Really?" Hana seemed very interested.
"What do you mean, blessings for love!" Lance thought the golden-shaded cat seemed highly suspicious. "My darling and I are already very much in love. Just bring me a Lucky Happy Water."
Hana glanced at Lance. Since what he'd said sounded almost sensible, she didn't make too much of it. But ordering Love Happy Water by herself didn't seem as fun, so she ordered a Beauty Happy Water instead.
It wasn't until the golden-shaded cat left that Hana noticed Lance's unhappy expression.
"All right, don't get jealous over a cat."
"Who'd get jealous over a cat!" I'm jealous of your attitude!
"Little Gold really is cute," Hana said with a smile. She was good at soothing her boyfriend and always knew how to distract him. "But you're the one who's blind. Aren't the Cat Waiters at the Workshop a perfect news hook? Is there another shop like this in the whole city... no, in the whole country?"
"That's true..." Lance paused.
So when the golden-shaded cat returned, Hana asked Little Gold if they could take a picture.
"In principle, I don't mind," Little Gold said primly, but its sparkling eyes gave it away. "Just don't disturb the other customers, meow!"
"Of course I know that," Lance said unhappily.
"Then take a picture of me and Little Gold first," Hana said.
She picked up the golden-shaded cat.
Lance didn't really want to take a picture of the cat, but refusing his girlfriend's request would make him seem petty. Unwillingly, he picked up the Lucky Happy Water in front of him and took a big gulp.
"Ah!" That hit the spot!
Only after burping in satisfaction did Lance pick up the Camera.
At that moment, he didn't notice the young man in a Magic Association robe leading a round, middle-aged man past them behind the cute little cat. A group of nervous teenagers followed close behind.