Preparations

While the Magic Association received the Invitation Letter, the Workshop was also busy with preparations for its grand opening.

"I never expected the Newspaper to take the initiative to advertise for us."

Angell bit into his bread, rustling the Eastern Border Daily as he flipped through it. "This is going to be trouble; the customer traffic will definitely be much higher than we anticipated."

Mithril couldn't stand his lazy demeanor and couldn't help but extend a front paw, pressing a soft pad against Angell's cheek.

"Isn't an increase in customer traffic a good thing?"

"Mr. Angell is worried that the shop floor isn't large enough, isn't he?" Enlise said.

After more than a month of operation, the usual customer traffic was already somewhat saturated. With the publicity from the Newspaper, it was certain that even more people would head to Magic Gear over the next two days.

But Mithril wasn't worried in the slightest.

"Not enough floor space? How could that be?" Mithril tapped the Game Table with its two tails. "Where do you think this is? This is Magic Gear! The Magic Gear that once hosted adventurers from across the entire continent! It's just a mere opening ceremony; how could there not be enough room to host guests!"

Saying this, it turned its head and held it high. "Boys!"

"Meow!"

A large group of cats rushed over quickly, gathering around the dining table.

Mithril extended a claw and commanded, "You, you, you, you, and you! Go clean the first-floor shop area and rearrange the tables according to Plan Three!"

"Meow meow!"

"You, you, and you! Go to the entrance and sweep the street."

"Meow!"

"You lot! Go to the warehouse to fetch the parasols and tables, and arrange them at the entrance according to Plan Five."

"Meow meow!"

"And you lot! Come with me to clean the high-level folding corridors in the main hall!"

"Meow!"

"Also, notify the temporary workers to get ready, meow. The compensation will be as we discussed last time—"

Angell stared blankly as Mithril organized the Cat Waiters with such precision, and couldn't help but ask, "What are Plan Three and Plan Five? And where did these temporary workers come from?!"

"They must have been discussed during the staff meeting!" Enlise said.

She sounded quite aggrieved whenever she brought this up. "Mr. Black Cat's staff meetings only allow cats to attend. Even Little White from the herb shop next door got in, but they won't let me!"

That wasn't a staff meeting; that was a cat gathering, wasn't it?

Could the "temporary workers" be the house cats from the neighboring shops, or perhaps stray cats from outside?

Angell mused.

Regardless, Angell wasn't good at or fond of personnel management, so he felt relieved to leave that aspect to Mithril.

After finishing what was essentially breakfast—though it was already noon—he yawned and wanted to return to his room, only to be intercepted by the newly hired Rune Apprentices.

The leader was a child with smoke-gray hair.

Angell remembered this child was named Silverleaf. Although his rune Skills were the best among this group of apprentices and he seemed to be the Chief Student of this cohort, his Mana tended toward a chaotic and disordered type. He would likely achieve greater success if he studied magic related to transformation or enchantment.

"Mr. Angell, is there anything we can do?" Silverleaf asked.

"Didn't Mithril tell you?" Angell said. "You only arrived yesterday. You can take these few days to rest and familiarize yourselves with the environment; you can start working after the official opening."

The Rune Apprentices clearly weren't in the mood to rest.

Silverleaf spoke up again: "But we don't have much luggage, and a morning is enough to get familiar with the surroundings. Rather than resting, we would prefer to start working sooner."

After all, this job came so suddenly; I don't feel at ease if I'm not doing something!

Since the new employees were willing to work, Angell naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Alright then!" Angell nodded. "You must have seen the five Game Tables placed in your office, right?"

"Yes?"

"Then go play them starting now. Come find me once you've reached a score of one hundred thousand," Angell said.

"Eh? But we want to work..."

"If you don't even know what kind of games you'll be making in the future, or what makes them fun, how can you write the runes? I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to copy them correctly," Angell said. "I don't need useless people!"

The Rune Apprentices looked at each other and honestly went off to play the games.

However, they seemed to have forgotten something.

A Horned Boy was standing blankly at the edge of the flower bed in the hallway, his vacant gaze directed toward Angell. It was as if he were looking at Angell, yet also as if he weren't. Normally, such a vacant gaze wouldn't be conspicuous in a crowd, but after the other youths left, Angell raised his eyes and his gaze met the boy's perfectly.

Angell: "..."

Jack: "..."

Angell: "...Aren't you going with them?"

Jack: "...,... No."

Angell: "Is that so!"

Jack: "..., ..., ..."

Angell: "..., ..., ...You..."

"Mr. Angell?"

After a silence and awkwardness lasting twenty-six characters—enough to make one suspect the author was just padding the word count—Angell, whose social anxiety was flaring up, was just about to resolve to dump this lost Black Sheep when Enlise's voice arrived like the sound of heaven.

Enlise walked out of the Restaurant, looking curiously at her guardian and the new employee standing motionless as they stared at each other.

"What are you two doing?" Enlise asked.

"Nothing," Angell retorted, "What are you doing?"

In truth, Angell didn't want to ask this, nor did he want to know the answer; his Brain was simply blank, his logic and thoughts in a muddle, so he had mirrored Enlise's question back at her by reflex.

Enlise, however, happened to be feeling a bit dejected.

She didn't notice Angell's confusion, only looking to the side and saying sadly, "I just wanted to wash the dishes, but Ms. Tabby said it was her job and wouldn't let me."

"Isn't it great not having to wash dishes?"

"But..." Enlise lowered her head, "doesn't that mean I have nothing to do?"

This was also something that had been troubling Enlise lately.

With the Receptionist Cat, the tasks of greeting guests, cleaning the shop, and handling the dishes were all covered by the Cats, while the meals were handled by the Alchemy Pot. The replicated master-level culinary skills were naturally far better than Enlise's, so, in effect, Enlise's "job" had been snatched away.

Usually, Enlise had classes, so it felt a bit better, but this time, Angell had chosen to open the shop during the middle of the week-long June Festival. Having received a holiday, Enlise fell into a situation where everyone, including Angell, was busy, and she was the only one with nothing to do.

"I feel like I've let Mr. Angell down." Enlise's eyes turned red.

Please, could you not reflect in a tone that sounds like I've already died?

Angell twitched his mouth: "You weren't supposed to be doing work in the first place; just focus on your studies for now."

"I am studying hard!" Enlise said, looking as if she wanted to pull out her report card to show Angell, "I got first place in all subjects again this exam, and my magic grades have improved a lot too... so, so it won't affect my grades!"

Angell couldn't bear to see the little girl looking aggrieved, so he had to coax her: "Alright, let's take a look around the Workshop and see if there's anything that needs doing, shall we?"

"..." Enlise nodded silently.

Angell led Enlise away, only to find that the moment he moved, a gaze followed him as well.

Right, this Black Sheep was still here!

Angell asked Jack: "Are you coming along?"

Jack walked to Angell's side without a word.

I suppose that means he's coming?

Angell helplessly led a little girl and a Black Sheep toward the Workshop and shop area.

*

In the moments that followed, Angell was met with ruthless expulsion.

When he walked into the shop lobby, preparing to check if the Magic Core for the Game Table was sufficient, the Maine Coon called out: "Boss! I'll handle replacing the Magic Core! Please don't obstruct the inventory work."

When he walked to The Gate, wanting to help with the cleaning, the Golden British Shorthair called out: "Mr. Angell, please don't stand there, you're making it hard for me to spray water!"

When he walked to the warehouse, wanting to help move things, the Big Orange cat called out: "Please don't touch those, we just finished counting them, meow!"

When he walked to the window, before he could even do anything, the Calico hurriedly grabbed the curtain and rolled himself up in it: "Don't stand here, meow! If I'm caught slacking off, the Boss will get me!"

...Hm?

Did something get mixed in there?

Before Angell could think it through, he was grabbed by the darkened Mithril, who hoisted him by the back of his collar and tossed him into the backyard:

"Stop causing trouble!"

*

"I'm just a nuisance anyway." Angell felt depressed as well.

Enlise, conversely, patted Angell's arm in a comforting manner: "I don't think Mr. Black Cat meant it that way. He probably thinks Mr. Angell is too tired from work and needs to rest properly."

There's no way that Argumentative Cat meant that.

Angell thought to himself.

He had decided!

He was going to sneak behind that Argumentative Cat's back to buy Dried Fish! To spend money!

Angell said to Enlise: "Let's ignore those stupid cats and take advantage of the fact that it's not busy (?) right now to go to the street and buy some snacks... wait, where's the other one?" Angell suddenly realized someone was missing.

Fortunately, Enlise was more observant: "Are you talking about Mr. Black Sheep? He's over there."

You're calling him Black Sheep too?

Angell looked in the direction Enlise was pointing and found Jack standing in the corridor leading to the Workshop, staring blankly at a Game Table.

"Huh, why is there a Game Table there?" Enlise asked curiously.

"It must have been delivered by the Prop Shop a couple of days ago. I was using it to debug the interview content for the staff, and I must have forgotten to move it afterward, right?" Angell recalled. "Oh, that's right. I remember the core inside is 'that'..."

At this point, Angell paused and looked at Enlise. "Enlise, I recall you saying your magic grades have improved?"

"Yes, I scored ninety-six this time!" Enlise reported in a panic.

She felt a bit guilty.

Although she had scored a ninety-six and was indeed first in her grade, the other students' magic scores had also improved significantly. Her good friend Liti, in particular, had scored a ninety-five, missing the top spot by only a single point.

Angell didn't actually care about Enlise's ranking; he simply looked at the Game Table and asked, "Do you want to verify whether you've made progress?"

"Eh?"

Angell led Enlise to the front of the Game Table and signaled for her to input her Mana.

Following Enlise's movements, the silhouette of a woman emerged.

"Master, are you summoning me?"

"Ah, it's the original Miss Cecilia!" Enlise exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

She still remembered the scene of her first encounter with the Game Table, remembered her surprise and curiosity, remembered the disappointment brought by her failure, and even remembered the "spell" that had caused her to fail.

"Left, left, up, right, right... right?!"

The girl in white raised her Magic Wand high. A blood-red crescent moon appeared above her head, then slammed heavily toward the opponent, splashing a patch of dark red shadows.

"I did it!" Enlise looked at Angell happily.

"That's not how this game is played," Angell said. He walked to the other side of the Game Table and pressed down on the keys.

A majestic Magic Wolf emerged.

Angell said to Enlise, "Alright, try attacking me?"

"Eh? Eh!" Enlise looked at Angell, at a loss.

In her mind, attacking her own guardian was clearly out of the question.

"If you aren't coming over, I'm coming to you," Angell said.

He pressed the forward key without hesitation, and the White Wolf he controlled let out a howl, charging ferociously toward the delicate girl controlled by Enlise.

"Eek!" Enlise didn't react in time, so the girl stood motionless as she watched the White Wolf.

Just as the girl was about to perish under the wolf's claws... the White Wolf sprinted past her, crashed into the Air Wall on the side with unstoppable momentum, and collapsed onto the ground with teary eyes.

"Strange? Why did it veer off course?"

Angell pressed the keys, trying to get the White Wolf to move.

However, because he had previously set it so that "taking damage causes a stun state," the White Wolf was unable to move for the moment.

Enlise, on the other hand, felt sorry for the White Wolf and cautiously controlled her character to walk over. "Is it alright?"

Her Miss Cecilia reached out a hand gently toward the White Wolf, but her hand was coated in a blood-red glow—

"Awoo!"

The White Wolf, just about to get up, immediately let out a howl. It instantly lost a third of its health, and a large patch of fur on its back was eroded away by the blood-red light.

"How could this be?!" Enlise was startled and made her character take several steps back. "I, I didn't mean to hurt Mr. White Wolf."

"No, the controls are like this. This game is about fighting each other; you can't back down," Angell said, growing impatient after tapping the keyboard several times. He simply pressed the button for the hidden Ultimate Skill. "Don't underestimate your opponent!"

The White Wolf suddenly sprang up, leaped into the air, performed a 360-degree flip, and swung its front paws majestically at Miss Cecilia—

Then, in a Tiger Landing Stance, it landed right in front of Miss Cecilia's toes.

"Oh my?" Enlise stared blankly at the White Wolf crouching before her and wanted to reach out again... but remembering the damage she had just caused, she switched to using her Magic Wand, wanting to touch the White Wolf. "Is Mr. White Wolf okay... Ah!"

"Woof-woo—"

The Magic Wand struck the top of the White Wolf's head heavily, leaving its health bar with only a sliver remaining.

"Enlise!" Angell shouted.

"I'm sorry!" Enlise cried out.

Subconsciously, her hand pressed the button again, and the blood-glowing wand swung down heavily for a second time—

"Smack!"

The White Wolf rolled over suddenly, nimbly dodging the blow, then extended a paw and swiped Miss Cecilia back three or four steps, knocking off a small bar of health.

"Huh, what's going on?" Enlise looked at Angell, stunned.

She saw that Angell was also turning his head in surprise, while the Horned Boy, who had been so silent he seemed non-existent, was standing beside Angell with his hand placed over Angell's hand on the keyboard.

It was only then that Angell realized what had happened.

"Well done!" Angell smiled at Jack.

"..." Jack remained expressionless. If his hand weren't still covering Angell's, one would almost doubt whether the agile and beautiful movement of the White Wolf had been performed by him.

Enlise stared blankly at the rare smile on Angell's face, then bit her lip.

...What is this!

"I could have done that too!" Enlise said.

She controlled Miss Cecilia in a magnificent dive, swinging the Magic Wand toward the White Wolf once again—

Jack reacted in an instant, slamming his hand down over Angell's hand, which was currently pressing the buttons—

When Silverleaf found them, the beautiful girl and the White Wolf on the Game Table were locked in a fierce, dark battle. It was almost as if every strike drew blood and every claw sank into flesh.

Angell had long since extricated himself from this brutal scene of slaughter, or rather, his combat ability was no longer sufficient to intervene.

He muttered to himself, "Strange, I designed them to be two magic-type characters, didn't I?"

"Mr. Angell?" Silverleaf called out.

"Is something the matter?"

I came to retrieve that animal.

Silverleaf, of course, could not answer truthfully. He smiled obediently and said, "I realized halfway through that Jack was gone, so I was looking for him, and then I saw... what exactly are you all doing?"

Angell was certainly not willing to expose his "top-tier" gameplay.

He replied vaguely, "Just testing the effects of a new game!"

Silverleaf looked at the White Wolf, which was being controlled by Jack to snap at the girl. Although he felt this was different from the runes he had seen before, he still asked hesitantly, "A new game... is this the complete version of the Rune Game from our interview?"

"Ah, yes, it is."

"As expected of Mr. Angell!" Was that White Wolf always such a ferocious creature?

Angell felt that Silverleaf's praise was a bit off, so he asked, "Do you want to try playing?"

"I think I'd better start with a simpler game," Silverleaf said. "However, why not put this game in the storefront? I feel its entertainment value is stronger than the ones currently on display."

Because of insufficient Mana...

Angell wanted to answer like that, but he looked at Enlise, who was now able to fight fluently against Jack.

"That's a good idea," Angell said.