"Say… Can you open the restaurant early in the morning every day for me?"
That question left Ludwig in quite a surprise. In the end, it's a talk about her appetite? Did his food have something that helped her felt full easier that he didn't know about?
"I mean…" Ludwig said. "If you want to have breakfast here… why not just take the order in the night?"
Ilea chuckled at his words and added. "Yeah. Just put it in your ring. It will still be hot when you eat it."
As her chuckled ended, Claire slammed the glass in her hand to the table. Some whiskey inside it jumped away like a flying fish, wetting the wooden surface.
"It's not for me, okay?" Claire shot them a look as her anger slithered into her tone.
Heads were turned towards the bar from the dining hall at that moment. The combination of glass being slammed and Claire's tone was enough for everyone to pay attention. Even if it's not enough, what happened yesterday still left some guests reeling. So of course such a loud sound back to back would make everybody pay attention to them.
"Kuhum!" Claire cleared her throat, maybe feeling the gaze behind her. "The reason I want you to open the restaurant early in the morning is because of Cless."
Ilea cocked her head to the side at Claire's answer. Ludwig did that too. It was really a ball he never expected, not just any curveball or slider.
"Cless?" Ludwig voiced out his question.
Claire dragged a hand down her face, the sharp edge in her expression dulling into something tired.
"Yes." She repeated. "Cless."
She glanced toward the dining hall again then back at the two of them. Her voice lowered, controlled now. "She came to me before we returned to Ravenhall this morning. Early. Before sunrise."
Ludwig didn't interrupt.
"She asked if she could go to school in Tempest." Claire continued. "Said it was fun. Said she already had friends there. Said Hedwig wanted to go too."
Ilea blinked. Once. "Wait… She asked you?"
"Yes." Claire said flatly. "Very politely. Very seriously. Like she'd rehearsed it. She even treated it like a negotiation. With terms and all."
That explanation got a raised eyebrows from Ludwig and Ilea. But different from him, Ilea also had a smirk on her face. "Guess that what happened to anyone sticking with you almost everyday."
Claire sent another glare to Ilea. It's always like this with the two, main talk would only be discussed for a brief moment, the rest was all banter.
However, since Ludwig still had responsibility in the kitchen, he decided to butted into the conversation. "Since you already brought the matter to me, I assume you already agreed to the terms?"
That shifted both Ilea and Claire back to him. Claire nodded as she sighed. "I have. But on the premise you are willing to open the door. But, it's not like I want you to play the bad guy. I just want to teach Cless that what she saw as simple would affect quite a lot of people."
Ludwig leaned his weight against the counter, fingers tapping once against the wood as he considered her words.
"She's not wrong." He said after a moment. "From her point of view, it is simple. It's just a matter of entering a door and leaving again. Next thing she knew she was already in Tempest. Some walk away from the classroom and her friends."
Claire nodded. "Exactly. And I don't want to kill that way of thinking."
Her gaze dropped to the wet mark on the bar where the whiskey had spilled. "But I also don't want her to grow up believing the world will always do what she wants just because she asks nicely.
"If she wants to go to Tempest every morning, then she needs to understand that someone has to open the door and she couldn't just bring anyone back to Ravenhall without talking with the adults."
Ludwig exhaled through his nose, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Seemed like you have negotiated with her?"
"Of course I have." Claire answered simply. "I need her to be at home before dark. I need her to take the lesson, no matter how basic it is, seriously. I need her to never step beyond the border of the city. The last thing we want is a rescue mission that can be easily prevented."
Ilea and Ludwig nodded. What Claire said was true, and it would take quite a chunk of their worry if Cless agreed to that. An extra layer of protection beside Tempest's own security.
But one thing Ludwig knew about Tempest kept him from being at ease of sending Cless there. Not Milim, with his restaurant around, Milim was easy to solve. Also not the visit of the Dwarf King.
It was an attack from the Human side.
The day when lots of Tempest's denizens met their end, or a temporary end. It was also a day where Rimuru finally got the resolution to become a Demon King.
That was not only a thing that would happen in the near future. There were quite a few dangerous things in the future as well.
But…
That was not the reason why they should prevent Cless from going there.
Ludwig exhaled and finally spoke, voice low enough that it didn't carry past the bar.
"You know." He said carefully, "She's a kid. She will do something she shouldn't have just because of pure curiosity. I know that's not a reason to stop her. I just want us to be ready."
Ilea crossed her arms and leaned back. In the meantime, Claire looked at him and opened her mouth. "Even after I explicitly told her to not do anything dangerous?"
"Yeah." Ludwig nodded.
He was not experienced with kids. Never had one in fact. But in this life, he had lived in an orphanage as a young boy with an old mind. The humorous comment on social media when kids doing stupid things became real to him in the orphanage. Kids just didn't have a survival instinct inside them. They didn't know what dangerous even meant. As long as it was exciting for them, they would dive headfirst since they didn't know what would happen to them.
"Let's say she heard the tale of a dragon that used to be confined in the heart of Jura forest from the kids in Tempest." Ludwig started. "Do you think she wouldn't get curious about the place even when people told her it was dangerous? It only needs some kids shouting 'Let's go on an adventure!' and off they go."
Claire rubbed her temples, elbows on the bar now, posture losing some of its usual sharpness. "I keep telling myself she's smart and careful."
"She does." Ludwig said. "But it will only last until something sounds more exciting than the warning."
Ilea nodded slowly. "I think Ludwig is right. Kids don't disobey because they're reckless. They disobey because they're curious together. One idea bounces, someone laughs, and suddenly it's a plan. Well, even adults sometimes do that."
Claire exhaled. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
"My idea is to not rely on a warning." Ludwig said. "We just have to keep her in check."
Ilea smirked at his words, clearly amused. "Now it feels like we are talking about Konoha once again."
"Don't say it like that." Ludwig laughed. "Cless has a higher priority than Konoha for now. If not ever."
Ludwig and two women in front of him laughed. But not because it was a funny joke, because they knew it was the truth. Konoha could go up in flames for all they care. But if Cless as much as took a single step towards Jura Forest, all of them would be in Tempest in no time.
Once Claire's laugh subsided, she asked. "If it keeps her in check, then… A routine report?"
"We can do that." Ludwig nodded. "Early in the morning when she goes to school. Then as soon as she left school. Even if she wanted to play in Tempest, she needed to come here first."
"Make sense." Claire sighed and dragged her palms down her face again. "What if she didn't obey?"
Ilea's smirk went wider as the question dropped. "Don't ask like you don't know, Claire. I know you know."
"I don't want to say it…" Claire sighed.
Ludwig looked at the woman. She was so razor-sharp yesterday, the Hokage was being butchered with words and terms, only a fraction of his dignity was left the moment he went up from the chair.
Yet now, she was being so indecisive. She wasn't able to see anything that was clear in Ludwig's eyes. Well, to be honest, it was more like she didn't want to see it rather than couldn't see it.
"Well, let me say it, then." Ludwig rose to his full height. "If she breaks a rule, she doesn't get yelled at. Instead, she loses access. A day or three, depending on the severity of the case."
Claire went quiet, then nodded slowly. "She values going there. Losing it would sting."
"And lastly." Ludwig said, "We need honesty and not horror stories. We need to tell her that places that are dangerous is not like that because adults are bored. They are dangerous because people don't come back from visiting."
Ilea leaned back, arms crossed. "You're basically building guardrails and hoping she never needs them."
"Yes." Ludwig replied. "That's our job, isn't it?"
Claire stared at the wet ring left by her glass, then straightened. There was resolve in her eyes now, less fear.
"…Alright." She said, "Routine, consequences, and no secrecy."
Ilea raised her glass. "Congratulations for all of us, then? We've officially become the adults we used to avoid."
Claire groaned. "Don't say it like that."
Ludwig set his palms on the counter, grounding the conversation back into something practical.
"One more thing." He said. "We haven't talked about when."
Claire blinked. "…When?"
"The door." Ludwig clarified. "Opening it early can't mean 'whenever someone wakes up.' If we're doing this properly, then time matters just as much as rules."
Ilea tilted her head, thoughtful now. "Yeah. A kid who could come to the most feared negotiator in Ravenhall of course could turn into a kid with creative interpretations."
Claire huffed quietly. "I can already hear it. 'But technically it was still morning.'"
"Exactly." Ludwig said. "So we don't leave it vague."
He thought for a second, eyes flicking toward the rune-lights near the entrance, then back to the two of them.
"Seven." He said. "Every morning. Not earlier. Not later."
Claire frowned. "Seven's a bit early."
"For school?" Ludwig replied. "I don't think so."
Ilea grinned. "I like seven. It will be punishing enough if Cless thought staying up too late is a good idea."
Claire sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "…She's going to complain."
"Good." Ludwig said without hesitation. "Complaints mean she's paying enough attention to the rule instead of ignoring it."
He continued, "So, the door opens at seven. It closes after she passes through. If by 8 she still hasn't come, she misses it, she has to wait until the next day."
"Even with me accompanying her?" Claire asked.
Ludwig chuckled. "Claire, you are the one who said you want to teach her. Why are you fighting for her now?"
"I—"
"He got you there." Ilea smirked.
Claire looked away for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Seven in the morning. Home before dark. Check-in before and after school. Loss of access if she breaks rules."
She looked back at Ludwig. "You'll really open the place that early?"
"Yes." He answered simply. "Not full service. Just the door and something warm."
Ilea laughed softly. "Congratulations. You've turned a weird restaurant into a shuttle."
"I've been worse things before." Ludwig said dryly.
Claire exhaled again, but this time it was lighter. "Thank you. Both of you."
Ilea clinked her glass gently against Claire's. "Welcome to responsible adulthood."
Claire groaned again, but there was no heat in it anymore.
Around them, the restaurant carried on. Plates were moving, voices rising and falling, the comfort of routine settling back in.
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