The two guards that were currently on standby had finally calmed down. After purchasing a full stock of all the available items and upgrading the ordinary ones they carried with them, they were finally about to leave the store.

At this moment, the girl behind the counter called out to them and revised her previous statement. She pointed at a menu that wasn’t there just minutes ago, and informed them that it was now possible for them to order food, after all. Wes and Sandra didn’t have to think twice and immediately placed their orders.

That was when two youths came storming through the entrance-neither the [Bodyguard] nor the [Safekeeper] recognized them. The [Employee] on the other hand not only seemed familiar with them, it even appeared as if she was expecting them.

“Nothing new since you two left,” she immediately prefaced their question.

Dejected, Timothy and Miriam slowed their steps and approached the counter, but still kept looking around in search of something new.

Realizing there really weren’t any new items demanding their attention, a bit reluctantly they too decided to first get something to eat; they could still restock and use their daily activations later on in the day.

With the novelty factor of these products largely worn off already, those things wouldn’t take as much time as they once did, anyway. In fact, they could easily take care of those matters while waiting for their orders.

Instead, they decided to spend their time on a different matter. Miriam and Timothy went ahead and emptied their respective inventories on top of the counter.

Watching from the sidelines, Sandra and Wes soon learned that the store also offered [Identifying] services.

About twenty minutes later, four cheerfully talking people left the [Emporium’s] main store together in a group and headed towards the café where a certain half-giant was also just about to dig into his food.

Bandur only joined Severin a few hours ago and yet he was already very busy with a bunch of orders suddenly coming his way. Luckily, with the System’s support, there was no need for previous experience or a training period. Otherwise, the situation would’ve been impossible for him to handle all on his own while his boss was lazing around.

Once he did manage, however, said boss also called him outside.

Samuel had already expressed his wish to meet Severin’s newest [Employee] and given that the dwarf had just successfully completed his first shift, Severin didn’t have a reason to deny this wish. Neither had the man in question, who had already recognized the familiar name on his minimap.

Under those circumstances Severin, naturally, couldn’t order Emily to keep away from this small gathering, either.

And just as naturally, the girl wouldn’t need to be asked twice; especially not after learning that there was still previously prepared food waiting in the store’s inventory.

At some point, even Magda, probably alerted by the lively noise, had left her abode and joined those people.

Never before had the café been this full.

Not even when Markus and his men had still been there; a large part of the group had always been busy with something else and a communal meal during their time off wasn’t really a thing.

It was truly a joyous occasion for Severin; all traces of boredom had been dispelled. Not least by the various interactions between his customers.

For example, the respectful, almost worshipping, expression on the faces of the two bodyguards once they made the connection between the mentioning of ‘Master Samuel’ and the (half-) giant [Berserker].

Or when said [Berserker] started teasing his old acquaintance in a good-natured way.

Interestingly enough, the Society’s representative, while also displaying a respectful attitude towards Samuel, didn’t seem nearly as surprised as the others seeing him in this place.

And then,

of course, there were Miriam and Timothy, who proudly reported their recent progress, discussed their new loot, and made plans for the future.

“With this, we should soon be able to raise our ranks.”

“Agreed. Now, with the Society established up here, we might as well take a look tomorrow.”

In Severin’s eyes, it was a rare occasion that the two so readily agreed with each other.

Maybe this abnormal behavior-the absence of their usual bickering-was also what had drawn Samuel’s attention. Either way, from a few tables away, he suddenly interjected,

“don’t get ahead of yourselves, you two. You did good on this trip, yes, but it’s still a bit early.”

“Yes, Master,” Timothy said respectfully, “we know. It is just that…”

He didn’t get to finish the sentence as Miriam interrupted and continued in his stead. “Considering what that sign says is true, I think we should be able to do it.”

“What sign?” Samuel demanded with raised eyebrows.

“Inside the store. Next to the elixirs. There’s a sign.”

“Says it also works in the Society’s evaluation area. Doesn’t get dispelled.”

Shatter

All heads turned around towards the sudden noise.

What they found was a woman with a strange expression on her face standing upright in front of a table-a knocked-over chair lying behind her.

“Sorry!” Magda quickly apologized and put the chair back up.

“I just remembered something.” With that obvious excuse, she all but ran back towards the building with the double-doors.

…

The next day, Severin’s boredom once again returned.

Everyone else seemed busy with something-everyone but him.

Emily now had actual customers she had to serve, which in turn also meant potions to craft and inventory to restock.

Bandur’s workload on this day was slightly less than hers, but whenever he found some off-time, he was usually catching up with Samuel, and Severin felt it inappropriate to simply butt in.

Timothy and Miriam did Timothy and Miriam things.

Things that made the two guards aware of the trainings ground with its dummies; at some point, those four even had a friendly tag team match.

As for Magda, she could only be seen from time to time to purchase yet another batch of hexagonal-shaped bottles before disappearing back into the Society’s cellar.

Her consumption of these items greatly pleased Severin, but still, there was nothing much for him to do.

The greatest highlight was probably when he found Bandur dressed in a white apron and a, in Severin’s opinion, ridiculously looking chef’s hat, standing on top of a small stool to better reach the kitchen’s worktop.

His laughter, however, soon got stuck in his throat when Severin realized that those three items, which Bandur had purchased himself via the System’s store, cost a not-so-small fortune.

It obviously hadn’t been an exaggeration when the dwarf said that ‘he wasn’t in it for the money’.

Thinking about all the upgrades Severin could have purchased with this kind of money only worsened his mood. The only comfort was knowing that the two pieces of clothing would somewhat increase the buff efficiency of all dishes crafted by Bandur while wearing them.

Dejectedly, Severin headed back to the café and once again started browsing through everything the System had to offer.