NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49 - Chapter 49: Melanie's House
Chapter 49: Melanie’s House
“I’m back~”
“Gyaa gyaa!”
“You’re back early, Melanie.”
“Oh, is it already that time? I got lost in my thoughts.”
Melanie’s house was a five-minute walk away. It was a tidy detached house tucked away in an alley off the main street of Misharl Market. Despite being an old building, it was well-maintained.
“You live in a nice place. The building looks good too.”
“It’s the house I inherited from my mother. I didn’t like it much before, but now I’ve grown fond of it.”
We entered and were guided to the dining area. The living room and dining area faced a sunny courtyard. Surprisingly spacious, it comfortably accommodated five people, including the three large onis.
The room was already filled with the delicious aroma of food.
“The meat you got is amazing. I made stew with it, and it turned out surprisingly delicious.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Alright, let me set the table, so make yourselves comfortable~”
“Gyaa~!”
Kuro followed Melanie. She must have gone to help her.
As usual, Melanie and Kuro seemed to get along well.
After a while, dishes were spread out on the table. Melanie was indeed skilled at cooking.
“It’s delicious! Melanie, you’re amazing~”
“Thank you, Gisella. There’s more if you want~”
“It’s really good. It’s quite surprising that Melanie can cook this well…”
“Bonus, you sometimes say rude things, you know?”
“It’s delicious. Melanie, I’ve never eaten anything this good. You’re amazing.”
Zamza happily dug into the stew. When he’s eating like this with a smile, he looks quite childish.
“Is this Zamza? There’s plenty, so eat up.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Wow, Melanie had a slightly maiden-like expression on her face in front of Zamza’s smile. Well, onis are androgynous beauties, after all. I can understand how her maternal instincts might be tickled by such a smile, but… this guy hasn’t even lived half of your life yet. You should think about that carefully.
Anyway, Melanie’s cooking might be the best I’ve had in Savoia. Especially Zamza, who had multiple helpings, seemed completely hooked.
“I’ve been thinking about what my mother said today.”
“Hmm?”
After eating, when we were fully satiated, Melanie started speaking slowly.
“First of all, the problem is that there’s not enough space for customers in Bonus’ shop, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I thought about it, and what do you think about sharing space between my shop, Gisella’s, and Bonus’ stalls to create a place where people can drink coffee?”
“Hmm… that might be a good idea.”
In other words, it’s like setting up a compound stall with an open café. Consolidating and streamlining the space, which could also increase the attractiveness of each shop, isn’t a bad idea. Normally, issues of mutual trust and complex profit distribution would arise, but it should be okay with Melanie.
“What’s that? Sounds interesting!”
“Gisella’s shop also gets crowded, so I think it would be profitable.”
“That sounds great! While my primary focus is blacksmithing, I realized I don’t mind this kind of work either when helping out at Bonus’ shop.”
Gisella seemed already enthusiastic about it. For me, it’s definitely a welcome offer.
“I’m on board too. You’ve thought this through well. Melanie, you’re quite clever.”
“Oh, well, you know, ever since Bonus and the others started their business, we’ve been chatting with various people over coffee, right? Actually, I find that enjoyable.”
“I see. You like talking, Melanie. You seem more suited for customer service than I am.”
“Gyaa gyaa~”
“I feel reassured if I’m working at the stall with Melanie.”
It seems Kuro and Shiro were also in favor. Once the Black Wolf matter is settled, let’s move forward in that direction.
“Well, Melanie. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be leaving Savoia for a while, but when we come back, shall we set up the stall together?”
“Got it. Sounds great! I’ll talk to my mother about it. It would be nice if we could also prepare chairs and tables.”
It’s helpful to have Melanie convey this to Clara.
“For furniture, it might be good to consult with the regular, Master Oscar. He’d be happy to help.”
“That sounds great! I’m looking forward to it. I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help with blacksmithing work.”
“I was thinking of selling incense next time, so I wanted some fancy iron plates for that.”
“Can I do it, I wonder?”
“Gisella, I think you have an amazing sense of design. This staff, for example, looks incredibly cool.”
“Hehe~ Actually, I quite like that kind of stuff~. After all, the appearance of weapons is also part of their utility, right? Bonus-chan understands that well!”
“I also respect Gisella as a craftsman.”
“…Yeah.”
“Gisella looks so happy.”
“Shiro! You don’t have to say stuff like that anymore!”
Well, it’s not like there’s no issue at all.
Probably, if we go along with Melanie’s proposal, the scale of our business will inevitably grow slightly larger than it is now.
“In that case, the problem becomes manpower.”
“Yeah, that’s true… Bonus, just find someone suitable. You’re good at that kind of thing, right?”
“Well… I’m not exactly conventional, so… I’ll think about it when we get back.”
“Gyaa~!”
“Ah, thanks, Kuro.”
Kuro brewed some coffee. She’s already fully adept at using Melanie’s kitchen.
After chatting idly for a while, it was time to call it a night.
Once the mercenary job is done, we’ll have to return to the hideout and make various preparations to be ready for the open café.
Well, tomorrow marks the first day of our mercenary work.
Let’s see how it goes…