The bakery is called ‘Three Roses’ and not ‘The Three Roses’. I don’t know why I need to point that out, but it seems fairly important. Or maybe it’s my brain trying to distract me from what my eyes are trying to shove in my crocodile brain.

I know, I know.

They are hot.

You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.

I mean, given the roses reference, I would have been disappointed if it had been otherwise.

What I did not expect was to find three pairs of sharp eyes looking at me like a lamb in an eagle’s nest.

And not in a sexual way.

I mean, in my head, this is slightly sexual. I’m just not sure about them feeling the same way.

“So, Luciani, Happy Bakery wants to buy your expertise. We know for sure that if that old hag wants to buy you out, you must be pretty valuable.”

That was Amelia, the oldest sister. Judging by the looks—I have no idea how old she is.

Lucinda told me they are all under thirty, but Amelia should be up there, close to the third decade.

Her eyes have a very weird purplish color. I haven’t paid particular attention to other Elves, but I thought their features were similar to those of humans, save for the pointy ears.

“I gather that Lucinda has already explained that we would make you a partner if, and only if, your recipes proved to be original among Elves. Lucinda’s already made a point of telling us that we would notarize such an act and try to carry it out with utmost seriousness to make sure you are not swindled.”

I turn to Lucinda.

“This is already too much,” I cringe, “can’t you just take care of it? I’m really not in the mood.”

It’s true.

I’m not in the mood to talk or charm the three beauties. After hearing Lucinda talk smack about homeless people, I’m feeling sad. And, together with sadness, my tiredness has resurfaced. I just want to go and take a nap. I’ll probably go over to Happy Bakery and tell them I’ll sign whatever.

“Amelia, please,” the youngest sister intercepts her older sibling before she can resume. “He looks tired, and he is clearly not interested in your terms and technicalities. Mr. Luciani, would you mind if I gave you a tour of the facility?”

The youngest sister was probably around my age, almost as tall as me – damn Elves – and with blonde hair that had shades of pink.

“Before we do—”

I cut off Lucinda with a raised hand.

“Sure, it would be my pleasure. I’ve been away from proper baking long enough. I’m sure I can even show you something. Even if I end up with Clodia, I don’t think it’s going to hurt the business that much.”

“I’m Camilla, by the way,” she extends her hand.

I already know her name thanks to Lucinda, but I still smile and shake it.

“Enchanted,” I nod.

She’s very easy-going, and she brings me back to the lab, ignoring the two older sisters and Lucinda.

She brings me through a tall door and into a long corridor.

“We are specialized in easier compositions, things people can enjoy without necessarily sitting at a table. The idea was originally mine, even though Amelia and Flavia like to say they came up with it. We can serve many people who go on their merry way with a packed lunch or just a snack. You would be surprised to find out that even [Farmers] and [Beast Tamers] stop by our shop more often than not.”

“Street food, huh?”

“Pardon?”

“Street food?” I venture again.

Oh, I think she doesn’t know the term.

“Where I come from, you call food you get from stands and so on ‘street food’. It means it’s convenient,” I explain.

“It sounds a little… gross?” Camilla says.

Yeah, I guess it is a little gross, isn’t it? It sounds like food you find on the street, literally. Huh, I’ve never thought about it before.

“Well, anyway, our business is similar to a restaurant system. We don’t really have many big orders, but we compensate with the great foot traffic we get.”

Yep, I saw that. I had to get into their office through another entrance. The front door was packed, and if my eyes didn’t betray me, these three have at least six or seven attendants that serve food at the counter.

I could probably do even more than baking here. It would be fun as hell coming up with little things one could eat on the go. Making different kinds of street food would be a refreshing challenge.

“And that’s our proper laboratory,” we go through another set of doors, and I find a similar environment to the one at Happy Bakery.

The main difference is that here, people are running.

They go very fast, back and forth, preparing batches upon batches of little salted pies, some sort of sandwiches, and so on.

“We have to be ready to restock on the go. We never know how much we will need for the day, and we prefer making things fresh. So, people here level fast. Almost no one is below level 10,” she puffs out her chest proudly.

Sadly, I have no idea how high level 10 is. Being level 1 myself, it could be very high. Or maybe very low.

Again, no idea.

“This is lovely,” I say while watching a male Elf make some sort of cheese cupcakes and fill the inside with juicy meat. “But what’s the catch? I already know about Clodia’s character, and I worked with them for a few days. They seem like nice people. I don’t care about the money or the terms. What can you offer me that Clodia can’t?”

I’m not interested in working with these people since I don’t know them. I really liked the environment at Happy Bakery. But I do want to ask why they think I would come here.

I still wonder who’s Clodia’s sworn enemy here. Or her past lover, maybe. Something tells me that Amelia fits the bill.

“My sisters,” she sticks her fore thumb toward the door, now behind us, “are two pricks. So, that’s definitely a caveat.”

“Great sell,” I laugh.

“But, I’m a great [Baker] and [Cook]. I love the profession, and I just want to make the best recipes. If you accepted, we could work together and mix my elven heritage with yours.”

Believe it or not, even though the last remark could sound like an innuendo, she’s actually looking at me with clear, serious eyes.

I yawn so hard my eyes tear up a little.

“Oof, sorry about that. Listen, Camilla, I think we might have more to discuss. But why don’t we catch something to eat together whenever works best for you? Your treat, because I still haven’t got much money. You people are treating me like a golden goose, but I’m more like a homeless person right now. In fact, Clodia’s paying for my lodgings at the moment.”

“If you need, I could give you a place to sleep in half an hour.”

“Meh, don’t worry. Worse comes to worst, I’ll go bunk up with Stan.”

“Stan the homeless?” she smiles.

“Yep,” I nod.

“Oh, what a lovely guy. If you go to his street, would you mind bringing him a cupcake?” she goes for a small bag made of leaves – goddamn ecological Elves – and puts three cheese cupcakes in it from the tray the Elf is working on the side.

“Sure thing,” I nod.

She chats me up a bit and brings me back to the office, where Lucinda has been waiting with the two older sisters.

The three women look at us with a little poison in their eyes.